Howdy folks, I am going to include a sample of a letter written by my grand mother RATLIFF, to her daughter. All are deceased now. (and those mentioned in the letter as well, I checked to make sure before printing). I never was able to know Grandma, except by her letters and these give a lot of local history, and family knowledge during the time frame. There are several, if this one holds any interest for any one and they would enjoy reading the rest, let me know and I will send you copies. Some talk about bootleging, some about a particular murder in town, some talk about oh, well things that will tickle the toes and make you go, hummm boy howdy.... And all of them are my Grandma, whom I love beyond measure and am so happy to share with any one who would like to get to know her too. ( I will retain her spelling, that too is an insight) ************************** Thursday July 1927 Hello Kiddies, Got two letters from you this morn. Should have got one of them yesterday one that had the money in. B. Gosh why did you send it back? Crazy now? When I send money agan I will send it back and you can then get the socks, they don't need them now. You need to get a cheap hat unless you are wanting another one later. Sarah has been here twise today. By gee, she honastly hasent got but two dresses, Sundays and ever days together and Cotton has onley two and a half pair of unionalls that is all the duds he has, the baby has 3 rompers. I gave her some scraps I had left of dresses rite to work. And then b gosh see what a girl does that has no edication and gets a no acount man. Mrs. Miller told us yesterday that Nila she hurd was in reform school. She has been gone for some time but we thot she was in Kansas visiting. That woman that is in Arnet jail, she got her bonds set now agan at 6 thousand and Bud said that Charley went down this morning to see if he could go her bond. Don't know if he could or not yet. Amelia is marred. (Married) Say I am not asking you kids to go hungry. I will add an extra 5 next time I send for you birthday and you can eat it if you want to. Our good looking roomers are leaving for Amirilla tomorrow. They are broke and haven't paid room rent for 4 wks and soaked a watch to Joe for 20 dolars. They say they will send for the watch. The one quite the railroad last even and the other one always got all his money and lost it. I don't blame him he was a fireman. Slims girl came down Monday and had Joe wake Slim up. She wanted to RENT his car to drive to Amerilla to see Phena. She got it too. I thot yes, HIRE, not with money tho. Is sprinkling now. Eastman is selling his house hold goods, leaving. Well got to ring off, love Mama Oh yes, kids ordered their bathing suits today cost the two $ 4.26 for the two, all wool ********************* Kelly ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

Your letter is great. What era was this written in? Carollyn

Hi Kelly - It really is true what they say "Don't sweat the small stuff." People who do genealogy research with a very narrow focus on only finding out stuff that they are pleased with should find another hobby. It never ceases to amaze me how upset some people can get just because someone is generous enough to share their data. This has happened to me so it is very easy for me to forgive such a very small "transgression." Jan Wilson

-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] <[email protected]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, October 25, 1998 2:13 PM Subject: [RATLIFF-L] Another letter >This letter is marked "copy", it is typewritten in script. I have no idea how >many times it has changed hands or where it originated. It was given to me by > Yours truly, > >/s/ Benjamin W. Ratcliffe > >B.W. Ratcliffe >409 Austin Street >Houston, Texas > > > > >note: I have no idea what the symbol prefacing his name is...interesting >reading tho, isn't it ? B. > > >==== RATLIFF Mailing List ==== >Please include a portion of the post you are referring to in your > replies. Quote only enough so others can follow the thread, not > the entire message. > > If the symbol you are referring to is "/s/", it means that the signature appeared on the original, but is typed on the copy. The "/s/" indicates the message 'signed'. Scott Burow [email protected]

[email protected] wrote: > > This letter is marked "copy", it is typewritten in script. I have no idea how > many times it has changed hands or where it originated. It was given to me by > my cousin, Emma Jon Ratliff Chandler. It may have been sent to her by Mrs. > Fouts or Mrs. Gunn. I do not believe the author could possibly be alive > today, but since he does not seem to be stricken with modesty, I do not think > he would object, even if he were alive. I do not know what "printed genealogy" > he is refering to. If anyone reading this knows, please tell me. Billie > > > Houston, Texas > > March 29, 1939 > > Mr. W. D. Ratliff > Oskaloosa, Kansas > > Dear Sir: > > In replying to your letter of recent date, I am stressing attention > upon your postscript, that regarding your name. I have spent years in > research. > > I have delved into the past back nine hundred years; the Grand High > Saxon Chief invading the British Isles named Ethelred settled in Scotch Border > Mountains and assumed the name Radcliff. As his daughter Elphavat married the > Earl of Anjoy, our family got off to an early start in the British Royalty. > Down through the many centuries are numerous Counts and Earls. Hanging over > my table is the British Royal Coat of Arms of our family. The broad "ah" of > Scotch accent made the name Radcliff, the latter softened to Ratcliff at the > time of King Henry VIII, for he named Henry Ratcliff 9th Earl of Sussex. Now > here I will mention that Sir Thomas Ratliff married Ann Parr, daughter of a > nobleman, Sir William Parr and King Henry married Katherine Parr for his last > wife. I know of some of the descendents, now living in San Fransisco. The > name is one of the first in Britain. A prominent street in London is Ratcliff > Highway. Many of our family were Rectors of the Established Church of England > ( Episcopal). Of my own immediate descent, the custom obtained to name the > first son John, and the second son Benjamin. Through many generations, I am > therefore the second son in the second generation in the United States, named > after the Honorable Benjamin Ratcliff of Cheedle Hill, England. My father was > the late Hon John G. Ratcliff ( in Who's Who In America). The names Rockcliff > and Ratfield and Ratford are names originally constructed on similar basis as > ours. One early Governor of Virginia was John Ratcliff, their descendents > emigrated to Kentucky. The Indiana Ratcliffs are largely Quakers in religion. > I found in California the "Ratcliff" whose family claimed the distinction of > orginating the name as thus mispelled in this country. His grandfather was a > large landowner, but he could not read or write, and would have his name > signed by others, then making his mark. They wrote it phoneticallty as he > pronounced it. It, however, is a careless, easy way to describe it and many > Southern soldiers in the Army. Spanish American War thus accosted me. > Knowing the family history as I do, I could never slang the name. > > I have travelled in many foreign countries. My picture has been > displayed in many daily papers, particularly Panama and South America. My > photo was recently secured to transmit by telephoto to San Francisco. I > receive many letters from "Ratcliffs" - all variations. I am an Ex-United > States Immigration Official, attorney and war veteran. > > If I have more printed copies of our genealogy, I will favor you with > one later. > > Yours truly, > > /s/ Benjamin W. Ratcliffe > > B.W. Ratcliffe > 409 Austin Street > Houston, Texas > > note: I have no idea what the symbol prefacing his name is...interesting > reading tho, isn't it ? B. > > ==== RATLIFF Mailing List ==== > Please include a portion of the post you are referring to in your > replies. Quote only enough so others can follow the thread, not > the entire message. What a great letter... thanks for posting it for all of us to see. I'm glad it's been proven once again that Ratcliffs, in spite of their royal ancestors, remain ever humble. :) -- Janet Reaves [email protected] ____________

[email protected] wrote: > > A book entitled "Jacksons White Plumes" by Charlotte Adams Hood chronicals the > exploits of a Richard Ratliff who lived among the Indians with slaves. He had > an Indian wife and he and two of his sons known as the "Whooping Boys" helped > Gen Jackson and David Crocket during the Indian wars of 1813-1814. He > furnished them with supplies and his place served later as a post office for > the region. He was suspected of being an escaped Tory but Jackson strongly > defended him. Anyone know who this gentleman is. He and a son Richard Jr. who > also married an Indian disappeared about 1835. Did they go on the Trail of > Tears? > > ==== RATLIFF Mailing List ==== > If you'd like to search the List archives, please visit > http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > Type in Ratliff and go from there. We do indeed have some Cherokee cousins named Ratliff who found themselves in Oklahoma. A powow held this past year was to gather all the Cherokee Ratliffs still in the east to the reunion. They had all the Ratliff given names but were not too successful. These cousins were all descended from men named Ratliff who were traders in the Cherokee Nation. Gary Radcliffe

Very Interesting ! Thanks for typing it out. Kelly ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

Kelly just send her an email, [email protected], and tell her what you want. Mention my name if you want to. She has a genealogy shop, sells books and supplies. she is a super nice person. Billie

Surnames: RADLIFF, JACKSON, GABEL, GABLE, CUSHIONBERRY, NICHOLS Frankie Elizabeth (Fanny) JACKSON b 09 Sep 1875 in TX or Joplin, Jasper Co., MO, md 18 Mar 1899 in Indian Territory, Nowata Co., OK to Richard Persus Nichols b 05 Jun 1876 Galena, Cherokee, KS d 19 Sep 1927 in Turley, Tulsa, OK. She was said to be d/o Jesse (or Jay) Jackson b ca 1843 TX & Mary Gable b abt 1847 No. MO, d/o Barnibus Gabel & ? Mollie Cushinberry, they may have lived in Leavenworth, KS. My gr-mo NICHOLS grew up in or near Oolajah, OK and claimed to have pinned diapers on Will Rogers as a young girl. She was 67 yrs old when I was born in 1941 and lived till she was 87 yrs. Her step-fa was Bill DAUGHTERY?, a full-blood Cherokee. She was in the 1910 Osage Co., OK, Strikeau Twp., Pan R., E.D. 168, p.5435/fam 90/91; NICHOLS, Richard P., Head age 34 M2 -md 11 yrs b Kansas, Fanny age 34 b Texas, fa TX, mo MO. I have never been able in 30 yrs of looking to find her in the 1880 census, I did find her in 1910 & 1930. Does anyone recognize her? The JACKSON family were said to be connected to the RADLIFF/ RADCLIFF family. Does anyone recognize these names? I need Help! TIA, [email protected]

This letter is marked "copy", it is typewritten in script. I have no idea how many times it has changed hands or where it originated. It was given to me by my cousin, Emma Jon Ratliff Chandler. It may have been sent to her by Mrs. Fouts or Mrs. Gunn. I do not believe the author could possibly be alive today, but since he does not seem to be stricken with modesty, I do not think he would object, even if he were alive. I do not know what "printed genealogy" he is refering to. If anyone reading this knows, please tell me. Billie Houston, Texas March 29, 1939 Mr. W. D. Ratliff Oskaloosa, Kansas Dear Sir: In replying to your letter of recent date, I am stressing attention upon your postscript, that regarding your name. I have spent years in research. I have delved into the past back nine hundred years; the Grand High Saxon Chief invading the British Isles named Ethelred settled in Scotch Border Mountains and assumed the name Radcliff. As his daughter Elphavat married the Earl of Anjoy, our family got off to an early start in the British Royalty. Down through the many centuries are numerous Counts and Earls. Hanging over my table is the British Royal Coat of Arms of our family. The broad "ah" of Scotch accent made the name Radcliff, the latter softened to Ratcliff at the time of King Henry VIII, for he named Henry Ratcliff 9th Earl of Sussex. Now here I will mention that Sir Thomas Ratliff married Ann Parr, daughter of a nobleman, Sir William Parr and King Henry married Katherine Parr for his last wife. I know of some of the descendents, now living in San Fransisco. The name is one of the first in Britain. A prominent street in London is Ratcliff Highway. Many of our family were Rectors of the Established Church of England ( Episcopal). Of my own immediate descent, the custom obtained to name the first son John, and the second son Benjamin. Through many generations, I am therefore the second son in the second generation in the United States, named after the Honorable Benjamin Ratcliff of Cheedle Hill, England. My father was the late Hon John G. Ratcliff ( in Who's Who In America). The names Rockcliff and Ratfield and Ratford are names originally constructed on similar basis as ours. One early Governor of Virginia was John Ratcliff, their descendents emigrated to Kentucky. The Indiana Ratcliffs are largely Quakers in religion. I found in California the "Ratcliff" whose family claimed the distinction of orginating the name as thus mispelled in this country. His grandfather was a large landowner, but he could not read or write, and would have his name signed by others, then making his mark. They wrote it phoneticallty as he pronounced it. It, however, is a careless, easy way to describe it and many Southern soldiers in the Army. Spanish American War thus accosted me. Knowing the family history as I do, I could never slang the name. I have travelled in many foreign countries. My picture has been displayed in many daily papers, particularly Panama and South America. My photo was recently secured to transmit by telephoto to San Francisco. I receive many letters from "Ratcliffs" - all variations. I am an Ex-United States Immigration Official, attorney and war veteran. If I have more printed copies of our genealogy, I will favor you with one later. Yours truly, /s/ Benjamin W. Ratcliffe B.W. Ratcliffe 409 Austin Street Houston, Texas note: I have no idea what the symbol prefacing his name is...interesting reading tho, isn't it ? B.

A book entitled "Jacksons White Plumes" by Charlotte Adams Hood chronicals the exploits of a Richard Ratliff who lived among the Indians with slaves. He had an Indian wife and he and two of his sons known as the "Whooping Boys" helped Gen Jackson and David Crocket during the Indian wars of 1813-1814. He furnished them with supplies and his place served later as a post office for the region. He was suspected of being an escaped Tory but Jackson strongly defended him. Anyone know who this gentleman is. He and a son Richard Jr. who also married an Indian disappeared about 1835. Did they go on the Trail of Tears?

Billlie, The lady you spoke of who inventories cemeteries in Arkansas... do you have an address that she may be reached... I had folks in Arkansas.... might show up in a cemetery inventory. If not and you happen to run into her again, would you consider giving her my e-mail address, or any other information about me that she may contact me? thanks, Kelly ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]

Janet, I am a descendant of Moses' brother, John who married Ann Farmer. John and Ann had a son, John, who married Ruth Ward. John and Ruth had a son, Timothy, who was my 3rd great grandfather. Hello cousin, mr

Hi, I have been under the impression that John's(born 1694) wife was Sarah Fellows. mr

By request, here's the best I can do with it at the moment. There's always hope :) I'll begin back with Richard Ratcliff who came from Lancashire England, since a lot of us can go back that far. Richard Ratcliff b. 1661, Chapel Hill, Rossendale, England m. Mary Caterne. Their children: James, John, Anthony, William and Jane John Ratcliff b 1694, St. Michael's Parish, Talbot Co, Maryland m. ? their children: Moses Moses Ratcliff b 1730, Ratcliff's Choice, Talbot Co, Maryland m. Mary Sarah Farmer. Their Children: Redden or Redding, Aaron, Moses, Abraham, Benjamin, Shaham, Elam and Rebecca Elam Ratliff b. 1781, Randolph, NC m. ? Their children: Zachaeus, Barbary, Irene, Mordica, Malinda, Obediah, Owen and Catherine. Zachaeus Ratliff b. 1824, Onslow, NC m. Margaret Martha Underwood (dau of Capt. James Underwood). Their children: Malissa, Elizabeth, James, Mary, Carney Strong, David G. and William Thomas. Zachaeus moved to Lawrence County, Arkansas, was a blacksmith and served as a blacksmith in the Civil War. James S. Ratliff b. 1852, Lawrence Co, Arkansas m. Emma Rebecca Justus (Dau of Stephen Justus). Their children: J. Bascum and Minnie J. Minnie J. Ratliff b. 1875, Lawrence Co, Arkansas m. J. H. Newton Park, a farmer and Justice of the Peace. This is the last of my line of the Ratliff's. There was at least one other Ratliff family in Lawrence County. I know Mordica, Zacheaus' brother, was there with his family as well and can look up the names of Mordica's children if anyone needs to know. I just discovered that I haven't input them into my genealogy program for some reason. Sounds like a project for a rainy day. Any cousins out there? -- Janet Reaves [email protected] ____________

[email protected] wrote: > > This is from a zeroxed copy of a newspaper clipping someone sent me, probably > in the 1970's. It is from the Beaumont Enterprise, Beaumont ( Jefferson Co. > Tx.) and the only date is Feb. 21. > > Haskell Texas, Feb. 21 (ap) > > When they talk about the Kennedy political family around here, the Ratliff > family is liable to pop up for comparison.... > The line began, as far as Texas is concerned, with L. D. Ratliff, Tennessee > born lawyer. > L. D. Ratliff, Wise and Haskell county counselor-at-law. fathered 11 children, > four of them lawyers and a fifth, a state senator. > > "There was a major difference between Joe Kennedy ( president Kennedy's > father) and my Daddy", L. D. Ratliff's eldest son, Dennis, Haskell attorney > and former state legislator, and district judge here says, " My Daddy died a > poor man after raising 11 children". > L.D. had two brothers, Ed and W.H. The former was a member of the Oklahoma > Legislature and later counsel on the corporate commission of Oklahoma City. > The later was a member of the Texas Legislature from Hardeman County before > moving to Dallas, where he was tax commissioner for Texas Power and Light Co., > for many years until his death in 1949. > > The Ratliffs roots are buried in the subsoil of Hickman Co. Tenn. > L.D. came to Decatur, Wise County, about the turn of the century, got his > family on its voting way, and then moved to Haskell in 1921, spending his last > 21 years there. > L.D. died in 1942 but the Ratliff vein is thick in the motherlode of Northwest > and NorthCentral Texas political and civic minefield. > Dennis, the eldest, a practicing attorney here, was in the Legislature from > 1931 to 1935 and district judge here afterwards. > David Ratliff, a Stamford businessman is not an attorney, but elected State > senator in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the > colorful Harvey Sadler, David has been re-elected to this office every two > years since 1954. > L.D. Ratliff Jr., an attorney, is a district judge at Spur. > Bill Ratliff is the Haskell county attorney. > O.B. Ratliff, lawyer, never held public office, but he just never ran for it. > He lives in Lubbock, is a former member of the Board of Trustees at Texas > Tech. and now is with the Brazos River Authority. > Roy Ratliff, another office holder, now lives in Abilene, and was both county > clerk and district clerk here for several years. > > Rounding out the Ratliff record, there are two more, neither lawyers nor > office holders, but you better watch 'em on the latter counts. They could > qualify, being Ratliffs. > Hugh, a retired Warrant Officer in the Air Force, is manager of the Haskell > Clinic. > T.J. is a school-teacher for 35 years in DeQuincy, La. > Given a little running room, politically speaking, the runnin' Ratliffs could > crowd the Kennedys, especially Texas tabulations. > > Now, just so none of us get the big-head, I think I will post the story of > Marshall Ratliff, the Santa Claus Bandit and last white man lynched ( and > naked too!) in the state of Texas, that is if you want to read it. It is > long. Billie Ratliff Staggs > > ==== RATLIFF Mailing List ==== > Please rememember to keep your signature lines no larger than > four (4) lines, and NO surnames in signature lines other than your > own name as your signature. The archive search engine > will score a "hit" on any surnames listed in a signature line. By all means, lets hear the Santa Clause Bandit Story. The rascals are usually more fun than the others. -- Janet Reaves [email protected] ____________

Dear Gary; Most of the info I have regarding the descendants of David and Benjamin RADCLIFF follow the line of Polly RADCLIFF and Irvin POLSON. I do know that David and Elizabeth had at least 6 children, five of whom were Polly, Elizabeth, Fanny, Clara and Richard. Polly was b. 18 May, 1817 in Washington Co. IN, m. 24 Feb., 1836, same county, d. 15 Mar 1898 Carl Twp, Adams Co. IA, bur. Mt. Zion Cemetery, Carl Twp. Her headstone reads" Wife of Irvin, dau. D & E RADCLIFF". Their children were Cyrus b. 5 Nov 1839, m. Mary BROWN, John Thomas b. 9 Jul 1841 m. Sarah Louise MILLS 8 Jun 1866 Marion Co. IA, d. 30 Jan 1920, Pleasantville, Marion Co. IA; Nancy, b. 28 Feb 1844; Martha Jane b. 23 Jun, 18?? m. John Davis; Clarissa b. Oct 1846; David b. 24 Mar 1849; all the foregoing b. Hardinsburg, Washington Co., IN; Irvin F; Maran b. 4 Jun, 1853; Charles V b. 31 Dec 1854; P. Wakes b Nov 1858; Steven A b 24 Jul 1861, these last b. Marion Co. IA. Children of John T. and Sarah (MILLS) POLSON were Mabel b 27 Aug 1868, m ___ DEWITT; Nellie Idella Polson b. 26 May 1872, m. Orien Chenoweth PAINTER 1 Mar 1893 d. 24 Jul 1945, Clarinda IA.; Bessie. I regret I haven't filled in more completely yet. I just found the RADCLIFF line a week ago. Benjamin and _____(BROWN) RADCLIFF had a dau Frances (Fanny)b 26 Dec 1820 who m Wesley POLSON, son of William and Elizabeth (BRYANT) POLSON and d 18 Nov 1905, bur. Hardinsburg Unity Baptist Cemetery, Washington Co., Posey Twp, IN and a son, Feathergail b. 15 Apr 1829 m. Sally Ann____, d 2 Nov 1907, bur same cemetery as Frances. Benjamin had at least 4 other children. BTW, I have a copy of a page from a book listing burials in Washington Co. IN which includes 10 additonal RADCLIFFS if you are interested. I'm eager to receive any input you have on the above as well as the lineage of Richard RADCLIFF. Regards, Pam >Pam and Bryon wrote: >> >> Dear Karon: >> >> If your Nancy was born in the early-to-mid- 1800's, you might try a line >> of RADCLIFFs I've been researching with regard to their connections with >> the POLSON family. David and Benjamin RADCLIFF, sons of Richard >> RADCLIFF and Jean_____, both born in VA 1790's, moved to Garrard Co. KY >> bef. 1810, then to Washington Co., Posey Twp. IN by 1817. I have some >> of their children but not all of them. Let me know if this sounds like >> a possible connection. >> >> Regards, >> >> Pam >Dear Pam & Byron, > >The boys you mentioned were sons of Richard Radcliff who d. 1814 in >Garrard County, KY. Have we ever corresponded about this? I would like >to know the descendants of these boys and have posted queries which have >never been answered. I can take you back 2 generations from the boys you >mentioned. > >Gary Radcliffe > >______________________________

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --part0_909289606_boundary Content-ID: <[email protected]_out.mail.aol.com.1> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII In a message dated 10/24/98 10:32:25 AM EST, [email protected] writes: << I know that I don't want my own letters posted on the internet after I'm gone, and the only people who can prevent that happening are those into whose hands they may fall. >> I certainly wouldn't want some of the letters I write posted on the list either, or published in the newspaper, or read by my mother! But when I write a genealogical letter, asking for information, or sharing what I have collected, I expect it to be passed around. Anyone with any experience researching should know that it will be passed on to other researchers, and expects it to be and hopes it will be. It is all well and good to go blind reading microfilm and bankrupt buying books, but when that old ox gets in the ditch, our way out is usually from another researcher who remembered old unk so-and so saying that when he and grandma were kids they lived in Podunk with cousin juniebell while ma and pa got on their feet after the house burned in Hicksville, so here we go, notebook in hand, looking for kin still in Podunk and Hicksville and sometimes we hit the mother lode, which we would never have done without family gossip, old letters, diaries, whatever someone will share. Don't want to bore you good folks to death but will tell you a true story just to show you how chancey all of this can be. I was in the local Family History Center ( which where I live is the only game in town). As I passed by the computer, I remarked to the lady looking at the ancestral file, " Oh, you are researching the Duty family, I have a Duty also". We chatted a minute, she asked about my Duty and I told her that my brick wall gr grandmother had two sisters, one named Emma and one named Marietta, one married a Nash and one married a Duty but I didn't know which was which. She told me to wait a minute, went to her briefcase and returned, handed me Marietta Saxon Duty's bible records. Because of this chance encounter I have located two more living descendents of this same ole Sanford Saxon I told you about a few days ago. We still don't know anything about him, but that is another sad tale. Anyway, there is a point to this, believe it or not, and that is that if we want to be successful researchers, we should always be willing to share our findings. You never know when some little note on a scrap of waste paper is the information someone else has been looking for for years. And we have to remember that some of us are not as lucky as others. We don't live near a good genealogical library, we don't have the funds to join a lot of societies and subscribe to publications. Some of us are impaired, or physically handicapped which makes it difficult, and some of us are just starting out and haven't learned the ropes yet. For those of you who got your panties in a knot over the letter Kelly posted, get your flame throwers gassed up, I am going to post another one. These were given me by my (real) cousin Emma Jon Ratliff Chandler of Ponca City, Okla. She was a carefull and dedicated researcher and helped every one she could. Emma Jon died from cancer last year. I know it would please her to know she is still helping people. And by the way, if any of you doubt my little story about the bible pages, the lady who gave it to me was AOL's very own HudsonK, the gal who is always traipsing off to Arkansas to inventory cemeteries, and I am very grateful to her.. Billie Ratliff Staggs . --part0_909289606_boundary Content-ID: <[email protected]_out.mail.webtv.net.2> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: <[email protected]> Received: from rly-zb04.mx.aol.com (rly-zb04.mail.aol.com [172.31.41.4]) by air-zb04.mail.aol.com (v50.22) with SMTP; Sat, 24 Oct 1998 11:32:25 -0400 Received: from bl-14.rootsweb.com (bl-14.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.30]) by rly-zb04.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id LAA11584; Sat, 24 Oct 1998 11:32:16 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from [email protected]) by bl-14.rootsweb.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) id IAA15345; Sat, 24 Oct 1998 08:18:54 -0700 (PDT) Resent-Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 08:18:54 -0700 (PDT) From: [email protected] X-WebTV-Signature: 1 ETAtAhUAmpG/VyKYOol+ldAsZf9/tGw6dMgCFF1Ks4O6s8oi6qXoX/15lXvWi3Lt Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 10:20:22 -0500 (CDT) Old-To: [email protected] Message-ID: <[email protected]> Subject: [RATLIFF-L] "the letter" Resent-Message-ID: <"kwQl0C.A.gvD.d_eM2"@bl-14.rootsweb.com> To: [email protected] Resent-From: [email protected] Reply-To: [email protected] X-Mailing-List: <[email protected]> archive/latest/415 X-Loop: [email protected] Precedence: list Resent-Sender: [email protected] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit While I am absolutely sure that no harm was meant by the person who posted the letter in question, and that it was done in a spirit of helpfulness, I am not sure that it is appropriate for us to post personal letters, regardless of whether the principals are dead or how long ago they may have died. I know that I don't want my own letters posted on the internet after I'm gone, and the only people who can prevent that happening are those into whose hands they may fall. Maybe, in the case of personal letters, it would be better to first post a query, asking whether anyone might know of the addressee or of the author. If there is an interested response, then maybe the communication about such a letter could be more private. On the other hand, posting general queries, items which are of public record, or citing sources where information may be obtained is just fine, in my opinion. Pip ==== RATLIFF Mailing List ==== Send NO attachments of any kind to the list. If your email program automatically generates attachments for coding, please be sure it is turned off. If you have a document or other file of interest, please send it to individual addresses rather than to the list. The guideline also includes the "vcards" attachments. --part0_909289606_boundary--

Good grief! I don't usually get into these things, but this seems completely ridiculous to me. That letter was written by an ancestor of someone who belongs to the list... perhaps an ancestor of many of us. My own Ratliff's were from Arkansas, as was the author. The letter was not of a personal nature to begin with, but was the authors view of his own family history. If we were not interested in family histories, we wouldn't be on this list, would we? I for one, very much appreciate the posting of that letter and would love to see more of the same type of document posted to the list. Not only did it indicate that we are not the first generation to try to trace the histories of our families, but it gave us some insight into how that information might have been conveyed from cousin-to-cousin in the past, as some of us still do today. That is the purpose of this list, is it not, to share information? A glimpse into the lives of our ancestors is a rare treat and is the greatest of the treasures I find as I research. The dry facts look good on the chart, but it's the things like letters and journals that fill out the history and let us see the kind of lives our ancestors actually lived. Whether the information included in the letter is factual is really beside the point here. As researchers, it's up to each of us individually to determine what we accept as factual. The letter is valuable in it's own right, as something produced by the hand of an ancestor and the owner of the letter was very generous in sharing that with us. -- Janet Reaves [email protected] ____________

OK....I'm not going to let this boil into a controversy. ANY source of information that is received by any one of us MUST be double checked for validity. This is a responsibility of each of us. As for putting the letter itself on the list, as long as it was dated that long ago, and there was nothing in it to embarrass anyone in particular, I see no harm in it. However, we must all remember that when we quote copyrighted information, to always give the name of the owner of the information, and if they are living, to ask the permission of them before posting to the list. This was of a particularly "different" nature, and the "owner" is now the person who has the copy in hand. If I felt there had been a problem with posting it, I would have said something long before now. There is much that we can glean from such things that are in our possession from our ancestors. Even if it is someone who is not related to us in particular, it gives us insight about the people of that time and era. As long as this is done with discretion, I see no harm in it. Mari Listowner Ratliff-L At 12:13 PM 10/24/98 -0400, you wrote: :In a message dated 98-10-24 03:00:19 EDT, you write: : :<< : Dear list readers, : Several days ago I posted a letter dated 1909 on the list. It came to : me as many things do to all researchers, hand to hand to hand... I found : it interesting and worth sharing. : At least three of the former owners (including the original author of : the letter) are all deceased, so can not be questioned as to why they : kept it, or what real value it held for them to pass on to others. : I have received a personal E-mail from a member of the list, who claims : that this letter, in at least part, is about her family and that the : content is in great question to its validity. >> : : :Kelly, :Don't be sorry for putting the letter on the mail list. It is very :interesting and I thought we were suppose to share the info we have with each :other to check out ourselves. Just because we haven't proven something is no :reason not to share it. We learn from each other. :Carollyn Guidry : : :==== RATLIFF Mailing List ==== :If you have any questions or concerns, please e-mail me : *--*--*--*--*--*--*Happy Hunting!!*--*--*--*--*--*--* : Mari, RATLIFF List Owner mailto:[email protected] :