To Paul and the others who answered my query, thanks! Paul, thanks for giving me the letters WTCU. I had searched online to see if Massachusetts or Berkshire County was a dry county at the time of the "crime". But found no evidence that it was in the late 1800s. I did some other searching but found nothing. I have even written to the reference librarian in Pittsfield and they have searched but came up with nothing as well. However, the string "WCTU" searched in Google gave me lots of hits although I don't have time right now to read all of the articles. But I do know there was a temperance union in Pittsfield at this time because they are listed in the city directories. Good old city directories are always full of useful information. So, your suggestion may lead me to more definitive information. And, if I can ever find the court records (someone has mentioned that Massachusetts law does not require documents to be saved after 1600, so the records may have been destroyed), I may find out exactly what law she and her neighbor were breaking. Historically, my gr gr grandfather had died 10 years earlier. My gr gr grandmother was left with two children at home and a house but was an illiterate Irish woman who probably had few choices as to how to make a living. She was running a boarding house and may have been selling the alcohol to supplement her income. I may never know but at least I finally have some information on my gr gr grandmother other than her name and the fact she was Irish. Someday maybe I will know if she was desperate to keep a roof over her head or if she was just a bit rebellious. Either way, it will be "fun" to find more documents on her arrest and get to know her a little better. Thanks all, Margie in Washington State On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 6:10 AM, <rootsmagic-users-request@rootsweb.com>wrote: > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2012 08:52:38 -0400 > From: "Paul Studly" <paulstudly@att.net> > Subject: Re: [RMagic] Fact template for arrest and Court appearance? > To: <rootsmagic-users@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <3e6901cd85e5$2bdfe1b0$839fa510$@net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > I might try > > 1888 > MISC Newspaper mentions - illegal beer possession > > put the detail in the notes > > If you of a mind to explore further see what you can learn of the times > in > that place, > when-how-why voted dry etc; what was the WTCU doing in that locale > > > > Paul A. Studly, Esq. > paulstudly@studly.net > Cleveland/Chesterland, Ohio > 440-829-9207 Verizon Cell > ? > IRS Circular 230 - Any tax advice contained in the body of this > correspondence was not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, > by the recipient for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed > under the Internal Revenue Code or applicable state or local tax law > provisions. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: rootsmagic-users-bounces@rootsweb.com > [mailto:rootsmagic-users-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Suzanne Brayer > Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 11:54 PM > To: rootsmagic-users@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [RMagic] Fact template for arrest and Court appearance? > > My first comment is that you need not be proud or not of the actions of > this > ancestor. We are not here to judge, but to record the facts of the person. > This type of information does give us a sense of the person, but remember > to > put it into context of the time period. What were the laws of the time and > location? Was she rebelling or trying to earn a living? > > Second: How to note this in RootsMagic. - The fact list does not give any > choice for this except Misc. Be sure to include the specific source and its > details. > > > > On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 8:35 PM, M. A. Beldin <mabeldin@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Okay, aside from using Miscellaneous, has anyone created a Fact that > > would cover a person getting arrested for a crime? > > > > My gr gr grandmother was arrested for having 3 dozen bottles of lager > > in her home in 1888. While I am not proud of this (although it does > > make me chuckle), I have prayed and prayed for one of my ancestors to > > have committed some sort of crime (albeit a minor one) so that I could > > find at least SOMETHING on them. I have those kind of ancestors who > > seemed to have been born, married and died in a void, or that big black > hole in the sky. > > So when I found a newspaper article naming my grandmother and a > > neighbor as each having 3 dozen bottles of beer in their house, I have > > to say I was somewhat excited. > > > > I have the newspaper article and plan to go to the courthouse to try > > and find the court records. But my problem is, how would I enter this > > fact in RootsMagic? > > > > Any suggestions? > > > > Thanks > > Margie in Washington State > > > > > >