Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Va/Amherst/610 Surname: Vest ------------------------- I am looking for information on the Ben F. Vest family who was living in Amherst Co. in 1920. It appears that a son Cary and 4 grandchildren were living with them at the time. I am very interested in the granddaughter Ethel.

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Va/Amherst/608 Surname: Isham, Ison, Isom, Wickersham, Devine, Carr, Freeman, Lessinger, Jackson ------------------------- I am seraching for the parents of Michael R. Isham born 4 July 1793 in VA to James Isom and Mary Ison said to be of Amherst CO,VA. Michael married Priscilla Wickersham in 31 OCt 1838 in Mercer Co, KY. But there is no record of the parents where. Any help gratefully accepted thank you. Robin

Related to Yourself? - Michael John Neill I get the funniest looks when I tell people I'm related to myself. In my case, it's a simple matter of math, geography, and settlement patterns. The numbers are pretty easy to see. There is 1 of you--unless you've got an identical twin Two biological parents Four biological grandparents Eight biological great-grandparents The number keeps doubling each generation. Counting yourself as generation one, by the time you have reached generation twenty, the seventeenth great-grandparent generation has been reached. There are 524,288 theoretical blank spots in this generation of your pedigree chart. Depending upon how "mixed" your ancestry is, there's a reasonable chance of repetition. Extend the lineage back ten more generations and the number is a staggering 536,870,912 ancestors! Now there's a database (documenting it is another story). Thirty generations ago, the population was significantly less than half a billion. If you could trace each line that far (and chances are you can't), there would be names repeated. It didn't take me getting over half a billion ancestors to notice some repeated names in my own background. Five of my great-great-grandparents come from two very small adjacent German villages. As I traced some of these lines, I felt I was repeating some names over and over again. I was fortunate enough to trace the ancestry of these ancestors from their approximate births in 1850 until the mid-1500s. Three hundred years of ancestors in two nearby adjacent small villages and I was bound to run into repeat ancestors. There simply were not enough people to go around. Both sets of my maternal great-grandparents were distantly related. 1) Johan Hinrichs Borjes (d. 1769) 2) Lisabeth Jansen Seehusen 3) Sarke Tjarks Fecht (b. 1761) 4) Tjark Gerjets Fecht (b. 1803) 5) Elska Fecht Janssen (b, 1829) 6) Jans Jurgens Janssen (b. 1856, immigrant) 7) Trientje Marie Janssen Ufkes (b. 1895, my great-grandmother) 1) Johan Hinrichs Borjes (d. 1769) 2) Nantje Jansen Ufkes (d. 1785) 3) Johann Ufkes (b. 1756) 4) Hinrich Ufkes (b. 1797) 5) Johann Ufkes ( b. 1838, immigrant) 6) Frederich Ufkes (b. 1893, my great-grandfather) Making Trientje and Frederich, my great-grandparents, 4th cousins, once removed. Chances are they never had any idea. Who but a genealogist has their ancestry traced that far back! My other set of maternal great-grandparents were also related: 1) Lubbe Habben 2) Habbe Lubben (b. 1680) 3) Pabe Habben (d. 1771) 4) Habbe Paben (b. 1750) 5) Lubbe Habben (b. 1775) 6) Mimke Habben (b. 1822, immigrant) 7) Jann Habben (b. 1859, immigrant) 8) Mimka Habben (b. 1881, my great-grandfather) 1) Lubbe Habben 2) Tutter Lubben Gronewold (b. 1672) 3) Johann Gronewold (d. 1746) 4) Johann Gronewold (b. 1745) 5) Johann Gronewold (b. 1772) 6) Altje Gronewold Tammen (b. 1799) 7) Tjode Tammen Goldenstein (b. 1824) 8) Foche Goldenstein (b. 1857, immigrant) 9) Tjode Goldenstein Habben (b. 1882, my great-grandmother) Chances are they never knew of the relationship either. I only descend from the Borjes and Habben families twice. Only twice. Some of these families were concentrated in the Holtrop area of Ostfriesland, Germany and there is a Willem Aden who died in Holtrop in 1669. I descend from Willem six times! One set of ancestors who married in the 1720s that were second cousins (their great-grandparents were siblings) and another set who married in 1797 that were first cousins once removed. Other intermarriages were distant enough that the relationships were likely unknown to the couple. I also descend six times from an Eme Lampen who died in Holtrop in 1666. Both sets of my maternal great-grandparents are related and my maternal grandparents are also related, but one has to trace back to 1700 to find their common ancestor. When one keeps in mind the small geographic area these individuals came from the number of "repeat" ancestors is not surprising. When records allow tracing ancestors for two or three hundred years in a village of two or three hundred people, the chance of intermarriage is great. If individuals from a small village migrate to the United States together (as some individuals from this area did) the geographic closeness may be replicated (at least for the first few generations). In my own maternal ancestry, there are many names that are repeated twice. Six descents from one person is my personal high, though. However, I was to find multiple descents in my paternal ancestry as well. This time it was a family that traveled from Virginia, to Kentucky, to Indiana. 1) John Tinsley (d. 1817 Amherst Co. Virginia) 2) James Tinsley 3) Enoch Tinsley 4) Rebecca Tinsley Newman (m. 1839 Rush County, Indiana) 1) John Tinsley (d. 1817 Amherst Co. Virginia) 2) Sally/Sarah Tinsley Sledd 3) Melinda Sledd Newman 4) William Newman (m. 1839 Rush County, Indiana) Rebecca and William, my third-great-grandparents are second cousins. It was not unusual in some families and in some cultures to marry distant (and not so distant relatives). The reasons were varied and it was more common in some cultures than in others. Even if you are not related to yourself, it's possible that you are related to an individual in more than one way. There are many individuals who are "double first cousins" (where brothers married sisters, for example). The relationship may get even more complicated than that. My grandfather and a female relative were first cousins, second cousins, and third cousins. And no one married a blood relative. Here's a simplified version of how the relationships fit together. First cousins--His father and her mother were siblings. Hence the individuals in question were first cousins. Second cousins--His maternal grandfather and her paternal grandfather were siblings (in other words their grandparents were siblings). Hence the individuals in question were second cousins. Third cousins--His mother's mother's father and her father's mother's father (their great-grandparents) were siblings. Hence the individuals in question were third cousins. It's almost easier to explain it using the people's names. Of course unless you know the people that does not explain the relationships. On a five-generation pedigree chart for these two people, fourteen out of the sixteen names are the same--although they appear in different places in the last column due to the differing ways of descent. How did I track out all these relationships? It is much easier than it was in the old days. My first genealogical software package required me to enter each ancestor once for each line of descent. I could not "tie" the lines together so I had to enter some individuals multiple times. Fortunately, that is not a problem today. All software packages easily allow the entry of such lines and will calculate relationships, even multiple ones. Most programs allow the user to print "repeat" ancestors each time, or to only print them once. It shortens up some of my trees to print them once, but printing them each time makes it easier to see the relationships and intermarriages. Your software package may also allow you to determine the relationship between two individuals. Some of my families give that section a really good workout. In preparing the information for this article, I printed out the charts, showing each line separately. I then used colored pencil on the sheets to track the individual lines of descent. Chances are you won't descend from anyone six times, but if your families stayed in small or isolated areas for several generations and you can document the lineage, multiple descents are likely. Good luck! Keeping all the shirttail relations straight is difficult enough when they are related once, let alone twice! Copyright 1999, Michael John Neill. Michael John Neill, is the Course I Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of Mid America (GIMA) held annually in Springfield, Illinois, and is also on the faculty of Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg, Illinois. Michael is the Web columnist for the FGS FORUM and is on the editorial board of the Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly. He conducts seminars and lectures on a wide variety of genealogical and computer topics and contributes to several genealogical publications, including Ancestry and Genealogical Computing. You can e-mail him at: mneill@asc.csc.cc.il.us or visit his website at: http://www.rootdig.com/

This is for Kelly Biskey & Patsy Day-Ware You should both consult the Rucker Family Genealogy by Sudie Rucker Wood. She did a lot of work on both of these famalies. The Martin D. Parks mentioned by another subscriber was the grandson of Martin Dawson. Martin Parks mother was a daughter of Martin Dawson and the Dawson family is well represented in this book. The Penn family is also well documented in the Rucker book, however I found in the Jones Memorial Library in Lybg. a book on the Fitzpatrick Family from Lovingston, Va. They descended from James and Beheathland Taliaferro Stevens thru the Thompson, Loving, Penn, Wills and other Nelson Co. families. I have not found this book in any other Genealogy Library. Beheathland is a tip off that your Betty Burton is probably from this family as the name is prominent in all of the families I mentioned. I descend thru the Thompsons and it was used in every generation. The Rucker Family Society is on line at www.mindspring.com/~jogt/surnames/ruckerfs.htm If I can help email me direct @johnifox@aol.com. Regards, Becky Dawson Fox Virginian in Missouri

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/gc/USA/Va/Amherst/607 Surname: DAY, PENN, BURTON ------------------------- Searching for children of Henry F. DAY and Elizabeth PENN mar. Jan. 24, 1824 Amherst Co. On marriage register listed George PENN as parent or guardian. Does anyone know if their first born was George T. DAY b. 1825 VA.? George settled in Smith Co. TN. about 1835 according to court records. Married 1850 Behethland "Betty" Frances BURTON b. 1826 VA., d/o Robert and Sarah BURTON of VA. Any help on this family would be appreciated and would gladly share my information. Thanks, Patsy Day-Ware

Good Evening In the 1830 Census none of the ones you mentioned are listed. Only a Martin Parks is listed for Amherst County Doug

Hello; Canterberry families show up in Fairfax County records as early as the 1740s. Perhaps earlier. These families moved through many counties or wound up in counties as the boundaries changed. Does anyone have any info on these families 1740 (or before) and following through to the early 1800s? Thank you for your time and attention.

I am new to this list and needs some real help. Until yesterday I was wondering if my great grandmother was an alien from Mars or some unknown galaxy. Seriously I knew she was but from documentation I have received she was born in four different states and in three decades. New found information had my great grandmother ELLEN F. FORD being born May 1856 in Virginia. Now that I know she didn't just pop into this world or come on a flying saucer I am looking for information on her family, parents, and siblings. If you have Ford info please check for her. Also I need a CENSUS look up for 1860 and 1870. She married in April 1872 in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Any help is greatly appreciated. If you look for her in census records you have access to please let me know where you looked so I will know at least where she is not at in Virginia. Thanks you for you help. Patricia

unsubscribe -----Original Message----- From: VAAMHERS-D-request@rootsweb.com <VAAMHERS-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: VAAMHERS-D@rootsweb.com <VAAMHERS-D@rootsweb.com> Date: Monday, October 30, 2000 6:56 PM Subject: VAAMHERS-D Digest V00 #197

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Va/Amherst/606 Surname: Miller, Woods ------------------------- Does anyone have any information on the marriage of Daniel Miller to Susan Woods on 11/28/1793 in Amherst County? I read that it was in Nelson County, except Nelson was not formed until 1807! Any information would be appreciated. Thanks, Bob Miller

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Va/Amherst/605 Surname: Patterson, Simmons ------------------------- I am looking for information on David Patterson b. 1763 in Bedford Co, Va. I have found him in the 1783 and 1785 Amherst census and he married Charity Simmons in Amherst in 1793. They moved to Rutherford Co, NC in 1800. They had 10 children. Charity died in Rutherford.

Am seeking information on the following: 1820 Amherst Co. Census (the only James listed) JAMES TAYOR (45+) female 45+ 1830 Amherst Co. Census JAMES TAYLOR (70-80) (one of two--the eldest) 1 female (40-50) 1 female (90-100) After visiting relatives, was told that James is somewhere "back." And that this line of Taylor's came from around Fredericksburg (?). Any information would be most appreciated. Thanks, Carol

I have the 1840 and 1860 census images for Amherst Co., VA. I would be happy to do lookups. But, there is a catch...please provide the page number...the lookup will be much faster...otherwise, it may take a while before I can scan through all the pages for each surname requested. Regards, Kelley http://lilyeag.home.mindspring.com

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Va/Amherst/603 Surname: Merchant, Merchants, Merchandt ------------------------- Hello list, I am still looking for information on Charles Merchant. Believe he was born in Bedford or Campbell Cty around 1827. Found him in Bedford Cty. Free Blacks & Mulattos Register in 1831, no info on him again until 1860 in Botetourt Cty. Census. Susposedly fathered children with someone named Harriet ??? Alfred b.1855 in Botetourt, Morris b. 1857, & Roderic 1859. Haven't found him as head of household in any census until 1870 Giles Cty. any help appreciated.

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Va/Amherst/602 Surname: thacker ------------------------- Looking for Nathan D. Thacker was married to Phoebe Denny on 15 March 1848. Nathan was born and died in Amherst Co., Va. They a son Charlie W. thacker who married Alice Cashabout 1870. Need help so far I can't find any thing on them. Help Gene Williams

Posted on: Amherst County Queries Reply Here: http://genconnect.rootsweb.com/gc/USA/Va/Amherst/601 Surname: Fitzgearld, Creasy ------------------------- IM looking for my great Grandmothers line. I know she and her parents were from the Amherst Co. area of Viriginia. She first Married a John W. Creasy at age 13yrs and had 3 small children and then was widowed at age 19 and later married my great grandfather William E. Walker son of W.H. Walker and Lucy S. ? of Botetourt Co.,Virginia then moved to Glasgow area of Rockbridge CO. VA I keep hitting alot of Walls with this side of the Family... If you have anything on this line I would love to hear from you . Thanks for your time and for looking! Smiles Always~ Timberly St.Clair Robertson Descendants of Alexander Fitzgearld 1 Alexander Fitzgearld / .. +Nancy S. / ......... 2 Frances Elizabeth Fitzgerald 1869 -/ ............. +John W. Creasey 1860 -/ .................... 3 Seaton Burks Creasey 1885 -/ ........................ +Mary Virginia Huffman 1893 -/ .................... 3 Lucy Creasey / ........................ +Chittum / ......... *2nd Husband of Frances Elizabeth Fitzgerald: / ............. +William Everett Walker 1873 -/ .................... 3 Ruby Belle Walker 1897 - 1988/ ........................ +Grover Cleveland St.Clair 1889 - 1961/ .................... 3 Margie Walker / .................... 3 Elsie Walker

If you can help, please respond to Aurcheray@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Wide Registry - http://adoptionsearching.com ChildLast = Mays ChildFirst = Donald Ray BirthMomLast = Mays BirthMomFirst = Ruby Leona County = Albermarle BirthDate = 3/25/51 BirthCertNum = Unknown FileNum = male Type = A Birth Sister (BS) email = Aurcheray@hotmail.com City = Charlottesville State = VA-Virginia Nation = Usa *adopteePublic = Yes ID = I am not sure Date = 25-Oct-2000 Comments = I am searching for any info I do not have the #s however I did view it only once. I do however have a adoption file # 14 519 It was handled through the Nelson county Social Services and everythin has been sealed I have been searching for years with know Success Message board ect... I need HELP and Am not sure what to do..Anxiously Waiting birthsister in Virginia

This is an adoptee in search but the area suggested to me that someone on the Amherst List might have clues for the searcher. Please reply to carpentercom@webtv.net World Wide Registry - http://adoptionsearching.com ChildLast = Johnson ChildFirst = Bernice Ann BirthMomLast = Johnson BirthMomFirst = Effie L County = Tazwell Co Virginia BirthDate = 6/16/61 BirthCertNum = 145-61-042604 FileNum = female Type = An Adoptee (AD) email = carpentercom@webtv.net City = Richland State = VA-Virginia Nation = Usa *adopteePublic = Yes ID = WWR972507577999.9999 Date = 25-Oct-2000 Comments = 327 harmons crk rd poca wv 25159 304-776-0472

Unsubscribe -----Original Message----- From: VAAMHERS-D-request@rootsweb.com <VAAMHERS-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: VAAMHERS-D@rootsweb.com <VAAMHERS-D@rootsweb.com> Date: Saturday, October 28, 2000 12:56 AM Subject: VAAMHERS-D Digest V00 #194

In the 1840 Amherst Co., VA census there is a Elenor SHEPHERD age 46. Does anyone have any info/connections to this Shepherd? I am looking for parents/siblings of my Elisha Shepherd b1834. Thanks, Kelley http://lilyeag.home.mindspring.com