I forgot something else. Remember awhile back when we discussed mills in Augusta County we were wondering where they got their millstones? This character in this book made his, according to this author, but he didn't go into detail. So, this leaves me with an image of this man spending a long, long time flattening a rock and I believe it had to have a hole in the middle, didn't it? Migoodness! Norma

This was 1860, Neil - I missed the first paragraph - he says "...in the beginning was the wort-and the wort was a gruel of coarsely-ground maise and malted barley fermenting in a huge tub beside the still. Before sundown if all went well, the wort would become spirit. And the spirit, after a period of aging in an oaken cask, would be variously received among men as whiskey, bourbon whiskey-a reddish-amber distillate possessing the power to soothe, cheer, exhilarate, confuse, befuddle and stupefy." I'm not sure I understand wort, I thought I was following the process pretty well. In his bio in the back of the book it says he lived in NY and prided himself on his woodmanship, on his handling of small craft and on the fact, that at 62 he could still break 89 out of 100 clay pigeons. He wrote several books, should be found in a good library. I also forgot to mention the recipe for "Jugaree, a marvelous thirst quencher compounded of molasses, vinegar, ginger and water, cooled in a stone jug" which sounds like something a woman would make in the kitchen. I'd like to have this recipe with measurements if anyone ever runs across it. Yes, this is an interesting author, he probably has many more tidbits of historical trivia in these pages. Warm regards, Norma macbd1 wrote: > > Thanks, Norma, for sharing this valuable and interesting history info. I've never read a better description. Can you please check to confirm the 40 gallons of distillate from 10 bushels of corn and small grains? This seems a rather high yield but I've never made any. (I can 'dowse' for water in underground veins and lines.) What was the time-frame or setting for this book? This is needed for the following exercise. ><snip>

Thanks, Norma, for sharing this valuable and interesting history info. I've never read a better description. Can you please check to confirm the 40 gallons of distillate from 10 bushels of corn and small grains? This seems a rather high yield but I've never made any. (I can 'dowse' for water in underground veins and lines.) What was the time-frame or setting for this book? This is needed for the following exercise. Just for the exercise: 40 gallons @ $0.25/gal. = $10.00 sales value from maybe $1.00 worth of corn if corn could be sold at something like $0.10/bushel. That's $9.00 profit from about six hours work, a tidy sum in those days if my assumptions and math are correct. Does anyone know the actual market value of corn in the 1700's or early 1800's to check the accuracy of this exercise? I suspect most of our ancestors' corn crops were probably used for animal feed and for grinding into meal for consumption by the family -- but there must have been a grain market as well, I should think the local millers purchased grain for example. Thanks again, Norma, for sharing this informative info. Henry M. Robinson writes in a very descriptive style. I somehow get the impression he enjoyed the research for his book, "Water of Life." I mean this in a nice way in that he obviously wanted 'to feel' the life of his ancestor and tell others about that life of long ago. Neil McDonald

Hi-- Does anyone have access to the 1870-1880-1890-1900 Staunton VA census? Was it separate from the Augusta Co census? I'm trying to get info on my gg- grandfather Prof. John P. Koontz who came to this country from Switzerland in 1860 (perfect timing) and enlisted in the Staunton Artillery in 1861. He was still listed on the 1870 census as living in Staunton at the age of 45 (all I've seen is an abstract of this census). >From what I know of him, he had 3 children (1 son and 2 daughters) who were probably born in VA. His son (my g-grandfather John V. Koontz) moved to Tarentum PA at some point and John P. Koontz died in Tarentum in 1905. His obituary lists a daughter in NY and one in Philly, but these lines have been untraced. I'd be really interested in learning how long he remained in VA, when his children left, etc. Don't know much about him other than that he was a musician and used to play in the Staunton area after the war. (While in Switzerland he was involved in the 1848 War of Rebellion and taught music, dance & fencing.) He was also involved in setting up a military band at the Louisa Co. Courthouse. I guess he was deaf in his old age as a result of being next to artillery during the war which caused problems with his livelihood as a musician! I've just recently sent off for pension and military records from the Nat'l Archives but haven't received them yet. I have no proof that he was related to the other Koontz families in the Valley, but that would certainly explain why he chose to live in Staunton. Any/all help appreciated! Thanks-- Sharon

I have the same problems. And I found a lot of the links to be outdated, which further upset my computer! Emily in Alabama with the windows open.

CONTINUED: "While his cereal mixture simmered, ... (he) gazed at the tidy property he had hewn, single-handed, out of the wilderness: his house, a homesteader's cabin shaded by giant sycamores; his barn, high-peaked and cedar-shingled, with clapboards of weathered red; his grist mill perched on its mill pond like a tiny side-wheeled boat..." ...Under the sharp assault of fire, the mash had become a seething lava. Saffron-colored bubbles (yellow)rising from the bottom of the cauldron broke explosively, releasing vapors of dismaying, goose-necked cover over the top of his kettle. Barely was the cover in place when a deluge of rank oils and half-digested solids gushed from the spout. This, the foreshot, was the corn's angriest bile and must be allowed to spend itself in purgative retchings. Attracted by the fumes of the foreshot, Effie, the black sow, came snouting toward the kettle. She slurped up the foul puddle and snuffled eagerly for more. Cleaner vapors were now steaming from the goose-necked spout. ...(he) coupled it to the coil of copper tubing immersed in the wooden sluiceway. And now the miracle of distillation began. Alcohol-laden gases rising from the mash kettle passed along the cool inner surface of the worm. Here the disembodied essence of the corn was nebulized into a dew. And this dew, dribbling downward in tear-shaped drops, as hot and colorless as tears, was whiskey-liquid essence of the corn, tonic and pain-killer, opiate and elixir, elemental stain and universal solvent. As the trickle swelled to a small torrent, a very practical problem presented itself. At what point should he cut off the flow of whiskey? Opinions differed. Many local distillers eager for quantity, squeezed the last drop of liquor from their mash. Others, believing that the latter portion of the 'run' contained undesirable elements, cut off the trickle too soon. The real test of a distiller's judgment lay in his ability to select only the 'middle-run' for his whiskey. ...(he) removed the cover of his copper alembic and was almost asphyxiated by the fumes rising from its sourish slops. He ladled all but two gallons of these 'tailings' onto the ground (Effie slurped it up)... 'Got to save part of the 'tailings' for the next batch. ...the hot, unsavory slops were essential to the making of a sour-mash whiskey. Like the deer's muskbag which serves as the base of rare perfumes, these 'tailings' would impart a bouquet to the next batch of whiskey. By noon the barrel was about half full of corn liquor. ....he had been working steadily for 6 hours. (the story departs for a quick romantic picnic with his wife). ...While the September sun deepened from topaz to sepia ...(he) toiled at his still. Morning's exuberance vanished as the work leveled off to a plateau of repetition. Twice he charged his kettle; twice the cereal mixture bubbled into saffron froth and gushed from the goose-necked spout. Foreshort, middle-run and tailings. When the sepia light darkened to umber, the mash tub was empty and the oak barrel brimmed full. ...(he) had transformed ten bushels of corn and small grains into forty gallons of new whiskey. He scooped up an ounce or two of the colorless liquor with a small dipper and lifted it testingly to his lips. Like all raw spirit, the stuff in his barrel tasted like hog-wallow filth laced with caster oil. No matter. Tomorrow he'd run it through his still a second time, plane off some its 'rough corners.' Then, stored in an oak barrel, secret tinctures from charred staves would enter the whiskey and transform its pallor into a ruddy glow. ...(he foresaw) his whiskey would be generous-bodied in substance; hearty, but mellow, too; delicate, yet frank in its approach to the senses. He would use it in moderation to banish fatique, ward off winter chill, deaden pain and celebrate festive occasions-christenings, husking bees, the raising of new barn timbers. His neighbors lifting a friendly glass would inhale its fragrant bouquet, then drink with confidence-admiration even-as deep spoke to deep. ...he would pass his skills (when perfected) to his sons as part of their education in husbandry." I actually read this for errors, and I'm sure I could have picked the recipe out of all this dialogue but I thought it was said so well by this author I wanted to share it with you. Kind of gives you the feeling of being there making whiskey with this pioneer in Ohio, but I'm sure they did it the same way in all pioneer locations, and later in the hills looking out for "revenoors". I actually knew a moonshiner who played a fiddle like an angel, and his customers preferred what he made to what they could buy downtown. Norma

I learned another interesting thing in this book I just quoted. This author looks to be full of historic trivia. You know those chair sets women used to crochet right up through the 50's? They are called Antimacassars, I knew that, never knew why. You know a piece for the back of the chair and one for each arm? Men used to grease their hair with Macassar oil - thus anti-macassars - to keep the oil off the furniture. They greased their hair and wore those high starched collars that looked like they would cut your head off. They must have been as uncomfortable as women with hoops and bustles and stays - and the corsets pulled so tight you couldn't breathe - they couldn't breathe and they couldn't sit down. I think progress is a vast improvement. Norma

Hi Y'all - Terra made me feel guilty so thought I'd better add something to the list before you all forget me. Our discussion about stills in pioneer estates has had me wondering exactly how they built a still and what all the copper tubing was for, so I was thrilled to find a good explanation in a novel I'm reading, one of those 3 generation stories, by Henry Morton Robinson, copyright 1960 and reprinted 1978, title - "Water of Life" about a brewery family. I hope this doesn't raise havoc with the list, Mike, but from what I've learned to make a really good still required a little money so the poorest pioneers probably couldn't afford it. It seems to be something the larger plantations would do, using left over corn from their annual corn harvest once a year to make corn liquor that would last most of the year. And there was no waste in this process. Morton begins: "There was, of course a knack to making good whiskey. Even a skillful man using the best ingredients could produce a brutal liquor that made hog tracks all the way down your throat....." This man made his whiskey on the banks of the Ohio River in a fictitious county and he is touted a paid-up member of the oldest lodge in the world, the Ancient, Honorable and Self-Reliant Order of Husbandmen. He knew how to attract and capture a swarm of bees to take their honey, to dowse for water, and to make good, potable liquor. "...one could buy any quantity of the stuff for twenty-five cents a gallon - the only hitch being that a thrifty man with a cash income of seventy dollars a year didn't like to part with that kind of money. The usual practice was to lend a hand to some whiskey-making neighbor, borrow his 'receet', then go home and cook up a year's supply of whiskey at a cost of maybe two cents a gallon. Tax free, of course. ...the pot still that converts corn into alcohol has no moving parts. Distillation, like the seepage of glandular fluids into the blood stream, or the burning of oxygen in body cells, is as noiseless and mysterious as the chemistry of life itself. The belly (so to speak) of the still was a round-bottomed copper kettle supported trivet-wise by pylons of fieldstone. Past the kettle ran an inclined sluiceway of rough planks; cold water from the creek raced down this trough, eddied around a coil of tubing - an ingenious twist of copper known as the 'worm' - a device of singing fust below the wheel and lever in the choir of human inventions. ...maple bucket in each hand ...(he) began transferring the contents of his mash tub into the copper kettle...kindled the hickory faggots (under the pot) with a spark from his tinderbox ... and began stirring its contents with a barrel stave. " CONTINUED:

Same thing happened to me too.

Dear listers, I am annotating the 1860 Bath census with maiden names, and some have proved elusive. Does anybody know the maiden names (with sources, please) of the following women found in the 1860 Bath county census? I have checked Bath and Pocahontas county marriage records, Highland marriages 1847-1853, the post-1850 Rockbridge marriage book online, and am in the process of checking marriages in surrounding counties, but thought I'd check with fellow researchers also, since it seems like one of you must have these people in your files! (I've also checked Morton's History of Highland co. online for leads.) These are all names I have *not* sent to these lists before. The dates mean "married in or before this year", based on the age of their eldest child in the census. ADKINS, James & Virginia/Jenny/Jane, abt 1852 (not in >1850 Rockbridge bk) AILSTOCK, Levi & Elizabeth -1854 (not in Rockbridge >1850 bk online) BISHOP, William H. & Mary E. -1857 BLAKEY, Judson S. & Mary -1857 try Greenbrier (can't find in 1850) BRIDGET, James & Angeline -1855 (not in Ritchie or >1850 Rockbridge bk) BRIGHT, Peter & Elizabeth 1828-1846 BROOKS, George & Mary, -1848 BROWN, Elijah F. & Mary -1860 (not Rockbridge >1850 BRYAN/BRIAN, Cyrus P. & Mary, 1850-1860 try Campbell; not in Alleghany, Rockbridge BURKLEY/BERKLEY, John & Jane (Drumheller?) -1850 CLARK, John N. & __ -1854 CONNAUGHT, John & Henrietta -1854 DAWSON, George B. & Grizzey, -1848 DEMPSEY, John & Mary -1853 DRUMHELLER, John R. & Elizabeth 1840-1860 GIBSON, David & Elizabeth -1855 he old (2nd mrg), she young; not Rockbridge GILLEN, Norman & Patsy/Martha -1856 GOODE, Thomas & Mary Ann -1825 try Mecklenburg, Norfolk, Roanoke I'm offering free lookups in the 1850 VA and 1860 Bath/Highland census in return for any help, and a free annotated 1860 Bath census book (when it's published) if you send me 5 or more maiden names with sources. Thanks heaps for any help or pointers, Holly ------------------ Holly Wanless Cochran Please visit my 3 websites: Hollyhock Press: http://id.mind.net/~cochran/hollyhock/ My Wanless Family Genealogy: http://id.mind.net/~cochran/ralphdsc/ Wan(d)less One-Name Study: http://id.mind.net/~cochran/wanlessweb/

Terra: I'm sorry I didn't answer your query - I don't know what happened. I got very busy about then. I've started the Keinadt-Koiner List and am working on the USGW By-Laws Committee to make changes in the bylaws (anyone interested, please e-mail me privately). The real Imboden researcher on this list is Jim Blease and if he didn't see this I'll pass your info along to him. Thanks for your kind words about my list contributions. Sometimes I think my comments are very dumb, but I suppose we all feel that way about this hobby at times. I hope I've been able to help others, which is my way to repay all who have helped me over the years. We'll miss you, Terra, hope you come back. Good Luck! Norma DLux2BlueH@aol.com wrote: > > Augusta, VA Rooters: > > Well, ya'll.... every good thing must come to.... > Good News & Bad news::: > Good: I've found another SHINOE researcher/distant-cousin, who has helped me > find a more precise Virginia location on our SHINOE ancestry, for which I'd > been searching, a looooooong time! Yaaaahhhoooo! > Wish me gobs of good-luck on this line? I'll need every lil bit.<snip> > >

Augusta, VA Rooters: Well, ya'll.... every good thing must come to.... Good News & Bad news::: Good: I've found another SHINOE researcher/distant-cousin, who has helped me find a more precise Virginia location on our SHINOE ancestry, for which I'd been searching, a looooooong time! Yaaaahhhoooo! Wish me gobs of good-luck on this line? I'll need every lil bit. Bad: It's not Augusta region, or what this list covers. I will be unsubbing, at least for now, to focus on Shenandoa/WV border region. I found this "cousin" of mine via the "Common Treads" gensource.com query board. The board is dedicated to "brick-wall" and or "unusual-surnames". I have their searchable data-base linked to my Genealogy site (see signature). I thought it only fair to mention it and give Deb Kinnear & company the credit, because this line has been one of my biggest challenges. Boy, this list has been very helpful and informative! What a wonderful group of folks! I've enjoyed all the history, research tips and anecdotal vignettes! I want to THANK YOU for sharing, and wish you ALL the best genealogical and other successes! I'll see some of you on the other lists! Norma Lewis: I never received a response from you regarding your IMBODEN info. I guess my post got lost amongst all the replies to your long surname post--a couple months ago. The lady for whom I was inquiring has IMBODEN folk from Alsace-Lorraine. Her email addy is UMickey@aol.com Hope you two can combine your data for further enrichment of the IMBODEN story! Best of luck there. See you occasionally on the B-W list. I've enjoyed reading your posts, thanks! :-) Susi, THANK YOU for suggesting this list, and all the other gene-help you lend so generously. What a well-educated, colorful group of folk these are! I owe you and many of the group a debt of gratitude for enriching my empirical knowledge and appreciation for this region and it's glorious, rich history! Much love for that. See ya in the AoL-gene-haunts! <wg> Perhaps I'll find some lines crossing back into Augusta, in future, and will gladly resub to this great list. Regardless:::::::: Special THANKS to our Listowner! Ya'll continue to be resourceful and kind to each other--behave your genealogical selves!! Don't forget to Document Your Own Generation! & Most of all.........ENJOY THE JOURNEY !! !! God Bless! _-_-_ Terra Lux Nor. California e-mail: DLux2BlueH - AoL Unum1DLux@hotmail.com - Internet IRC: DLux2 - rootsweb.org, dalnet, newnet, undernet & others. ICQ: 22006125 - (rarely, due to software conflicts/bugs!) Web: DLux Genealogy "Unum" Family Heritage Home! URL: http://members.aol.com/dlux2blueh/Unum.html -_-_-

-----Original Message----- From: VAAUGUST-D-request@rootsweb.com <VAAUGUST-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: VAAUGUST-D@rootsweb.com <VAAUGUST-D@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, February 28, 1999 1:14 AM Subject: VAAUGUST-D Digest V99 #69

I'm seeking information concerning the parents and siblings of Sarh PRICE. Sarah was born about 1749 at Fairfax Co., VA. She married Edward Cunningham 15 June, 1770 at Fairfax Co., VA. Sarah died 24 Dec., 1800 at Peora, Bingamon Creek, Harrison Co., (W)VA. Thank you in advance . . . Charlotte Chhehn@aol.com

I realize this is a VA list, but I have not had any luck on the PA list and I am wondering if any one of you tell me where I might find information on Camp Prekanies/Preckaniss? Any help on this would be greatly appreceiated, Bev Rogers The information I have is: Robert Hamilton, transferred to 10th P. Co, Pensylvania Line, Jan 1780. Colonel Richard Humpton, Commanding >From a return of the 10th P. regiment attached to 1st Battailion. Camp Prekanies. February 11th 1780. N.B. Field Officers. Lieutenant Colonel Olney, Major J. Reed. Captain Robert Hamilton. (Major Co.) Comm. May 9th 1780. Bravetted to Major. in New Eleventh 1781 Vol. 2 6th series. page 856. and from records of the Eleventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Line. Discharged at Camp Prekanies/Preckaniss, March 15th 1783.

Harley: A friend of mine and Koiner researcher, is reading tithe tax records at LDS from the beginning through about 1850 and we've been wondering the same thing. From our knowledge of where our families lived, it seems tax district 1 was the Northern half and covered Staunton and part of Fishersville (South of Staunton), and our family living near Mt. Solon were also in district 1, so it looks like they divided the county in half at Fishersville - maybe straight across east to west, and Waynesboro was in district 2. In the 1850 and 1860 census my family living in Sherando are in district 1, so I don't know if they followed tax districts or the census districts were different. Norma "Harley L. Miller" wrote: > > I have two questioons for anyone in the group. > > 1. Where was the dividing line between the Northern and Southern tax > districts in 1830? > > 2. With what church and location was the Minister William King > associated about 1800-1820? > > TIA > > Harley L. Miller hmiller@sound.net > > ==== VAAUGUST Mailing List ==== > **************************************************************** > The Augusta County mailing list page has instructions on how to > subscribe and unsubscribe from the list > Visit it at: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~vapulask/augustaquery/augustalist.htm > ***************************************************************

I have two questioons for anyone in the group. 1. Where was the dividing line between the Northern and Southern tax districts in 1830? 2. With what church and location was the Minister William King associated about 1800-1820? TIA Harley L. Miller hmiller@sound.net

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------D90060939D805651E7B0D7A9 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit unsubscribe --------------D90060939D805651E7B0D7A9 Content-Type: text/x-vcard; charset=us-ascii; name="vcard.vcf" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Description: Card for Lynda Troutt Murphy Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="vcard.vcf" begin: vcard fn: Lynda Troutt Murphy n: ;Lynda Troutt Murphy email;internet: ladyxx@roanoke.infi.net x-mozilla-cpt: ;0 x-mozilla-html: FALSE version: 2.1 end: vcard --------------D90060939D805651E7B0D7A9--

Does anyone have any info on the WARD family of Augusta Co., VA or there abouts? Thank You Susane

The following query was posted to the Augusta County Query Page on Thu Feb 25 15:17:53 1999 PLEASE ADRRESS YOUR REPLY TO: motorhomer@yahoo.com (Sally Staley) I am looking for information on Elizabeth Price born @ 1750-1761 in Augusta Co . Her father was Michael Price. She married William Lucas. At least one child was born in Augusta. His name is Capt. John Lucas I think. PLEASE ADRRESS YOUR REPLY TO: motorhomer@yahoo.com (Sally Staley)