I have forwarded a message to the List from Jim Woolford which never reached it - please reply directly to him or to the list [ Peter Lowe] Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 23:35:24 -0600 From: Jim W <icspots@owc.net> To: "WOOLFORD-L-request@rootsweb.com" Hello Woolford researchers. I am happy to have found this surname mail list and hope it will be helpful and entertaining--what a great way for us to zero on on a common interest. My name is Jim Woolford. I live in Woodstock Illinois and have pursued family history for better than 10 years. I would like to let you know how someone with very little information was able to find "needles in haystacks". My father, Henry Woolford, did not know the origin of our name. His father, Henry Sr. was killed in action in the 1st World War when my dad was an infant. Although he had Aunts and an Uncle in Green Bay Wis., no earlier ancestor information was known. It more or less wasn't talked about much in those days. I started poking around the historical libraries in Wisconsin. I found some census data which gave some info, but the real find was mention of my great grandfather William Bassett Woolford in a book dated 1895 which contained biographical sketches of individuals in Brown County Wisconsin. I obtained a copy of the sketch and it was pure genealogical pay dirt!! It contained his entire family, that he was born in Dayton Ohio, had lived in Palatine Illinois ( a mere 25 miles from my home), and also included background about his parents ( my G G Grandparents) William Woolford and Eunice Fairchild Smith. The sketch stated that William was from Wiltshire and that he had learned railway surveying. Eunice was from Sandusky Ohio. It continued to say that William and Eunice were alive and well in Rockford, Minnesota. It even gave religious affiliations and other bits of info where they had lived and what work he had done. I eventually went to Rockford Minnesota. There were no Woolfords in the area. The local newspaper publisher suggested I talk to an Old Timer. He sent me to another person and that lady knew the Woolfords well. They'd left the area but she had addresses in California. I contacted them and then things really snowballed. Suddenly I was in direct contact with Woolford cousins in Canada, and several states. I was invited to a family gathering in Swan River Manitoba put on by the Woolfords living there. I took my youngest son and it was a wonderful experience in my life. We have had several reunoins and get togethers since. We have located ALL the decendants of William and Eunice Woolford. Before you think you have heard the whole story, there's more. My curiosity led me to Wiltshire. I concluded from studying IGI's, census records, Mr. Greenslade's (YES!) birth and death records, that my ancestor was born in Haydon Wick Rodbourne Cheney Parish Wiltshire. It appears that prior to Rodbourne Cheney, they were in Highworth. I went to Swindon in 1993 and found Woolford cousins. We established that we were 3rd cousins. We are are great friends and cousins. Our families have since visited back and forth several times. I also attended a meeting of the Wiltshire Family History Society during my first visit. I am still looking for Wiltshire information on any Woolford connections. I would be happy to share any information I have with any others. I have Family Tree Maker. Hope to hear from others and good luck everyone in your researching endevors.