By Joan Young

I start every morning with a long walk. While I'm walking I listen to music on the radio. The other day while I was walking, I was thinking about a topic for my February article and decided that it should revolve around Valentine's Day. At that moment the Taylor Swift song "Love Story" came on the radio and the lyrics "It's a love story, baby just say yes" got me to thinking about how large a role love and marriage play in our family history research. So, I had it...the perfect topic for a Valentine's Day article, love and marriage in our family trees.
 
One of my favorite personal family love stories is that of my great-grandparents, Job KIGER and Mary MCCONNELL. The 1860 census in Salem County, New Jersey, lists Job age seventeen, an apprentice farmer living on the farm of Joshua REEVES, Jr. in Mannington Township. In the same household was eighteen year old Mary MCCONNELL, a servant. (Mary's surname is listed as "MACOHAL" on the census -- this is probably how her name sounded to the enumerator. The census indicates Mary was born in Ireland and she most likely spoke with a brogue).
 
Within the coming year Job and Mary would marry and their first child, a son, would arrive. Five more children would follow. I'm told the couple was very devoted to each other and their happy marriage lasted until Job's death in 1899.
 
Mary (MCCONNELL) KIGER's obituary in the Elmer Times of Friday, August 13, 1915 gave me some clues to their love story and life together: "About fifty-five years ago she was united in marriage to Job Kiger, a young farmer in Mannington Township. A few years later they moved to the Upper Pittsgrove neighborhood where he continued to follow farming until his death sixteen years ago." "Mrs. Kiger was a robust, healthy woman up to the time of the Atlantic City disaster of July 30, 1896. She was on the train that was wrecked at that time and her back was painfully injured, and she suffered more or less from the effects of the injury to the time of her death. Her husband was with her and the shock, it is thought, hastened his death."  Mary's obituary paints a picture of Job as a devoted loving husband in "sickness and in health" as the marriage vows state -- a couple who shared their lives from their teen marriage until death parted them.
 
Have you examined your family history for stories of love, marriage and lifetime devotion? Have you found marriage records for your family members that might help others if you posted them on RootsWeb? Obituaries can tell love stories as in the case of my great-grandparents. Have you posted your family obituaries on RootsWeb? Not all obituaries are as informative as Mary KIGER's, but many obituaries, especially those from small town weekly newspapers, do tell us quite a bit about our ancestors' lives and marriages.
 
I posted Mary's obituary on the KIGER surname board at RootsWeb many years ago to share with other family members.
 
Valentine's Day provides a perfect reminder to dig out stories and records of love and marriage. Post them to the most appropriate message board and/or mailing list. Add the records and stories to your notes and sources in your family tree on WorldConnect.
 
To search the marriage records already submitted and included in RootsWeb's User Databases, start here.
 
Perhaps you have a database of marriages you would like to submit to be made searchable in RootsWeb's User databases? If so, go here to submit your data.
 
As you uncover new information about your ancestors, share what you have learned using the resources listed here for posting and submitting data on RootsWeb. After all, our devotion to our family history research is, in it's own way "a love story."  So "just say yes" to sharing these stories with others.

By Mary Harrell-Sesniak
“Genealogy is not just a pastime; it's a passion.”

One typically overlooked research subject, is the family reunion. And if RootsWeb's Message Boards are any indication, there is great interest.

RootsWeb has specific boards for reunion announcements, along with reunions held in various parts of the world, including Australia, Canada, England, Ireland and Scotland.  So venture out and explore these boards -- particularly if you trace to these countries. You might locate a reunion you're eligible to attend.

You can also search for information in the searchable indices, either from the main menu at Rootsweb.ancestry.com, or the Search tab.

When I search these or other archives (such as newspapers), I enclose phrases with quotes and add the surname and the most logical location. Sometimes reunions are hosted by family members in other areas, so try alternatives.

And you may wish to think like a reporter, by inserting terms that might have appeared in a headline.

• MacCrae “clan gathering” Wilmington
• Phillips “annual reunion” Denver
• Tarkington family meets
• “descendants of” [family patriarch]
• “50th wedding anniversary”

Try including the keyword “transcription”, as newspaper accounts may reveal,

• Where a reunion was held
• How many years it has been held
• Description of the event
• Who attended and where they lived
• Who was in charge / kept records
• Information on family ancestry (patriarch, immigrant ancestor, etc.)

Planning a family reunion for the summer? It's time to get started. Please visit these RootsWeb pages for assistance.

Family Reunion Center, a production of the Genealogy Forum.com and Golden Gate Services, Inc. of Armada, Michigan

Planning a Family Reunion by Eric McKinley-Brewer and Judy McKinley-Brewer

I have often heard it said that serendipity plays a role in genealogy research and I believe it absolutely.  I had been actively researching my family for about two years and had recently made contact with a distant cousin in England and had prepared a package of newspaper clippings, photos and other information to send to him.  We were both trying to contact mutual cousins in British Columbia but without success.  One Saturday morning I was with several friends having coffee.  None of them were involved in genealogy research but one had often expressed interest in the subject so I mentioned the package I had prepared and was planning to mail later that day.  In making this comment I had mentioned my cousin's surname. To my great surprise my friend said, "Oh, what a coincidence.  I used to live next door to people by that name when I was a teenager [more than 30 years earlier]."  The surname was relatively uncommon so I jokingly asked if, by any chance, she had lived in Dawson Creek, a town in the northeastern part of our province.  To my even greater surprise and delight she said, "Yes!".  It turned out that she had lived next door to the very family I had been trying to contact and, even better, my friend's mother still corresponded with the former wife of my 6th cousin and was able to put me in touch with their daughter.  She and I have corresponded ever since and she has been an invaluable source of information for myself and our English cousin. 

I recently broke through a 130-year old brick wall using a combination of oral family tradition, tons of web searches, numerous hunches, and ultimately confirmed using a 67-marker y-DNA testing from FamilyTreeDNA.

It was certainly one of the most exciting genealogical discoveries I've had, and hopefully it helps inspire others to try combining traditional genealogical research with genetic genealogy!

Read the full story here.

I noticed in the January Review’s main article a photo-copied document showing 'print-through' of the back face.  When photocopying a double-sided document, cover the rear face with a sheet of black paper.  A sheet of black paper can be produced by copying nothing with the lid open.

Your "Tips" column in the 12 January 2011 issue mentions the importance of data in family trees having sources listed.  I recently found that you also have to make sure those sources are valid.  A "leaf" on my tree in Ancestry.com suggested a tree for me to consider.  In that tree the person I was interested in was listed as having lived in widely different locations in each of several different census years, with the census records cited as sources. Curious, I looked at the sources and, in just a few minutes, found that the only thing they had in common was the name of that one person. Each had a different spouse and children in the family.

Have a story, question, genealogy resource, or tip you’d like to share with RootsWeb Review readers? Send it to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the editor or of RootsWeb.com.

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CAR = Children of the American Revolution
DAR = Daughters of the American Revolution
DUVCW = Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War
UDC = United Daughters of the Confederacy
USGW = USGenWeb

U.S.A.

• cahfhc — Hemet California)Family History Center
• ilavcem — Ambraw Valley, (Illinois) Cemeteries
• kyrcdar — Russellville Chapter (KY) DAR
• mnromgs — Romanian Genealogical Society of Minnesota
• msshrn — Southern Historical & Restoration Network (Mississippi)
• nvdar — Nevada State Society DAR
• nycberge — Bergen Town (New York) USGW
• nynhc — Newport History Center (New York)
• okwcgs — Washita County (OK) Genealogy Society
• orhhs — Huntington Historical Society (Oregon)
• paacduv — Annabell Clark, Tent 60 (PA) DUVCW
• pacrduv — Catherine Roche,Tent 59 (PA) DUVCW
• paduvcw — Pennsylvania State DUVCW
• pahmduv — Hannah Moore, Tent 32 (PA) DUVCW
• pajgduv — Julia Grant, Tent 57 (PA) DUVCW
• pamaaduv — Mary Ann Adams, Tent 40 (PA) DUVCW
• pamgduv — Madaleine Gilbert, Tent 23 (PA) DUVCW
• pamhduv — Mary Husband, Tent 58 (PA) DUVCW
• pamrduv — Mammy Ruggles, Tent 50 (PA) DUVCW
• parbduv — Ruth Barnhart, Tent 56 (PA) DUVCW
• pascduv — Susanna Cook, Tent 61 (PA) DUVCW
• paslduv — Susan Lessick, Tent 53 (PA) DUVCW
• passduv — Salome Stewart, Tent 55 (PA) DUVCW
• pawccar — Washington Crossing (WV) CAR
• tncsdiw — Tennessee Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars
• tnksudc — Kirby-Smith #327 (TN) UDC
• wasedtp — South East Washington State District Trails to the Past
• watcdar — Tillicum Chapter (WA) DAR
• wvbcdar — Blennerhassett Chapter (WV) DAR

International

• sctwigfc — Wigtownshire (Scotland) FreeCEN Project
• nzcdpdg — Comte De Paris Descendants Group (New Zealand)
• ontoxfor — Oxford County (Ontario, Canada)
• rusladar — Louisa Catherine Adams Chapter (Moscow, Russia) DAR

Some of these Web pages might not be accessible yet. They are created by volunteers, so if one that interests you isn’t up yet, please check again in a few days or next week. These sites are accessible at www.rootsweb.com/~xxxxxx, where xxxxxx is the account/site name.

Note that the ~[tilde] before the Web account name is required.
For example, the Hemet California)Family History Center web site is at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cahfhc/.

Request a Free Web Site Account.

New Surname Mailing Lists 

• AHLIA 
• JONES-AUST 
• KROENING 
• LETIZIA 
• MENNELL 
• STAGER 

New Regional Mailing Lists

• CENTRAL-HUNGARY — Mailing list for the genealogical research of the region Central Hungary or Közép-Magyarország. This region covers the county of Pest and the capital city of Hungary, Budapest.

• CENTRAL-TRANSDANUBIA — Mailing List for the genealogical research for the region Central Transdanubia or Közép Dunántúl of Hungary. This region covers the counties Fejér, Komárom-Esztergom, and Veszprém.

• CHERKASKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Cherkaska-Oblast in Central Ukraine.

• CHERNIHIVSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Chernihivska Oblast in Ukraine.

• CHERNIVETSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Chernivetska Oblast in Ukraine.

• DNIPROPETROVSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Dnipropetrovska Oblast in Ukraine.

• ESZAK-MAGYAROSZAG — Mailing List for researching the region of Észak Magyaroszág or Northern Hungary which covers the counties of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Heves and Nógrád.

• IVANO-FRANKIVSKA — Mailing List for genealogical research in Ivano Oblast in Ukraine.

• KHARKIVSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Kharkivska Oblast in Ukraine.

• KHERSONSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Khersonska Oblast in Ukraine.

• KHMELNYTSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Khmelnytska Oblast in Ukraine.

• KIROVOHRADSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Kirovohradska Oblast in Ukraine.

• KRYMSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Krymska Oblast in Ukraine.

• KYIVSKA-OBLAST — Mailing List for genealogical research in Kyivska Oblast in Ukraine.

• NORTHERN-GREAT-PLAIN — Mailing list for researching the region of Northern Great Plain or Észak Alföld of Hungary. This regions covers the counties of Hajdú-Bihar, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, and Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg.

• SOUTHERN-GREAT-PLAIN — Mailing list for the genealogical research of the region Southern Great Plain or Dél Alföld of Hungary. This regions covers the counties of Bács-Kiskun, Békés & Csongrád.

• SOUTHERN-TRANSDANUBIA — Mailing list for the genealogical research the region Southern Transdanubia or Dél Dunántúl of Hungary. This regions covers the counties of Somogy, Tolna, and Baranya.

• WESTERN-TRANSDANUBIA — Mailing list for the genealogical research of the region Western Transdanubia or Nyugat Dunántúl of Hungary. This region covers the counties of Zala, Vas, and Gyor-Moson-Sopron.

New Ethnic or Special Interest Mailing Lists

• None

To find or subscribe to a mailing list, or to search archived posts to more than 30,000 RootsWeb-hosted genealogy mailing lists, go here.

Request a Mailing List.

If you know of genealogically related volunteer opportunities please email Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

For a chance to see your ancestor’s photo in the RootsWeb Review, send it to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com. Make sure to include your name and a brief description of the photograph.

My grandfather, Amasa Suman Nestor, had twin brothers named Reed and Wright Nestor.  According to my granddad, his mom thought education was very important. They were born in Tucker or Preston County, West Virginia.  I remember them well and both were very pleasant people and lived to be very old. They and their wives had triplets and multiple sets of twins born to them.

I remember joking with my father about having a cousin named, "It", because he also had an uncle named, "Odd".  After research, I discovered that the uncle was actually named Matthew Audley and went by "Aud" or "Auddie".  It sure helps to see things in writing!  I now make sure of it when I quiz relatives for names in our family history.

A member of my extended Platt family, Lester Ward Platt (1814-1873) settled in Nebraska and became an Indian agent among the Pawnee and operated a trading post.  The Pawnee were amused that his name was the same as the Platte River, so they called him "Keatskatoos," which was their name for the river.  Lester went along with the joke and named his trading post "Keatskatoos."

Our research showed that our great-great-great-great-grandfather, Samuel Moore, had been buried in the Quaker Cemetery on Quaker Road in Norwich, Ontario.  My brother found the plot map at the local cemetery board, and sure enough, Samuel was on the directory, but there was no stone at the point shown on the map.  One Saturday in 1984, my father, Joseph Lorne Moore, and my brother, Jay, and I decided that we would go to the cemetery and spend the whole afternoon combing it for the headstone, inch by inch.  After several hours, we knew nothing more than before. The only thing I was sure of, was that I was hot and tired and miles away from any facilities where I could relieve my bladder!  Oh well, no one was watching, so I headed off behind some wild raspberry canes to get some relief.  Back there, I noticed one more stone lying face down in the grass.  With the personal motto of “leave no stone unturned,” I had no choice but to take a closer look.  Sure enough, this stone read, “Sam'l. Moore / O.T./ 1822 / E. 80 yrs.”. Nature had called me to find a treasure!

Found a funny name or humorous tidbit in old records, or an amusing entry in census, parish, church, or other records? Send these and other genealogy-related humor/humour items to Editor-RWR@rootsweb.com.

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The RootsWeb Review does not publish or answer genealogical queries, and the editor regrets that she is unable to provide any personal research assistance or advice.

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Permission to reprint articles from RootsWeb Review is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, provided:

1. the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and
2. the following notice appears at the end of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 9 February 2011, Vol. 14, No. 2