"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! July 24th-26th, 2020 [closed]

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CHANGE TO BEST ANSWER PROCESS:  After much discussion we have come to the conclusion that all answers in the Weekend Chat are of equal importance and weight.  So we are going to discontinue the Best Answer portion as it adds points and then takes them away from posters and is causing some hurt feelings.  So in the interest of everyone is equal and valued we will delete any best answers given which will deduct those points because it has been pointed out that to give everyone best answer is also not a viable option. 

Weekend Chat is for everyone. It's a place to catch up on what people are up to and to share what you've been doing.  New members can say hello, introduce themselves, ask questions, and meet each other.  Our seasoned members can share progress or successes from their projects, give tips and advice, or chime in on hot topics.

Post as many answers and comments as you wish. It doesn't hurt anyone to post a lot and enjoy the multitude of topics.

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WikiTree profile: Pip Sheppard
closed with the note: Great to be back. Thanks for your participation!
in The Tree House by Pip Sheppard G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
closed by Pip Sheppard

Welcome back to another Weekend Chat, my fellow WikiChatterers! And greetings once again from Cathey’s Creek along the banks of Spanish Oak Creek where the grass is wet from heavy morning dew and afternoon thunder storms. It’s been a long two weeks since our last Chat, and it’s great to be back together.

On the Home Front: It’s been a busy week trying to keep up with the weeds that have taken over our flower beds. Very hot and rainy, and we are just not young enough to work as long as we used to. A little at a time is all we can muster in our four flower beds.

We had a tree service over to get the ones that had already fallen into the stream plus those that were in danger of doing so. We also had them take down quite a few trees that were leaning in and/or dying on the other side of the property. This was a really professional crew, a second-generation family working at it. It looks like we have more property than we did!

We also acquired the plans to my late mom’s house and will modify them to suit us. We love the layout of Mom’s house, the open spaces especially. We will make the two guest bedrooms a little larger, relocate the fireplace and make a longer back deck. The master suite will stay exactly the same.

On the Genealogy Front: It’s been a good week. My younger brother Timothy, a WikiTree member, went up into his attic and found several boxes that belong to us that have some real gems in them. Once box had some letters that my mother-in-law wrote to her husband during World War II. Another had some old pictures, and another had my very old genealogy files, including the one my grandfather created long before I was born. There’s no real genealogy purpose to the file (my research has gone well beyond that), but the fact that my grandfather, who I loved dearly, created it makes it valuable to me.

I participated in the Connect-A-Thon this past weekend. I had a list of 35 unconnected profiles to work from and only got two of them connected. It turns out that one of these was connected to several families whose surnames I already knew. These surnames were on the several of the buildings of the college I attended for my undergraduate work: Hamrick (the old auditorium now on the National Historical Register), Dixon (the student center while I was there), Royster (the tiny hospital that is now a dorm), Elliott, Lutz (my dorm for three years), etc. I also ran into surnames of people who I went to school with there. It was rather nostalgic for me.

I learned some geography through my work, places like Double Shoals (where the first cotton mill was built in Cleveland County), and Knob Creek (well known for an orchard there), and in the process of the work was able to create a few cemetery categories. And, I had to work at remembering when counties were created and where the lines were drawn! Ugh!

And while I didn’t do very many biographies, I can hardly pass up doing one for a child who died young. Here’s one for Floyd Pierce Cline I completed. It was a family tragedy.

Continue to do what you need to do to stay safe!

Enjoy the Chat!

It was a race against time pulling weeds for me on Wednesday. My dad asked me to weed the garden and we were looking down the barrel of a loaded thunderstorm. So, I basically did a scorched earth policy on the weeds. No plants were pulled up thankfully. And remember that cucumber plant I nicked? It's still alive and has a cucumber on it! YES! I didn't kill it! HAHAHAHA!

We definitely have some hot peppers growing, though. And basil. And tomatoes. You want some? I mean I don't think it'll travel well.....

laughPip, YOUR HOME LANDS -- I was going to ask about all these houses and lots and trees and renovations and decided not to (for clarification) since it is idle curiosity ... As long as youse two are clear about which is which, that's all that's necessary

GENEALOGICALLY I've sorted out who was married, or not married, to whom in order to sort out whose child is this questions ... 

laugh I think the most difficult expectation to confront is that for some reason I expect those who came Long Before to have been high minded, moral, ethical, proper ... and for every three or four relatives who appear to have "behaved properly", there's one that turns the whole thing upside down and stomps on propriety ....  I keep thinking about the impact all of this impropriety has on any children they had 

Ah, well, it's 24th Jul and a week  to go counting today and I have 2300+ "contributions" (some of these profiles were complicated) and nearly 2300 profiles 

Nice woman contacted me to say how was it possible for a man born and died in 1914 to have 3 wives ... so I replied he'd been hidden in a witness protection program and she'd outed him so now we'd have to move him again and craft another identify for him ... and correct this one profile to reflect the facts of wives -- bless her, she thought that was funny and laughed  ...  

I didn't want to admit to a major operator error in data entry. 

That was Thomas James Clanton - WikiTree Profile ... with his two wives .. I never noticed a 3rd one ...  I was grateful to not have "a dozen" children to also profile ... one wife had a prior husband 

Chris, I lost the race against today's thunderstorm. I got three of five threes in the ground before I finally got scared enough to go inside.
Susan: witness protection program. Now that's funny!
The Carolinas definitely got some wild weather. Last night during my friend Nash's stream, I heard some thunder. He lives in South Carolina. Be careful out there!

Thanks for hosting, Pip.

Sounds like you've been busy. Designing a house is a big task. We had our house designed exactly the way we wanted it and still love it 20 years later. Since you have a basic floor plan, might I suggest that you have all the doors, at least those on the main floor, made wider than standard. We did 3 foot wide in order to accommodate wheel chairs. Designing in features to make life simpler as you age is less expensive when done during building than if you have to retrofit. At the time we thought we each had a parent headed toward needing a wheelchair. We also decided that we needed to be able to live entirely on the main floor. We also had friends that had mobility problems. We also did a barrier free shower in the master suite where a wheelchair could just roll in and even turn around. We followed principles from what is called universal design. Anyway, have fun.

You're back!....Pip....Remember you said you were going to be away last weekend....where'd you go?.....the lawnmower races?....how'd that go for you?.....Who all went with you?   Jack

surprise Pip, I discovered SJ Baty and I are 19C1R and there's uncertainty about that ... Thomas Stanley KG had two daughters (cited as having these two) Margaret (Stanley) Gray and Ann (Stanley) Molyneux (my line) devolving through my mother's lineage (there's DAR on both parental lines) 

Now and then the thought crosses my mind, only to be dismissed, that the interest in and devotion to the pursuit of data for lineage is genetic, written somewhere in chemical letters and numbers ...   

blush Well, Pip, I USUALLY catch my error about DOB, DOD, or the computer does, but why would Computer question an infant's demise?  and if the Computer had to assess every death that appeared to happen before age 13/14 for instance, I hesitate to describe what effect that would have on equanimity those PM whose primary activity is creating profiles ... 

But I can say I'm very glad she said something about this, you cannot imagine how gratifying it is to find out someone is ACTUALLY reading your works ... 

Doug, those are really good suggestions, especially wider doors. My mom's home was two-storey, and we are just not into stairs at this stage of life. The shower access is a cool idea. I'm writing all these down.

@Chris     My favorite time to weed is after a storm when the roots just slide out of the ground.  

@Pip   You just keep finding family treasures!    As to designing the new house,  what fun to build a home to your own lifestyle. Sounds like your goals match your wife's.    In our household,  my husband is looking for a cave and I'm looking for a greenhouse.

A greenhouse. That is in our plans.
Pip my 2nd gr. grandfather David Christian Swadly helped found Knob Creek and the Church of the Brethern there in 'town'.  I loved visiting Tennessee and always hated to leave. The farm remained in the family until the 1950's.  :-)

41 Answers

+21 votes
My son is getting married this coming Monday.  Due to the
group conventions during the pandemic there will only be a small family gathering.  Ten people.  Maybe it should say fourteen, according to a phone call I received, I have to be the best man (former one was just diagnosed and is in quarantine), matron of honor, ring bearer, and flower girl.
This is a second marriage for both of them and the embargo on travel between Canada and the United States
has given them all kinds of problems.  No physical contact since the middle of March and the restrictions of going to Canada will probably continue until late fall.  There was a loop hole that allowed her to FLY into the states so she came a week ago and they are whirlwind planning a very small ceremony.  She will return to Canada after a week of honeymoon.  I feel so sorry for them to have to start off
married life with these restrictions.  I wish them a long and happy married life when they can get it started.
by Beulah Cramer G2G6 Pilot (565k points)

yes Beulah, that's one marriage that will be memorable for a whole slew of relatives since you will be matron of honor, best man, ring bearer AND flower girl ... worthy of a Epic Saga Newsletter ... I am certainly going to remember it and tell others, yeah, I knew someone who served well beyond the usual and customary ... my goodness I am impressed very much impressed ... I congratulate you !! 

There will only be bride and groom; me, mother of groom; his two sons; sister of groom; her three daughters.   The crew she has to record the doings may outnumber the family.  They hope to record it for family and friends in Canada and church doings later.  It will be near the county clerks office where they got the license.  I think they may plan on a bigger celebration when things clear up later.
Well, Beulah, I'm glad to know that even in the midst of this mess, they can still pull it off. You'll have to tell us all about it next weekend.
Beulah, congratulations to the family on the marriage. It is nice to know that 'happy occasions' can continue to occur in the midst of mayhem. I hope the gathering, small though it may be, has a wonderful time and makes wonderful memories!
Beulah: Congratulations to your son and your family. I look forward to hearing about the ceremony.
Beulah,

Congratulations to your son! Many wedding plans have been disrupted.   Your son's  long separation from the bride seems more harsh that what most go through.

I'm going to a family wedding in two weeks.   It's being designed to allow the more vulnerable to  witness the ceremony  (The ceremony is on the front porch of a very large estate,  where everyone is social distancing in the yard)..... after the ceremony pictures are taken.  Then the older family members plan to leave.  Some younger people  will be a little less cautious.  There will be a large tent,  out door bathrooms  (no one is allowed in the house),  a band,  food and drinks will be served by the caterer.   There's plenty of room for social distancing.

We're a family that enjoys hugs..... but that's definitely out.  I'm traveling there with the groom's  85 year old grandmother and we're leaving before the "less cautious" stage.
Congratulations to the Mom of the Groom!! My best wishes for a lovely wedding - and one not to be forgotten!
Beulah, chin up, tummy in, you are fulfilling four roles (I'm still majorly impressed by that fact) and it's still worthy of a Saga Epic Newsletter summing up 2020 ... Written tween Dec 26 and Jan 1st and mailed out (emailed posted etc etc) by Jan 5th ... have to admit the Honeymoon isn't exactly full of honey, but ... I have a cousin whose son married and they went to Mexico for their Honeymoon of 3 nites & 4 days and the hurricane hit and they sheltered in place in the lobby along with dozens of other tourists and the staff and... 15 days later they managed to catch a very lucky ride out of there to the States, which cost them even more  and wearing same clothing they came with (dirty) and some pounds lighter (both of them) and unkempt in general ...

if you truly want the temperament of someone tested drop them into the middle of a disaster and see how they deal with it ...
Congratulations to you and your family. It certainly will be memorable.

Best wishes to the new blended family.
These two have put up with Canada not allowing any travel between the United States citizens and Canada unless it is
considered essential or commerce since the middle of March.  Phone calls and zoom visits have had to suffice.
Once the honeymoon is over she will again go back to Ottawa and he will remain in New York State.  She is still
working so she can't stay here and keep her job.  I think he will be moving to Canada this fall if he is allowed to. The job market is much better there than Northern New York.
Congratulations! Best wishes to them and you!
Making the best of times during the worst of times, congratulations to you all!
As cousins, both, my wife Kathy and I, would like to extend our best wishes to you, Beulah, and the about to be married couple.   Jack and Kathy
Thank you to everyone for the very warm congratulations and good wishes extended by my wikitree family.  The "kids" will receive them tomorrow at the lunch.  I know they will appreciate them so I am extending their thank yous to every one today.  Tomorrow will be too late for the Weekend Chat readers.
+21 votes

Thanks for hosting, Pip.  Summertime travel has been more limited than in past years, but I have been able to enjoy some day trips in New Hampshire and Maine as the two states have opened up again somewhat.  I first went to the NH Lakes Region and visited Wolfeboro, where I walked a portion of the Cotton Valley Rail Trail.  The trail connects downtown Wolfeboro to Wakefield, some 12 miles away, but I just walked the first couple miles and got in great views of Lake Wentworth.  I later visited Harpswell and enjoyed great views of the Maine coast from the various peninsulas and islands there.

I also participated in the Connect-a-Thon this past weekend.  I'd say the highlight of the event was discovering a notable cousin, Belgian-American economist Robert Triffin, who is apparently my 2nd cousin, three times removed.  I also spent some time trying to get North American branches of the global tree more closely connected to the European ones.  This was mostly done through marriages in Paris between wealthy Gilded Age American families and French aristocrats.

by Greg Lavoie G2G6 Pilot (368k points)

Howdy, Greg! That Cotton Valley Rail Trail sounds wonderful, so much so I had to look it up! I'm really missing great stuff by not traveling more. There is still so much to see in America that I haven't seen before.

The trails on your day trips sound incredible!

We too have been taking short 2 night trips and trying to enjoy new trails in  NW Georgia and  eastern Tennessee.  It's a wonderful and safe way to  "get out of the house";  which seems to be the only way we quit working on home improvement projects.
+20 votes
Greetings from Everett, Washington!

Rain has returned after intermittent sunny days in the 80s.  It's too rainy to mow the lush lawn where I let the two dogs frolic in the early morning.  A walk to the end of the block reveals the many items our neighbors have "kicked to the curb" (if there were curbs on our street).

My husband has undertaken the yeoman task of reducing the number of storage boxes in our back rooms, sitting in the carport all day with his phone camera (to record the items we are disposing of), box cutter, trash bags and trash cans.  He has got me involved, although this is a task I shudder at, not knowing what former lives might reappear in the form of letters, mementos, stuffed toys, etc.  

Value Village, Goodwill and places like it are popular these days, as many of our neighbors and fellow citizens are doing the same thing.  I've waited in line twice, in the hot sun, to dispose of clothing bags, etc., and observed carefully what other people are giving away.

In the process, some genealogy items have reappeared.  A notebook on my mother's Schilling family, containing a memoir of my great-grandfather in his own words. A box of my uncle Cecil's stuff with his letters and attempts at family history.  A fancy scrapbook I started, called "Wisconsin in the Depression."  I anticipate more.  I want to find my other great-grandfather's original Oregon Trail diary.

I turned in another quilt on Monday, returned home with batting, and more fabric that had somehow hitched a ride with me. How does that work?

I am pumped that baseball returns tonight, in whatever form.

The Connect-a-Thon was a delight.  I worked from the Unconnected list and followed the rabbit holes wherever they led.  I was able to connect 4 or 5.  I like the thrill of discovery.  At one point I was in first place in my team, but soon learned that I didn't have the volume of profiles to enter that others did.  Also, I couldn't sit after a while.  I developed a vascular problem with my s(#)itting area.  (That could be either the word "sitting" or another word that has one more letter).  The vascular problem is still with me but bothers me only intermittently, like the rain.

Stay dry this week, and connect on!
by Margaret Summitt G2G6 Pilot (315k points)
Hi there, Margaret! You know that when you visit a fabric place with no intention to by any, the fabrics know this, and they conspire to slip into your shopping cart!

And you also know that no mater what good intentions one has to get rid of stuff, a person will find something that will bring back a memory and end up staying instead of leaving.I feel for you.
And don't forget the fabric is like a star fish.  If you cut off a part it regenerates itself.  You have to put the scraps in the trash just a second ahead of the garbage collector picking them up.  You are lucky.  Our sharing and caring leader has not had a meeting since March and we will not be meeting until at least Sept., after the summer break.  She has not had quilts to give out to the organizations and now will probably have a truck full when we do get to her.
+20 votes

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

How is everyone? 

On the genealogy front, I'm still feeling the effects of the Connect-a-thon. I created a hefty 50+ profiles and even though I was supposed to be on Team Canada, I created mostly Italian profiles. What? No one said I HAD to create Canadian profiles. We didn't have a team Italy and Greg said it was cool. So there. 

I was on one of the midnight streams with Sarah and the gang. Good times. You can see the craziness here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuoGAEJ_Sy4

This is basically what happens when you let the younger set take the wheel. MWAHAHA! 

I created profiles for the following categories:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Gesualdo%2C_Avellino 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Italians_in_Haverhill

Almost at 100 for Gesualdo. Trust me those will be exceeding 100 some day. Seriously. Italians in Haverhill will have a modest amount. I've been starting with the people connected to me at least. So there's 25 out of 39 people.

I also have two new blogs to check out. Here we have Newsworthy: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2020/07/52-ancestors-week-29-newsworthy.html

And the old country: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2020/07/52-ancestors-week-30-old-country.html

Had fun writing both. I hope you enjoy 'em!!

I also scanned and edited a pic from my great-grandparents' Austin Felker and Henrietta Legault's 50th wedding anniversary from November of 1963. https://www.wikitree.com/photo/png/Felker-441-1

So many things happened that year. Avengers and X-Men debuted. So did Doctor Who. And of course the Kennedy assassination. It's weird to think about. They are at the party unaware of what was going to happen as it most likely took place four days before the incident in Dallas. 

Just surreal to think about, ya know?

On the non genealogy front, we are getting ready to have my brother and his fam over. Masks will be worn. Activities will be planned. Crazy times will be had. Not to mention Eggplant parmesan will be made!

by Chris Ferraiolo G2G6 Pilot (756k points)
Nice photo, Chris!  (And of course the events you mention are linked... the Doctor Who premier was delayed because of JFK.)
Thanks, Lis!  =D Yep. Doctor Who premiered November 23rd, 1963. And thus began the story of a daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away.

1963 was a big year for many, many reasons.
The Kennedy assassination over-shadowed another notable death: that of Clive Staples Lewis.

Nice work on the blogs. Are any of the photos new discoveries?
Hey Chris!

I have ancestors from Scarmagno, Torino, Piemonte, Italia! So...glad you did work in Italy! Prego! (not the sauce)
Wow, that's way up there. =D Graziemile! =D

@ Pip: Not yet. Haven't discovered anything totally new, yet.
+19 votes

Happy weekend, everyone!  Muggy and stormy here; we were going to have a socially distanced lunch on the deck with my in-laws, but postponed on account of "geez, look at the radar."  Have to run to the hardware store later.  We got a new dryer delivered last week but didn't have the right size connectors to hook it up to our gas line.  I bought parts but then discovered they're the wrong size, so back to the store today to get the right parts so we have them when the installation crew arrives (again) tomorrow.  

The big news is that I've been able to go skating twice!  The rink is open, but only for small numbers of people in lessons/classes with a coach.  Our class is back up and running.  Still getting my legs back under me but it was nice to be back on the ice.  Hopefully it'll last and they won't need to shut down again.

Genealogy:  Wow!  Having lots of fun this week.  I started to dive back into my Killingsworth mystery and started looking more at Annie's kids and then her husband William Bangs and his sibs.  Stumbled across something really cool.  I found a ship's crew roster at Ancestry that lists William's brother Eli Bangs, Jr.  Turns out he was on a whaling ship from 1856-1861 as a cooper, and kept a journal/log that was donated to a whaling museum, scanned, and made available on Archive.org.  I'm now reading through about 160 handwritten pages of ship records (whales caught, crew fights, etc.), but apparently he had a lot of time on his hands because there's also poetry, philosophical musings about life and religion, and a bit of family history.  He says their father Eli Bangs, Sr. also spent a few years on a whaling ship, so now I'm chasing that info down.  I also found a 1977 newspaper article about Eli Jr.'s granddaughter donating a huge scrimshaw piece he made to that same museum.  Have to find out if it's actually on exhibit.  Next up:  adding some of this to his WikiTree profile.

by Lisa Hazard G2G6 Pilot (263k points)
Skating is something I wish I could do. No balance at all. =/ Hope you had a great time. And it seems you are on top of finding all kinds of records.

Whaling ship, huh? ....Did he see a Klingon bird of prey decloak? Haha. Sorry. Been watching Star Trek IV: Save the Whales aka the Voyage Home.
What a cool discovery, Lisa! So, Eli, Sr. is the new find, or are you just finding out more information about him?

You getting prepped for the fall semester? Have they made a decision about how y'all are going to handle it?
Eli, Sr. isn't new; in fact, that line goes all the way back to PGM immigrant Edward Bangs (my grandmother called him EdwardBangsThePilgrim, practically all in one breath).  It's the spouses that are giving me fits for three generations back.  Annie Killingsworth, Mary Schuck, and Lois Barnwell are various levels of mystery.  So anything I can find out about their spouses William, Eli, and Eliakim Bangs (and siblings) might help break those brick walls.

I'll be teaching online in the fall (need to prep!); the university is still planning to offer a mix of options.  Some classes will have an in person component, others won't.  The last two weeks are fully online for everyone so students don't travel for Thanksgiving and bring Covid back to campus.

Lisa you have a rich family history there, whalers and all and to have the actual items from their own hands (displayed etc) where they can be at least seen ... very rich indeed 

Susan, I'm ridiculously excited about it.  So cool to see his own writing.  (I also just discovered that I may be able to get Civil War pension records for both William and Eli, Jr.  A bit more run-of-the-mill but still potentially very useful.)
What a great find! Hope it helps with the brick walls.
Wow how cool to read the diary. Hope it's full of fun discoveries.
+19 votes
Good morning! Happy Friday!

Pip, thank you for hosting!

It's been hot and humid here in north Georgia. The grass grows, my husband mows.

My husband had a face-to-face encounter with a bear earlier in the week because he was leaving the bird feeder out at night. Fortunately, neither my husband nor the bear were hurt during the encounter. Needless to say, husband is no longer leaving the bird feeder out at night.

Covid-19 is hitting our county hard right now. We are being very careful and doing all the things recommended. Georgia is conducting early voting for its run-off election. Although we requested ballots by mail, after completing them we decided to deliver them in person. It was nice to see my former co-workers and meet a couple of new people. They are being very cautious--you have to present your photo ID at the door for it to be disinfected, you have to stay apart inside the voting area. Masks are not required to be worn by voters, but all the poll workers are wearing them (and we wore ours, of course!)

On WikiTree each day, I check on my "anniversary list" profiles. After I do any maintenance work on them, I primarily work on adding more Hildreths to our world-wide tree. There are many of them. Just clicked over my 1000th contribution for July this morning.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!
by Nelda Spires G2G6 Pilot (554k points)
Hi there, Nelda! We've had a pretty severe uptick in Corona cases lately, mostly from the tourists visiting. Before they started arriving, we have very low numbers.

Good for you for getting #1000! It was the Thon that really helped me out. Lately, most of my contributions were coming during my Greeter shifts.
Pip, I'm sure the tourists have brought some of the virus with them when they come, but the newspaper says our latest "spreader" events have been church revivals and 4th of July gatherings. I didn't do the CAT this year. It has taken me all year to go back to the new profiles I added during the CAT last year and source them and write biographies. I'm not completely sure I have done all of them, but I'm sure I've done most.
Yep, I really need to start getting those bios done. There must be hundreds of North Carolina Need Biography in that category, most by me!
Nelda, I see you're a little bit north from me (I have lots of ancestors in that county!). It's been so rainy here, the grass is out of control. Nice not to have to water my herbs though : )
+20 votes

 Currently, it's 29˚ C and mostly sunny in Fort Erie. We have already exceeded the predicted high by 2˚ C, and I expect that it will go higher yet before the sun goes down. Supposedly, it will cool down to 18˚ C tonight, and tomorrow's predicted high is 28˚ C, so I suspect that it will really be 31˚ C.

The car rental place that I normally use (aka the only car rental place in town) closed their office here at the beginning of the lockdown, so our errands-that-require-a-car (like getting backup drives in St Catherines) have been piling up. But they have finally reopened in Niagara Falls, and I managed to find somebody to drive us up there, so we will be temporarily mobile. (We'll see how many errands we actually manage to get done while we have the car.)

The light of my life and the delight of my eyes is unhappy with our local wildlife (lots of squirrels and rabbits, some chipmunks, but also raccoons, skunks, and the occasional opossum), because some critter chewed through the stalk of a green pepper plant that she had moved out into the yard to get more sun. (Currently, the tomato/green pepper grove consists of 22 pots, and there are more plants on the porch waiting to be repotted into larger pots, and smaller ones still in the laundry room waiting to be repotted into the medium-sized pots as they are freed up. And that's not counting the peas, beans, or potatoes.) She's also been having a sort of competition with whichever critter keeps digging up (but not eating) a sweet potato that sprouted. She's trying to see if it will grow like the potatoes did, but that critter apparently thinks that it's a piece of art that deserves to be displayed for all to enjoy.

On the genealogy front, shortly before the Connect-A-Thon, I realised that the Connectors Chat page and the Let others know what locations you are working on page had gotten so large that they were taking a long time to load when I went to edit them, so clearly they needed to be broken up into smaller pieces. But of course it wouldn't be fair to make radical changes like that just before (or, even worse, during) the Connect-A-Thon, so I held off until this week. But now, we have some new pages: 

We'll still probably have to break the Locations page into sections -- like A-G, H-N, O-T, and U-Z -- to keep it to a reasonable size while still adding new countries and regions. We should also be able to expand the list in the Largest Unconnected Branches page to 100 entries without running into length issues.

But probably the most easily noticed changes are in the new Unconnected Notables and Unconnected Governors pages. Instead of being broken up geographically, they're now one big list each, and they can be sorted in a bunch of different ways (although the default sort is first by "5 star" profiles and then by branch size for the Unconnected Notables, and by state and then branch size for the Unconnected Governors). The largest unconnected notable branches are larger than many of the unconnected branches in smaller places (like Barbados), so they may get some more attention now from people who prefer to work on connecting large branches. You can also sort the Unconnected Notables by Last Name At Birth, so if you want to work on notables who share a LNAB that's in your family tree, they should be easier to find now.

I also launched a new connection challenge (this time for fast food chain founders). I really must get in some work on Frenches this month. 

by Greg Slade G2G6 Pilot (669k points)
We had problems with coons digging up some buried garbage that couldn't be composted.  My brother mixed up a strong clorox and very weak water solution and sprinkler canned the area and that kept them out.
Really nice work on keeping the Connectors pages manageable, Greg. I looked over the governors' page to see if I could connect a North Carolina gov., but Burke is going to be a hard one. I'll keep this one in mind.

I added a couple more North Carolina governors for you, Pip.

Thanks! I'll check them out.
+21 votes

Today is...... Someone's Birthday!! And the best part of the day is having a decorated cake just for you!!!

            

10 Most Popular Flavors Of Birthday Cakes

Germans claim the first birthday cake dating back to the Middle Ages. They called the celebration Kinderfest in observance of a child’s birthday. The cake was more like a coarse bread that over time evolved into a sweeter treat called Geburtstagstorten which translates to birthday cakes.

Cakes became more elaborate in the 1800s, but only the wealthy could afford to celebrate and eat cake, too.

Actually, the proverb, “You can’t have cake and eat it, too,” has been minced up a bit over the years. Originally, the translation went, “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.”

Ah, but back to birthday cake. By the 1900s, ingredients became affordable, and cake production increased. Let ’em eat cake. But in a good way. Let’s celebrate a birthday!

The ten most popular flavors of birthday cake are:

  • Chocolate
  • Cheesecake
  • Chocolate Chip
  • Vanilla or yellow
  • Red velvet
  • Marble
  • Carrot
  • Lemon

Candles have been on the cake longer than we’ve been having birthday cake. Historians believe that the practice of putting candles on a cake started in ancient Greece.  People at the time-honored Artemis by placing candles on a moon-shaped cake. Artemis was referred to as the Goddess of the Hunt, and the moon was a symbol associated with her. Greeks put candles on the cakes and believed the rising smoke carried their wishes and prayers upward to the gods. Applying the concept to birthdays, Germans used candles to represent the “light of life.”

Either traditions or a combination of both may be responsible for the candles on our birthday cakes. They may even be the reason we blow them out and make a wish.

In modern western cultures, candles are placed on the cake, and celebrants sing the Happy Birthday Song. In 1893, sisters from Kentucky, Patty and Mildred Hill, composed the song under the name Good Morning to All which later became the subject of a lawsuit.

On to the gifts! Around the world, traditions vary, but usually, gifts giving is steeped in religious tradition. Over time, these reasons change, and the religious factors fall away. We did do some gift-giving research if you plan to give birthday gifts around the world.

  • In Japan, well-wrapped gifts are appreciated. No sloppy gift wrapping!
  • Give flowers if you must in Russia but understand the language of flowers first.
  • It may be rude to spit in many cultures, but in Kenya, it’s considered a blessing.
  • Wine is a wonderful gift. In South Africa, if you give wine as a gift, know what you are doing. Otherwise, try a gift card.
  • Stay away from giving clocks to your Chinese friends. In the Chinese language, the English word “clock” sounds like the word “death.”
  • In India, if you give money as a birthday gift, it’s unlucky to give money in even numbers. If the gift is cash, make the total an odd amount, especially if the number ends in 1. That number signifies a new beginning. Even numbers mean an ending.

Have any other ideas, please share with us!! And if today is your birthday, let us know!!!! 

by Dorothy Barry G2G Astronaut (2.7m points)
Hello Dorothy of the Ruby Red Combat Boots! How are you doing, kiddo?

My brother can make a German Chocolate Cake from scratch to die for! He learned it from our Swedish stepmother! He's a retired sheriff and can cook and bake better than all the women in the family.

I lived in Japan for 2 years and you are exactly right about well-wrapped gifts! I bought a paper machet (sp?) maneki nekko (lucky cat) made from handmade Japanese washi paper for maybe all of 5 yen. The clerk wrapped it like it cost 5 million yen! Little box, then carefully wrapped paper, then little bow, then little tiny bell attached to bow. I thought I should keep the box and through the cat away!

Oh, and my grandson, Luke, is having a birthday this Tuesday, the 28th. He will be an 'unsweet' 16. He's a teenager, need I say more?

                

Hi Carol, thanks for your comment and memories!! Not many people have boots like this!!

I absolutely love all these interesting birthday facts! My favorite cake is red velvet (yum!).
RED VELVET!!! My grandma used to make a killer one.
Chocolate cake number one, red velvet my number 2 favorite! Why did you have to post that picture my diet has been going pretty well...
+21 votes
Hello Everyone and thank you, Pip, for hosting!

Weather report from north-central Texas: HOT and HUMID! We are not usually humid so it is miserable outside right now. All the more reason to stay inside and work on ancestors!

I, too, have spent the week in semi-recovery from the Thon. I was able to stick to it all three days plus a Greeting shift on Sunday evening. It all came at a price with pain in my neck and upper back; I have degenerative issues in the cervical spine. I can't get a pain injection because of still being on blood thinner from the TIA and can only take Tylenol. In spite of that I created 313 profiles with at least one source and sometimes 3 or 4.

One interesting connection was the family of my husband's step-father whose surname was Bazet. I have since found that his grandfather came from France to Louisiana and that he was a bugler in the Confederate Army. And, I have since found that the name was not Bazet in France but was Filhucan which he used as his middle name. He married a young lady in Louisiana who was an Acadian descendant so I got him connected that way. I also made a few other connections but now I have quite a list to go back and fully develop.

With our upsurge of Covid-19 we are still isolating as much as possible. I am back to ordering groceries online and I have one to pick up this afternoon. Would rather be safe than dependent on a ventilator!!

You all stay safe and we'll and "see" you next week!
by Virginia Fields G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Ginny, I know about those physical problems during thons. If I don't sit properly my bum shoulder really gives me fits (I have such poor posture anyway). And even sitting on a soft couch for hours while "thonning" leads to aggravation of my hip.I have to get up every little bit to move around for both.

Really cool find on the Bazet name.
+21 votes
Buenos dias a todos from the Old Pueblo! It's 80F and overcast here in Tucson. We had a wonderful rain yesterday with flash flood warnings that visitors don't take seriously. Fortunately, no one has had to be towed from the arroyos (at their expense or life) thus far.

Pipster, thanks for hosting yet again! Pip did an outstanding job on the CAT last week! He got, say, 600 or more to my measly 126. I tend to be a bit OCD though because in addition to connecting and adding a source, I add a bio with inline, additional sources if available and a relevant sticker. I just cannot make myself not do that. Nevertheless, I persisted and we got whopping connections. Our new Mighty Oaks (England Team) took the lead with some 12,000! It was great as it took my mind off of all my family health problems. My niece and her partner were positive for Covid about 2 weeks ago and sicker than dogs. My nephew caught it in mid-February. A colleague of mine who I worked with and for on an Air Force Office of Research Grant let me know via FB that his older brother died of Covid in April. He lived in Kansas. So, all of you, my dear wiki friends, please take care and be safe.

I spent a great deal of my Thon time, well all of it save for three, in Cornwall. I connected family, primarily Pearce; however, there were a few Husbands, Jenkin and Polkinghornes in the mix. I found and added Pearce people who are not kin. It looks like there were a number who were not Church of England. They got baptized in a specific place in Cornwall. This was new to me. I believe they were John Wesley Methodists. I am wondering if this group should get a sticker of some sort and how they are viewed by Church of England. If one of you wiki historians (SJ--hint) knows, let me know if I should go back and sticker them with something. I'll ask on Discord as well.

Oh...and the other three? Two were my 3X great grandparents from Germany! The third was a first husband of the 3x GGM who died within a year of their marriage. All their records were in German (Jelena!!!) which I don't speak (well, except for 'du bist eina drekky hundt' from my grandmother). I added their German marriage records, which included their parents names and more! Not Cornwall, but also not the U.S. Jelena, let me know if you want their Wiki-profile numbers to check out the records. Maybe they should be part of a German sticker group?

Tomorrow is our monthly genetic genealogy SIG. I'm not sure of the topics. No matter, they will be great and welcome. I'm starting to go a bit stir crazy here in solitary confinement. This is definitely not Love after Lockup!

Pip, of course there's another paper! I sent messages to all the journals requesting that they not send anything for me to review for 6 months about 2 weeks ago. Last week, a colleague of mine sent me a paper to edit! I'm doing it because I'm a collaborator. Was it Al Pacino in some movie who said...'just when I'm out they pull me back in!'???

Hugs to all. Again, be safe and take care! Have a great weekend!
by Carol Baldwin G2G Astronaut (1.1m points)
edited by Carol Baldwin
Sorry Carol that I didn't see you mentioning me before. I responded to your comment.

Hi Carol! I've seen those Polkinghornes in and around Gulval. I hesitate to start on those parish records for them as there are just too darned many of them named the same, so sorting out the cousins is REALLY difficult.

You will never escape the papers to edit or review, Carol! surprise

Hi Pip! No worries about the Polkinghams (or Pearce) as they are family and I am working them out. Some of the Pearce family that I did during the CAT aren't mine, though. They are Wesleyans and I'm not sure if they should have a certain sticker as they aren't Church of England. I'll leave a note on Disorcord. I might have to go back and them. They are as abundant and Polkinghornes! Thanks!
+22 votes

On this day:

1866: Tennessee is readmitted in the Union after the Civil War.

1898: Flying pioneer Amelia Earhart is born

1943: The bombing of Hamburg, called Operation Gomorrha starts

by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
Thanks once again for great topics to distract us.

"Amelia Earhart" made me smile because ;  when I'm driving  if I disagree with my husband's directions he mentions Fred Noonan..... implying Amelia must have ignored her navigator (Fred) as I ignore mine .... and then they died.
There were a few great articles today, I chose to go a bit more in the "traditional" lane than in the modern pop culture of the 2000s.
Hi Jelena,

I mentioned you in my post above. I did three family member from Germany and used marriage certificates from the 1800s. I do not know German at all. Would you be willing to take a look at these three and tell me where they are from so I can make sure they are correct on their profiles. Also, is there a 'from Germany' sticker or Germany club that they should belong to?

The profiles are Nickels-569; Treiz-1 and Nickels-570. Nickels-569 and Treiz-1 are my 3X Great Grandparents. Their parents, I believe are also listed on the marriage certificates. Can I use these same certificates as 'sources' for their parents?

Thanks for any feedback!
Carol, I already updated the locations of Nickels-570 to the correct version. I also wrote a sentence or two into his biography with the current administrative order.

Elisabeth Treiz is identified as widow of Michael (died 4 May 1830 in Wadrill) in this document. But I see you already created a profile for him.

In general you can use marriage certificates to create profiles for the parents. You have to put an estimated birth date then though, because usually in marriage documents there are no birth dates for the parents. In this document here you only have the names of the fathers (Michel Nickels and Johann Treiz respectively). But I regularly create profiles for the parents when I source with marriage documents.
Though I had read about the more famous Dresden bombing, the Hamburg was new to me. I haven't seen a published work on it yet.
Hi Jelena! Thank you so much! You are AWESOME! Thanks for adding that location information for Michael Nickels. Should I use Deutschland instead of Germany on all of these profiles?

 Can I call on you if I come across more of these German language marriage certificates, or need help with these German ancestors? This is my first foray into these German family members on my Mum's side.

So would all of these Nickels come from what was then France? When my mum was not cognitively impaired, she would tell me that some of her dad's family came from France. I wonder if it was these Trier/Wadern family members!

Again, thank you!

Pipster,

You can read about the bombing of Trier and the prisoners from Dunkirk that were marched to Trier here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Trier

SJ is pretty much of a history wonk and he might know more, too!

Now that was interesting!
Carol, German territorial history is hugely complicated. As BIG general territory you have the Holy Roman Empire up to 1806. But in there are literally hundreds of small territories who have their own princes and counts and Dukes and Emperors.

So when I see a German town where I don't know where it's located I always go first to Google Maps and have a look. When there is a German Wikipedia article about that location, it is linked there. So here I am on Wikipedia. Wikipedia is your very best friend for German territorial history. Most articles have a paragraph "History". Usually there you can find (at least in the German articles) to which territory the town belonged. If not, I go to the next bigger town. Like when it's said: "... is a part of the town...". When I don't find the respective territory there, next bigger and so on and so forth.

So, talking specifically about your village: From 1794 to 1815 it was part of France. Then from 1815 to 1919 it was "Deutscher Bund" (1815 til End of 1865), "Norddeutscher Bund (1866 until End of 1870) and "Deutsches Reich" (until 1919), because it was a part of Prussia. From 1919 until 28 Feb 1935 it was part of the "Saargebiet" and was under French administration. From 1 Mar 1935 it was again German until the end of WWII. Then it was part of the French Occupation Zone and got independent in 1947 until 1956. On 1 Jan 1957 the Saarland became a region of Germany and it is still today.
Thanks so much Jelena! You know your history!

I use Wikipedia A LOT, especially for locations. I started doing this when I began my work on my Cornwall family. All those towns and districts. So I use Wikipedia, the Cornwall OPCs and another English site that I just forgot the name of. I have them all bookmarked on my Google home page.

I was in Aachen in 2015! We arrived in Berlin, drove to Poznan, Poland (where my great grandparents came from), then to Rein am Lech (about 45 min from Munich). My kid sister has a friend she grew up with who married a German from Rein am Lech. We rented a car, drove along the Rhein to Aachen to see the cathedral (one of our family lines extends back to Charlemagne). We drove from Aachen south to a little French town (Eguisheim, near Colmar) in the Alsace area to spend a few days with my niece's high school exchange student and her family. I remember passing the sign to Trier and wanted to stop, but we were time limited. Now I am going to yell at my sister for not stopping because we had family from there. We made stops in Switzerland and went through the Black Forest on our return to Rein, then traveled southeast to the German Austria border to visit another exchange student. It was a wonderful trip!
+20 votes
Pip,

Thanks for hosting. So glad you came back!

How hot is it? It's so hot the chickens are too roasted to lay their eggs so they are molting to cool off.

Home front: It's been a rough ride, going into a smooth curve, waiting to see what's around the next bend in the road.

Genealogy Front: I managed to get all my adopted profiles that haven't been edited since 2015 UPDATED (Happy letters not yelling). Even got 20 more of my cousin Jerry's 0316 adds UPDATED. More than 75% finished.
by Pat Credit G2G6 Pilot (183k points)
From my husband.....

Foghorn Leghorn said it's so hot the chickens are picking up worms with potholders
Kay, tell him "That's a Joke, boy"

Hahahaha, you guys are killing me!!! laughlaughlaugh

+20 votes

The weather has continued hot and dry. Our fire danger is now set to extreme. The garden is doing well and the last bit of irrigation can be finished (the herb garden) now that the parts have finally come in. A few tomatoes have finally ripened and other things are doing well. The fava beans (broad beans) are ready so we will have a couple meals with those and freeze the rest. Next up is to order the sandstone stepping stones and build walks around the herb garden.

Genealogically, I've started cleaning up some Québec profiles that I've adopted and tried to connect Scottish profiles during the Connect-a-Thon. Currently working on a profile in France. The French Republic calendar is quite interesting if not a bit confusing. Mostly I'm trying to stay busy.

by Doug McCallum G2G6 Pilot (527k points)
Doug, are you in a forested or grassland area? I saw on the Weather Channel about the fire danger due to the heat out west.
We are in a grassland area. We've had one big grassland fire about 40 miles from here and there have been forest fires already. Fire bans in place.
+22 votes
Hello all from good old Europe,

where the Covid19-numbers are rising again. Here in Germany our Institute for infectious diseases is "deeply worried", I heard today, but on the other hand the people simply don't care anymore about masks and distance. Then many people say: "We have to have holidays abroad, we stayed long enough at home." Then these - I could call em names - fly to Mallorca and don't have anything better to do than to party and overfill the pubs and clubs. I heard today of a family returning from there, and the boss of the father told him to do a test and - who is astonished? - it was positive. Well, at least the boss did care and that way 4 people are now isolated and cannot infect anyone else. Many European countries tightened the obligation to wear masks again, which I think is good.

Genealogy-wise I enjoyed the Thon, although I didn't do anything else than what I currently do anyway. And still I was happy to see the final stats with more than 60k new profiles.

I have to change the motto for the continuation of the Thon though. I have to do a "Close a Browser Tab Thon". Yeah, I know it sounds funny, but I realized in the past few weeks that my tabs eat up a LOT of bandwidth...

A present for mum's birthday from my social sisters came a week late, but it eventually came. I gave them the idea to buy her an electric blade sharpener for our knives. They bought that and we really enjoy it. Yeah you really have to take care now, but at least we can cut our stuff again now...

Stay safe and healthy wherever you are
by Jelena Eckstädt G2G Astronaut (1.4m points)
Sorry to hear that cases are rising; the same thing is starting to happen here in New Jersey (which never really got numbers far enough down to begin with, though we definitely improved things).  People are tired of not socializing.
Jelena,

I am sorry to hear of the increase! You take care and stay safe!
"Close a Browser Tab Thon." I have eight open now, and while working busily, I can have as many as 20+. Too much!

Not only several open tabs, also several open windows with several open tabs. Welcome to the club. smiley

This, Lothar. I see you know what I am talking about... reducing is paramount.
+20 votes

I had great fun doing my 1st connect-a-thon, last weekend. I have my son Ed coming over tomorrow for a few days, and for the movies and music topic, filming starts next month on the short story he co-wrote smileyheart xxx

by Karen Butler G2G6 Pilot (157k points)
Congratulations to the author.  May he win an academy award in his future.  I know you are proud of his accomplishments.

Thanks Beulah, I hope he does, and I have told him when he does don;t forget to send me an invite, he asked what I would do if he didn't win, I said I would stand up an shout "that's a fix, my Ed should have won", he gave me the young ones "pity stare" so I don;t think I will get an invite. I am so proud of him he really seems to have found his place in the world smileyheart xxx

They're making a short based on Ed's book? How cool is that?!?!!!!
Wow Karen,

What an impressive son!   Sounds like he takes after his mother.  Enjoy your time with him the next few days.

It is a story that he and another person wrote especially for the course he is doing, so looking forward to seeing it when it has been finished, he has done others, and filmed a few music videos, smileyheart xxx

Thanks Peggy, he is quite talented, and we will do,  we won't see him all the time, he will be catching up with his friends over here, so we are his b&b smileyheart xxx

Glad you enjoyed the Connect A Thon. I realised afterwards that I forgot to add a whole load of my Hampshire family.

Do I leave them till next year?  I  am currently trying to reduce my watchlist being selective with what I can orphan as I probably will not get back to any of them soon?

Hope weather holds for your son.
Hilary,

I didn't get to all on my list either!     Just left the remaining ones on the list and called in Connect-A-Thon 2021.....

I plan to be a regular.
+20 votes
Happy weekend to everyone. Just playing dad since the CAT. Our weather is hot and humid. The only big genealogy news is from my closest cousin-collaborator:

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1078354/thank-you-wikitree
by SJ Baty G2G Astronaut (1.2m points)
Hi SJ!

Great work on the CAT! It took me about 3 days to recuperate, but I'm old! I'm sure you are having fun playing dad. I have played that video of the baby again. Just too cute!

Great news from Caryl, SJ! 

Are your kids enjoying the Med? Even in the midst of the pandemic, I hope your family can find some things to do, not just stuck at home all the time. You have such a beautiful family. (When's the next one due? cheeky)

+19 votes

Hi Pip, hi All!

I'm dying to go out to eat, but can't due to Pandemic Closings. sad Otherwise, I'm kinda stuck in the house. My grandson (5 years old) and his baby sister (10  mos.), came over two days this week and we had fun swimming. I'm so lucky to have a pool! I participated in the "Connect-a-Thon" last weekend but decided I wasn't going to go crazy staying up all night. Still, I added 46 profiles with LOADS of sources. 

by Lisa Linn G2G6 Mach 9 (90.4k points)
Perhaps we'll all lose weight because of the restaurant closings!    

I didn't "go crazy" on the Connect-A-Thon either...... but it was certainly my main focus.   No cooking all 3 days!   

If we had a pool,  I'd do nothing but skim leaves.
Lisa, we got to eat out for the first time in a long time just last night. Even the extreme precautions couldn't dampen the joy of getting our of the house!
We get takeout from a different restaurant once each week but don't feel comfortable eating in yet. Our city has recently blocked off one lane in each direction of Main Street in order to let restaurants have outside seating with good distances between tables. It would be great to be able to go to a nice restaurant again.
+21 votes

Thanks for hosting Pip!

Weather:   HOT with "pop up storms" skirting around us.  Have been watering the new plantings.  Walks are definitely in early morning.

Genealogy:

This has been a hectic week,  trying to catch up on things after the Connect-A-Thon.   Once again the Connect-A-Thon was fun to participate in.  I was impressed with how many people participated. 

A very distant cousin contacted me about a brick wall on my maternal side.  She had read my very long and rambling  Research Notes on a profile for my 4 great grandfather  Joel  Robinson.  (the brick wall).    This Joel Robinson was in the Probate court records for a John Robinson..... and the records supported Joel's wife's name.     She's sending more records and it's been great to be in contact with her.

Suggestions:    No better way to increase your Suggestions list than to participate in a Connect-A-Thon.  Most are  Find A Grave suggestions and unusual names.  My ancestors were certainly creative.

Home Front:   About to start a new project in the kitchen,  improving the counter design that's between the kitchen and living area.   Will have to remember to take "before" pictures.

Got to go,  but will be reading everyone's postings!

by Peggy McReynolds G2G6 Pilot (470k points)
Peggy, I sure wish out pop-ups would skirt around us. Heavy dew in the morning, followed by a short shower in the afternoon means I can't get the mowing done.

Before AND after pics, please! (I watch a lot of HGTV.)
+20 votes
Last weekend was chaotic! Early start with a men's breakfast (back behind a barbeque for the first time in probably a year tending to bacon at double speed) and then back home to the Connect-a-thon (the ambitious attempt of adding a Romanian noble family paid off (even if the processing speed was slow), switched over to Western European aristocracy to find a number of duplicated profiles which hadn't been detected. Probably would have hit at least 500 connections during the Thon but of course prior commitments) Discovered within the last few weeks that yet another of my family had in fact immigrated to South Africa and was had participated in an Olympic Games there.

Thankfully, this weekend is less crazy (which I need given that I have a hospital checkup in 3 days)
by Richard Shelley G2G6 Pilot (245k points)
What a weekend for you, Richard. Great work and great discoveries. Good catch on the duplicates. Hope you check-up goes well.
Richard.  you come from great stock!    I'm pretty certain non of my ancestors participated in Olympic games.   They were probably good shots,  since they would have starved otherwise.

I too enjoyed the Thon,  and found some profiles I had  "lost"....

The olympian is Charles Alfred Jeffreys, best accomplishment was 4th.

His... Our family have a lot of notable ties, his uncle Julius was the inventor of the respirator. Julius' great grandson was the co-founder of a significant construction firm within New Zealand. One of the aunt's of Charles was Caroline who married William Henry Valpy who a judge (The Valpy's are a notable family in their own right). A member of both the Jeffreys and Valpy's married into the Every family (an aristocratic family but also had notable members as well). Of these three families, some of the elements of notability are: reverends, scientists, military/naval officers, artists and engineers

+19 votes
Anybody out, yet, 4x4ing in their Jeep, this weekend?......or tell us about your best Jeep story.....O.K. all of them.....that includes you David..... and, Peggy, since you're here......did you trade your dirtbike in on a 4x4?.....Have I forgotten anyone?.... If so, step up to the front of the line.
by John Thompson G2G6 Pilot (346k points)

No jeep stories from me, but I am lusting after the new Ford Bronco! cheeky

Obviously I need to regain some of my adventurous  spirit..... a 4x4 designed to haul lumber and drywall doesn't quite match a jeep.    You probably even built your own dune buggy in high school.
Yes....Pip    I, too, saw a news article about the new Bronco.....anybody know if they're for sale yet?
Peggy.....I was sure I could get you to admit to owning a 4x4......It would have been quite the adventure hauling all that stuff around in a Jeep !......One day, in school, the shop teacher announced he was going have the class rebuild his car engine.....instantly I was viewing a crowd of backsides leaning over the fenders of his Chevy.....I went home and rebuilt my own engine.     Jack

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