Meeting Notes from Jan 31, 2008

Genealogy Focus Group Jan 31, 2008


Cathy Pappas
Cathy Graupner
Curtis Wright

MaryEllen memichael@fredco-md.net

We got back together in January to start fresh for this new year. Roena has moved away and left us some of her magazines. Cathy G. is spring cleaning already and brought in a book and some interesting CD’s she had finished with and wanted to share with others.

Cathy G. talked a bit about her Kirby relatives back to 1870 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She has a Great Grandfather and a Great Grandfather she knows about in that line.

Curt demonstrated a new feature he has been using in GOOGLE. It is the new GOOGLE Books with advanced search capability. This resource will search an international database of books. It returns links to books with information about the book and sites where you can purchase the book. It also provides access to books that have been scanned so you can read PDF versions right online or download it if you have the time and patience. The PDF document has search capability and you can jump directly to the sections of the book listed in the contents panel. The search will also return information on books that are not scanned (sometimes because of copyright protections). FCPL participates in the Marina program where books can be obtained from other libraries within the state for free and also from institutions outside the state for a possible fee to cover shipping costs. You can access this network on the FCPL website www.fcpl.org or by asking for help at any library branch.

The GOOGLE Books feature is a wonderful free resource for unearthing obscure documents that may provide information about people you are looking for.

Cathy P. talked about her family’s ghost stories. She attended a family reunion where she and her cousin exchanged personal encounters with unexplained attic door shenanigans. Her relatives were Dunkards. As defined by Webster's New International Dictionary second edition unabridged: Dunkard, n. One of a religious domination practicing trine immersion and refusing oaths and military service; -also Tunkers, Dippers, and, by themselves, Brethren, or, officially, German Baptist Brethren. The denomination was founded in 1708 at Schwarzenau, in Wittenburg, Germany, by Alexander Mack. In 1719 the Dunkers began to come to Pennsylvania, whence the sect had spread, mainly westward. The Dunkers regard nonconformity to the world as an important principle, following closely Scripture teaching and observing the primitive simplicity of the church. From Wikipedia: “The name Dunkard or Dunker is derived from the German word tunken, meaning "to dip". This emphasizes the method of immersion observed by all of the various branches of Schwarzenau Brethren - trine immersion. A believer is immersed three times, once in the name of the Father, once in the name of the Son, and once in the name of the Holy Spirit”. It appears that tales of witches abound in the traditions and history of the Dunkards.

Cathy P. has an elderly aunt living out west. She hopes to visit her soon. Her aunt sent her an obituary referring to one of her Pittenger relatives who fought in Sicily during WWII. I expect her Aunt could give her many stories and leads to follow.

Cathy P. was looking for information on a Dr. Fox who practiced some mysterious rituals in Taneytown when she was a child. We looked in the 1930 census with no luck but we did find a Fox family site using GOOGLE where Cathy could make an inquiry about the doctor.

Cathy G. mentioned that the Mount St. Mary’s library has an excellent historical collection with many rare books that may contain just what you are looking for. She also let us know about this news from Ancestry.com and the New England Historic Genealogical Society:

NEHGS and Ancestry.com Announce New Membership Benefits as Part of Collaboration
Two Genealogy Industry Leaders Offer Special Pricing and New Member Benefits
Boston, MA & Provo, UT– October 22, 2007 –The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and Ancestry.com, part of The Generations Network, Inc., today announced the availability of special membership pricing that allows members of both organizations and those wishing to join to take advantage of some of the most important family history information available anywhere. Beginning Monday, October 22, special discounted pricing is open to NEHGS members, Ancestry.com members and those interested in joining both.

link to the press release: http://myfamily.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=112

On this site, we also learn that MyFamily.com has changed its name to Generations Network. This looks to be a new site we should watch. It is a consortium of genealogy websites under one roof. The members include Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com, Rootsweb.com and others.

As you can see, we had a lively and interesting discussion. I tried to get as much down as possible but if I made some mistakes or left out anything, please feel free to comment.

Happy sleuthing and I hope we will see you next time.