MISSING LINKS: RootsWeb's Genealogy Journal Vol. 4, No. 43, 20 October 1999 Circulation: 365,196+ Copyright (c) 1996-99 Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley Editor-at-Fault: Julia M. Case Co-Editor-to-Blame: Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG IN THIS ISSUE o Baa, Baa, Black Sheep o Web Links o The Boy who Cried "Wolfe!" o Finding South Carolina Baptist Ancestors o Book Links o Successful Links: Genealogist's Luck o Somebody's Links o Letters to the Editors o Humor o Reprint Policy o Call for Articles * * * * * BAA, BAA, BLACK SHEEP by Tina Negus, Birmingham, England [Transmitted by Rita Effnert , who writes that the author "has kindly given her permission for this article to appear in MISSING LINKS." Rita further advises "[m]y great-great-grandmother was also a sister of Thomas Boyer."] Thomas BOYER was born in Folkingham in 1803, the second child of William BOYER and Ann PIGGINS, who were married in 1800 and were first cousins. Their mothers, Ann and Frances FAWKES, were sisters who were born in Long Clawson in Leicestershire. William BOYER and Ann PIGGINS had at least 18 children. Many died in infancy and two in young adulthood. Five of their descendants have a strong interest in family history. Around 1805 the family moved to Swinstead where my ancestor, Harriet BOYER, was born in 1814. Two years later they were in Corby (Glen) where William was "farrier, cow-doctor and farmer" (WHITE'S DIRECTORY, 1826). By 1841 he was innkeeper at the Black Bull in Corby market place. Young Thomas BOYER enlisted with the 85th Regiment of Foot at Bourne (5 September 1825) aged about 22. His medical discharge was only a year later (10 October 1826), his condition being "curvature of the spine, following fever and bubonic inflammation from cold." His records show that he was 5'5 1/2" tall with light brown hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion, and his conduct was described as "very good." Thomas BOYER married Elizabeth BAILEY at Grantham in 1828, and they had a family of 10 children. Living at first at Corby, Thomas rented land from the Ancaster Estates at Corby Acres, farming Cherry Hill, 16 Acres and Bitchnip Close. David Steel records the failure of the farmers here, and the subsequent amalgamation of the land into one large farm. By 1831 Thomas was unable to pay his rent, and by 1833 the estate accounts wrote off the total debt (of GBP106-7-6d) as "lost, insolvent" and the land was "divided to acres." By 1841 Thomas, Elizabeth and six children were living in Colsterworth, but the Bourne Union Workhouse records show the family was frequently admitted around this time, for reasons of "no work" and "no house room." L. R. Cryor describes an incident of "disorderly behaviour" by Elizabeth when she was accused of a breach of workhouse rules, and embezzlement from other inmates. She alleged that her children had been beaten, though this was not proved, and she was reprimanded as a result. The family at this time must have been in great difficulty -- three infant sons were buried at Corby between 1839 and 1844, two recorded "from Colsterworth" and one from "Bourne Union." In 1851 Elizabeth Boyer was living at West Street, Corby with two daughters, working as a charwoman. A note on the census, "husband transported," led to a search of convict records, but no progress was made until a chance sighting of a request for South Lincolnshire BOYER information in an out-of-date genealogical register, made possible a contact with a distant cousin in Tasmania, and with other BOYER descendants. The arrest of Thomas was reported in the STAMFORD MERCURY. Thomas BOYER, aged 41, had stolen a lamb-hog [a lamb of the second year], from John ALDRIDGE (of Grange Farm, Corby) on 19 December 1843. The skin and entrails were found under a hedge by a boy, and a William OSBORN identified the sheep's owner. William BARKER, Constable of Colsterworth searched the Boyer's house "for another reason," when a shoulder of mutton was found in salt. The sheep skin had already been sold to Mr. INGLE, the local fellmonger, but was recovered and matched to the joint. Thomas was tried on 19 March 1844 at Lincoln Assizes and was sentenced to transportation for 12 years to Van Diemen's Land [former name of Tasmania]. He was committed to Mill Bank Prison on 11 April 1844 and boarded the convict ship "Barrosa" at Woolwich on 3 May 1844. They sailed on 14 May 1844, arriving at Hobart on 5 September 1844. Thomas then worked on a chain gang in the Victoria Valley of Tasmania for 15 months -- gruelling labour for a man with a bad back. In 1850 he was given his ticket of leave and applied for Elizabeth and five children to join him. It took two years before this was granted, and by then only Caroline, the youngest daughter, born after his banishment, was unmarried. She and her mother voyaged to Van Diemen's Land on the "Louisa" arriving 10 January 1853. Later that year, Thomas was given conditional pardon -- he was free, but could never return to England. George Thomas BOYER, their youngest son, was born in 1854 at Westbury in Van Diemen's Land, he is the direct ancestor of all the Tasmanian Boyers. In 1861, Caroline BOYER married Thomas RALPH, another convict. Thomas BOYER died in 1865 and Elizabeth then married Benjamin LAWS. Thomas BOYER's convict papers show that he was 5'5", with a fresh complexion and oval head. His hair was brown, he had no whiskers, an oval face, his eyebrows were sandy and his eyes were blue. He had a forehead of mid-height, and his nose, mouth and chin were large. His left arm was marked "85 Regt." and he had a broken finger on his right hand. Photographs of his son George and his daughter Harriett, show a remarkable similarity to their father with an oval face with high forehead, wide mouth and large strong nose and chin. It is tempting to speculate on the human story behind the facts and to take sides. Was Thomas BOYER a ne'er do well, an idle loafer, unable to stick at work? After all, he was a debtor, often in the workhouse, where his wife was a troublemaker, and he stole perhaps many times. Or was he a victim of the times? His army record was good, and many others fell on hard times during the difficult 1830s, and he did suffer problems with his back. The case against him seems extraordinarily neatly tied up -- were the authorities suspicious of him and determined to nail some theft on him? Many of his family, and also John ALDRIDGE, remained in the Corby area. Thomas BOYER's sister, Harriett, lived in Corby until her death in 1908. My grandfather (her great-grandson) was 27 by the time she died, yet the present family had never heard of her, until family research brought her to life again. Her grave, and that of her husband, Charles BATTY, is in the plot next but one to that of my great- grandparents, which I was taken to see as a child, yet none of my family knew of this or had any knowledge of the family origins. Perhaps the villagers were ashamed of their connection to a known criminal, and did not talk of him. The Boyers led a better life in Tasmania than their father had in England. George BOYER owned land in Dexter Street, Westbury; both he and his sister Caroline are buried at St. Andrew's church there. Their Tasmanian descendants are proud of their ancestry. * * * * * WEB LINKS AncestorNews, edited by Nancy Hendrickson, is a free, biweekly newsletter for Internet genealogists. Back issues are available at . For a free subscription, visit the Web site or e-mail <1AncestorNews-subscribe@onelist.com>. CARPATHO-RUSYN CHINESE/AUSTRALIAN GENEALOGY CIVIL WAR. BLONDE BRIGADE MERCANTILE (custom sewing and sutlery for American Civil War re-enactors) CIVIL WAR. Search for New York soldiers at SOLDIERS IN THE ATTIC CIVIL WAR. WESTERN NEW YORK IN THE CIVIL WAR FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS. Links to many of the big ones: FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS (BLACK) FREEPAGES at RootsWeb: GENEALOGY AND NATIVE AMERICAN BB ON PRODIGY INTERNET. Last week we noted that this is open to everyone, not just Prodigy Internet members. We told you what we understood to be the case, but it is not now clear to us what the situation really is. We regret the confusion. GENEALOGY BOARD GAME. ILLINOIS MARRIAGE RECORDS TO 1900 are now online at: NETHERLANDS. Dutch genealogical Web sites. RESCUED FAMILY HISTORY ITEMS. Old family photos, Bibles, deeds, scrapbooks, and letters rescued from flea markets and yard sales. ROOTSWEB'S GUIDE TO TRACING FAMILY TREES. Not just for beginners. WAR OF THE REBELLION. Cornell University has placed online all volumes of the WAR OF THE REBELLION. Included are scanned images of reports, correspondence, seizures of Southern property, etc. sent to the War Department during the Civil War (also known as the War of the Rebellion, the War of Northern Aggression, the War between the States, and "the War"). It includes both Union and Confederate accounts. It is in chronological order but there is no online index. Many libraries have the index. Find the volume and page number for your subject in the index at the library, then read the actual pages at: WORLDCONNECT at RootsWeb. * * * * * THE BOY WHO CRIED "WOLFE!" by Steven Albert Wolfe 5007 Clover Lane, Homer, Alaska 99603 My father, Edward Junior WOLFE, loved his grandfather, Albert WOLFE. Albert was half Indian and seemed to know everything about hunting and the outdoors. However, it was not until my father was 70 years old that he learned about the kind character of his grandfather. Father and mother were traveling a few years ago and attended church in Clovis, New Mexico, where they introduced themselves to the friendly people of that church. One of the women asked: "Are you related to the WOLFEs from Iowa?" Dad answered that he had been born and raised in Iowa. "Do you happen to know Albert WOLFE?" she continued. Dad replied that his grandfather's name was Albert. Then she asked, "Was he part Indian?" and dad said that he was. "You must come home and have dinner with us," she insisted, and so my parents spent a lovely afternoon with her. After a wonderful dinner, she began her story. "I am a CLINE. My grandfather, John CLINE, had a boyhood friend, Albert WOLFE. John and Albert roamed the Iowa countryside hunting and were nearly inseparable. When they were young men there was an outbreak of cholera and John CLINE was afflicted. Fear of the epidemic was so strong that doctors and even family members would not care for John. John was left to live or die while his family fled to other parts. He became so sick he was unable to feed or take care of himself and felt he would surely die. Then his boyhood friend Albert arrived. Albert burned all of John's clothing and bed clothes and gave John his own clothes and bedding. Albert stayed with John several weeks and nursed him while he slowly recovered his full health. John never forgot Albert's kindness. John had 12 children and many grandchildren. He never tired of telling how the Indian, Albert WOLFE, saved his life. All of the CLINE family knows this story and we have told it to our children and grandchildren for generations." "I never knew," dad said. "No one in the WOLFE family knows this story. Albert never told anyone." A most cherished story about our ancestor came to our family from a family traditional story of strangers. * * * * * FINDING SOUTH CAROLINA BAPTIST ANCESTORS by Brent H. Holcomb [The author is the editor and publisher of the SOUTH CAROLINA MAGAZINE OF ANCESTRAL RESEARCH (SCMAR).] Nearly everyone who has South Carolina ancestry has at least one ancestor who belonged to a Baptist church. Unfortunately, not all Baptist church records survive. Even so, we must know what to expect from such records when they can be found. No birth records are there, and usually in a list of members in such records, we find only the time of the baptism of members (adult), their joining the church, being excommunicated or dismissed by letter. An occasional death date (usually only a year) is found. In the list of female members (almost always separate from the male members), an occasional marriage reference might be found, e. g. "Sarah Smith now Jones." Such an entry indicates that a marriage has taken place since the list was first made. A good general reference is the book SOUTH CAROLINA BAPTISTS 1670-1803 by Leah Townsend (which has been published by Genealogical Publishing Company). Included are the names of members of churches with extant records in this period, though an occasional record has surfaced since the publication of that volume. The Welsh Neck Baptist Church (Darlington County) has records back to 1737. The records of Boiling Springs Baptist Church in Spartanburg County begin in 1792. The Baptist Historical Collection at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, has an excellent collection of microfilm copies of Baptist church records for South Carolina. A list of their holdings can be viewed on line at: . The records listed can be borrowed by inter-library loan. Some other helpful publications are MARRIAGE AND DEATH NOTICES FROM BAPTIST NEWSPAPERS 1835-1865 ($25.00), MARRIAGE AND DEATH NOTICES FROM BAPTIST NEWSPAPERS 1866-1887 ($35), and LOWER FAIRFOREST BAPTIST CHURCH, UNION COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA, MINUTES 1809-1875 AND MEMBERSHIP LISTS THROUGH 1906 ($20). These three books are available from Brent H. Holcomb, P.O. Box 21766, Columbia, SC 29221. Please add $3.00 mailing for the first book, and $1.25 for each additional book to the same address. South Carolina residents add 5% sales tax. The records of Prince Williams Primitive Baptist Church (Beaufort District, present- day Hampton County) are being published serially in the SOUTH CAROLINA MAGAZINE OF ANCESTRAL RESEARCH. * * * * * BOOK LINKS ABSTRACTS OF NOTICES FOUND IN THE ANSON COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA ARGUS 1848-1858. Abstracts of notices of marriages, deaths, divorces, murders, hangings, runaway wives, court proceedings, etc. concerning the people of Anson County, North Carolina and Chesterfield County, South Carolina, as well as references to events elsewhere in the Carolinas. 8" x 11" three-ring binder, 66 pp. & 16-pp. people/places index, $25 postpaid. Order from: Steve Bailey, 300 Moores Lake Road, Wadesboro, NC 28170. * * * * * SUCCESSFUL LINKS: GENEALOGIST'S LUCK by Marge Clark Kapas "Chance Meeting at the Copier Machine" [ML 4:39, 22 September 1999] reminded me of my own experience in 1995 at Salt Lake City, Utah. I have a favourite area to sit in the darkened rear of the British floor at the Family History Library. This trip I was there for two weeks, and soon was saying "good morning" to the regulars around me, all local professional researchers. The woman seated daily next to me was familiar with Scottish research, especially with Dundee, Angus. On my final day at Salt Lake City, we lunched together at the church cafeteria. During the meal, we talked about researching in Dundee. I said, "Have you noticed only the 'wealthier and upper class' people seem to have registered births and marriages in 18th-century Dundee?" Yes, she had been aware of this. I replied, "That means I can't find my missing CHALMERs. But I can find my group of WARDROPERs." She said, "Who?" WARDROPER. It turned out that she was researching this unusual name in the same century Dundee as I was. Back in the library, I let her photocopy my notes and she later wrote me with the name of her client in California. The client and I have since corresponded, as we are very distant cousins of 250 years ago. * * * * * SOMEBODY'S LINKS. You may also read and post notices about genealogical treasures found at the RootsWeb GenConnect board: . Please ask all the readers who have old Bibles to send copies to Daughters of the American Revolution, 1176 D Street NW, Washington, DC 20006-5392. Use legal-sized paper and include the copyright page or publisher information (try the page opposite the New Testament) and all other pertinent information, such as the location of the Bible. The library, which is open to non-members, will preserve information. Thank you. SWales3721@aol.com I have copies of letters written in 1863 while my great-great- grandfather was fighting in Missouri during the Civil War. John Spencer FULLER wrote to and received letters from his wife, Thursa Ellen ELLIS. In these letters are the names of many people from the Brownville, Nebraska area and of the soldiers in John's company. Military names include J. S. MINIC, Capt. G. M. FITZPATRICK and Col. PENICK's regiment at St. Joseph, Missouri. In the Brownville (Nemaha County) area are CROTHER, Ira BALLARD, Wm HOOVER, MINIC (W.L. & J.S.), Johnny CUMINS, Bill DAVIS, someone called Gif, PAVY (Bill and Sally, his daughter), John and Martha GRAHAM and daughter Katy, Harrison TUCKER, Bill and Amos HUGHES, Burl HOOVER, Dr. KEELING, someone named FAIRBROTHER, MOORE the blacksmith, and William CLARK. Many of the letters are hard to read, so some of the names are guesses, but I've included those that seem to appear the most often. I am *slowly* trying to transcribe the letters. Kathryn Thompson I have a very old Holy Bible with the name Lois R. STEDMAN printed in gold letters on the cover. Inside the Bible is pasted a note that reads: "To Lois From Uncle Lex, Christmas, 1944." The Bible was given to me by my stepmother who worked for Ms. Stedman in Mobile, Alabama some years ago. If anyone is interested in the Bible they can contact me. Bertha Fisher I am in possession of a wonderful little baby book given to the parents of Irving Samuel SPIGLE by a Sadie WERTHEIMER in 1922 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The book is titled "Babyhood Days" and was a gift to Mr. and Mrs. Julius SPIGLE. I'd like to find the proper home of this little gem! Cathy L. McCollum-Stroh <75753.3101@compuserve.com> Years ago my mother-in-law found an old family album, she can't remember where. It contains many unmarked family pictures. The names PETERSON, Charles, Annie, and Clara are written in the album. Photographers' names are Geo. E. BALLARD at Waupaca, Wisconsin, and W. F. WEBSTER in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. If you recognizes this as a branch of your tree, please contact me, as this album should be with its family. Karla Wood I have several boxes of pictures, letters, etc. that belonged to Mrs. May (PARKER) OAKES, who married my widowed grandfather, Robert Lee OAKES in the 1940s in Delaware County, Oklahoma and died (as I recall) in the late 1970s in McAlester, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. She had a brother, Ernie. I don't believe PARKER is her maiden name, but I'm unsure. I would be glad to share the materials I have with anyone who believes they would be helpful. Bob Kashwer My friend bought a large family for $10 from a thrift store in San Diego, California. Written in the Bible is: Presented to ROBERTA J. WILLIAMS by Son Donald Ray BROWN this 28th day of August 1968; City: Clinton Oklahoma. Inside of the front cover: Mother Roberta WILLIAMS; Willie HENDERSON 6-14-1931; Dorothy HENDERSON 1-15-1933; Glady WALKER 2-22-1939; Homer HENDERSON; Wileu HENDERSON; Genive BERRY; Josephine WILLIS; Donald BROWN; Peter Paul JAMES; Grover JONES; Larry JONES; Glory JONES. Joseph Kaemerer, National City, California or I have several pictures and a scrapbook that belonged to Alpha B. HUTCHINSON of Portland, Oregon, who died in 1999. Names include GOSS, (Senator) Hugh McCOOL, and others. Would love to give to family. Howard Martin I found the diploma of Lisa Shawn ENGLEMANN presented by Sequin High School, Sequin, Texas in 1980 which I would like to return to the honoree. Herman F. Shermer, Adelphi, Maryland * * * * * LETTERS TO THE EDITORS Your readers should be warned not to be complacent about their so called "permanent" storage of ancestral data. A brief dissertation on the short life of various data storage media -- "Already about 20% of the data collected for NASA's 1976 Viking Mars landing is completely unreadable and lost forever" -- at: . Frank G. Higgins * * * I have been asked to help Dr. Karl Raitz, Dept. of Geography, University of Kentucky, with research from the first explorers to the present for a book about the Wilderness Road and the Limestone Road, which provided access to the 18th- century Trans-Appalachian frontier. Dr. Raitz characterizes the Wilderness Road as "a poor people's road" and the Limestone Road as "the route of the wealthy." If you have information you are willing to share for this project, such as diaries, letters, maps, or oral tradition, please e-mail Dr. Raitz's research assistant, Marianne Brennan . I have no monetary connection to this project. I am just attempting to stir the genealogical cauldron to see what we can find. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Nancy Foley Johnson, Lexington, Kentucky * * * I have been following the "what do you write on the back of a photo with" debate and am amazed that no-one has suggested NOT writing on the back, but using small, stick-on labels instead. Address labels might be too big, but cut down . . . JON SLACK The Medical School, University of Nottingham * * * I have been so swamped with work, family and my gigantic number of e-mails each day that I have never taken the time to read your e-zines. Today I am closed up in my computer room with the dog while my carpets are being shampooed and clicked [one] open. It's GREAT! I can't believe what I've been missing. Thanks for such an excellent contribution to the genealogy world. Jeannette J. Creswick * * * * * HUMOR: Thanks to Halvor Moorshead (publisher of FAMILY CHRONICLE and HISTORY MAGAZINE) , who reports he heard this on Canadian radio. Professional genealogist making a presentation to his client: "When your family set sail for the New World you came with a large quantity of livestock." "Wow! I guess that means we were wealthy gentry." "Well, no. You didn't OWN the livestock. You just came with it." * * * * * DONATIONS HELP ROOTSWEB HELP YOU AND ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. For details about support levels, benefits, and payment options, visit or e-mail . RootsWeb's mailing address is: RootsWeb.com, Inc., P.O. Box 6798, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6798. (Please write your e-mail address on correspondence and checks.) * ADVERTISEMENT * GREAT GIFTS FOR GENEALOGISTS! Hattie's Clothesline offers coffee mugs, mousepads, totebags, T-shirts, and sweatshirts designed just for family historians -- perfect holiday gifts. Now through 31 December 1999, buy one, get one at half price. Call 800-673-1344 or visit today. * ADVERTISEMENT * Did you see the PBS series ANCESTORS? Get the entire 10-episode series in VHS format. This is the first national PBS broadcast series about how to do effective genealogy and family history. It contains powerful stories of those who have done successful research as well as practical instruction on how viewers should do their own research. With this 10-Video set, we are also offering a paperback instruction manual and the third paperback: CAPTURING THE PAST: HOW TO PREPARE AND CONDUCT AN ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW. You can buy all three this week for $99.95. Additional complete sets are available for $89.95. Great holiday gifts for any family. Order on the secure site at , or call the FamilyStoreHouse Sales Department at 1-800-725-5013 and mention RootsWeb. FamilyStoreHouse will donate 10% of the sales proceeds to RootsWeb. WATER AND WARMTH EMERGENCY KIT -- a package FamilyStoreHouse has put together to provide for those essentials in an emergency or camping. Included in this kit are an extra-warm fleece sleeping bag, a light-weight water filter, and enough water/wind proof matches to keep you warm for several days. At just $42.95 you save more than 20% off the individual prices, and it is affordable enough to have one for each family member. Order on the secure site at or call the FamilyStoreHouse Sales Department at 1-800-725-5013 and mention RootsWeb. FamilyStoreHouse will donate 10% of the sales proceeds to RootsWeb. * ADVERTISEMENT * NEW HAMPSHIRE PROVINCIAL PROBATE RECORDS, 1635-1771 is now on CD-ROM. This CD contains electronic image reprints of nine volumes of early New Hampshire probate records. These volumes were originally published (1907-1941) as volumes 31-39 of the NEW HAMPSHIRE PROVINCIAL AND STATE PAPERS. They contain complete transcripts of all wills and abstracts of all other papers in the probate files, and cover all estates settled in the province down to 1771. Each volume has a human-generated name and place index. The user sees the works just as they were originally published, and they look and function like "real" books. Electronic "bookmarks" make it easy to move through the books, and from book to book. The required Adobe Acrobat Reader is provided free on the CD for Windows and Macintosh systems. 1999, 5,907 pp., Cat#: R1163, $40. Sale price $32 (plus shipping) until 29 October 1999. Order from: Heritage Books, Inc. 1-800-398-7709 ext. 27; 9-5 Eastern. * * * * * PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from MISSING LINKS is granted unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) a copy of this notice appears at the end of the article: Written by . Previously published by Julia M. Case and Myra Vanderpool Gormley, CG, Missing Links: RootsWeb's Genealogy Journal, Vol. 4, No. 43, 20 October 1999. RootsWeb: * * * * * CALL FOR ARTICLES, STORIES. MISSING LINKS welcomes articles about genealogical research methods and sources from all parts of the world. Please send your article for consideration for publication to . MISSING LINKS also welcomes delightful, amusing, amazing, cautionary, or otherwise wonderful and educational tales of genealogical research for the "Successful Links" section and articles acknowledging the efforts of particularly helpful librarians, archivists, town or county clerks, and other frequently unsung heroes, for publication in the "Virtual Bouquets" section. Please send such stories for consideration for publication to Julie_Case@rootsweb.com. BACK ISSUES of MISSING LINKS are available for download from . TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE from MISSING LINKS and ROOTSWEB REVIEW, send e-mail that says only SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) in the message area to: .