Alabama Pioneers Newsletter

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Saturday 14, July 2012

Have you ever made a mistake?

I never make mistakes. (LOL) The truth is I make many each day and wish I didn't but I guess as long as I'm alive, I will make mistakes. That's part of being human.

Mistakes are made in genealogy as well so we can never completely trust the research someone else has done. But that's what makes it so fascinating. Each person has the opportunity to add their own data and knowledge to a family line. Even noted historian's made mistakes. These interesting letters by Gen. Woodward S. Gaines reveal how he often disputed Alabama's historian Albert Pickett.

Part III letter of Thomas S. Woodward to J. J. Hooper

Part V - 2nd section of Woodward Jan 10, letter

Part VI – March 21, 1858 – General Woodward disagrees with Col. Pickett

Part VII – March 1858 Woodward

PART VIII – Final part of Woodward's letter 6 written in 1858

PART X – WOODWARD letter to Col. Pickett – APRIL 25, 1858 -

PART XVII WOODWARD LETTER JUNE 13, 1858

PART XV WOODWARD JUNE 21, 1858 – LETTER FROM T. S. WOODWARD correcting errors

PART XX WOODWARD LETTER REGARDING TECUMSEH

PART XXII WOODWARD GEN. THOMAS S. WOODWARD NOV. 3, 1858

GEN. T. S. WOODWARD LETTER 1858

PART XXIV WOODWARD A. J. PICKETT LETTER TO GEN. T. S. WOODWARD

PART XXV WOODWARD LETTER APPENDIX

Genealogy is a lot like science. The definition of science is the “methodical study of material world.” Knowledge of our world progresses as scientific facts are tested and proved. In the process, some long-held beliefs about our world are discarded and new ideas advanced as scientists study our world. But without some of their wild theories, science would never move forward.

With the debut of DNA in genealogy, many previously accepted family trees have been found to be inaccurate and this has created some hard feelings in the genealogy world. This is because years of work, time and research were suddenly thrown out. It's similar to what learned scientists must have felt when Columbus discovered the earth was not flat, but round. But where would America be if he had not challenged this accepted belief and ventured across the Atlantic?

It may be silly to compare genealogy research to scientific study but the concept is the same. I often receive comments from people who say, they spent 20 or 30 years researching a family line and something on the website is not correct. When someone informs me of this, I offer to add their information to the disputed biography, GEDCOM or disputed article. Some people follow through and provide me the information while others do not.

My philosophy and goal of this website is to provide as much data about Alabama and her people's heritage as possible in a digital format. In doing so, inaccurate data will invariably be included. I leave it up to each member to accept or reject the data provided and use it accordingly with their individual research. This is the only way that we move forward.

Obviously, there will be disputes about material provided. Some will probably never be solved. In my own family, there is a dispute between two family lines in regard to a middle name of a gr-grandfather.. Both lines have argued that they knew the man and claim that they were correct. To this day one line follows one direction while another follows another. Until new information is found, neither line will agree as to the correct name but at least they continue to research and try to prove their theory. This is how we move forward.

I believe by sharing all data, accurate and inaccurate, we will eventually come closer to having a correct history of our ancestor's past.

Have a great weekend!
Donna R Causey

ALABAMA PIONEERS NEWSLETTER

VOL. 5 EDITION 36

LINKS to the new BLOGS and all the new information on Alabama Pioneers!

Each BLOG provides a list of all new surnames or items uploaded to Alabama Pioneers...so check each one!

ARGO, BETHEA, MASON, MEMORIES PERRY COUNTY

ALPINE, UNDERWOOD, MEGGS, BENEDICT

ALABAMA PIONEERS CONTEST

We did not have a winner last week. There appears to be some controversy concerning which Robinson was the correct one. I will only accept the name from the article on Alabama Pioneers website. We are up to number 14.

The 23rd correct answer to the following question wins an autographed copy of my novel, Ribbon of Love. Remember the answer is somewhere on the AP website.

Who was Robinson Springs in Millbrook, Alabama names for?

Email your answer to info@alabamapioneers.com.

The second book in the series Faith and Courage will be available for purchase by the end of this month.

Read the KINDLE VERSION of RIBBON OF LOVE (TAPESTRY OF LOVE) FREE! See details here!

If you would to purchase an autographed copy of Ribbon of Love email me info@alabamapioneers.com. Follow my progress on this series on Facebook..

I've had many questions about marketing, writing and publishing from readers so to answer these questions, I will be starting a quarterly newsletter after Faith and Courage is published. If you are interested you can subscribe to the newsletter on the Ribbon of Love facebook page here.

BOOKS AVAILABLE

Material too large to download from this website is provided in E-books available for purchase at either BARNES and NOBLE and Amazon.com for a nominal price (equivalent to copy charges). Be sure to bookmark BOOKS AVAILABLE page for updated list of books with links.

Remember you do not have to own a Kindle, Nook or E-reader to download E-books. All the books can be downloaded to your computer with FREE APPS. A good way to try this out for FREE is to locate on Amazon.com an E-book such as WHERE DO I START? Hints and Tips for Beginning Genealogists with On-line resources Look to the left side of the page for the box with the words TRY IT FREE.

Click on How Sampling Works at the bottom of the box.
Download the FREE APP for the device such as your PC, MAC, IPAD, BLACKBERRY or IPHONE where you want to read the book.
After the FREE APP has been installed, go back to the TRY IT FREE box and the device you where you installed the APP should be typed in a menu.
Click on SEND SAMPLE NOW and within seconds you will be able to see the first part of the E-book.

New –Some Descendants of John Frederick Shaeffer (1774-1859)

New - Some Descendants of Andrew Thomas (1759-1832)

THIS WEEK'S FEATURED BOOK

Where Do I Start? Hints and Tips for Beginning Genealogists

Revised and now in paperback - filled with Hints and Tips to begin your family genealogy research and acquire Genealogy information. In this book, you will find, many on-line resources, how to do court house research, where to find birth, death, social security records free on-line, and 81 questions to ask when interviewing elderly relatives-

Reader review - I would have saved myself much time, had I read this author's book before doing research. She removed the stigma or hesitation about inquiring in the courthouse if there is someone in the community you could hire to do further research for you. It's very hard to discover what data lies where when you first begin genealogy research. This author is teaching by experience that you won't have to go through yourself if you have this book and follow her advice. The list of genealogy websites at the end of the book is labeled Genealogy Websites for Beginners. No so. Even an experienced genealogist like me found some new websites I hadn't discovered yet

ALABAMA GENEALOGY WEBSITES

The Alabama Supreme Court on Slaves - an annotated list of the Alabama Supreme Court's decisions on slaves from statehood through 1865.

Bureau of Land Management – patent search - land patents search in Alabama by name

MEMBER MESSAGES

I requested members to send information about longest continuous held reunions and Cole Owen sent me this email on the Haynes family. I'll include others emails in future newsletters.

The annual reunion for the Thomas Clinton Haynes & Rhoda (Davis) Haynes family began in 1895. Held by tradition on, "The first fifth Sunday after the Fourth of July", the 2012 reunion will be the 117th reunion, and will occur Sunday, 29 July. This Haynes Family Reunion was initiated by T. C. Haynes (1837 - 1904), who with wife Rhoda had fourteen children. Each of the fourteen children later married and had children. The reunion has typically been held at the New Canaan Baptist Church, Jackson County Alabama, and "Dinner on the grounds" is a Haynes Reunion tradition, as is music sung in the "Sacred Harp" style, with selections led by descendants of the continuing family lines of each of the fourteen children.

Family names of the fourteen children and respective spouses include Haynes and Davis, plus: McCracken, Williams, Ivy, Mitchell, Linville, Teague, Wootten, Thompson, Hamilton, Stone, Gilbert, Tyree and Jones. Most "original' families of the children's spouses lived at the time (in the early 1900's) in Jackson, Dekalb or Marshall counties and the majority lived at the time on Sand Mountain. Typical annual attendance is 150 to 250 people with some years easily exceeding 300.

QUERIES FROM THE AP FORUM

Would you like to send a private email message to a member? It is much safer than leaving your email address. Spammers search for email addresses on Forums. Follow this simple directions to send a message via the Message board.
Please do not email queries to me. I only take queries from the forum and no longer have time to help with searches. Your email queries will not be answered. The instructions for posting are on the forum.

Copy the USER NAME from this newsletter
Login and click on USERS and paste or type in the USER NAME in the space provided. Click SUBMIT – The USER'S name with his/her posts will appear.
Click on the USER'S NAMES
Click on PMB (Private message box) in his/her profile.
Scroll down and you will see a box with the USER NAME in it (like an email message box)-
Write your message in the box and it will be emailed privately to the person.

*Please note: Some people do not allow private emails to be sent to them via the message board so there is a chance you will not receive a response. In this situation, you should reply to the message on the forum board. I'm sorry but I am unable to help you contact them other than through the information a member provides in the forum and with over 24,000 members, I am unable to track them down for you.
Tip:Remember to add approximate dates and details to your queries for more productive replies. I am unable to put extremely long queries in the newsletter so keep your queries brief.
Remember: Check the forum frequently for replies to your message. Use the Search box on the forum to find your query. All replies will be included under your query and you can communicate back and forth to your query directly on the forum.

Nowlan/Nowland/Nolan/Nolen/Nolin
I am looking for the parents and siblings of my gg grandfather James M. Nowlan. The surname is spelled many different ways. My earliest factual data is the James married Martha Ann Moore Nowlin on 11 Nov 1845 in Marengo, Alabama. From subsuquent census information it shows that James was born in Tennessee in 1822, his father in North Carolina and his mother in Kentucky. Martha was born in 1820-1822 White, Tennesse. James' and Martha's first child William H. was born 1846 in Alabama. James, Martha, William, Robert C. born 1846 Mississippi and Nancy J. born 1838 in Alabama all migrated to Arkansas by 1850 as per census. USER NAME: Diane Yarbrough

Bryan Family of Southern Alabama
Iam looking for information on James Luther Bryan who was born in Georgia but moved to Ala in 1847 or 48. Married Martha Jane Gilley in 1851. Had John Jackson, who married a Rice, and they had my grandfather James Alex who I know was born in Geneva. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Dan USER NAME: dan56789

Armstrong,Petty,McKinney,Davis,Allison,Archer and Childress Families
These are my most important and closest surnames. Any information is helpful. Elisha USER NAME: egbrew

Thank you for your support and encouragement
Donna R. Causey