"Welcome to the Weekend Chat!" All Members Invited!! February 23rd - 25th, 2024 [closed]

Question

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Members Checking in via "All About the Weekend Chat"

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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.

Enjoy yourselves and spread the love!

Comments

Good Leap Year morning, my fellow WikiChatterboxes, and welcome to the Weekend Chat! Greetings once again from Cathey’s Creek where we had reasonably mild temperatures and no rain until late last evening. It’s still raining, and of course I had to go out in it for my early morning therapy session. That, and driving on the Rosman Dragstrip (as we call the main thoroughfare leading into town) and I take my life in my own hands. Speaking of Leap Year, I saw a story about a woman who was 100 years old but has only celebrated 25 birthdays because she was born on February 29^th!

On the Home Front: Well, no sooner that I posted the Chat last weekend and answered a few of you when my elder daughter called and said she was coming up for my wife’s birthday. It was a mad dash to the grocery store and straightening up the guest room before she arrived. My wife had just sadly mentioned the day before that she hadn’t seen either of our kids since Christmas.

One thing good about having a nurse/paramedic/teacher as a daughter is that we give her free rein to diagnose our illnesses. This time it was my wife who has had a persistent cough for some six months now. We have tried everything, but the doc said her lungs were clear (and CT scan came back with the same results). My poor wife has been sleeping at night upright in a chair for some four months now. She cannot sleep in our bed because the coughing starts up almost immediately.

Our daughter went on the hunt, looking at Long Covid and other things. She thinks she may have discovered what might be the problem and gave my wife a long list of things to discuss with her doctor. Turns out that the doctor agreed with what was presented including suggested medications. (She also agreed to replace my wife’s metformin prescription as it was constantly making her nauseous.) I’m keeping my fingers crossed as we wait for the new prescriptions to come in.

Aside from all that, we did have a good time. This daughter is easier, not having to be busy and out and about all the time. She worked on some of her schoolwork and cooked supper for us one night, a large roast with pepper chinos. I swear it was so hot that I couldn’t finish my serving. Kinda like trying to swallow lava. She promised that it would be better after one day, and she was right. We made tacos with the meat Monday night, and it was wonderful.

On the Genealogy Front: I easily made my 1000 contributions for the month as we have had some long open slots in the Greeters calendar. I’m sitting on 1533 contributions so far.

I actually did a little personal genealogy this week. I finally left the McGees in Bowie County, Texas and have returned closer to home. These will be descendants of my grandfather’s uncle, John Daniel Underwood. He was the first of four brothers to enter Confederate service, and sometime during the Siege of Petersburg he deserted to the Union Army. He signed an oath of allegiance and stayed up north for a bit before returning home. John became a choir director at a nearby Presbyterian church that my ancestors founded and was buried there when he died at 60 in 1901.

So, I’m working on adding descendants (which will increase my CC7). Originally, John’s profile was a gedcom import, was orphaned, and I took it over soon after joining WikiTree. That profile lay dormant for a while, but now Uncle John’s family needs attention.

I hope all of you are finding some normalcy in this increasingly strange world. Be safe and flourish in all you do.

Enjoy the Chat!

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Desertion was not all that uncommon toward the end of the war. Many were tired of fighting. Some took the oath to avoid prison which, was almost 25% certain death and 100% sustained misery. Quantrill had two such members I am almost certain were union solders as well as bush-whackers. Little is known about them except, they certainly participated in some of Quantrill's raids. At the end of the war they were recognized as union soldiers.

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Hi Pip, I am so glad to read that you and Mrs. Pip had such a wonderful and helpful visit with your daughter. Also glad to read you are increasing your CC7. I am still working at improving profiles as I go along. I have had a great visit with M Ross and her husband, Robb. We think of you wherever we go.

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Normal is overrated. Things being more SANE is where it's at. But, who knows if and when that'll happen. Fingers crossed on that front.

Gotta be careful with those hot peppers. Sure they'll clean your sinuses but be careful. Gotta love wasabi headaches though. What a rush.

Thanks for hosting!!

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Hello Pip, being a natural "lurker" in this forum of which I don't normally participate but which is one I do like to observe now and then for the human inrerest stories, I couldn't help but 'overhear' your update about your wife's lung problems. If the cause of your wife's persistent cough cannot be attributed to the medicine she was prescribed then it may be she has developed a chemical sensitivity to a local air quality issue (normally an air polutant always present when she's out and about) or alternatively something has changed in your house, like a new carpet or new sleeping pillows, and that new house-hold product is emmiting a by-product fume her lungs are chemically sensitive to. Again this assumes the doctor(s) ruled out the medicine she was prescribed earlier. Chemical sensitivies to everything from environmental pollutants to certain household cleaners or house/furmiture repair products can develop as we age. Lung infections, bronchitis or asthma are not uncommon when this happens in older people.

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Happy weekend from St Louis Missouri area. Weather here today is sunny but cold. 33”49F. yesterday it was almost 70. Tomorrow it may reach 71.  Temps are going up and down like a bouncing ball.

Genealogy I showed my WikiTrr tree to my granddaughters this week.  They were excited to see the my connections feature and see all the interesting people we are connected to.  They also like photos on profiles of ancestors who died before they were born.  My one granddaughter is a big Star Wars fan and discovered we are connected to Carrie Fischer aka Princess Leah. That made her day.  Also went through all the glassmakers then went into the dining room to see some of the glass they made.  I told them that in the future they will have a chance to pick items from my extensive glass and crystal collection. They asked if that included my hand blown Christmas ornaments and I said yes. They liked that idea. Fortunately so far they like different ones.  

Health wise I sent in last t st to see if medication killed off the mold that had settled in my bloodstream and gut. blood test came back clear hopefully the urine toxicity test will be clear. Results expected May 6 or 7.  I am feeling fine

I’m watching lots of sports programs following the nfl combine and draft  8 Mizzou Tigers got invited to the Combine and at least 2 are expected to be selected in the first round with 4 or 5 anticipated to be selected in the 2nd round  1 or 2 possibly in 3 teams d round  This is great news for Missouri  Tigers    

Reading   Ron took me to Barnes and Noble Wednesday afternoon and I found two buy one get one 50% off   They are a cross between fantasy science fiction and mystery   I have started one and am enjoying it so far  I am an eclectic reader   I like philosophy and biography and science and mystery and history and fantasy  and science fiction as well as real science  I particularly like quantum physics  and archaeology  I collect glass and crystal and rocks and semiprecious gem stones  like I said I am eclectic  and probably a bit eccentric too

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Leigh Anne, thanks for this. We (and the doctor) still do not know exactly what is causing my wife's misery, but one thing that hasn't been checked is the possibility of something within the house. I've wondered about it, but haven't gone through the list of things we use in the house.

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Laura, your temps, though warmer, are swinging like ours are. The other day we had a low of around 50; last night it got down to 25. I am just about as ready for sporing as one can be, but we still have March and April to get through here in the mountains.

Barnes and Noble: When my wife and I are out and about and see a bookstore, she rarely allows me to enter. She knows exactly what'll happen.

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Well, their chai tea IS amazing, Pip.....

Oh! You mean the books. Yes, we know. You'd be like that guy in that Twilight Zone episode with a ton of books. =D

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@Pip

@Leigh Ann Dear

Pip, Leigh Ann is bringing up an excellent issue. Oddly enough, I was sharing research a colleague and I had done back in the late 1990s on multiple chemical sensitivity. We are in the process of updating our chapter on the topic for the 3rd edition of Women and Health. I will send the 2nd edition chapter to you later this week just as an FYI. The one difference is that this doesn't just occur in older adults. It is more likely to occur in women and it becomes noticeable around the onset of menopause. Very good catch, Leigh Ann!

Answer 1

This Week Enjoy A New Parody

Soung to the Tune of Rainbow Connection

• Released 1979 in The Muppet Movie'
• Written by: Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher
• Performed by: Kemit The Frog AKA Jim Henson
• Reach 25 on Billboard Hot 100 and remaining in the top 40 for 7 weeks
• Best Original Song Nomination to writers in the 52nd Academy Awards
• In 2020, Rainbow Connection was recognized by the Library Of Congress and now preserved in the National Recording Registry
  • Parody by Dave Draper

Here is the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awhyiBv-oQc

• Click on the link and the music should play, then come back here and try to sing along
  • Or, open the link in a new window

• Cousin Connection

• Why are the so many posts about people
• On WikiTree G2G
• Family and mem'ries
• With the conclusion
• With sources we all can see
• "Not True!" we're told
• And some choose to believe it
• I know they're wrong, wait and see
• Some day we'll find them
• Our cousin connections
• Right here on this WikiTree
• Not every Member
• Can be seen or featured
• In M.O.M. on the WikiTree
• Somebody thought of that
• And the "Forest Elf" believed it
• That's why there's a G2G
• What's so amazing
• That keeps us source grazing
• And who do we think we might see
• Someday we'll find them
• The cousin connections
• And build up our 7-C-C
• All of us under its spell
• We know that we'll find all the sources
• Have you made profiles?
• And have you heard voices?
• Ancestors calling your name?
• They need remembered
• And they need connected
• Our DNA is all the same
• I've been discouraged; I try to ignore it
• Genealogist: what I'm supposed to be
• Someday we'll find them
• The cousin connections
• Because we are all family
• La da da di da da dum da duh da da dum di da ohhh

More Weekend Chat Parodies CLICK HERE

Comments

This is just beautiful, and very different from your other parodies, David. How wonderful!

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Yeah, Pip, I broke the water pipe behind my eyes on this one! I'm emotionally compromised at the moment.  I was up all night, couldn't figure out a song for today, then I remembered Chris F and some others wanted this one parodied.  I was working on it at 6am!

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Love this, and the original song! Well done!

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That is so beautiful. I was able to sing along fairly easy. Thank you.

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Well done, Cousin David! This is one of your best filks so far. And yes, they do call your name.

While I'm in no hurry for the day to arrive, having too much I still need to accomplish, taking that step on the Great Wheel doesn't seem so scary when I think about talking to some of the peeps who have gone before. What stories they could tell!

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Well done!  Always loved this song and it has sentimental connection to me.  Now you have made it even better!  Thank you for making me smile!

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@ David Are you at all familiar with a Lucinda Draper that married a Wiliam Davenport 20 Dec 1831 Kentucky, lived in Missouri?

Answer 2

Top of the Morning from “Little Dixie” Lately, I’ve been working on two James Overton Hinde’s. One a 3x great uncle/ 2c5r, the other his nephew, 3c my cousin. JOH’s sister , also 2c5r, married Dr Evan Ennis Combs.  Two interesting finds from this, first, I now see where the Combs name enters the family line . The interesting part, my uncle who moved to Texas and fought for the Union is the one who named his kid Ed Combs Smith. Dr Combs and Mary HINDE Combs had a child, James Hinde Combs. He was some 13-14 years older than his cousin who was thought to be one of Quantrill’s men and to have ridden with the James-Younger Gang after the war. His name was misspelled on Quantrill’s roster and his affiliation, if at all, was sparse with the J-Y Gang. At some time around the start of the Civil War, shortly before or after, records reflect that James Hinde Combs provided a horse to Frank James to enable his get away from Union troops after they received fire from the banks of the Missouri River as they were on board a steamship heading up river. After disembarking and giving chase, they were unsuccessful in capturing or killing any bush-whackers. As a consolation, they raided and burned a small town east of Sibley Missouri.

 

I am content that I am well on my way to having enough circumstantial evidence to reasonably prove the connection, short of Jesse and Jonathon Newman Edwards memorializing him to history by name. Unlike John Hunt’s Raiders, Quantrill’s band were several independent bands that came together a handful of times before and during the first part of the war.

Comments

D, I think my brain would begin to spark and smoke trying to keep all those connections straight. I still think you oughta write a book.

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I love where your research is taking you! Cousin!

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Charley Pierce Charley Pierce - Wikipedia and Kit Dalton Captain Daniel Webster “Kit” Dalton -- Outlaw & Lawman are both well-known yet have few leads. Charley rode with Bill Doolin and the Dalton gang 20 years after the war. Kit rode with J-Y gang, Sam Bass and Quantrill and never captured. Probably knew one another from their bush-whacker days. My gradpa and grandma were Dalton-Pierce from the same general area a generation later. I think my next focus is on Morgan's Raiders. Most of my kin were from Kentucky so I'm sure there are a few more irregulars there. Morgan's greatest defeat happened at Tebbs' Bend. My second great granpa was Minor Tebbs Smith and was alive at the time of the Battle of Tebbs Bend. Battle of Tebbs Bend - Wikipedia

Answer 3

¡Buenos días a todos from the Old Pueblo! It is 7am and 47F (8.3C) with an expected high of 70F (20.6C) and sunny skies in Tucson.

As a follow up from last week’s chat, I got the full spine MRI done on Tuesday at long last. Appointments for imaging have been taking three weeks to a month or more. I got the reports today, which means that the neurologist, pain specialist and primary care provider will also have received them. I will see the pain specialist on Monday. The cervical and thoracic images are much worse than 2018, and the lumbar spine has deteriorated even more just in the past 10 months. Hopefully, I will be able to get prednisone tablets, if not an injection within the next week because the pain is quite…painful.

I am always amazed at how quickly time flies, and the older I get, the faster it flies! I am required to renew my nursing license every five years, which I did in mid-January. This week, I realized I had to renew my driver’s license by March 11^th. In Arizona, once we hit 65 years, we must renew every 5 years instead of every 10 years. They need to do an eye test every 5 years, which consists of them holding up a chart about 6 feet from me and having me read the bottom line. I recommended that they require persons over 65 years bring a note from their eye doctor given that their test is almost insulting! Nevertheless, my license is renewed.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I agreed to Team Lead Buckinghamshire, England. This week, I spent several hours updating the site. I added information on the Bucks flag, some history of the shire from Anglo Saxon times forward, famous locations and people. I also added a map of Bucks. I received an email today to add another team member, who just completed OT1. Maybe the next Thon will have three sub-teams for England: roots, branches and Bucks!

Betsy Ko began a site for Taiwan. I vacationed for a week or so in Taiwan when I taught for the military in East Asia. I have numerous photos (actual photos – pre android) of intriguing sites and locations. I emailed Betsy to ask if I got some of these photos scanned and would she want to use them. She emailed back to say definitely, good idea and she is setting up a ‘free space.’

Work on the Baldwins and Whittens diverged a bit this week. The wife of one of the Maine Whittens posed a very interesting situation. Her LNAB differed from both of her biological parents. I spent time researching and found that there was a pre-existing profile but with little information. The PM for the other profile and I emailed daily this past week. I helped solve a mystery for him and he helped by sending the full court trial of her father, who was found guilty of 2^nd degree manslaughter for the shooting death of his wife in 1840. They had six children. I found three of them, and helped the other PM add to his knowledge of this family. Yesterday, he found a nice nugget of information that I since added to one profile and improved a sibling’s profile. I am going to help improve the profiles for the other four siblings over the weekend. This was a true collaborative WikiEffort that paid off for all.

The BIG WikiNews is that M Ross and her husband, Robb arrived safe and sound from Toronto to Tucson on Tuesday (hmmm…nice alliteration). M called me on Tuesday evening after they settled into their hotel, which is maybe ½ mile from my home! I met them at the hotel on Wednesday morning and we walked across the road for breakfast at a great little family-owned restaurant called Gourmet Girls. Afterwards, we came to my home and gave them the grand tour of all the ‘re-dos’ in my home given all the ‘re-dos’ in their home, which were reported in various of our Chats. After, we went to Tohono Chul Gardens (https://tohonochul.org/overview/). We spent several sunny hours wandering through the gardens and exhibits. I discovered that M does not use an android for her photos. She uses a Canon and downloads the photos onto her computer. I am adding one photo that a kindly Viet Nam Vet Navy Veteran took of the three of us with the Sonoran Desert in the background. Yesterday was their planned trek to Mount Lemmon and I think today they will be touring the Mescal Movie Studio site. This Sunday, M, Robb and I will be spending time in the morning at the Rillito Farmers Market. We will meet with another WikiTreer, Cindy Cooper, in the early afternoon at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. Pip, you must know that you were with us in thought and in spirit!

Left to Right: Robb Dods, Carol Baldwin, & M Ross

Pip, as ever, thank you for leading the Weekend Chat. Another week closer to seeing you! I also want to wish all my WikiTree friends and family a great LAST weekend of February 2024!

 

 

Comments

Please identify which is M. and which is you.  Robbie I think is easy.

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Thank you.  I was pretty sure but knew others wanted to know, too.

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That is a great picture!  Thans for sharing!Cousin!

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So much fun to see our WikiTree friends. I think we should plan some regional gatherings. There are many archives that may be interesting destinations.  I have been happy to discover many archives are Ada compliant for people like me with mobility issues.  Traveling is a real conundrum We drive most often because you can’t assume even big cities will have handicapped available transportation.  Airlines are mainly no go. Some trains are wonderful but you really have to do your homework.

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I discovered that the Amtrac train aisles were two inches narrower than my standard walker locked in open position.
I used it folded in because I could grab a seat back quickly but it is a pure hazard if you have to switch between cars
and push or kick a lever to open the doors and step over a threshold and gap.

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I am thinking of the observation type cars where they lift your wheelchair or mobility scooter into the train car and then you have a room with a great view no reason to change cars of go down an aisle with seats

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Carol and M, you look like you're standing in my brother's backyard. I do love the scenery in Tucson, maybe because it is so very different than where I have lived all my life. I know y'all had a great time. Who wouldn't have a great time while spending time with Carol!

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@Pip...you are too kind. I can assure you that MY family would clearly disagree with your last sentence!!! M, Robb and I connected with Cindy Cooper today at the Tucson Botanical Gardens. I will add a photo on next Friday's chat! You will see more space that looks like Mike's back yard. The gardens had a great butterfly-torium (whatever) and we were all totally enchanted. I will add a couple of butterfly photos next week as well. Hugs! And know that we missed you and though of you!

Answer 4

Granddaughter #2 is on a college touring trip this weekend
so I am going to take #3 out to breakfast or lunch today or tomorrow.  Just a quick check in before I make phone calls.
Weather has been very mild and I am so glad because it makes getting to the garage so much easier without having to negotiate snowy or icy surfaces.  Local news articles are telling us how thousands are expected in our nearby city, Watertown, N.Y. to experience the April 9th sun disappearance in the solar eclipse.  We are on the map for an almost perfect view.  I still think I will just watch it on tv and not try to make a "camera" view by cutting up a box, taping on white paper and viewing it by holding the box high over my head and watching the same thing on the white paper taped inside the box.  They are selling glasses that are supposed to protect your eyes but newspaper articles keep warning us
of frauds.  My chair looks so inviting.

Comments

Hey Beulah. I think I'd be right with you watching the eclipse on TV too. So much safer and much more comfortable.

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I buy glasses from planetarium gift shop. They seem to sell good ones.  They are not cheap but ldamaging your sight is more costly than good glasses

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We will be viewing the eclipse from my husband's niece's house, it is directly in the path of totality only about an hour from home. As soon as we knew the when and where sometime last spring, we informed the niece we would be visiting.

We have viewing lenses from an astronomy society.

Most of the local school boards have cancelled classes for the day, because the eclipse will be happening as the kids will be leaving school, and there is no way the school bus driver can control what every kid is doing on the ride home.

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Beulah, we are going to miss the whole eclipse... too far west for us, though I would love to have been in it's path. I've done the box, and find it safer that using the glasses!

Answer 5

Back on Feb. 2nd, on a warm day, I authorized spring to proceed......as it didn't fully cooperate, some days were gloomy and overcast, yesterday I went out in a light t-shirt and kick started the season, the sun came out.  Started cutting next winter's kindling supply, noticed the crocuses in bloom, observed the rhubarb growing and followed up by tidying the veranda.  Stopped for coffee beside the large pink and the small white Christmas Cacti, in the north bay window, they never stop blooming......Kathy claims she doesn't know how to care for potted plants......I say keep it up.  And, in the window above the cacti, a hoard of ladybugs was trying to get out and at 'em.

Comments

Trees are wanting to bud, and it is way too early. Oh well how much higher can the cost of produce possibly go?

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  I must have poked Old Man Winter with my sharp stick.....after another sunny day, he's turned and blown some Arctic weather back for this coming week......now, where's my magic wand...........

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We are expecting near record heat on Tues along with 40 mph wind.... oh well, I guess that is still better than cool and windy like it usually is in March

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K, at the mention of a magic wand, winter is slowly turning eastward.......passing by your way about Wednesday.

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It will be raining crocus and daffodils next week, crappie on the way to the banks. Bring it on!

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John, I knew that were still in the middle of winter when our crocuses, daffodils, and Lenten Rose bloomed. We are going to have to wait on everything else to bloom, including the roses my mom planted.

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K and Pip, this morning the rain came down, the wind blew sideways and I wondered what was up.......then the weather moderated and we settled on mixed weather for this coming week......hope I can get to some of my unfinished pruning.

Answer 6

Checking in From Beautiful Bloomington, Illinois! 36F now heading for 52F Sunny!

Home Front:  The H.S. graduation party for my granddaughter has past, the family left and the house is quiet! Most of us are sick and two have Covid!  I'm sick too, but breathing much better today!  But it was fun! (I think) 

Genealogy Front: I'm coasting the rest of the month, currently 1433 contributions for Feb.

The Book: I'm making great progress. My imagination is running wild. I write, then meditate on what the story needs and how to tell it an exciting way. Then meditate and dream up more stuff, figure out where I need to back and reinforce the sub-plots, polish, polish, polish!  I have AI re-write capability, but I don't use it much. I use it to get an idea how to word scenes, then delete the rewrite.  I like my way! 

• "By the numbers:"
• Chapter 1: 5748 words
• Chapter 2: 7159 words
• Chapter 3: 4812 words
• Chapter 4: 5066 words
• Chapter 5: 762 and continuing all weekend long
• Total Words: 23,547
• Goal 85,000 words
• 61,453 more to write! I'm approaching 33% completion

Saturday Edit:  I was really sick and exhusted yesterday. Feeling much better!

This is Black History Month: My book is kind of about that, more into slavery issues in the period between 1781 and 1865.

What is the book about:  Ira Dillingham Draper Underground Railroad Station Master  Easiest way to explain it!

The above (What is the book about?) isn't exactly correct...I told that story in his profile already. FYI: Mellissa Jamison and I polished that profile (her research and my writing) for the benefit of the Iowa Historical Society to their Freedom Trail Project! This is the neatest discovery in my entire life. The IHS agreed. Ira Dillingham Draper was never on their radar! 

What the book is REALLY about:  

This 85,000+ word book is based on this one short sentence from The History of the Draper Family by Mabell Estela (Draper Hummel: Celia (wife of Ira Dillingham Draper) was bound out as a child and never spoke of her childhood.

This sentence disturbed me!  What I learned because of my research and WikiTree profiles already created by my cousins I never knew of was mindboggling!  

Facts: Celia Means Draper is my 2nd great grandmother. Before she was born her father and grandfathers and uncles and cousins fought in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in Greensboro, NC. Robert Means and Elijah Joyce fight in that battle and their kids get marred to each other.  Celia is the last of 9 children to be born in 1817 to William and Susan  (Joyce) Means. Both families live very close to each other west of modern day Stoneville, NC (south of Martinsville, VA). In 1822 (Celia is 5 years old) her grandfather and dad die. 4 years later (age 9) her mother dies. She is "Bound Out",  probably to an older sister already married. My theory is that she gets separated from her younger siblings, especially her sister Nancy who is two years older.  

The next thing the family history states is that Celia and all her siblings, except 1 older sister who is married and living in Madison, NC have moved to Shelby County, Indiana.  Celia, her siter Nancy and her brother William meet the Draper family and marry into it. 3 siblings married 3 siblings...and they all stick together and move to Iowa!  It is now 1850, and they all get caught up in the UGRR.  The Knights of the Golden Circle get wind of their activities and send in the bounty hunters! My family is wanted "Dead or Alive" preferably DEAD! This is the second proverbial "chase scene" in the book to keep the reader on the edge of their seat! The first chase scene is when Celia, as a young girl, helps a slave escape, and they get run down and captured.  Lots of fiction nail biting action adventure in this part!

Celia had to be messed up emotionally. PTSD, depression and anxiety getting triggered by various events, smells and visible things she saw.  Celia lives in a society that accepts slavery, yet she marries an abolitionist, my 2nd great grandfather, Ira Dillingham Draper! She is separated from her siblings, but they all end up in Indiana together!  I attempt to explain all of this in my book, a fictionalized novel based on real people and real events. I need to make my self cry when I write, so the reader will cry!  I need to break out in laughter when I write a segment, so the reader will also. I need to write with anger about the brutal treatment of slaves, so my readers will have murder in their hearts for the bad actors.I need to make the reader love this story!  Pretty intense, huh?

The book is COMPLICATED (that is a good thing) 

Target audience: Women However, this is also an "Action Adventure Western" with a lot of fighting that men should enjoy, and, after all the story is being told by me, a man, so there is plenty of pretty neat fight scenes.  As for you girls: Celia is a very strong woman that has emotional flaws and bouts with childhood depression, triggered at the most inconvenient times.  In real life I deal with those type of problems in my family and I am using those people, who suffer the same things as Celia, as my models.  I don't try to fix the problems of PTSD in the book or in my family.  I describe it and tell how the problem is battled.  Repressed fears, guilt and trauma over losing loved ones has to heal with help from those who show love, not from caustic ones who say, "Just snap out of it" or "You are faking it, trying to get attention." 

Eventually, I will need "Beta Readers" That could happen in March. A Beta Reader is the critic before the real critics tear the work to pieces and make the writer feel like the floor of a taxi cab! 

Reality Check:  So many people are writing books, even great books, that there are not enough publishers to go around. Also, if a publisher accepts to read it, they have to determine if people will buy the book. If I self-publish, I'm told I will have to spend 14 hours a day promoting it to, well, everybody!  I don't feel up to that task. So, because we have Free Space pages, eventually all of you can read the book. This might be a first for WikiTree!

Comments

David, what's the stoty about? Don't be shy, you can tell your cousins.   

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Hope you're feeling better soon

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@Amanda: Feeling much better Today 6:30am Saturday

@Leigh Ann Dear: Read the "Saturday Edit" above!

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I am happy to read for you.

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Laura, thank you! I have 4 on the list but might have forgot someone.  There is no time limit. Each chapter of the story will be placed on a Free Pace page, trusted list members can post comments that will be anonymous to me. Anyone can join the fun, sooner or later as the book nears completion.  The book should be finished by May 2024, People can still join as beta readers well into the summer. If a publisher does pick up on this work, it could be 2 years to release after ghost writers tweak it to make it sellable!

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if you need me I am happy to help I have done this before.

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David, I hope you got all the photos you wanted to get during the graduation party! So sorry that you've not been well. Seems that if not Covid, then something else is out there lurking for us.

Answer 7

Hails and horns, Wikipeeps!

I've got some news on the genealogy front. But, first up I have a blog about heirlooms: https://allroadhaverhill.blogspot.com/2024/02/52-ancestors-week-8-heirlooms.html

My house is like a museum. I could make several exhibits based on the toys from the '80s and '90s alone. After restoration of course. Then again a pristine Optimus Prime from 1984 is a WEE bit hard to come by. That's why you cheat and use a reissue. =D

Anyway, read the blog when ya can. 

This week I went to Haverhill City hall and the library to see about some requests. The library is still undergoing repairs from a flood they had. Don't worry. Everything is fine. They just need to fix the pipes. The special collection is on the third floor and is okay!

 So, I went to City hall and put in some requests for where some people were buried and some parents. They emailed me back some answers and I have edited their profiles on the site accordingly and I've added some info to find a grave.

Some of the things I got were:

The burial place for Elizabeth D. Fellows.

Parents for Vincenzo Papatola.

And a few other odds and ends.

OH! I found the parents of a Giovandomenico Medaglia. I tried to find his arrival. It seems he arrived on the SS Unknown according to his Naturalization paper. I think that's a ghost ship.

As far as San Pietro goes, I got a number and I should get a reply in a few months. I hope. Fingers crossed on that one.

I hope everyone is doing well. It's rainy here in Salem. Good thing I went to Haverhill city hall the other day. It was nice out but I wasn';t gonna do a cemetery run. Too cold for that. =D

Thanks for hosting, Pip!!

Comments

Sounds like you're making some progress there Chris. I have a couple of ancestors I'm sure swam to Australia or just arrived in a puff of smoke lol

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Pretty sure the Haverhill city clerk knows me by name at this point. =D Same with San Pietro.

I hope you can find the info, Amanda! Good luck!!

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Cousin Chris, I checked Elizabeth Fellows, found she is my 7th cousin, so I followed the trail backwards to find my great grand mother: Ann (Unknown) Haseltine (abt. 1620 - 1684) SWEET!

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Ya know we really need to figure out Ann's last name. I'm gonna go with Gordon. Ann Gordon. Because that's like the most British sounding last name I can come up with on the spot. =D

Great to have that connection! =D Liz is connected to several soldiers of the American Revolution:

 https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Fellows-533

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Drew-1397

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bailey-16958

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Chris, I loved your heirloom blog. I had to sit back and think of all the stuff I have from past generations and how thankful that those items came down to me. My oldest piece is a Bible printed in 1820 by the American Bible Society, four years after its founding. The Bible belonged to my gg-grandfather and has all the children listed in it with birth dates.

Keep us posted on San Pietro! It's an edge-of-my-seat kind of thing, waiting to hear from you hearing from them!

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Glad you liked the blog, Pip! We have soo much stuff. We even have paintings Marco made and a few other things. No family bibles, though. In fact, I didn't even know what a family Bible was until I came here. We have stuff in notebooks.

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Genealogists LOVE collections that connect us to the past. I have about six or seven family or just personally owned bibles that I have inherited. Good stuff. Now to find someone who will want these things when I'm gone.

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Sadly, I don't have anything like that. Just pics that were labeled and documents. That's pretty good though. =D No Bibles.

Answer 8

Hello and good morning from Everett, Snohomish County, Washington, where it is FOGGY, and not just in my brain this morning. I am so not a morning person. The dog didn't want to go all the way down the street.

We have pretty much decided on taking the dog with us this April for vacation when we plan to visit historic Eugene, Oregon, home of so many ancestral memories. Whom can we visit down there? D* few, and they're a-dead. So our own memories must be made for this generation.

The photo of the quilt that husband posted to his Facebook page has gotten many comments. Makes me think of giving it to the nice lady, friend of my drinking buddy, who liked the 3-D effect.

This week I got wide receiver Cliff Branch of the Raiders connected. It was surprisingly easy, only about 33 profiles, considering that it took almost 200 for Willie Wood of the Packers. Today I'm working on other "Super Bowl Legends" from David Randall's challenge.

During Lent, daughter has moved her computer onto the table directly above where I'm writing this, shoved fabric away, and is doing more "adult" things than video games (not that adults don't love them). I think getting out of her room makes her more cheerful--it works for me, too, getting away from a hole. Plus, I've stopped listening to the AM radio stations, and that helps my mood a lot.

Today I'm shopping for more fish, more meatless options, trying to wake up, trying to finish another quilt, and Wikitreeing.

Blessings to all of you.

Comments

I agree with the radio assessment.  I used to be able to enjoy
several genres of music oriented from local stations.  Now they are all nasty political speakers or hosts.

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Hi Margaret I use to have the TV on in the background while I'm on the computer but this week I've been listening to Spotify. I had heaps of fun one day listening to 70's music, another day was 80s and today well I'll see what's available.

Sounds like your connecting is going well too

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"So our own memories must be made for this generation.' Oh, how true this is Margaret. And all those activities that you are involved in to retain the history of your area is just the kind of thing that we strive for.

We bought a load of fish a couple of weeks ago for Lent. That way, we won't have to go back out, back out, back out... I picked up a few more disciplines for Lent aside from dieting/fasting.

Answer 9

Hello everyone! Our weather here is still crazy. We got up to 7°C yesterday but tomorrow’s high is supposed to be -10°C (0°C is 32°F). It’s February but we don’t have much snow which is very unusual for us. Snow storms are still likely in March but we’ll have to see if we actually get any more snow.

Genealogy: I think that I might be crazy lol. This past week I started a OPS (Buckfastleigh, Devon, England) because I thought the name was interesting. I agreed to take on Grenada as part of the Global Project, and I joined the Cemeterist project. Part of the cemetery stuff I was doing already so it made sense to me to join the project. I could now stay busy on WT 24/7 but that is not realistic so I created a FSP To Do list to try and stay organized.

(((Hugs))) everyone!

Comments

Hi Liza the FSP is a great idea. I have one completely locked so I can add paragraphs that I can reuse for things like immigration and just change the details. I kept filing my "to do list"s and forgeting to look at them so it's all in the FSP too. I have a second one for thons so I can add stuff to work on for them.

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I know you guys have had a lot of snow up your way, Liza, and hope you are surviving it well. We, on the other hand, are having our second winter without a single snowflake. My wife think this is great. 

Answer 10

Howdy folks! Greetings from a spring-like central Oklahoma USA! Last weekend we had freezing temps and by Tuesday it was in the mid 70s. It sounds like the warm weather is going to stay with us for the time being, and I'm not mad about it.

I started sprouting some jalapenos, habaneros, and poblano peppers, along with some cherry tomatoes. Thankfully, all but two of the poblanos have come up. Planning the garden has begun, but in the very early stages. I need to get out, clean out the weeds and get the tiller fired up for the first turn of the year. It's gonna be fun.

I was absent from the chat last weekend because I was on my way to Temple, OK for the first annual family hog hunt. My best friends family has an 850 acre farm that has a bunch of wild hogs tearing things up, so thinning the herd out is a constant endeavor. My nephew (a USMC Veteran), my brother in law (a US Navy Veteran), my nephews buddy (a sheriffs deputy) all came down from IL, along with me and my son in law, hoping to thin the herd by a good number. The weather was not in our favor at all with the temps in the 20s and 30s and a stiff north wind at about 30 mph. The weather made the hogs skiddish, so we never got close enough to take any down. Still, it was a great time hanging out with some family that I only get to see once or twice a year. We're going to try it again next year.

On the grandgirl front, I'm happy to announce that she is now walking! She was here a few weeks ago and she was soooooo close, but was using her toy baby stroller for support. It's fixing to get entertaining around here.

Brook has the crud again, but luckily it's not COVID. The elm and cedar pollen has been crazy high so we have been struggling with allergies, but she kept getting worse with 102 fever and a nasty cough. Doc says its an upper respiratory infection and put her on antibiotics and steroids. She's better today. I have been asymptomatic once again. (Thankfully)

With the nice weather, I'm going to fire up one of the smokers, cook a chicken and make smoked chicken salad. It's good stuff!

Thanks Pip for being the host with the most, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Until next time......

John

Comments

Been awhile since I killed me a pig. We used to go to Tishomingo, Ok and I think somewhere around Paris, Tx. They are problematic and don't taste too bad.

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John, my younger brother grows various peppers and then lies about eating them to me and my other brother. We know better.

Not a single hog? Well, the fellowship would have made up for it.

So very sorry that Brook is down again. Offering prayers for a quick recovery!

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It's been a while since I killed one too, K. Maybe next time.

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Thanks Pip! I'm hoping to have enough to pickle and make pepper jelly and fermented hot sauce. Only time will tell.

Answer 11

Hello Everyone,  from Medford, Oregon. Fortunately, we are seeing a warmer day with sunshine. It has been raining off and on all week. They have had some pretty good snow at our Crater Lake, and Mt. Ashland ski area. 

This week has been busy with appointments for my brother. he is preparing to have triple bypass surgery on 1 March (possibly quadruple). Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

PIP, glad to hear you had a surprise visit, and hopefully it went very well. Yes, it is nice to have a nurse in the family. I have been hearing that now for 54 years. I quit paying for my license some 14 years ago after being a nurse for 40 years. I have still been a caregiver for the last 14 years. Presently I have three that are under my care.  That is why I find WikiTree and Genealogy so enjoyable. It is my Playtime.

Glad to hear the visit with her went well, she was a help and you were able to enjoy some fun, edible times together. LOL

Congratulations on the 1000 contributions for the month. Were these all just as a greeter or what else did it include?

I have been helping with some of the Rawking, adding a dash of Love to some profiles, cleaning up some weevils, adding to the growth of our WikiTree, and cleaning up profiles I adopted or created. Helped a couple of cousins who requested my help.

I am happy for you PIP, and glad you have time to add to your CC7. I have been adding to my family through many of these side weekly/daily events. I truly do need to concentrate on my CC7 however. 

This weekend is full of music. I now have 81 members. We are called Rogue Social Group. The music is hopping around here. We are seeing our valley grow. We now have a variety of music available to enjoy almost every day.  I believe the winery count now is 68 in the Rogue and Applegate Valleys.

Have a great weekend and I am off to source away.

Comments

Hi Alice you have been busy. Keep up the good work.

I hope all goes well with your brother's surgery

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Alice, I will most certainly keep your brother in my prayers for both a successful surgery and a smooth recovery.

Almost all of my contributions were from Greeting. I did so a little personal genealogy, but it was only a small percentage of my WikiTreeing. My CC7 is growing slowly.

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Amanda thank you very much, the prayers are greatly appreciated.

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Pip thank you. Yes my CC7 is growing closely too. I came across one of my CC7 and found that there were some mistakes in the line so now in process of cleaning those up and making proper additions.

Answer 12

Hello WikiTree Cousins!

Oh, what a beautiful day here in north Georgia after a thunderstorm last night! I was finishing a Louise Penny novel, "A World of Curiosities," last night about the time the storm broke.

Internet frustrations have continued this week. I called them Wednesday and was told they were still "doing maintenance." I sure wish they'd get it completed. Their maintenance is making it very difficult for me to get genealogy done. I doubt I'll make 1000 contributions this month since I'm barely half-way there.

I was able, however, to get a start on the USBH 1880 Census project. I have one family group completed and have begun another.

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Comments

Hi Nelda The internet can be very frustrating at times. But at least you had a bit of a win with your census.

Hope you weekend is great too

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Nelda, we must have been only on the edge of your storm because it barely rained here. A nice gentle drizzle.

Seems like several of us have had internet problems. I had to have some Greeter cover recently just because of that.

Answer 13

Greetings, all, from grey gloomy Upper Michigan, where it's getting colder. No more snow as yet, though. Mama Earth, what have we done to you? We've had springlike thaws in February before, but this winter is particularly weird.

On Wednesday, my birthday, I was gifted with an unwelcome present: a nasty sinus infection. Haven't been out of the house for two days; been trying to work and take intermittent naps when I just can't keep my eyes open any longer. T's birthday was the 16th. I hope to rally sufficiently this weekend to make his favorite cake (German Chocolate)...didn't do it last week because he'd had to send his upper plate out for repair.

Just now I had to leave the Woods family of NH alone for a bit. Eliza (Woods) Halverson aka Woods, daughter of Isaac Woods, is the culprit who was making my brain hurt. The Woods, Shattuck, Blood, Lakin and Hobart families are inextricably tangled now in my mind, and I have to wait till I can have several tabs open (laptop at public WiFi) to sort out the mess. This branch of my family goes back to before the Narragansett War. Argh.

Speaking of brains, Eliza had a daughter whose death certificate states that she died of "Disease of Brain of Doubtful Character." Always knew there were some characters in my family, but this one takes the plaid rabbit.

Take care all. I'm going back to sleep for a bit.

Comments

Hi D Happy Birthday

Hope you're feeling better soon. Sounds like sleep is the better medicine

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I read that the sun is undergoing a polar shift and it creates flares that can affect our weather.     The earth is also over due for a polar shift which I wonder if the solar shift affects our magnet core at all. Evidently the sun does this every 11 years. And I have heard there is some 11 year earthly weather cycle.  I don’t think we look for natural causes for too many things because we are conditioned to assume mankind has all this power to affect things.  Sorry but long before mankind became industrialized there were weird weather patterns. Look at France in 1879 and England in 1709. Just google for coldest winters.  We seem to forget our ancestors often had to deal with weather incidents

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As much as we (mankind) would like to think that we have all the answers and solutions, we don't. As a kid, I was told we were headed for a manmade ice age. We are now 8 years away from extinction from global warming. There is no doubt our presence has negatively impacted the world in which we live but, once we hit the tipping point, the last of our kind will see a sunrise and sunset as the earth repairs the damage we have caused.

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Cousin D, for the past two years, we have had mild temps in January and February for which we pay in the following two months!

NO, get that rest, my dear. Working and other activities will only slow the healing down.

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Thanks, Cuz...my work ethic gets in the way sometimes, and T (the Energizer bunny himself) even said this morning that I need to take care of myself. So I put out a call for someone to sub my 2 classes tonight.

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@Laura and K, you're both right. Witness the Little Ice Age in Europe (ca. 1400-1850) - ice skating on the Thames, demise of the Greenland Colony, etc. - but human activity has certainly exacerbated the problem. I fear our meagre efforts to turn it around may be just a drop in the bucket.

Answer 14

On this day:

1685: The German/British composer Georg Friedrich Händel is born

1836: The Battle of the Alamo starts

1854: The Bloemfontein Convention is signed

Comments

Hi Jelena, I will definitely go with Georg Friedrich Handel! Hallelujah! I sang with the Bel Canto Choir years ago and we did his Messiah. Love his Water Music...

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Georg Friedrich Handel! Me too!, Not Related, but I love his music!

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Late Friday night, I read up on Bleomfontein Convention. I didn't even recognize it out of the gate, professor. Thanks!

Answer 15

Happy Friday and I almost forgot today was Friday and Chat Day!!

I am not sure I have a lot to report but on the weather front, we have had a few days of really nice Spring-like weather except for wind some days. Everyone seems to be breaking out the spring clothes but I know.....there is always another cold snap sometime around Easter. I will err on the side of caution before unpacking the summer wear.

I made a huge genealogy decision this week. I have worked many years on an Unknown Margaret who married my ancestor William O'Neal. Due to being a burned parish (county) we have not been able to break this brick wall. I have an excellent researcher and I have commissioned her to tackle this issue. It will be a while before she can begin on it but that is okay. I am relieved!

On the medical front I received a gel injection in my knee and a cortisone injection in my hip on Tuesday. I am feeling much better from the relief from pain.

Next Friday, March 1st, my husband and I are leaving for south Mississippi and Louisiana. First few days we will be at friends house - our yearly reunion of aging former helicopter pilots and wives. It is always a good time! Then on to briefly visit with a few friends and some relatives ending with a stop in Rapides Parish Louisiana - stopping with another relative and a marathon visit to two cemeteries to take photos of tombstones and post them on FindAGrave and ultimately on the profiles here on WT. Oh and I cannot forget one of stops is with friends who have a "fishing camp" (translate that to a very nice house, not camp" on Bayou Dularge in Louisiana. My husband will be going out for a couple of offshore fishing trips with them. I will stay behind and catch up on emails and WikiTree!!

So, I am unsure if I will be posting next Friday but may try for an update on the reunion festivities.

Have a safe weekend and a delightful week ahead!

Comments

Hi Virginia Hope the weather is great for your trip. It sounds like you'll be very busy

I hope you have a great weekend too

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Lucky you to have received the hip shot before the trip.  I had one in Dec., after surgery in Apr., and it is beginning to bother me again.  Follow up is due in June but I don't think I will wait that long.  I do know I wouldn't sign up for a marathon the length of from my door step to the mail box and back.  With all we now know, the hare would still win.  Enjoy the trip.

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Beulah, I am with you on the marathon! With my twice-implanted left knee and the right knee in wait mode behind my next retina surgery, there would be no contest at all for the hare!!

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Thank you Amanda. I think there will be rain the first few days but we will mostly be inside at that time anyway. I just hope the rain clears out in time for my cemetery day!

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Happy 'hunting' and fishing. It goes without saying I am envious if not downright jealous. The food, the fish, the music; all before the skeeters get too bad. Enjoy!

Answer 16

Greetings to all from Salt Lake City, Utah--home of RootsTech soon.  I'm looking forward to being here for my first year.

I moved here from Florida arriving on the 28th of December. My 'stuff' was delivered on the 29th of January and I am still unpacking. I only have about 30 boxes to go, mostly books.  I just added three bookcases today, so I have enough space for the books, but what do I do about the other stuff? Even worse I filled so much wall space with the bookcases that I don't have wall space for all the art.  To give you an idea, other than a single clothes closet, the closet space is one closet 18 inches square, a simple broom closet. Luckily the kitchen has a nice amount of storage. My goal is to be generally unpacked before Rootstech. Wish me luck.

To give my body a break from all the unpacking, I am working on the USBH 1880 Census project, but slowly.

Comments

I'm jealous, BUT I hope you have a BLAST, Judy!

Answer 17

Hi from southern Ontario, and from Tucson, Arizona

Chez moi/at home: what's been happening? 

Almost no family history has been accomplished.

After having almost no snow for weeks, we had several snowfalls in the few days before we left for Tucson. Not a lot of snow but enough that we had to shovel. 

Our flight to Tucson from Toronto was scheduled to leave at 8.15 am. Which meant we had to be at the airport a minimum of 2.5 hours before, and about 30 minutes travel time to the airport and then add about 30 minutes to go through US customs pre-clearance. All went well, we got up at 4am, the airport taxi was booked to pick us up at 5am! Arrived at the airport about 5.30 am.  

Did everything needed, and boarded the plane at 7.45am. An hour later we had not left, the explanation, ARRGH! There was a problem with boarding ramp it could not be detached from the plane, a part had failed, mechanics were called, the part was sourced, and could not be delivered in less than 2 hours. Then sanity prevailed, manpower was utilized, and the ramp detached! 

We left at 10.15, two hours late. Arrived Phoenix 2 hours late and everything has gone smoothly since. 

No family history research has been done! Though I have wondered why someone recently added a cemetery category for an about 3rd cousin several times removed from Robbie when the Research Notes I entered for her include that there are no records for her burial. The only records are listed under the business records for a company that operated several cemeteries in the area, and those cemeteries are all located about 10-20 miles away from the business location. 

So now, Actual Vacation, we visited Tohono Chul Gardens with Carol Baldwin on Wednesday, on Thursday we did a historical Tucson walking tour and then drove to Mount Lemmon at an altitude of 9,170ft for a stargazing event, lots of snow, looking through a large telescope while wearing multiple layers of clothing. Today we visited an old Tucson area movie setting where many movies have been filmed including Tombstone and many others. 

Photos and other vacation info will happen later, but not today.

Comments

Hey M sounds like you've had a great time even if there was a bit of a hiccup at the start.

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M and Robb, so glad you are hear visiting! See you tomorrow!

@Amanda Myers...it is so great to have WikiTreers visit the Old Pueblo! Maybe SLC should move Roots Tech to Tucson!

Answer 18

Hi guys from Melbourne, Australia. We actually had a bit of summer this week. 3 whole days of heat and I got sick. Dumbest thing out I let myself get too over tired and I think a bit dehydrated but am much better now. Unfortunately my arthritis is flairing up so walking around has been a bit hard but I guess that's par for the course of getting a bit older.

Wikitree. I finally finished my sourcing (I was beginning to think I'd never get to the end). The mini challenge is doing well and I decided that I might as well work on a war memorial that includes the same group of men. I found the memorial only has 856 names on it (199 names missing) but starting it anyway. Big discussion on the Australia (AU) discord chat about war memorials and someone said which memorial are you working on - apparently there are 4 - 2 in Papua New Guinea (PNG), and 2 in AU (I knew about 3 but not the 4th). So now I'm doing 1200 odd names on the Rabaul War Cemetery and Memorial in PNG and the Rabaul Montevideo Maru Memorial also in PNG concurrently. At least the second one the profiles were all created by a colleague before I got involved but at least I'm keeping busy (and I'll get my 1000 done too). Also today I was made the team leader of the Victorian team for the Australia Project. (Note to self I must learn to say no lol). This will be interesting but busy but I like to have plenty to do.

Hope everyone has a great weekend

Thank you Pip for hosting another great weekend chat

Catch you all next weekend

Comments

Congratulations on working on military memorials.  So many gave so much to allow us to live in the freedom we have.  I wish the same freedom for the enslaved populations we are all familiar with in every news cast these days.

Answer 19

Hello from Interlaken. For me its afternoon, for some morning and for others already evening or night. Well for its about lunchtime now.

The weather is fine today. Blue sky with some clouds, and the temperature is about 10° C.

This week we did our taxes which has become quite easy since retirement. The pension is stable and no other (paid) jobs has been left. On tuesday evening the doorhandle for the veranda(loggia- or balcony-)door was broken. So we couldn't go out to drop the garbage in the tin. Friday morning I had to go to the hospital for my regular makula-injections (since 7 years) so my wife went to find out where to get a new doorhandle and was very successful, just next to us was the company which installed it in 2012. They first thought no replacement was available and should be ordered, but one of the employees found a very dusty handle, exactly identical with our broken one (at least not broken!) So my wife installed the handle and everything was cleared. They didn't even charge for it.

Wikitree activity was concentrated on descendents of Maria Duyst, my 11th great grandmother. She is also 10th great grandmother of Audrey Hepburn.

Maria Duyst made her will 3 November 1585 in Delft. Main purpose was the support of less fortunated descendants to enlist in a good school. I am not sure if the fund is still functioning. Her descendency was divided in 8 branches. I have still to find out which branch is mine, but I know for sure that Audrey Hepburn is not my branch!

Thanks Pip for hosting the chat

Comments

Hi Klaas, Audrey Hepburn was one of my very favorite actresses. I hear or see her name and think of the many times I watched her movies with my mum and kid sister. She was an outstanding spokesperson for UNICEF.

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Yes Audrey Hepburn was a great actress. I am proud being her 10th cousin once removed, I think I am the removed one.

Answer 20

On this day:

1826: The Treaty of Yandabo is signed

1930: The German/Brazilian zoologist Hermann von Ihering dies

2009: The instant messaging service WhatsApp is released

Comments

Hi Jelena, I will go with Hermann von Iherig. To have a tarantula (among other critters) and a peer-reviewed scientific journal named after oneself is quite an accomplishment. He left something to be desired as a spouse, though.