Who Would Be King?

Leave it to Dick E. to once again shed a little light! This wonderful story was in yesterdays EOGN. Enjoy!!!

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October 08, 2008
Who Would be King of America?

The following announcement was written by The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com:

PROVO, Utah, Oct 08, 2008 -- If George Washington had been America's king instead of its first president, an 82-year-old retired regional manager from San Antonio, Texas would be King of America today. As red and blue battleground states emerge in the upcoming presidential election, Americans may be interested to know that Senator Barack Obama has deep roots in Ohio or that Senator John McCain has family members from North Carolina on both sides of his family tree. And research into Governor Sarah Palin's family history revealed she is the 10th cousin to Lady Diana Spencer, Britain's beloved Princess Di, as well as a distant cousin to Franklin D. Roosevelt, one of the country's most popular presidents.

As the country prepares to elect the 44th U.S. president, genealogy experts at Ancestry.com, the world's largest online family history resource, researched answers to some interesting questions surrounding this year's landmark presidential election. From the lineage of the first president, to the family roots of today's presidential and vice presidential candidates, the findings may evoke an interesting debate.

KING OF AMERICA
Many Americans are fascinated by the British royal family -- but what if America had its own Royal family? The experts at Ancestry.com asked, "Who would be sitting on America's throne today if George Washington had become the king instead of the first U.S. president?" After countless hours of research to trace Washington's family lineage, the following facts emerged to determine which of his descendents would likely be King of America today had the U.S. become a monarchy rather than a democracy in 1789:

-- King George? - According to sources, Washington's leadership during and after the Revolutionary War was held in such high esteem, there were those who suggested he become America's first king.

-- Wading Through the Washingtons - George Washington had no children, so researching the descendants through all of his half- and full-siblings meant approximately 8,000 people could factor into the succession equation, with less than 200 of them bearing the Washington surname.

-- Would-be Royal - Since George Washington had an older half brother and a younger full brother, ultimately there were four possible succession paths. Two of the four paths, with male-only heirs, converge into one heir -- Paul Emery Washington, 82, of San Antonio, Texas -- making him the strongest candidate for king today. Paul Emery Washington also has a son, Bill, who he affectionately calls "Prince William."

-- Valley Forge Connection - Paul Emery Washington was a regional manager at Certain-Teed Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of wholesale building materials for 40 years. The company was headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., where coincidentally General Washington and his army camped during the difficult winter of 1778-79.

BATTLEGROUND STATES
In every presidential election, certain U.S. states emerge as critical battleground states key to winning the White House. The experts at Ancestry.com researched the family history of the presidential and vice presidential candidates to learn which of the often referred to battleground states could claim the candidates as their own, with some surprising discoveries.

-- Senator John McCain - McCain has North Carolina roots on both sides of his family tree, extending to the mid 1700s. He is also connected to the state of Arkansas through his paternal grandmother, Katherine Vaulx, a teacher who was born in Arkansas. Katherine's parents, James Vaulx and Margaret Garside, were long-time residents of Arkansas where James was a minister. Family members in his tree served in both the military and the financial sector: his father and grandfather both had careers in the U.S. Navy and great grandfather John S. McCain is documented in the 1900 U.S. Census as the treasurer of Carroll County, Mississippi.

-- Senator Barack Obama - Obama has deep roots in the state of Ohio that go back to 1850. Obama's heritage can be traced back to Ireland, to the small towns of Moneygall and Shinrone in County Offaly, Ireland. Obama's third great-grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, immigrated to the U.S. at age 19, landing in New York harbor on March 20, 1850 and then settling in Fayette County, Ohio among Irish relatives. In addition, Obama has roots extending into the swing states of Virginia, Indiana and Missouri.

-- Senator Joe Biden - Biden also has a strong Irish heritage; his ancestors arrived in the U.S. within six months of Obama's Irish family. Both Obama's and Biden's Irish relatives were shoemakers by trade. Biden has deep Pennsylvania ties: Patrick and Catherine Blewett, Biden's 2nd great-grandparents, settled in Scranton, Pennsylvania, around 1860, where Patrick worked as a surveyor and a civil engineer.

-- Governor Sarah Palin - Palin has roots in several battleground states, including Ohio, Minnesota and Virginia, however, most of her roots are planted in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Palin descends from three consecutive generations of Michael Sheerans, who originate in Ireland; her great-great-grandfather Sheeran ran a firm called Sheeran & Filler Bottling Company, which shipped products across the Northwest. According to published family and local histories -- through a common ancestor, Rev. John Lothrop who arrived in Massachusetts colony in 1634 -- Palin is a distant cousin to Franklin D. Roosevelt, who is touted in history as one of the country's most popular presidents. Gov. Palin is also a 10th cousin to Lady Diana Spencer, Britain's beloved Princess Di, through common ancestors John Strong and Abigail Ford.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
According to a recent independent survey from Ancestry.com, Americans would choose to be a member of the Obama family more than any of four other prominent political families.(1) When asked which family they would like to join most, 21 percent chose the Obamas, followed by 15 percent for the Palins and 15 percent for the Clintons, 14 percent for the McCains and 3 percent for the Biden family. Nearly one-third of Americans surveyed (30 percent), however, said they wouldn't want to become a member of any of these political families.

"Most presidential elections bring up issues about where we've come from and where we're headed as a nation, and this election year is no different," said Megan Smolenyak, Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com. "This is an ideal time for our family history experts to play historical what-ifs and conduct research to answer intriguing questions, as well as look into the family trees of our candidates to learn about where they come from and the ties they have in our great country."

To learn more about how to start researching your family history, log on to Ancestry.com and sign up for a free two-week trial. It's possible that a famous ancestor or past presidential or vice presidential candidate is in your family tree and waiting to be discovered.

About the Ancestry Global Network
The Ancestry global network of family history Web sites is wholly owned by The Generations Network, Inc. It consists of nine Web sites -- http://www.ancestry.com in the U.S., http://www.ancestry.co.uk in the UK, http://www.ancestry.ca in Canada, http://www.ancestry.com.au in Australia, http://www.ancestry.de in Germany, http://www.ancestry.it in Italy, http://www.ancestry.fr in France, http://www.ancestry.se in Sweden and http://www.jiapu.cn in China. Ancestry members have access to 7 billion names contained in 26,000 historical record collections. Tree-building and photo upload are free on all Ancestry websites. To date, Ancestry.com users have created more than 7 million family trees containing 700 million profiles and 11 million photographs. Nearly 5.8 million unique visitors logged onto Ancestry.com in August 2008 (comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide).

A Family Tree

While I am not endorsing my political favorite here, I nevertheless find this article on Michelle Robinson Obama's ancestor's absolutely fascinating.

Be sure to watch the slideshow and listen to the interviews after you read the entire article!

You will find it here:
"A Family Tree Rooted in American Soil" written byShailagh Murray for the Washington Post.

Enjoy!

cbh

14 Children in 7 Years

The following comes from Genealogy Bank.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

14 Children in 7 years - Mom says: "These are the dearest little things"
Sunday September 29, 1901 Josephine Ormsby (1871-) gave birth to children number eleven, twelve, thirteen and fourteen - three boys and one girl.

The proud mother Josephine Ormsby said "These are the dearest little things" as she was "propped up in the bed with the three boys in her arms and the little girl lying crosswise at the foot of the bed."

What a terrific family scene - and what a find in GenealogyBank for the Ormsby family history.

Here they are a few years later in a 1910 photograph: Front row, from left - William, Theodore, Edith, John, George & Helen; 2nd row, Mrs. Josephine Ormsby, and Daisy. (Photo courtesy - Library of Congress American Memory Project LC No. #ichicdn n005169)

This article (Pawtucket Times - 2 Oct 1901) not only describes the other children - but gives their dates of birth too.

Nov 1, 1896 - twins, one died: Daisy Ormsby survived

Sep 19, 1897 - twins, both died

Sep 24, 1899 - triplets: Carter Harrison Ormsby died; Helen Gould Ormsby and George Dewey Ormsby - survived.
and lastly:

Sep 29, 1901 - quadruplets: Edith Viola Ormsby, John Studebaker Ormsby, Theodore Roosevelt Ormsby and William Hearst Ormsby.

According to the article the mother was herself "one of a set of triplets"!

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That was one busy lady!!!

Back and With News!!!

Hello to all of our loyal readers! We are back at last.

We are moved into our new office and even before the move we were struck down with an upper respiratory infection that has kept us down for three weeks. We are still on medication! But we are persevering!

Today's news comes from none other than our old pal, Dick Eastman at EOGN. Enjoy!

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September 29, 2008
Online American Genealogical Biographical Index to Move

The following announcement was written by the Godfrey Library:
Godfrey Library publishes the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI). The AGBI is a 226 volume every name index of hundreds of genealogies, including unindexed and partially indexed genealogies. The AGBI also indexes the Boston Transcript genealogical column that appeared from 1896 to 1941, the 1790 census, parts of the Pennsylvania Archives and various vital, church and military records. About 300 large libraries, in addition to the Godfrey Library, have print copies.

The only online addition appears on Ancestry.com. That is about to change. Beginning in January 2009 the AGBI will no longer be part of Ancestry.com. Instead the AGBI will be part of Godfrey Library's paid subscription service, Godfrey Scholar, and will also be part of World Vital Record's database offerings.

The American Genealogical Biographical Index is an invaluable first step in any genealogical research. Since the AGBI also sorts names by birthdate whenever available, it is also an important research tool when the the same given name appears many times during a surname search. The AGBI also sorts by geographical location within a surname listing.

Godfrey Library owns all the material indexed in the AGBI.

Godfrey Library, a library of genealogy and family history, is located in Middletown, Connecticut. www.godfrey.org.

Will Be Gone Awhile

Hello All,

Well, we found our new home on Friday, the 12th. And we have begun the process of preparing to get everything moved.

We ask that everyone bear with us as we transition from Ronceverte, WV to White Sulphur Springs, WV. As most of you know, the Old Mountain Genealogists husband is an over-the-road truck driver, so I have been faced with doing all of the leg work on my own. So, we are "excusing ourselves" from our blog and our clients until the 28th.

For those we are performing research on, your files are safe and will be hand carried during our move! You have nothing to worry about! And we will resume our research on the 28th.

Until then, we expect all of you, our dear readers and clients, to keep up the good work! And we will return shortly!

Until then,
cbh

Another EOGN Fascinating Article!

Okay, so leave it to Dick Eastman to provide us with yet another fascinating article! When you finish reading this, be sure to click on the link at the bottom and go to the Fulton County website to read the entire article concerning this find!

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September 11, 2008
Today's Graffiti May Be Tomorrow's History

Be careful what you leave behind. Future historians may study your activities in great detail.
Case in point: The Tonoloway Primitive Baptist Church in southern Fulton County, Pennsylvania, is very close to the Mason-Dixon Line. As a result, the area saw a lot of action during the Civil War. General “Stonewall” Jackson’s Confederate troops threatened to cross the Potomac River at nearby Hancock, Maryland, in January 1862. The brick church became one of four locations in the area that were used for hospitals by the Union Army.

The removal of wallpaper in 2004 during restoration of the church’s interior by the Friends of Tonoloway Primitive Baptist Church revealed the signatures of many of the Union troops who were hospitalized there through early March of 1862.

In all, 50 signatures were discovered, some those of civilians, along with other graffiti. Twenty-seven of those signatures have been identified by Friends board member John Mentzer, whose two-year project to learn more about the people who signed Tonoloway’s walls came to a conclusion last month with the Friends’ publication of his 140-page book, “Tonoloway – If Its Walls Could Talk.”

You can read more about this book in the Fulton County News web site at
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=541&NewsID=924026&CategoryID=1441&on=1

Today on APG's Mail List....

Please take a look at the new website for FEEFHS
http://www.feefhs.org/

The Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS) was organized in 1992 as an umbrella organization that promotes family research in eastern and central Europe without any ethnic, religious, or social distinctions. It provides a forum for individuals and organizations focused on a single country or group of people to exchange information and be updated on developments in the field. While it primarily serves the interests of North Americans in tracing their lineages back to a European homeland, it welcomes members from all countries.

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While I have not had the opportunity to utilize this site, it certainly looks helpful!
cbh