Disaster in Joplin

We live not far from Joplin and the worst disaster on American soil this century. It is unimaginable the destruction that an F-5 Tornado can do when it comes down on a city. This one began at the main N/S street on the west side of town and continued a 1/2-3/4 mile wide sweep through the heart of Joplin.


In most countries around the world people would be sitting, wandering, shattered and wondering when their government was going to DO something. Not here in the heart of America, here we all pitch in and clean up the mess, pick up our lives and rebuild.


Rebuilding America isn't done with government handouts, it is done through loving community support, working people willing to sacrifice their time, materials, wealth. To take in families, pets, provide rides.
This is what America is about, and has been about for over 200 years!


Have you asked your parents what happened when someone's house burned down, the husband was lost, tragedies occurred and how their families and neighbors handled it? Well, for your future generations, write down what you see here in Joplin! They are the Heart of America!

Scotland--Where Surnames Began

After the Battle of Culloden in 1746, many of the Highland clans changed their last names from the name of the Clan to a more generic last name based on their occupation, where they lived, father's name, or even a physical trait.  

Whole clans would change their last name from one surname to several surnames to avoid punishment and revenge.  It sometimes took several generations even after the threat of punishment was gone to return to the clan surname.  

There are many books available that give the history of Scottish clans and families, but Robert Bain's 1989 book titled Clans and Tartans of Scotland is one of the best available. Pick it up and discover even more about your roots!

Difficult Marriage Dates

Sometimes the information we have SWEARS that Great-Great-Aunt Calamity was married to Bill Anderson, but the only records we have are that she was married to James Topman.  We search the county courthouse, but we cannot find that she was ever married because the documents are gone!  What's next?  Of course the census records.  

Those records may show that she was married to one man in 1920 but somebody else by 1940.  Next you can search military/draft records, death certificates, city newspapers, and finally even town directories which often showed which women were widows and listed the deceased husband's name.  

Sometimes we just have to go on a scavenger hunt to find the information for which we are looking.

Genealogy and the Holocaust Part Two

Here, during a time when our country seems to be stiff arming our allies, let us remember our Jewish allies and why we stand behind them. Remember what they have gone through for centuries, and if we have Jewish ancestors, honor our dead by honoring our commitments to the living.

The records that the Jewish communities collected are called Yizkor books, Pages of Testimoney, and lists of victims and deportees.  The Yizkor books are usually written in Yiddish or Hebrew and contains the histories of a town or community, memories of the town, and testimonials from friends about families who had no survivors.  

These books are usually privately printed in small publishing runs.  Pages of Testimony is a list of information on over 3 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.  Each page records the individual's name, year and place of birth, names of parents and spouse, place of residence before the war, places of residence during the war, and circumstances of death (place, date, and so forth.)  

The record is signed and dated by the person giving the testimony.  A good guide to researching Holocaust families is How to Document Victims and Locate Survivors of the Holocaust by Gary Mokotoff.