RELEASE DATE: JULY 30, 2006
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
In celebration of its 35th anniversary, Project
Gutenberg is still offering free access to the public until August 4. Presenting
scanned books that are in the public domain, Project Gutenberg is the oldest and
largest free e-Book source on the internet. For this special World e-Book Fair,
the project has the assistance of the World e-Book Library and other e-Book
efforts around the globe. Normally, the World e-Book Library charges $8.95
annually for online access, which allows unlimited personal downloading.
Although the majority of the resources deal with literature, several categories include books that may be worthwhile in your genealogical research. An example is "Celtic," which has interesting titles on Irish history. The census bureau category furnishes some of the latest documents from the federal government. In addition, the electronic library of approximately 1/3 million publications has selections in more than 100 languages.
To take advantage of the free access and downloads, go to the website at http://WorldeBookFair.com. Then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on "Browse collection" to view the choices.
Bonnie Bright Johannes, 5594 North 10th, Apt. 103, Fresno, CA 93710-6586 (e-mail: [email protected]) would appreciate information on Samuel WILSON, born in 1792 in TN, who married Mary OATES on 17 Nov 1814. Was this Samuel the son of James WILSON of Sumner and Williamson counties, TN? In his 1813 will, James names children Samuel; Joseph; James, Jr.; Elizabeth, born about 1773, who married Jacob HOUDERSHELL in 1793; Hannah, who married James C. HODGES; Prudence, who married John GORLEY; and Violet, who married James GORLEY.
Elizabeth OATES, sister of Samuel Wilson's wife Mary, married Hubbard QUARLES.
Family material may sometimes be found in serials that are overlooked because they are not necessarily genealogical in nature. Some of the data may be correct while some perhaps should be taken with a grain of salt. Whatever the case may be, the information may be quite interesting, shed light on familiar family stories, and provide clues for further research.
One such publication is the FRONTIER TIMES, a Western magazine published in Bandera, TX. The issue for January 1926 (vol. 3, no. 1), for example, contains a wide variety of material including pioneer narratives, obituaries, and other data useful to family researchers. For instance, details about the death of W. W. SLOAN, a resident of San Antonio for 32 years, appears on page 3. Sloan died at age 80 on Nov. 29. Born in Carthage, TN, he came to TX with his parents in 1850.
Information about the death of former Confederate soldier Simpson N. TIDWELL appears on page 15. At age 83, Simpson died Nov. 5 at the home of his son Lee TIDWELL of Fort Worth. A native of Mississippi, Simpson came to Bowie Co., TX, in 1848 with his parents.
A particular fascinating item on page 32 concerns Mrs. Caroline Elizabeth DICKINSON, who celebrated her 107th birthday. A resident of Terryville, a small community south of Yoakum, TX, she was born 8 Nov 1818 in Mississippi where she married Dr. S. B. DICKINSON. They moved to TX where he died in 1881.
Magazine publisher J. Marvin Hunter donated his collection of materials and artifacts to the Frontier Times Museum, which opened in 1933 in Bandera. Financial assistance from a grant awarded by the Texas Historical Foundation's Jeanne R. Blocker Endowment in 2006 will be used to conduct the first inventory of the collection, document artifacts and determine which ones need conservation or to be cleaned, and create a database of the items.