Year gone where ?

year gone

1. where to?
   1. new year
      1. new you

   2. fresh dreams
      1. clean slate
         1. hopes high
            1. life great
   
   

Happy New Year!

1. I've been given a new lease on life. Finding out I had cancer, combined with the tragic events of September 11, has caused me to rethink my priorities, eliminate time wasting bad habits, and strive to live my life with gusto. I want to see more of the little things--laughter, family, friends, food...--and less of other non important things.
This new year has no history. As genealogists we're very aware of history and as I live day to day, I plan to make 2002's history the best I can. I might not be able to influence global peace but I can be a better humanitarian, a better parent and a better cousin.
I have never been one to make new year's resolutions. I have, on the other hand, set goals for myself. Some of which have had success. The following is a list of goals, resolutions for Heycuz. I need your help to see if I'm on the right track. So please send in your comments - criticisms, praise, other goals etc.
Heycuz's New Year Resolutions!
2. Reduce the number of errors in the heycuz database
3. Post updates and corrections in a much more timely manner
4. Have links and contacts to other "cousins" easily available
5. Double, no triple, pages in the Family Album
6. Share more transcriptions of documents on the newsgroup
7. Digitalize all documents (wills, bibles, deeds, licenses, photographs...) and make them available
8. Put Grandma's Secret Recipes online
9. Make research safe--In case of disaster, have backup of Heycuz in the hands of other people
10. Spend more time, more efficiently, at the library
11. For each of us to advance a generation. In my case I want to:
    2. find proof of parentage of Owen Sullivan
    3. solve the Harrison/Thorn puzzle
    4. locate the Rennies in Scotland

2. And finally, I hope we all take the time to leave something of value for our descendants by recording our history through a diary, scrapbook or audio/video tapes.

I wish all of my cousins a healthy, happy, prosperous, and successful New Year.

1. Love,
1. April
2. Heycuz, What's New?: December 2001

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/2001_12_01_archive.html

Happy Birthday, You Have Cancer

1. I bet you thought I deserted you? Unfortunately, I've not had the strength lately to keep up with this site or respond to your emails. The good news is that finally, after three months of hospital and doctor's visits, they finally know what the problem is. On the day before my 40th birthday, the results were in. I have lymphoma. The doctor's say it is the best cancer to have if you're going to get cancer and their hopes are high. They let me out of the hospital long enough for Steve and I to have our yearly vacation to Palm Springs. We had a wonderful time but now its time for me to go back to the hospital and begin treatment. It's not all that bad, because the doctor's had such a hard time diagnosing me, I have gotten the best of the best care. If, however, you mention me in your prayers, I would greatly appreciate it.
Enough of that, if you have queries please write to Heycuz directly as Steven is unable to answer all of your emails. I have asked the members to take over the duties of answering the queries so you won't be left in the cold. I will not be able to do the daily birthday list, however until they let me out of the hospital. They say it should be at least six months, so please be patient.
Concerns: Yes, I know a few of you have a very specific concern about the recent publication of the heycuz database all over the web. Specifically, you are angry that information you gave to me in confidence, including private information on living individuals, is being published by Martha Sullivan Smith on at least 5 different websites. It also appears that the gedcom she is using is over 2 years old meaning there have been a lot of corrections since then. It has always been my policy to share information with all members of Heycuz and so I did send her the entire gedcom as I have sent many of you. Unfortunately, I did not edit out living individuals as I had no reason not to trust a "cousin". I deeply regret any pain my naive actions have caused you. Like many of you, I have written a few letters to her, which have gone unanswered. The next step is to take it to the administrators of the websites who have allowed her to do this. Some of you have already done this. I notice you have also used the "post it" feature on some of the websites to correct the information.My recent illness has limited the amount of time I can spend on this problem. You have been so wonderfully understanding to me about this and I want to thank you for that. Again, I am deeply, deeply sorry.
   1. Love,
3. April
4. Heycuz, What's New?: July 2001

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/2001_07_01_archive.html

It's Spring!

1. Let me walk with you amid the emerald woodlands and capture the bountiful wonders of nature. I remember the awe and wonder I felt as a child whenever new flowers bloomed. This is the place where my memories come alive and my spirit is renewed. Tomorrow, come walk with me and let us find the wonders together.

2. If you think my behavior lately is giddie, child-like or just plain nonsense, please forgive me. I have no excuse. Unless you consider that it is Spring-- known as the season of love, new beginnings, and housecleaning. (Although I wonder how they all got tied in together.) Or it could be that I've had some great breakthroughs in my own family line. Or it could be that I've found--rather they've found me--some new cousins! It's always exciting when we meet new cousins, but this is especially exciting for me because they are from a branch that I have had to go it alone in my research because I had found no other connections before. These are my Cornells. In just a few days between I received emails from not one but two different lines of descendants of Edmund Cornell and Laura Allen. I could SCREAM with delight!
Many of you Heycuz members are Sullivan or Harp descendants and therefore have lots of cousins to correspond with. I am also a Sullivan and a Harp so I value all the give and take, the humor, the thoughfulness, and the general greatness that we've inherited. All kidding aside, we also have other lines, that for whatever reasons stay hidden from view leaving us to search under every rock, shrub, and riverbed until something miraculous happens.
As usual, I was reading my emails one morning when I happened to come upon a querry about a Laura Allen. "Do you know anything about a Laura Allen who married a Ed Cornell?" Such a simple question but I spilled my coffee, read it over and over three times. I answered it and quickly got a reply, "Hello Cuz!" Three thousand miles away from me in Massachussetts, my new "cousin" Darrell couldn't have been closer. So, who are Ed Cornell and Laura Allen? I'm glad you asked. My grandmother Ruby Rennie, is the daughter of James Thomas Harrison and Minnie Cornell. Minnie is the daughter of Edmund Cornell and Laura Allen. My cousin, Darrell Stroh, is the great grandson of Edmund and Laura's son David Cornell and Rachel Joiner. So we began to exchange information and photographs. Then, Darrell mentions another cousin! Phyllis Masters is the granddaughter of Edmund and Laura's son, George Cornell who married Alice Sheldon. We've been having a great time getting to know each other, exchanging family stories, photographs and genealogies. Darrell was also able to solve a mystery in our family. We had a photograph for a long time and didn't know who it was. He gave the photograph to his Aunt who not only told us it was my Great Grandfather Tom Harrison, but that he had served in the Spanish-American war. Imagine not even recognizing your own great grandfather much less not even knowing he was a veteran. Then, I find out from Phyllis that her grandfather, Virgil, the son of George Cornell, lived in Riverside, California until his death and that his family still lived there. That's less than a two-hour drive from me! There were more cousins out there!
Moving on
Anyway, let's just say it's been an incredible start for Spring. I've done the usual spring cleaning on the site, and so the family and individual cards are all new. That is why the listing of updates and additions has not been added in this column.
I have also added a new "Share the Wealth" site which has scans of vital records available online. I have slowly begun scanning and posting some records that I have collected or have been submitted to me. I urge you to take a look. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I hope to get more up soon. Also if you would like to post some of your vital records for others to view, let me know and I'll post those also. Right now there is no index to the records. They are numbered according to the Heycuz Source Number as listed in the source index.
I have also updated the Players List which includes members of the Heycuz newsgroup. If you want to have your surnames added, please write to me.
We have some new submissions in the "Past Lane" section which deals in recollections and memories of our ancestors. One is The Life Story of Verla G. Knight. She was the daughter of Norman Allen Sullivan and Mona Louella Stinson. Charlton Queen has contributed a piece titled My Confederate Ancestors.
Coming up
Many of you are wondering about the Family Cookbook. Well, I've had a quandry with that. There were so many wonderful stories included with the recipes that I've decided to switch around the layout making the stories, not the recipes, the focus of the book. The recipe's will still be there, but they will be sidebars to the story. I am wrapping that up and plan to include an index in Grandma's Secret Recipes so you will be able to locate a specific recipe quickly, such as JoJo's slickerdowns or Martha's sassafrass tea.
The Family Album is yet to be updated. With my new cousins, I have a lot more pictures to add and plan to get to that shortly.
I'm off
Well, I've nothing more to say! Can you imagine? Just keep the information rolling in and hopefully we'll all have a lot more cousins to add to our site. Best wishes.
   1. Love,
3. April
4. Heycuz, What's New?: April 2001

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/2001_04_01_archive.html

If I board up the fireplace, do you think that will stop Christmas from coming December 2000

If I board up the fireplace, do you think that will stop Christmas from coming? Well, I don’t necessarily want to stop it, just slow it down. This year has gone by too fast, hasn’t it? Yesterday, Lucas started first grade. OK, it wasn’t yesterday, but I must’ve slept through all the early awakenings, the cheery "home-work" hour, the Cub Scout meetings, the back to school night and all the other new experiences of parenting a "first grader." Lucas seems to be in a rush because the day after his birthday, he announced he’s ready for second grade.
Yikes!
It has been an exciting and disappointing year for us. This summer we were able to take a few days off here and there and got in a couple of trips to Palm Springs, one of our favorite vacation spots. We also started checking out houses. Although we ended up in the "boondocks" for our price range, we had a great time imagining ourselves in a roomy house and out of this cramped apartment. Our hopes for a home, however, were dashed in October, when the company that Steve works for downsized. We found ourselves faced with the unknown. The good news is that the bad news has pushed Steve toward fulfilling his dream of republishing his newspaper, "The Hellenic Calendar." He started a web site called helleniccalendar.com and is already getting a great response. He has also been doing some writing for a few different clients. So, hopefully, he will get the opportunity to do what he really loves. I’ve been working on my family tree and have been busy working on the web site and moderating the newsgroup. I am still working on the book project, but have decided the best way to do it is to have it published on CD instead of printed. I also am working on a project to extract all the Hickman County court records which is very time-consuming. Recently, some new cousins sent in some information which provided breakthroughs on my Mom’s Allen line and my Dad’s Lampleys.
So, while it looks like our purse strings are tight this Christmas, we’ve got a lot to look forward to this coming new year. This means, however, that our wedding plans have been put on indefinite hold. Steve is really set on a big party, which takes a lot of cash. On the other hand, I’ve seriously considered those new drive-thru chapels in Vegas. "I’d like a hamburger, french fries, and a coke. Oh, and add one of those certificates while you’re at it!" May Christmas bring to you the music of laughter, the warmth of friendship and the spirit of love.

Heycuz, What's New?: December 2000

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/2000_12_01_archive.html

Privacy: A Personal Thing December 2000

1. To publish or not to publish? I have been struggling with this question lately. In December I received a couple of emails from people who were concerned about our policy of publishing information on living people. They admitted that the information can be found in published books, but felt that it was an invasion of their privacy to publish it on the web. There are hoards of articles on this issue available on the internet containing many horror stories.
Personally, I can understand their fears and so I agreed to take their information off of this website. However, I never do anything half-heartedly as many of you know. I took it a step further, by removing all information on living people from this site. I thought that this was a good idea, but I soon learned that it was not. Shortly after I did the updates, I received emails from concerned members of the Heycuz newsgroup who wondered why their family information had been deleted from the site. They worried that the information that they had worked so hard to research would not be out there for others to collaborate and/or correct. They argued that they had provided the information with the understanding that it would be published and so had no qualms with it being released. Also, they argued, if others didn't see them there, how would cousins or fellow researchers know that they existed.
Both of these theories have equally strong merit. So, I have been weighing both sides. I don't like to make these kinds of decisions. I try to avoid altercations at all costs. So, I am at a loss for what to do. Some people may have information in their files, as I do, that is completely second hand. There are some living people in my personal database that I have never had contact with at all, and so obviously I could not have getting direct permission to publish their information. Being aware of that, I have always removed the dates and places of those who were living but kept only the names. Years ago, we had discussed this same problem on Heycuz and the overwhelming concensus (100 percent) said they supported having it published.
I have not come to any cure-all solution that will make everyone happy. All that I am going to do for the moment, is put the information up. If someone does not want their information published, perhaps they can contact me to take it off. Some people may be concerned about contacting me fearing that I will be offended. Please don't worry. I don't bite and I won't run crying to my Daddy. I promise. Although I have some degree of authority because I am the one putting the information on the web, gathering and correcting the research of others as it is submitted, I don't believe I have the authority to edit or censor members of Heycuz. Nor would I even want to. In the meantime, I hope that one of the wise members of Heycuz will come up with a viable solution to this problem.
Moving on
I have slowly begun scanning and posting some records that I have collected or have been submitted to me. Some of these originals are now up and available for downloading. There are just a few right now, but it is some of the best stuff I have. I urge you to take a look. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I hope to get more up soon. Also if you would like to post some of your vital records for others to view, let me know and I'll post those also.
The Family Album seems to be having some trouble. Several people have written that they cannot view it within the Netscape browser but can see it just fine using the AOL or Microsoft Explorer browser. I have contacted Tripod, who hosts our Family Album, to see if they have any solutions, as I have tried to save it in different formats and am still getting the same complaint. I might end up moving the site altogether to another server. Because the site is so large and involves so many photographs, I am hoping to find a better alternative.
A Little More Personal
I am very busy these days as Steve and I are on the verge of coming out with our first edition of our newspaper, The Hellenic Calendar. This newspaper had been published ten years before and was very successful then. We have big hopes for it! Steve and I have dreamed of this moment for a long long time and are very excited about making these dreams a reality. We have also purchased our own domain and you can view the web version. At the moment it only contains events but will soon also feature articles from our newspaper. So this is keeping me very busy causing me to get behind in my emails and updates. I apologize. Please be patient with me. After our first issue comes out in March, I should be able to settle down and get back into a reasonable routine. Thank everyone for their support and prayers as we travel upon this unpaved road.
   1. Love,
2. April
3. Heycuz, What's New?: December 2000

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/2000_12_01_archive.html

We Are All Related: November 2000

I have webbed feet, as do a couple of my brothers. I got them from my mom and she got them from her dad, who got them from his mother, Lula (Williams) Rennie. When I was a kid, my swimming ability was said to be due only to the fact that I had webbed feet. In celebratory victory parties, my brother's and I would do the "Dance of the Webbed Footed Heaths." While I took the jibing in fun, I am told my Grandpa Rennie didn't enjoy any of the teasing he received. Local fold would say he had emerged from the marshes as if he were something lower on the evolutionary scale. I have found though that everyone has some inherited physical trait that they are not pleased with, such as curly, coarse hair, a big nose, height or lack of, and numerous other features.
When I look at the photographs submitted for The Family Album, I am constantly amazed and delighted at the family resemblance. For instance, I recently received a photograph from a descendant of my gggg grandfather John Lampley's brother Thomas. That descendant, John Ussary, sent a photograph of his own grandfather. The subjects looked remarkably like my brother, Curtis, even though they were at least four generations removed.
For years, doctor's have quizzed patients of their medical genealogy after proof reveals that heredity and genes were major factors in our own health history. If your Grandmother had breast cancer you are said to be susceptible to the same disease, for instance. Scientists have raised the heredity factor to specific races. For example, if you're of Scottish descent you have a 65 percent higher chance of suffering from depression than those without that gene. Up until recently that has been as far as science has gone in the field of genealogy. However, in March 2000, Scientists have stepped into the genealogical fold with the release of a study on monecular genealogy. In short, it means that every individual's DNA holds a genetic record which "reveal import clues as to the Origin and relationship of any individual to other person or populations"* Scientists have found that by studying the DNA of an indvidual they can tell that a certain John Smith came from an ancient tribe of Norway, for example. The idea is so exciting, it's no wonder that so many genealogical newsgroups are discussing it. In this study, scientis have proven what members on the Heycuz newsgroup have been saying all along...."We are all related." They say that each individual, at a level of 30 generations, would have 1 Billion ancestors. But at the same time, in the year 1260 AD there were only 400 million living. The discrepency is explained that we must therefore all share common ancestors. The Monecular Genealogy project hopes to "genotype" the world to construct a universal family tree by collecting samples of all 500 world populations.
This means that brick wall genealogies that suffer from the lack of records can now be linked. From there we can come up with dates and names from what is available. But what it doesn't provide us are the personal family and individual histories that I have come to value most in my research. DNA cannot tell me about the laughter my ancestor's share following a family meal. It can't tell me why my ancestors made the decisions they did. I recently recieved an article that did, however, tell me why my Lampley Ancestors immigrated to this country. The Pennsylvania Genealogical Society has granted permission to reprint the article on this website [write link]. Of course, all descendants of Owen Sullivan and Elizabeth Lampley will be interested. Not only does it give great historical information it gives valuable genealogical information and that is why I felt it important to reprint the entire article rather than paraphrase. In addition, it may hold clues for descendants of Sullivans, Worleys, Perkins, Whites, and many more branches of our family tree. Following the article is a link to an article I wrote about these new possibilities.

Heycuz, What's New?: November 2000

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/2000_11_01_archive.html

[heycuz] About the Heycuz Newsgroup: December 1998

Dear cousins,
I thought I'd write to explain why I started the email list. I recently received an email that one of my lines (Tidwells) posted on my website was incorrect. (I'll send the details in a separate email). Anyway, it started me thinking...

When I first posted my web page it was a way for me to easily show people what lines I was researching. I didn't think that people might be using my information for their own research. The thought scares me. What if I'm sending people on a wild goose chase? I do not want to give out incorrect information. I have made a strong effort to be correct, but you never know. Right?
Also, I get a lot of emails from people asking various questions. I try to answer them as best I can. However, many of you who join this newsgroup are much more qualified than I to answer these questions. I would prefer that some of you were standing next to me when I answer these inquiries to double check my answers.
This email group will allow that to happen. What one person doesn't know, someone else will. Since we are all researching the same lines, we can help each other out. I think this email group will also save us time. Rather than researching something somebody already knows we can work together and share our information.
Also, I have seen several books mentioned on the internet and wonder whether I should order them. Some of you may already have seen these books and can say whether they have any information and whether ordering them is worthwhile.
So, I formed the heycuz list to accomplish two things. One, to be able to converse more freely and in depth about all of our ancestors and cousins. And two, to pick each other's brains on research.
To the point, finally. The heycuz list is open only to individuals who are somehow related, and you are now cordially invited. I am the official "ListMom." Or I should say "ListKid." Below is a list of the people who I invited to join and the slim list of guidelines. To reply to a email hit reply in your email software and type the answer. To post a new message send the mail to heycuz@egroups.com (We are now at a different address)
Please write me back if you wish to join, and I'll get you going. I will post a subscription form on my web site as soon as I can. Until then, If you would like to invite someone else to join please let me know. I don't see this site being a heavy traffic list, only a few posts a day usually. New members are encouraged to write a letter of introduction. (Including how your line runs.)
There is a site just for us that includes archives of what other people have said. You have to sign up to read them at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heycuz/ I sincerely hope you decide to join our group, I think you have great insight and knowledge which is what we are looking for, not necessarily web / genealogy experience. As for the knowledge you may gain, I believe it will be substantial.

Best regards,
April

Others I've invited:

Jo Sullivan Davis.. Alice Gimbert Molly Everlen Char Sullivan Doug Travis Lisa Williard Ida Estes

Michael Smith John Kostick Dixie Estes Johanna Parish Wanda Talbot Wanda Losee

Martha Tidwell Agan Ross Givens Ida Deal Wanda Rennie Adams Jeanette Tabb

Heycuz Guidelines:

1. Any topic related to our family lines (Sullivan, Rennie, Tidwells, Lampley, Green, Martin, Buchanan, Harp, Estes, Cornell, Thorn, etc... and/or the business of the aforementioned is fair game.
2. Debates on religion and politics are forbidden.
3. Debates between only two people are forbidden.
4. Funny things attached to the end of messages are encouraged.
5. Strive to be helpful and courteous to heycuz members

Archives may be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heycuz/


FOR MORE INFO

If you have questions, please consult our "Frequently Asked Questions":
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heycuz/ or e-mail the people who are providing the maillist at yahoo.com
Best Wishes!
April Heath Pastis



Heycuz, What's New?: December 1998

http://heycuz.net/docs/NEW/1998_12_01_archive.html