A WORD FROM THE EDITOR
This issue was originally scheduled for earlier this year.
However, when our kids asked my wife, Jeanne, and me what we
wanted for our Golden Wedding Anniversary, we said that we
wanted to throw a party if they would arrange it. Now the
most important things in our life have been and still are,
our marriage, our children and family, the members, advisors
and supporters of 2 youth groups we formed over 30 years ago
and our friends. So June 26/27, 1999 saw 170 of these
wonderful people, from all over the country camping out on
our ranch in the foothills of the Tehachapi mountains in
central California. Locating these people, particulary former
members of the Explorer Post 92E and the O-Ko-Wi-Tanda
Camfire Goup, some of whom we hadn't seen for over 30 years,
was basically a massive genealogical research task involving
dusty old files, computerized searching for names like Brown,
Jones, Johnson and over 5400 telephone calls. Add that to
trying to catch up on many years of deferred sprucing up of
the ranch and the result is- an August 1999 issue. Let me
hasten to add that this is an explanation, not an apology ,
for the enjoyment we received from this Celebration is
priceless.
THE REAL WORK BEGINS
Although building up the E162 database from the major
published documents has been, and still is, pretty labor
intensive, its primary value is really in providing a basis
from which we can try to find corroborating evidence. While
most of the data in the early documents is probably correct,
some is definitely incorrect. Since only a very small
percentage of ALL the data is currently documented, the bulk,
technically, should be considered "tradition". All data in
the E162 database have their sources cited (obviously most
are secondary or even more remote sources) making known
discrepancies now much easier to spot. Starting in this
issue, these problem areas will become a regular feature
called CONFLICTING CONNECTIONS. It is hoped that other
researchers may be able to help resolve some of these
conflicts, thru providing copies of, or pointing out the
locations of, pertinent evidence. If you know of other
conflicts or known problems with existing data , please bring
them to our attention.
Of even more importance, at least to future researchers, is identifying independent sources of corroboration for ANY of the data in the data base. As indicated in Goal # A3, we are establishing a repository of reproducible source information, so future researchers can minimize unnecessary duplication of effort. (See E162 Project Goals)
For a different slant on the importance of documentation and the reasoning behind Goal # A3, see "A GIANT STEP TO BETTER GENEALOGIES" elsewhere in this Newsletter.
ONLINE NEWSLETTER
As announced in the last issue we are using a webpage to
tell people about our efforts. In addition to this issue
(Vol. 2 No. 1 ), the earlier issues (Vol. 1 No.1 & No.2)
are available on the
Newsletters Page. Printed copies
of the current issue are available FREE by submitting some
data for the E162 Archives along with your current U. S.
Postal Service mailing address. Data submitted should be
about:
Corrections to, or additions to, EV/EB data in any
published documents
Copies of documentation verifying existing data, or
An accurate description of the location of such supporting
documentation.
If the information submitted is about someone still living, only the name, date of birth and relationship will be made available to anyone else without appropriate written permission.
EV/EB TREASURES
Received 2 packages of information containing copies of
photographs of, news articles about, and a cartoon by the
famous creator of The Toonerville Folks , Fontaine
Fox, referring to "Judge" Eversole, Louis Eversole (# 1982).
These were sent by Joanne Shelman of Venus TX for our
Location Index of EV/EB Treasures. Joanne, Louis' niece, has
the originals in a large collection of scrapbooks made by the
famed attorney/musician.
SCRAPBOOK ITEMS
Received the first of what I hope will be many contributions
to the EV/EB scrapbook.
John Ebersole (son of Robert Ebersole(#672)Santa Barbara, CA) exhibited some of his original paper mache work at an "Open Studios" event in Vallejo.
If you know of any notice or writeup of an EV/EB family member please clip it and send a copy to me. Honors, awards, accomplishments of any kind. They don't have to be earthshaking, although those kind are good, too. Our goal is to show the kind of things you and your cousins may be doing that you would talk to them about over the picnic table at a reunion. The idea of a scrapbook containing a collection of newsclippings about family members to be displayed at Family Reunions and excerpts published in the newsletter came from the Hoelscher- Buxkemper Family Association of Texas.
DATABASE STATUS
Entry of the EV/EB data from Memorial of the Ebersol
Family into the E162 database has been completed. There
are differences between this seminal work on the Ebersol
family, published by Amos M. Ebersol in 1879, and the 1937
book published by his grandson, the Rev. E in 1937. Also
completed is entry of the EV/EB data from Volumes I and II of
the Emigrants, Refugees and Prisoners series by
Richard Warren Davis; the Gerberich article in the Mennonite
Research Journal of Jan 1963; and the James Edward Welch 1983
tome, The Descendants of Jesse and Mary
Eversole
2 more major publications are known to exist and work on entering their data is to start very soon.
There are currently 1857 Ebersoles, 1762 Eversoles, 170 Ebersols, 169 Eversulls, 55 Ebersohls, and 2 Ebersolls born with an EV/EB surname in the database plus 1227 females who have married an EV/EB male for a total of 5256 people who have used the EV/EB surname. In addition there are 1106 males who have married EV/EB females for a grand total of 6362 people in the E162 Database. (There are over 8000 people in my files but 1676 of them are related to other branches of my immediate family so we will eliminate their numbers from future E162 reports.)
SEARCHERS SALUTE
The following individuals have provided us with new
information on various EV/EB individuals.
CONFLICTING CONNECTIONS (CCs)
The following are a dozen people whose family connections
are different, depending on which published source is
referenced. If you know of more of these CCs please send us
some details; or better yet, send us some evidence that will
help resolve the conflicts. Starting next issue we will
describe the differences of one such conflict in each
Newsletter. All dates are estimates.
A GIANT STEP TO BETTER GENEALOGIES
Every text, how to book, or article, I have read, stresses
the need for documenting sources of the data included in a
genealogy. They repeatedly cite samples of how unreliable
"tradition", meaning anyone's memory, can be. All of the
major genealogical programs make provision for source
citation. However it seems to me something is lacking. If the
only purpose of the genealogy is for it to be read, then
tradition , or good old fashioned yarn spinning with its
traditional disregard for facts , is not only good enough, it
is probably far more effective.
On the other hand, if the purpose is to build a solid base upon which subsequent family historians can build, then source citation is a necessary but INsufficient requirement. If one examines most published genealogies the author is, in effect, saying to the reader, "These are the conclusions I reached from MY study of the sources I studied and they are as correct as they can be made. If you want to check MY conclusions here is where you can look at the sources used." This would appear to be a responsible approach, and it was probably the best that could be asked for, prior to the advent of modern document reproductions methods. But it still requires subsequent historians to revalidate any sources they want to use. This certainly is good for document reproduction businesses and the business volume of the professional genealogical researchers. But is it the best that can be expected. I don't think so!
We need to go another step. Record the source in reproducible form! This is certainly not a totally original idea. In fact it crystallized from seeing the extra efforts some writers have put into making their family histories more interesting! They included reproductions of the more fascinating sources of some of their material, such as annotated photographs, tombstone rubbings, court proceedings, letters, diaries. etc. In so doing, they also made it possible for the reader or subsequent historian to depend upon and reference that source without having to re-spend the time, effort or money the original researcher had invested.
If every serious genealogy contains images of the source materials used, along with citations of where the originals are located, and where the collection of reproducible masters can be accessed, it will have several beneficial effects.
UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL
I like the new "Netword" utility. In many cases it is easier
to use than "bookmarks" or a "Favorites" list. Entering
'Eversole' or 'E162' or 'EV-EB' (upper or lower case) as the
'URL' for this webpage is sure easier than entering
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3899/. Check it out
for yourself at
http://www.netword.com/.
Geocities is also recommending it. Best of all, its
FREE!
HELP PLEASE
Your contributions of ideas and articles for inclusion in
E162 news are welcomed and needed. Reunion and other family
gathering reports are especially desired.
Send them to our email address by clicking here, or to our regular mail address(see end of newsletter).
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