Allen County Public Library and WeRelate.org Announce Partnership

From: Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
March 27, 2007

Allen County Public Library and WeRelate.org Announce Partnership

I wrote about WeRelate.org last year. It is a great online service that has the potential to provide a lot of genealogy information at no charge....Now WeRelate.org has announced a partnership with the second-largest genealogy library in the country. Here is the announcement:

The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, Indiana) and the Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, Inc., announce a partnership in operating WeRelate.org, a new social networking website for genealogy. WeRelate.org is totally FREE and makes it easy to upload family trees and images, find and connect with other family members, share research easily, and extend lines. WeRelate.org is now the largest English language genealogical wiki in the world. In the past few weeks, WeRelate.org has uploaded over 73,000 ancestral wiki pages. WeRelate.org also has more than 430,000 wiki pages for current and historical inhabited places, 115,000 given and surname wiki pages, and 1.3 million wiki source pages. WeRelate is now the largest English language genealogical application. Please watch our new video at:

http://www.werelate.org/videos/WeRelateTour.html

...The Foundation for On-Line Genealogy, Inc. will continue developing the software and hosting the web site, and the Allen County Public Library will provide administrative and support services. WeRelate is a FREE public service supported by tax-deductible donations. The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library houses over an acre of genealogy materials under one roof and is the second largest genealogy library in the world. The Foundation for On-Line Genealogy is a non-profit organization dedicated to making family history research easier, faster, and more rewarding.

Illinois Web Sites

Are you researching Illinois families? Here are two Illinois web sites that may be of help to you.

Main archives (IL):

http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/archives.html

This site contains maps that can be ordered on CD's:

http://landplats.ilsos.net/Flash/Welcome.html

Thanks to Nancy Cunningham for providing this information.

NEHGS Records: Maunsell

From the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) Database: Index to Marriage License Bonds of the Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland

Year Last Name Record
1683 Maunsell John and Anne Foulke
1692 Maunsell Margaret and John Widenham
1709 Maunsell John and Elizabeth Campion
1720 Maunsell Alice (widow) and William Brereton
1767 Maunsell Elizabeth and John Carey
1793 Maunsell Margaret and Thomas Franks

Free On Ancestry

Ancestry.com regularly posts items on their website that are "in the clear". In other words, you don't have to have a subscription to access them. However, these free databases are often difficult to locate, as they are scattered amongst many other databases that are not free. These databases typically don't stay free, but change as Ancestry's promotions change.

Now Clear Digital Media, Inc., best known for their Interment.net site, has posted a new site entitled Free On Ancestry.com. It's a portal to Ancestry's free databases. Check it out at:

http://www.freeonancestry.com/

Genealogy Central on MySpace

I have created a new group on MySpace called Genealogy Central. It is a place where you can post queries, data and general information about genealogy. It is open to anyone worldwide. Visit:

http://groups.myspace.com/genealogycentral

Or just visit my site on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/tourgirl

More Information on Munselle

For more information on the Munselle family, check out the following websites:

Munsell/Munsell Yahoo Group
Co-Moderators: Bil Munsil and Nancy West

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/munsell/

Munselle website
Nancy Cunningham

http://www.griffincunningham.net/ldmunselle/LDMpg1ldintro.htm

A Brief History of the Munselles in Texas

A Brief History of the Munselles in Texas

by Nancy West

Most members of the Munselle family now residing in Texas can trace their ancestry back to LORENZO DOW MUNSELLE, born January 1, 1828 in Licking County, Ohio. Lorenzo came toTexas about 1889 from Mt. Vernon in Jefferson County, Illinois.

Lorenzo was married first, 1848, to Phydelia SMITH. By this marriage there were seven children:

1. Thomas Tillotson (Doc), also known as T. T., of San Saba, San Saba County, TX. He married Sarah Jane ESTES.

2. Mary A. (Sis), of Mt. Vernon, IL. She married Jeremiah KING.

3. John Raleigh of Mt. Vernon, IL, who married Lusetta HOLLIDAY.

4. Luna Alice of Mt. Vernon, IL. She married William GREGORY.

5. William Alexander (Bill) of Bangs, Brown County, TX; married Nancy Elizabeth SHELTON.

6. James Lawrence (Jim) of Gonzales County, TX. He married first, Ellen Katherine COWEY; second, Margaret (Maggie or Mag) PATTERSON.

7. Harriet Victoria (Hattie Vic), married Frank BROOKMAN.

Several of these children remained in Mt. Vernon, IL, when Lorenzo moved to Texas.

Lorenzo married 2nd, April 5, 1870, Margaret Emily Derickson BODINE. They also had seven children:

1. Lorenzo Dow, Jr., married Winnie L. BOLINGER.

2. Lawrence Bratton, married Viola McARTHUR.

3. Harvey, died young.

4. Louisa Julia, married Ernest E. WILLIAMS.

5. Joshua Walter (Josh), married Heba H. RANSOM.

6. Rosetta Joan, married Rufus SMITH.

7. Laura Orlena, died unmarried.

Lorenzo was a farmer who resided in Richland Springs until his death on April 13, 1907. He planted a large pecan grove there which is still standing. Lorenzo and Margaret Emily Derickson BODINE are both buried in the Richland Springs Cemetery, San Saba County, TX.

The history of the Munselle family dates back to Sir Philip de MAUNSELL, a companion of William the Conqueror. The founder of Lorenzo Dow's branch of the family was:

THOMAS MUNSELL. He was on record as a resident of New London, Connecticut, in 1681. He died in New London, Connecticut, in 1712. Most MUNSELLES in the United States today are descendants of his eight children. In England, the family dropped the "u" from MAUNSELL in the 1600s. MUNSELL, with a number of variations, is the traditional American spelling. Lorenzo Dow's branch adopted the spelling MUNSELLE while living in IL, sometime during the 1800s.

From printed booklet for Munselle Family Reunion, Colmesneil, TX, June 1994

revised March 1, 2002