Duchess of Weaselskin

Bayfield, Colorado - It was a cloudy Monday and they say the next three days may be similar, with Snow, cold and mother nature using her weather ways to make sure the Christmas holidays are white around these neck of the woods.

Although, we are behind in snowfall inches around compared to last few years at this time. Have you felt the frigid chill of December yet? As of 4:29PM, 12 December 2011, the roads were covered with a thin, slick snow and visibility was about a quarter of a mile this afternoon. Remember if your traveling in this weather, Slow down and take your time.

Our SW Colorado webcam is not transmitting like it should right now, but we wanted to let you know that we are working to remedy that situation while we type this week's newsletter. Actually, our internet connection seems kind of bogged down and loading pages slow the last couple of weeks. With the holidays upon us maybe searchers and shoppers alike are venturing out on the web. Thanks for hanging with us during these slow times!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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On This Day In History (December 12)

America - On this day in history, 12 December 1963, kenya gained its independence from Britain. Anyone remember when The Katzenjammer Kids comic strip by Roudlph Dirks debuted in the New York Journal? Check below.

On this same date in history, 1915, Frank Sinatra, an American singer and actor who elevated popular song into an art, was born. Following his death on 14 May 1998, his Obituary appeared in The times.

On This Date (12 December):

1. 1745 - John Jay, statesman and the first chief justice of the Supreme Court, was born in New York City.
2. 1787 - Pennsylvania became the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
3. 1870 - Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina took his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first black congressman.
4. 1897 - The Katzenjammer Kids, the pioneering comic strip by Rudolph Dirks, debuted in the New York Journal.
5. 1914 - The New York Stock Exchange re-opened for the first time since July 30. The market had shut down when World War I broke out.
6. 1915 - Singer Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, N.J.
1917 - Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town outside Omaha, Neb.
7. 1925 - The first motel, the Motel Inn, opened, in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
8. 1947 - The United Mine Workers union withdrew from the American Federation of Labor.

NW Okie's Corner

Bayfield, CO - This last week we were remembering one of those dates (7 December 1941) that has lived in infamy for 70 years and our World War II (WWII) Veterans. Did you have a WWII veteran in your family? Are you doing genealogy research for those veteran ancestry?

Then you will need to check out what Ancestry.com has added to it's research tools. You can search all the WWII records and learn more about your family's connection to "a date which will live in infamy" by searching their WWII Draft cards of young men, 1898-1929 and other WWII military records.

Bill Barker sent us some photos and research he has been doing in Georgia concerning the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of tears and where Sequoyah lived while doing his syllabary. Since we are running late to night and can not get everything in to this week's OkieLegacy Ezine, we will include more of Bill Barker's research and findings in next week's OkieLegacy Ezine.

I have been busy learning a new web design software app (RapidWeaver) for the Mac and giving my Paris Times Pioneers (genealogy) a NEW LOOK for 2012. You might want to check it out, also! I am still adding some pages to the HURT Legacy pages, but most of everything is uploaded so far. Bookmark the web site and keep checking back momentarily.

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Cherokee Outlet & Local Ranch History Subject of New Book

Oklahoma - by Sandie Olson (Email: sandie.olson@gmail.com) -- Descendants and friends of Cherokee Strip cowpunchers will be interested in a new book, The Vanished Herd, the History of the Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers' Association and the Cattlemen and Drovers of Early-Day Oklahoma, by Jim Fulbright and Albert Stehno.

It is a full-sized, 8½ by 11 inch, hardbound book with over 532 pages, index, and thousands of photos, maps and illustrations featuring stories on the cattlemen, trails, towns and events related to early-day Indian Territory and Oklahoma.

Among the many biographies in the book are stories and photographs of individual cowboys who settled in Woods County after the opening of the Cherokee Outlet for settlement. The book is very well indexed. See ordering information below.

On Labor Day weekend ninety-one years ago, a group of former cowboys gathered in a buffalo pasture at the 101 Ranch south of Ponca City. A few years earlier, many of those men had followed the marching armies of longhorn cattle that trailed north from Texas through Indian Territory, and others had been herders on the range of the Cherokee Outlet; cowboys in Oklahoma's unsurpassed cattle country with its sea of grass stretching for over 200 miles along the Indian Territory border with Kansas. In their prime, they were young adventurers, most looking for a livelihood and the freedom of the open range, but their ranks also included far-sighted entrepreneurs who developed ranches and fortunes in the cattle trade, which, beginning in 1867, dominated much of the West for nearly thirty years.

By 1920 most of those old cowboys were family men in their forties and fifties, some even older. They met at the 101 Ranch that year to renew old acquaintances and briefly relive their cowboy days, and as it turned out, the twenty-five to fifty former range riders who attended the reunion enjoyed it so much that they decided to meet annually. They elected a slate of officers who promised to contact even more "old-timers" for the next year's reunion, and before they left the 101 Ranch that weekend, they chose a name for their new group: "The Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers Association."

In 1921 over 160 "cowpunchers" showed up for the second annual meeting, and during the next ten years, the number increased to nearly 600. By 1926 they had moved the reunion location to a little rise on the south bank of the Salt Fork River in the corner of the buffalo pasture. They dubbed it, "Cowboy Hill," and a small building and other improvements were placed there for their Labor Day meetings. Initially, CSCPA membership required having previously worked in the Cherokee Strip, or "Outlet," of Indian Territory, a requisite that was soon expanded to include those engaged in the cattle business in other parts of Oklahoma.

In the 1800s, these early-day range riders had arrived in Indian Territory from many states and countries and from all walks of life. The majority were born in Missouri, Illinois, or Texas, while several came from Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and even Canada. Only nine states or territories in existence at the time were not represented by a CSCPA member.

During the years Oklahoma was opened for settlement, most of these men left the cattle range and claimed homesteads, while others either returned to their home states or looked for new ventures elsewhere. Far and away the largest number of them remained in Oklahoma their entire lives, and many descendants of the old cowpunchers live in the state today.

The last of the original Cherokee Strip cowboys died in the 1960s but today their memory and the days of ranching in the Outlet live on in the recently released book The Vanished Herd by Jim Fulbright & Albert Stehno. Thirty-five years ago, Stehno, a Billings rancher, began collecting materials about the Cherokee Strip Cowpunchers when his great-grandmother gave him a membership ribbon worn by her stepfather Cal Rosecrants. Stehno spent his spare time combing the countryside, locating and interviewing other descendants of the CSCPA. Many of them supplied photos and other memorabilia, which became part of a large collection of CSCPA material, portions of it now on display at the Marland Grand Home in Ponca City.

After three decades of collecting, Stehno began thinking about ways to share the collection, and fours years ago he began collaborating with Jim Fulbright, a native Oklahoman who has authored several books on Oklahoma history. The result is a new full sized, hardbound book entitled The Vanished Herd. It contains over 500 pages and 1,000 plus photographs.

The book's title, according to Stehno, is derived from an incident in the 1930's when Zack Miller of the 101 Ranch donated a buffalo hide to the CSCPA on which the names of the men associated with the organization were burned like brands. The hide also contained colorful paintings by artists Emil Lenders and Roger Glenn Taylor, and Miller entitled his gift, "The Vanishing Herd." The hide was presented to the Oklahoma Historical Society in 1936, and is now at Enid's Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center Museum."With all the original cowboys now gone," said Stehno, "we decided to tell their story and times on the range, calling our book "The Vanished Herd."

Stehno and Fulbright say that one of the challenges in preparing the work has been deciding what accurately constitutes an official role of CSCPA membership. There have been several lists over the years, from the buffalo hide itself to the names inscribed on the Jesse Chisholm Trail Memorial. To be as accurate as possible, the authors decided that the original ledger book, dutifully kept up-to-date by several CSCPA secretaries down through the years, and now archived in the Gilcrease Museum at Tulsa, Oklahoma, should serve as the official record of membership. To the extent possible, they have used that old fading ledger to reconstruct the cowpunchers' work record, the ranch or cattleman they served, and provide a biographical sketch of each member's life. The Vanished Herd also contains biographies of other area ranchers, and cattlemen, as well as incidents and stories about town building in the Cherokee Outlet following the 1893 land run.

The book is available at the Waynoka Museum Gift Shop at the Harvey House or by mail order. Cost is $60.00 per book, plus 9% tax and $6.50 Priority Mail shipping. To order, please send your name and address, along with a check or money order, to Waynoka Historical Society, PO Box 193, Waynoka OK 73860. Credit card orders are accepted. For further information, call 580-824-1886. The authors visited Waynoka during the research phase of the book. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Native Americans - Researching The Trail of Tears

Georgia - In last week's OkieLegacy Ezine we had an article concerning Cherokee Chief Redbird Smith and his connection and the Alva connections with the Brunsteter family and the OWL family. One of our regular readers emailed several items of interest concerning the Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, in conjunction with the National Park Service dedicated to marking the trails. We will include that information in next week's OkieLegacy Ezine.

Bill Barker says, "The post resonated with me on several fronts. I currently live in Chattooga County, Georgia and am a member of the Georgia Chapter of The Trail of Tears Association, in conjunction with the National Park Service dedicated to marking the trails (There are eight). The Cherokees used to go to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) after the removal on May, 24, 1838. I am currently serving as the laison between the Chapter and the County, researching the trails, towns, and people in our county so markers can be placed.

"Our County is unique because it is the only County in Georgia where Sequoyah lived and while here he finished his syllabary and gave the first public demonstration of it at a Tribal Council meeting at the Chattooga Town Meeting house.

"Other than Chief Redbird Smith being a Cherokee, the Alva connections interested me since I knew the Brunsteter Family. The fact Earl's sister married into the Owl family was fascinating because I met a Cherokee Storyteller named Freeman Owle at the Chieftain's Museum (Home of Major Ridge) and he was a dead ringer for me. Chills went up my spine and the hair rose on the back of my neck! I asked him to have his picture taken with me and he consented, we were both wearing hats, when we removed our hats we discovered we were both bald, Freeman looked at me and remarked, 'I see we go to the same barber.'

"He's a Eastern Band Cherokee who lives in Cherokee, NC and is also a soapstone carver, his work is displayed at the Museum of the Cherokee at Cherokee. My oldest son is a geologist and is working to get Freeman a soapstone source." View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Tips for esearching Hungarian Names

Tracing your family in Hungary relies on two key ingredients: the immigrant's name and the ancestral town or village. To use Hungarian records, you need to know your ancestors' original name in the old country, which might have changed multiple times after their arrival in America.

Two more naming traditions to be aware of: Hungarians commonly put their family names before their given names, the reverse of most Western cultures. And women often will not appear by their own name, but by adding the suffix -ne to her husband's.

Another good resource is a Hungarian book (published in Hungarian, so you will need a translator) published in 1895 with 15,000 19th-century Hungarian name changes. It provides the new and old surname, occupation, place, names of children taking the new surname, year the change was authorized and more.

This is the link to the book written in Hungarian - It's digitized in Google Books. If you find a translation, I would love to have a copy.

Hungarian records are stored and organized geographically by county, district and locality. County and district borders moved and names changed. You will also encounter misspellings and mistranscriptions in US sources, so it's important to determine the correct names.

Before 1918, many Hungarian records listed both a village and county name. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

Greenbrier Military School For Boys

Lewisburg, West Virginia - Greenbrier Military School for Boys was not the same as the Greenbrier School for Women! Last week we had mention of a Greenbrier Military School in West Virginia. After this week and finding more information about the military school for young men, we have found out that the Greenbrier College for Women was a completely different institution. Other than dances and other social gatherings, that was what brought the two together.

The Greenbrier Military School was a private secondary school for boys, located in Lewisburg, West Virginia at 400 North Lee Street. The history of the military school is traced back to 1890 when the Greenbrier Military academy was founded. Two years after it opened, the school buildings burned. It has had several names and ownership, such as, in 1902, the school was bought by the Greenbrier presbytery which renamed it the Greenbrier Presbyterial School and ceased to be a military school.

It was not until 1906 that H. B. Moore was hired as school's headmaster and reintroduced the military curriculum. Moore and two of his brothers helped run the school. In 1920 they purchased the institution and reorganized it as the Greenbrier Military School. But . . . in 1925 a fire destroyed nearly all of the school's buildings, which were replaced with a classroom building and dormitory that housed 250 boys.

It was during World War II that the school had an enrollment of 345 students in grades seven to 12 years of age. The students were required to have 4 years of military training. The school closed in 1972, while the buildings were acquired for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Photographs of Greenbrier Military Academy can be viewed at the following Links:

1. Greenbrier Military Academy
2. Greenbrier Military School panoramic postcard
3. Greenbrier Military School exterior
4. Greenbrier College for Women

The First Christmas - Iroquois Orphans - 1905

In the Indian Advocate, dated 1 December 1905, page 381, image 17 there is an article that mentions and is entitled, "Their First christmas," written by William OKeefe, A.O.S.B. The "Black Robe," as the indians called him traveling around through the wilderness visiting different Iroquois indian encampments along the basin of the great St. Lawrence.

The indians received him with calm and stolid indifference amounting almost to contempt. The Black Robe missionary persevered in his work, hoping that the dark breast of the savages would one day be opened to the truths of eternal life. The Black Robe missionary was making his rounds among the indians, inviting them to assemble for the celebration of Christmas, at a certain camp.

The main settlement of the Iroquois lay in a wooded valley and presented a wild, forbidding aspect. Among these Indians there were two orphans. One was a kind, sweet tempered girl about 12 years of age, whose name was Lily Flower; the other a youth just completing his sixteenth year, known as Red Deer. The two homeless ones had been adopted when very young, by Swift Eagle the chief had conceived a paternal love for the two children, but more especially for Lily Flower.

Ever since the death of his parents years before, Red Deer had concentrated all the eager affection of his soul upon his delicate little sister. He was very solicitous about her welfare, watching over her with the greatest care and protecting her from the least possible harm with a spirit of manly pride.

But Lily Flower was not the only one who held a place in Red Deer's heart. Often when roaming amongst the wild and picturesque scenes of his country, he would feel an inexplainable attraction towards the Great Spirit.

You can read the rest of the story at The First Christmas. View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

1922 September - Capron Land For Sale Cheap

Capron, Oklahoma - If you follow this link to the Guthrie, Oklahoma Leader Newspaper dated 1903- September 22 for the Capron, Oklahoma Ad for land sales you might find the following Ad which begins with, "Home Seekrs will do well to stop at Capron, and call for . . . G. N. Ames & C. J. Funk, Real Estate Agents and let them show you the best and cheapest farms that can be bought for the money in Oklahoma. ($15 to $30 per acre.)"

"Capron is located in the best part of Woods county, in the famous Driftwood Valley, where this year the wheat yield was from 15 to 42 bushels per acre; barley, 62; oats and clover practically shire, on the Santa Fe railway."

"The Church facilities of Capron are as good as can be found anywhere in the Southwest. The soil in the country contingent to Capron is a rich dark loam."

It goes on to state in the Ad, "We would be pleased to correspond with anyone wishing to purchase a farm in Oklahoma's richest wheat belt. All correspondence will receive the attention of a member of the firm. When you come to Oklahoma, come to capon and see the best." View/Write Comments (count 0)   |   Receive updates (0 subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe