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Sentimental Sunday: Four Generations of Springsteens

Four Generations of Springsteens: Jefferson Springsteen, seated, with his great-grandson William Helbling. Standing on left is Jefferson's daughter Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, and her daughter, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, mother of little William.
Four Generations of Springsteens: Jefferson Springsteen, seated, with his great-grandson William Francis Helbling. Standing on left is Jefferson’s daughter Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, and her daughter, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, mother of little William. Taken November, 1906.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909), married Anna Connor (1824-1887).

Anna Missouri Springsteen (1854-1939) married Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916).

Anna May Beerbower (1881-1954) married William Gerard Helbling (1882-1971).

William Francis Helbling (1906-1907) died at age 15 and one-half months.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Family treasure chest of photos, provided by a dear cousin- thank you!

 

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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Tuesday’s Tip: Exploring a Family Story- The Springsteens and Abraham Lincoln

Baby Mary T. Helbling with her beloved grandmother, Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower in 1925. Family photo.
Baby Mary T. Helbling with her beloved grandmother, Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower in 1925. Family photo.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

Tuesday’s Tip:

Explore your family stories.

They may hold a bit of truth- or even more.

℘℘℘℘℘

While researching and writing the stories of Abram F. Springsteen for recent posts, a memory of Mary T. (Helbling) McMurray’s story that Abram and his family saw President Abraham Lincoln sparked an interest in checking out that old family story. Mary’s grandmother, Abram’s sister Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, had moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling and G.W. Helbling, during her later years. Mary and her grandmother were very close and spent quite a bit of time together. They did talk about family a lot, and Mary always knew more about that line of the family than of her father’s.

Many genealogists and historians will say that a good number of family stories are just that- stories. But I have found that our older generations were actually pretty accurate in their storytelling. So off to research and see if there was at least a grain of truth in the oft-told lore.

If memory serves (which it doesn’t always, lately), the reason Abram ran off to the Army was due to him seeing President Lincoln, per Mary, his great-niece. So finding out if Lincoln was anywhere near Indianapolis during 1861 was what was needed to verify this story, since that year was when Abram first enlisted.

It was harder than thought to find a detailed timeline of Lincoln’s activities. After a Google search that did not show me what I needed, I decided to look through Doris Kearns Goodwin’s most excellent book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Cover image is Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2012 film, "Lincoln."
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, first published in 2006. Cover image is Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2012 film, “Lincoln.”

Some tidbits but not exactly what I was looking for, though of course it was hard to stop reading through the book. It did give great context for the times, including the tug between sides to prevent or ‘render asunder’ our precious Union that had existed for 85 years.

The Indiana state capital, Indianapolis, was a major railroad and transportation hub. It also was the home of Gov. Oliver Hazard Perry Morton, who was one of Lincoln’s major supporters. Indianapolis was therefore a major base of Union support, so it was highly likely that Lincoln would have paid the city a visit.

The best clue came from waymarking.com, of all places. (They provide ways to log your visit to a particular spot using a GPS.) The site showed an Indianapolis monument commemorating a visit by Lincoln- on 11 February 1861. Bingo. A quick trip to Wikipedia.org led to more and then much more, and the number of open windows on my laptop increased rapidly with all the information I had been seeking, and more.

 

Tomorrow: the real story

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. History of Indianapolis, Indiana, Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Indianapolis
  2. Lincoln’s Inaugaration Journey – Indianapolis:  http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM11MR
  3. Lincoln- assassination attempts just after election (Baltimore Plot):
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Plot
  4. “Mr. Lincoln Goes to Washington” by Paul Fatout in the Indiana Magazine of History, Volume 47, Issue 4, pp 321-332. http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/imh/article/view/8077/9867
  5.  A maul is a large, heavy, hammer with a wedge-shaped head that is used to split rails, which Lincoln had done quite a lot of as a young man on the Illinois prairie. Rails are the horizontal supports on a fence.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Sunday’s Obituary: John Springsteen

John Springsteen Obituary. Died 19 March 1867; obituary published in the Indianapolis Herald, 21 March 1867, page 1, column 5.
John Springsteen Obituary. Died 19 March 1867; obituary published in the Indianapolis Herald, 21 March 1867, page 1, column 5.

Helbling Family, Springsteen Family (Click for Family Tree)

John Springsteen was the maternal great-grandfather of Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, wife of William Gerard “W.G.” Helbling. He was born in New York per the 1850 US Federal Census, but also lived in Ohio and Indiana.

The obituary reads:

SUDDEN DEATH.– On Tuesday, the 19th,

about half past one o’clock, Mr. John

Springsteen, father of Abraham and Jeff.

Springsteen, died very suddenly. He was

sitting in his chair, conversing with his

grand-daughter. He remarked that he felt

strange, believed he was going to die, and

immediately expired without a struggle.

His funeral will take place from the resi-

dence of Jefferson Springsteen, 117 Spring

street, to-day at 3 o’clock P.M. The friends

of the family are invited to attend.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Obituary- Indianapolis Herald, 21 March 1867, page 1, column 5.

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
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Friday’s Faces from the Past: Curmudgeon Day

Benjamin Family, McMurray Family, Lee Family, Helbling Family (Click for Family Tree)

W. C. Fields (above) was a curmudgeon, and on the anniversary of his birth on 29 February 1880, we celebrate all the curmudgeons we know and love- or try to love.

What is a curmudgeon, you may ask? Generally described as a complaining, crotchety, critical old man, in the interest of equal rights we will include women as possibilities too. “Snarling contempt” is a good phrase that can describe the opinions, attitudes, and writings of curmudgeons. The very best curmudgeons, however, will add a bit of humor or dry wit to their scathing words, and give us an insight into the human condition; sometimes they even make a career out of it.

W. C. Fields is famous for many a curmudgeonly phrase, some from his movies, and some said on his own while in character (he was said to personally be a kind man). Many other quotes have been attributed to him but may not be really his words. Here are a few of his most famous:

 “I never vote for anybody, I always vote against.”
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.
If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.”
And the quote that sums up his character:
I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.
Title page of the First Folio, 1623. Copper engraving of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout. Public domain, via Wikipedia.
Title page of the First Folio, 1623. Copper engraving of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout. Public domain, via Wikipedia.

The characters of William Shakespeare issued their share of curmudgeonly insults to each other long before- and now after- W. C. Fields:

There’s no more faith in thee than in a stewed prune.” (from Henry V)

Thine face is not worth sunburning.” (from Henry V)

Your brain is as dry as the remainder biscuit after voyage.” (from As You Like It)

You are as a candle, the better burnt out.(from Henry IV, Part 1)

Nowadays, we may have to extend the definition of ‘curmudgeon’ to include cartoons (Lucy always complaining and nagging Charlie Brown), puppets (Oscar the Grouch), and even internet memes (Grumpy Cat). And when you put two together you get…

Isn’t the internet wonderful??

We all know some curmudgeons, and likely have a few in the family, though it is doubtful that any of our dear readers would fit into that category.  We won’t name (many) names, but we do have a few ancestors who are long gone that we could possibly honor as Curmudgeons on this very special day.

OK, OK, it’s not really that special a day, as any true curmudgeon would proclaim.

Samuel J. Lee in His Drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri, possibly 1940s or 1950s?
Samuel J. Lee in His Drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri, possibly 1940s or 1950s?

Samuel J. Lee (1879-1964) ran a drugstore in St. Louis, Missouri. As the neighborhood changed and got quite a bit rougher, it is understandable that he might have turned a bit curmudgeonly. Only apparently Sam sort of was that way even before. A nephew who worked for him said that it did not take much to get Sam upset. He actually had a peephole in the wall of the drugstore- something common to many stores so that an owner could truly ‘keep an eye’ on things. The nephew stated, however, that Sam would monitor his work performance through the peephole, to make sure he did not dish out too much ice cream to a customer at the soda fountain, or even worse, sample the ice cream himself.

Sam was a quiet man, according to another family member. He didn’t talk much, and in the evenings would just go sit in the sunroom of the house on Alamo, read his paper and smoke a cigar. So maybe he was more a quiet man, and people just took that silence as curmudgeonly?

Gerard William "G.W." Helbling in his garden in St. Louis, Missouri. Date unknown, likely 1920s.
Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling in his garden in St. Louis, Missouri. Date unknown, likely 1920s.

Gerard William “G. W.” Helbling (1882-1971) did not have the benefit of much formal education, but he was a brilliant man. That brilliance could drive some people crazy, though, like one of his daughters. She said he always had a criticism for a movie, an article, or whatever. He would explain how it could not really happen, why it wasn’t true, the facts that were missing, or how it was biased. He was most likely right, as he was a prodigious reader and knowledgeable about a whole lot of things. He would often guess what would happen next, and spoil the plot line.

He could be a very loving man, however, and the love he showed for his dear wife, Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, was the kind of love women (ok, men too) dream about.

So maybe we can’t officially call him a curmudgeon? Maybe just a part-time curmudgeon, who was usually right.

Hannah Melissa Benjamin with her great-grandson, Edward A. McMurray, Jr., about 1926.
Hannah Melissa Benjamin with her great-grandson, Edward A. McMurray, Jr., about 1926.

We don’t really know enough about Hannah Melissa “Malissa” (Benjamin) McMurray (1854-1932) to officially proclaim her a curmudgeon. We don’t know that she was a complainer- her life was filled with work on the farm until her mid-fifties, and raising five children. She must have been a special woman to have endured it all, and some complaints, if any, should be excused.

But asking a descendant to identify the above picture was interesting. There was no name, and the informant was the young great-grandson pictured with Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray above. At first he did not recognize her through the fading lenses and memories of the 70+ years that had passed since that picture was taken. Then he looked up, in a somewhat taken aback fashion, when asked if it could be Hannah Melissa (Benjamin) McMurray. (Possibilities had been narrowed time-wise.) “Yes,” he replied. “She was VERY stern.” He was one who always gave people the benefit of the doubt, but apparently she curbed the enthusiasm of a toddler quite significantly, and he remembered it deeply when asked so many years later. He wouldn’t elaborate on whether that sternness was due to her complaining or just silently expecting him to toe the line; so maybe she was a pseudo-curmudgeon.

Headstone of Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841) in Old Colony Burial Ground, Granville, Licking County, Ohio, with permission of photographer.
Headstone of Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841) in Old Colony Burial Ground, Granville, Licking County, Ohio, with kind permission of photographer.

Jonathan Benjamin (1739-1841) was the third-great grandfather of Malissa (Benjamin) McMurray. Maybe Malissa got some of his ‘stern’ DNA.

The 1881 tome (816 pages!) compiled by N. N. Hill, Jr. called “History of Licking County, O., Its Past and PresentContaining a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest, a Complete History of Licking County … a History of Its Soldiers in the Late War … Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, [and it goes on…]” tells Jonathan’s story the best:

Jonathan Benjamin was in some respects an extraordinary man. He was a person of rather coarse features, but of strong muscular powers, with a still stronger will. He was very determined in all his undertakings, and of an unforgiving temperament. Having passed through the French and Indian wars, and through the war of the Revolution, and having suffered much and long by Indian depredations, both in the loss of friends and property, the finer feelings of his nature had become blunted to such an extent that he seemed to have lost most of his sympathy for his fellow man. Still he was a man of religious habits, and of good morals, but was generally considered to be a man that was naturally morose and unsociable, and was not known through life to have expressed his forgiveness of the Indian race…. Mrs. Benjamin possessed social qualities that in great measure compensated for lack of them in her husband.”

Jonathan had lived through Indian wars in New York (and/or New Jersey), Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, as well as in Licking and Fairfield Counties, Ohio. He witnessed his family members killed or carried off in Indian raids, and he had fought in military battles from at least the age of fourteen. He lived to be 102 years, 10 months, and 12 days old, and his demeanor never mellowed. His curmudgeonly attitude was likely fueled by the sorrows and hardships he had experienced in his long life. We can put on our psychiatrist hats and say maybe he was covering up the pain. Or maybe he was a quintessential curmudgeon?

It is hard to actually know if these folks were truly curmudgeons or not, as we only have a part of the story. They all had hard lives, so I do apologize to them if they were not curmudgeonly just for the sake of curmudgeon-ness.

So, who will you honor today on “Curmudgeon Day”??

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. W. C. Fields image via Warehouse 13 Wiki at http://warehouse13.wikia.com/wiki/File:W-C-Fields.jpg. CC-BY-SA license.
  2. Shakespearean insults from http://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/resources/shakespeare-insults/
  3. The “remainder biscuit after voyage” refers to the saltwater-soaked, then dried out, wormy biscuits that are all that is left for sailors and travelers to eat at the end of a very long voyage on board ship.
  4. Jon Winokur wrote The Portable Curmudgeon and a variety of sequels which are just delightful if you enjoy this genre of humor and quotations.
  5.  Previous posts about Sam Lee include:
    http://heritageramblings.net/2014/10/05/sundays-obituary-samuel-j-lee/
    http://heritageramblings.net/2013/12/13/five-family-photos-for-friday-samuel-j-lee-of-st-louis-missouri/
    http://heritageramblings.net/2013/12/19/those-places-thursday-samuel-j-lee-and-son-pharmacy-st-louis-missouri/
    http://heritageramblings.net/2014/10/02/those-places-thursday-aiken-family-homes/
    http://heritageramblings.net/2014/07/02/wordless-wednesday-lee-family-clock/
  6. History of Licking County, O., Its Past and PresentContaining a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest, a Complete History of Licking County … a History of Its Soldiers in the Late War … Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, Etc., compiled by N. N. Hill, A. A. Graham & Co., 1881 may be found at  https://books.google.com/books?id=_Xw8AAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false. Jonathan Benjamin bio on p. 602.
  7. Jonathan Benjamin obituary: “A Veteran”in  Hazzards US Commercial Statistical Register, Vol. 5, 1841/2, page 335, public domain. Heath Trust- http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044097928162;view=1up;seq=353

 

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Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
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Matrilineal Monday: The Springsteen Family Origins

Springsteen Word Cloud

Springsteen Family, Beerbower Family (Click for Family Trees)

The Springsteen surname is one you may have heard all your life, but it has not really been used for least 3 generations in our line because it was a matrilineal name. Abram Springsteen, “the youngest drummer boy in the Civil War,” was famous in our family. (Actually, there were quite a few drummer boys just barely into the double digits of age, and you can read more about Abram in our many previous posts- just put “Springsteen” into the search box.) The name “Anna Missouri Springsteen” (1854-1939) was quite a favorite- she likely was named for her paternal aunt, Missouri E. (Springsteen) Scotten, and was the sister of our young drummer boy. Anna M. married Edgar Peter Beerbower (1849-1916) in 1873, ending the name in our line (though they did name their son “Edgar Springsteen Beerbower”). They finally moved to Missouri too- wonder if that had been a dream, thus they used the name ‘Missouri” for daughters? I am so lucky to have one of Anna M.’s rings to wear everyday, and honor her memory.

According to the Dictionary of American Family Names, the surname Springsteen comes from the Dutch or North German language. It is what is considered to be a ‘topographic’ name, which is a name based on a place or a landscape object, such as the surname, “Hill.”

A ‘springsteen’ is a specific type of stone that is used as a stepping stone between houses or on unpaved roads. That seems somewhat foreign to us today- why were such things common? For a moment, time travel and put yourself into the context of older times: muddy, unpaved and rutted roads; no lawn services to provide a lush lawn; horses both with riders and pulling wagons, herded animals coming to market through town, dogs and cats running free through town and the farm, and all those critters leaving their mark on the road in piles that get run over and splashed- yucch. Let’s add in human critters spitting tobacco and etc. everywhere. (They were generally of the male species but there were some interesting female ones doing this as well.) Don’t forget that chamber pots were often just dumped outside, slop buckets of leftover food thrown out for the rummaging dogs and pigs, and wash stand water thrown out the window as well and into the street. Children and even adults may have had chronic vomiting or diarrhea due to parasites, infections, etc., with no antibiotics to make their life easier and reduce the filth being put outside the house. Now pretend you are a genteel lady with a long skirt that drags in the dirt- heavens, you would be a hussy if you showed your ankles, even with laced up shoes- and there is no such thing as an electric washing machine…

Yes, easy to see how they needed those ‘springsteens’ to keep out of the filthy muck.

Not sure that I like the idea of our family being compared to a rock, but maybe it was because the members of our family were useful and tough?

Our oldest Springsteen ancestor documented thus far is John Springsteen, the father of Jefferson and thus grandfather of our Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower; she was the mother of Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling who was born in 1881 and died in 1954. (Click on the family tree link at the beginning of this post for more details.) We believe John was born about 1782 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, but do not know his wife Mary’s maiden name nor the names of either of their parents. New York is a tough state to research, so it has been hard to trace John and Mary. The family did migrate to to the new frontier called Ohio, and then to the newer frontier, Indiana, where their son Jefferson and his brother Abraham were living by about 1839.

Springsteen families in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1896. R. L. Polk & Co., via Ancestry.com.
Springsteen families in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1896. R. L. Polk & Co. Indianapolis, Indiana City Directory, via Ancestry.com. Note that siblings spell the name differently: John W. has changed the last ‘e’ to an ‘i’ and thus his son Harry spells his name the same way.

There are stories that Jeff had returned to New York (which he did) but also visited in New Jersey where possibly his grandfather lived. There are quite a lot of Springsteens in New Jersey and New York, so more research will need to be done to sort them out and find the ancestors of our Springsteen line.

Looking at early immigration records, there are very many Springsteens who came to New Netherlands, which was Dutch New York. The first and middle names definitely look to be Dutch, such as “Joost Casparse Springsteen” or “Geertje Jans Springsteen.” Later arrivals who could possibly be John Springsteen’s parents immigrated to Long Island, New York, or possibly Orange or Albany. Jefferson did live in Brooklyn, New York, for a time, where he married his wife Anna Connor, so they may have had family there- have not found any information yet, but NYC is a good place to start researching again.

Ancestry.com has an interesting page on the website where one can research a family name. Using census data, they state 10-18 Springsteen families in 1840 lived in New York, and 4-9 in New Jersey, but this surely does not take into account all the spelling variations of the name. (Springsteen, Springsted, Springston, etc.)

By the 1880 US Federal Census, Ancestry.com shows 85-167 Springsteens in New York state, 29-84 in New Jersey and Michigan, 1-28 in various other states including Indiana. In 1920, Ancestry.com lists just 36-69 Springsteen families in New York, 13-35 in New Jersey and Michigan, and 1-12 in Indiana, Ohio, and 21 other states.

Ancestry.com also looked at the 1880 US Federal Census for Springsteen occupations, and compared the percentage to that of the general public. Slightly over one-third of Springsteens were farmers in 1880, similar to the general population. Springsteen’s also had a similar number of laborers (9%), 1% less farm laborers at 2%, 1% more working as blacksmiths, at 2% of Springsteens, and 5% working as painters when the general public was just 1%. (Both Jefferson, his brother Abraham, and his father John worked as painters at various times in their lives.)

Keeping house (6%) as an occupation was the same as in the general public, but this makes me wonder how these statistics were generated- they are probably only counting ‘head of household’ Springsteens, as theoretically there would be about the same number of wives named Springsteen as husbands.

Ancestry.com has 54 Civil War service records for Springsteens, and all fought on the Union side. (Not really a surprise since all lived in northern states.)

The inevitable question? Are we related to Bruce Springsteen? Possibly, since there is that New Jersey connection, but no link found as yet. We’ll keep you posted.

 

Notes, Sources, and References: 

  1. Ancestry.com

 

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We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
 

Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.
 
Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.
 
Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.