Progress on Ramaley research
I see that I have managed to let an entire year pass without adding to this site. But I have an excuse. I've been busy.
I have now identified over 15,000 desendants of the immigrant Ambrose. There are still a couple of big branches that are unlinked -- the largest being the descendants of John Remely (1765-1825) who married Maria Catherina Bender (1780-1858). This chunk has 405 descendants. There is little question that there must be a link because of the location -- Mooresville, Northampton County -- and the time. I thought I might have a breakthrough when one of his descendants (John Milton Remaly, a 3rd great grandson living in nearby Carlisle, PA) presented me with a fat folder that contained some personal correspondence with Charles Rhoads Roberts, author of the "definitive" 1914 History of Lehigh County. But it shed no light on the John in question.
I have been adding descendants at a rate of over 100/month. Most come from my finding a distant cousin (usually as a result of census work or searches) and then having that person help me fill in the branch.
I have also been working through the papers of the late Isabel (Remaley) Taylor who I profiled earlier. Her daughter Leola has been kind enough to allow me to work on the boxes and boxes of material that Isabel accumulated during her 40 years of retirement. While much of the correspondence is chit-chatty "how's the weather?", there are many letters that served as sources for the Family History that Isabel and her cousin Betsy (Eunson) Cooper produced in the 1990s.
I have been incorporating the material into what I hope to produce as the "Descendants of Ambrose Remeli"
I have also tried to spread the joy of genealogy by sending out ancestory reports to correspondents. This seems to me to be a worthwhile project in that I might help people become interested in their personal ancestry as well as possibly uncover important source materials that have been scattered among descendants.
I do hope to get something into print this year but there are still boxes and boxes of materials that I must look at. And I would really like to close the gaps in the tree.
So that's my plan for 2009. What's yours?
I have now identified over 15,000 desendants of the immigrant Ambrose. There are still a couple of big branches that are unlinked -- the largest being the descendants of John Remely (1765-1825) who married Maria Catherina Bender (1780-1858). This chunk has 405 descendants. There is little question that there must be a link because of the location -- Mooresville, Northampton County -- and the time. I thought I might have a breakthrough when one of his descendants (John Milton Remaly, a 3rd great grandson living in nearby Carlisle, PA) presented me with a fat folder that contained some personal correspondence with Charles Rhoads Roberts, author of the "definitive" 1914 History of Lehigh County. But it shed no light on the John in question.
I have been adding descendants at a rate of over 100/month. Most come from my finding a distant cousin (usually as a result of census work or searches) and then having that person help me fill in the branch.
I have also been working through the papers of the late Isabel (Remaley) Taylor who I profiled earlier. Her daughter Leola has been kind enough to allow me to work on the boxes and boxes of material that Isabel accumulated during her 40 years of retirement. While much of the correspondence is chit-chatty "how's the weather?", there are many letters that served as sources for the Family History that Isabel and her cousin Betsy (Eunson) Cooper produced in the 1990s.
I have been incorporating the material into what I hope to produce as the "Descendants of Ambrose Remeli"
I have also tried to spread the joy of genealogy by sending out ancestory reports to correspondents. This seems to me to be a worthwhile project in that I might help people become interested in their personal ancestry as well as possibly uncover important source materials that have been scattered among descendants.
I do hope to get something into print this year but there are still boxes and boxes of materials that I must look at. And I would really like to close the gaps in the tree.
So that's my plan for 2009. What's yours?
posted by Jim Ramaley | 5:50 PM
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