Vining Newsletter - October 2007

Dear Vining Researchers,

It has been over a year since the previous Vining Newsletter. So, I welcome to new recipients, and to answer the question of some of those who have received this newsletter before, "yes, I'm still alive". I recently moved to Mount Desert Island. For those of you unfamiliar with the coast of Maine, Bar Harbor is a well-known town on Mount Desert Island, and the island is home to much of Acadia National Park. I live on the west side of the island, called the "quiet side", where it is less frequented by tourists and where the traditional lifestyle of lobstering is common. Because I no longer run a natural history center (I sold it) and no longer take care of my father (he died in March), I hope to be able to spend more time working on the online Vining genealogy ( http://www.vfthomas.com/Viningfamilies.htm ).

THANK YOU
As time goes on, I have received an increasing number of e-mails from Vining family members and others interested in Vining genealogy. Some provide corrections and additions to the online Vining genealogy (see URL above) and others have questions about this or that family member. I really appreciate your messages.

THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
Well, almost everything. But genealogically, there is a time (= day, month, and year) and a place for every birth, marriage, and death. I hope you will look over the online genealogy and see if there is a time and place reported for all births, marriages, and deaths in your line. If not, please send along the information and I will post it for you. It would be really helpful if you have documentation such as birth, marriage, and death certificates as well as images of gravestones. I will not post any documentation for living persons but will be glad to do so for those who have died.

CENSUS RECORDS
Every 10 years, beginning in 1790, a census has been taken of persons in the United States. These records are online and, for a fee, accessible to everyone. I am fortunate to have been given such access by a librarian. For many families in the online Vining genealogy, there is a link below the family entry to that family's census information. When you click on that link, you are taken to a page that shows a summary table of the census data for that family, with source information given below the table. I am (slowly) working my way through the alphabet, gathering images of the census entries for each family and adding them to the source information.

ARTICLES WELCOME
Do you have an interesting story about Vining research or about a Vining family? Or do you have a particular problem (a dead end, for example) that you have not been able to solve? Please put together a paragraph or two and e-mail it to me. I will add it to the next Vining Newsletter. Also, if you know any folks you think would like to receive this newsletter, please send me their e-mail.

Thanks,

Tom

Thomas F. Vining
V. F. Thomas Co.
P. O. Box 400
Southwest Harbor, ME 04679
207-266-5748 = 207-BOOKS-4-U
http://www.vfthomas.com