Genealogy Books

I'm stealing a part of a review written by "a reader" for the reprint edition of this book, as I think that it will give you a very good idea of the scope of this book: "The significant substories within the book describe the development of wire rope; the construction of the first successful suspension bridge across the Niagara Gorge; the details of construction of the Brooklyn Bridge; and the comparison of the sway bracing of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and its ultimate fate. These could all have been the subject of separate books and each was fascinating in itself." There are 16 excellent black-and-white photos on glossy paper and two wonderful engravings of building the Brooklyn Bridge. You don't have to pay $80 plus, the reprint price, for this First Edition published by Harcourt, Brace in 1945.

I read this book over 45 years ago while completing my undergraduate studies in Engineering. I have never forgotten it!! The significant substories within the book describe the development of wire rope; the construction of the first successful suspension bridge across the Niagara Gorge; the details of construction of the Brooklyn Bridge; and the comparison of the sway bracing of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and its ultimate fate. These could all have been the subject of separate books and each was facinating in itself.

This fascinating book descibes the the story of the brooklyn bridge in New York, and the story of their builders, the roebling brothers. Roebling had the great idea of building a bridge not with stiff beams, but with two big soft ropes made of fibers of strong and elastic steel. An idea, which now is used with nearly all Bridges of wide span. I love this book, because it is not an engineering report, but the touching story of the life of mainly the elder Roebling brother, who dedicated his health and his life to this bridge.

I could read this book nearly 40 years ago, and still it is one of my favorites. I do not posess it, and I deeply regret that it is not available any more. Hopefully AMAZON can find some and put them on their stock...

I love this book. It has tons of beautiful exterior photos but I would like to see more historical photos and more interior shots. I would also love to see more recounts by the people who lived there. There are a few stories and I read them over and over. I'd really like to give this book a four and a half but that's not an option.

Should you actually wish to drive down either Westmoreland or Portland Places, expect an unnessecarily rude treatment from what must be the local rent-a-cop. It matters not the price of your car or attire- you might get (as I did) threatened to be "thrown in jail for trespassing", and lectured as if you were an idiot. Other students of architecture beware. It happened to me, and judging by the character of the "gentleman" in question, I'm just glad I'm not black. I escaped without kissing the hood of my car.

Congratulations to all that contributed to this outstanding book. The history of the Places was carefully and completely researched and presented with beautiful photographs.

"Yesterday in the Hills" provides in-depth details about the daily lives of individual poor North Georgia farmers and their families in the early twentieth century. The details are given in the form of stories about indiviual lives and events. Humor, courting, medical practices, farming, family life, poverty, loafing, hunting, gardening, childhood games, etc., are all described in detail. The book reads easily and the stories leave a lasting impression. A very good read.

"Yesterday In The Hills" is the story of the Ballground/Canton/North Georgia hill country settlements. It tells a story of people too poor to live and too proud to give up. I'm descended from these people, and I'm very proud of my roots. I'm white, yes. But these stories, anecdotes, and tall tales need to be preserved.

This is before the depression. This is making a living before the "new deal." This is life before the urbanization of America. This is the story of when people lived on and off their land. This is the story of men and women who settled the land and found it good. This is the story of Georgia, and all the lands where work, industry, faithfulness, and hope were the by-words.

Buy this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll remember when Momma's fried chicken, and pastor's sermon would keep you awake for days. But most of all, you'll remember a time passed, when things seemed simpler and the world was larger. . .but most of all when community meant just that. . .read THIS BOOK

These stories are the kinds of stories we should all be passing down in our families and communities. Through such stories young people find out who they are. The people in long ago Ballground, Georgia were poor, but in many ways they were richer than most of us now. Their daily lives had texture and provided a closer walk with the natural world. Just to survive required hard work, cooperation, and wisdom. Humor was a nice extra too and these stories have that extra in abundance. My mother's family lived right on the outskirts of Ballground, and many of her stories could fit right in this book. This is a great read!

Everyone should have this book. I know of a family now that is going through a battle simply because a book like this one was not used. What a great idea. I am going to tell everyone where to get this book. I think everyone should have it along with their will.
GOOD JOB!
I also recommend Write from Your Heart, A Healing Grief Journal for anyone who has lost a loved one. It creates a memory book of a person you have lost using your own words and thoughts.

I can't imagine life without this book now that I know it exists. Hoorays for the author who took the time to create the framework for others to leave their story and feelings to loved ones.

I never asked all of the questions I should have asked my parents and grandparents. Now it is too late. I am so sorry this book did not exist before. I am so sorry I didn't think about asking the many questions that I still have. I won't let it happen to my children. I am going to write down all of my thoughts and make sure the children know where this is when I leave this magical place. They will know as much information as I can give them and hopefully pass this down to their families. I will also write down what I want them to have so they will know it came from my heart. This vehicle provides the opportunity to communicate all that I need to say and want to have done after I am gone. I feel at peace knowing I have taken responsibility to leave this for those I love. Thank you...

An excellent Orisa name book for those that require correct spellings, accurate meanings and quick reference. Listed by Orisa and by an alphabetic list, this book is invaluable. Everyone will find an Orisa name they have never heard or used.

Keep it close during Baby naming ceremony, Orisa initiations and presentation of first Orisa names to new devotees!

This book is excellent. It contains so many different names from so many categories. With categories from Abiku (child-death syndrome) to Joy to Royalty to Warrior to Reincarnation to Ayan (drummer) to Child (Omo) to Beauty and love. It also contains all of the divinations, Ifa, Egungun, Esu, Iwin, Ogun, Ose, Obatala, Ode and Agbe, Osanyin, Osun, Oya, Sango and Yemoja. It also has Oluwa (God). It is printed in Yoruba, so it has all the accents and dots that is needed to accurately pronouce each name. It gives descriptive meanings of each name and even identifies if it is a male's, female's or unisexual name.

The only thing I wish it had was a break down of each name. Since Yoruba names are really sentences put together, I was hoping that it would break down each name to show you exactly what words were put together to make the name. (Ex: Olumayowa which means "God brings Joy." Made of Oluwa (God) Mu wa (Bring it) and Ayo (Joy).

Still, it is an excellent book and worth the cost. If you are looking for the perfect name for your new child, this book will be able to give you just about any option for any situation, expression or condition the child is born in.

Only those with a Bevil / Beville / Beauville / deBeauville / Chesterton, England connection will want this book, but for them it is excellent, readable, and useful, not only in its geneaology but in its history and observations on England up until the 18th century. The authors have accomplished an outstanding job of research.

When the words "700 Years..." are in the title of ANY genealogy book about a family, one instantly wonders about how accurate it is. Yet "700 Years of the Beville Family" is just that: a meticulously researched and documented account of a family whose origins began with two Norman knights who aided William the Conqueror in his quest for the English Crown by crossing the Channel and fighting with him at the Battle of Hastings in the year 1066 A.D.

The book begins with a brief review of how the Duchy of Normandy came into being with the invasion of the Norsemen ca. 911 A.D., and its relation to the rest of the then Frankish kingdom. It covers how Duke William of Normandy came to lay claim to the English throne and the political environment of England at the time of Edward the Confessor leading up to The Conquest.

It next documents the actions of William the Conqueror and the two "de Beuville" brothers, William and Humphrey (noblemen from the town of Beuville in Normandy) and in the subsequent invasion. The story then moves on, detailing the marriages, alliances, roles (including two Knights of the Bath and two members of Parliament), and property transactions of the Beville family for 600 years in the County of Huntingdonshire, England (surrounding present day Peterborough). It concludes with 100 years of the family in colonial America, when Essex Beville emigrated to Virginia, and the next three generations that descended from him.

Using wills, baptismal, marriage, and property records, and several excellent sketches (photographs are added in the 2nd edition), Mrs. Lichliter gives form to the lives of a family's people over 600 years in medieval England. For those with a familiar knowledge of English history, some of the passages are quite revealing as one considers the contemporary events. And the updates made by Frank Pierce and Nancy Beville Pierce provide a very unexpected and fascinating link to both the current Royal family of England, and to the early noble and royal families of England in the centuries after The Conquest.

Specific sources down to the archive, volume and page numbers of references and historical records are given for each revelation and snippet of family history described throughout the work, including references from the Domesday Book of 1086.

Originally published in 1976, the Pierce's have done a masterful job of updating and adding to the original work by the late Asselia Lichliter, including information obtained by other members of the Beville family since 1976.

This work will defintely be of interest to any Beville, Bevill, Bevil, (or variation thereof) and their related family descendants as an authenticated account of their history begining in the year 1066.

It will be of interest to genealogists in general, especially amateur genealogists as Mrs. Lichliter was an "ordinary" woman with an exceptional interest in her family's history. It can also add body to desciptions of feudal society in England for those interested in history.

Exceptional, amazing and fascinating. This story of one ancient family's history is sure to become a genealogy classic.

This book is a collection of abstracts as published in the Methodist "Western Christian Advocate" 1834-1850. It is a rather specific reference book for use in family or church history research for midwestern states.

It is a very useful tool for those connected to the Methodist Church during the years 1834-1850.

This book is a must have for those who are researching their families with ties to the Methodist faith.
It is a huge hard cover book, fully indexed by name and by city/state. From midwest to the eastern states, it is truly a great resource.

The Yvon Cyr CD is a very well packaged and usable resource. Accessing the data on the CD is a trivial task with the many different tools provided with the data. An enormous amount of information is provided; a lot of the individual's entries are duplications within the CD, obviously because of the origins of the data. You must look at every reference however, since each submission Yvon Cyr received was understandably not merged in with the existing data. The next entry might provide that bridge you we're looking to confirm. Or it will extend your tree in a direction you didn't know existed.

Anyone researching Acadian names can soon find themselves lost in the myriad of identical names they come across wherever they search. Ie LeBlanc in Acadian research is as common as looking for "Smith". (Some 14000 + on this CD) The first thing you see is a list of names. Entering surname and given, "Charles LeBlanc" filled several pages. I was happy to see I could change the list view from Name and number to name and dates, spouses, or parents. This helped to narrow things down. Then I tried the search function. What a find! I searched on "Place Contains" various towns. While using it, I was surprised to find several hits on my hometown. The results showed deaths as recent as 1994. One of these was for the son of an acquaintance of mine. I was unaware of a son and was very touched. A search on "Notes Contains" revealed some very intersting notes made by some of the reasearchers who contributed the data for the CD. I also had option to display a family group view, ancestors, decendants and print many charts and reports. I have been researching my British roots for some years now, and am looking forward to using this CD to supplement my Acadian research. The information varies from names only for living persons to detailed notes for others. Using this tool, I will be able to better focus my research trips. I wish I had a CD like this when I began my British/Colonial American research!

An assortment of thousands of African personal names interpreted in detail are here in this book e.g. Matutu (prominence), Mawanga (ethnic groups), Achoka (the dark one), Akayesu (the one of Jesus), Magezi (braininess), Magero (miracles), Muliro (fire), Misha (village), Asis/ Asita (God). The ethnic group and country origin of each name is given, and also the pronunciation. The book shows that African names are so intimately related to culture, history, social situations, religion, birth situations, proverbs, love, anger, joy, dissapointment, etc. A unique aspect of this large book is that a quarter of it is dedicated to exploring the naming practices, cultures, histories, folklore of many African groups including the Zulu, Kikuyu, Tutsi, Hutu, Swahili, etc. You will not be disappointed if you want to get details about African backgrounds and if you have interest in African names. The book has so many references too that you can use. The book is therefore good for the general readers, the students, and the instructors.

"Until the publication [of this book], it has been extremely difficult to find any primer that collects and defines the meaning of some African names...in English translation. ...the [book tries] to delineate, translate, and put into definitive contexts, these names...as a means of reaching the bigger English audience that is unaware of the rich African traditional linguistic heritage. In [the book] Jonathan Musere and Christopher Odhiambo examine more than 4000 personal names from Sub-Saharan Africa, with special emphasis on Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. The book is divided into two parts, whereby the first part looks at the origins of the ethnic groups in discussion, as well as their linguistic development over the generations. The ethnic groups whose select names appear in this book include the Acholi, Alur, Bolia, Bushong, Embu, Ganda, Gisu, Gombe, Hemba, Hutu, Iteso, Jopadhola, Kaguru, Kakwa, Kanyok, Karamojong, Jie, Kiga, Kikuyu, Kongo, Langi, Luba, Lugbara, Luo, Luwa, Luyia, Maasai, Mongo, Nandi, Ngbandi, Ntomba, nyankore, Nyoro, Ovimbundu, Pare, Samia, Shona, Soga, Sotho, Suk, Swahili, Tetela, Toro, Turkana, Tutsi, Twa, Yaka, Yoombe, Zezuru and Zulu. The book looks at the western as well as traditional definition of these ethnic groups. For example, the ancestral name for the Ganda is the plural, "Baganda," while the singular noun is "Muganda." The customary name of the Soga is the plural "Basoga," while "Musoga" is the singular noun. The second part of the book lists the select names from the above ethnic groups in alphabetical order. For example, [the name] "chilimo" is given to one that is born during a season of cultivation. The book gives the pronunciation of chilimo as "tch-ih-lih-moh." (S.B. Isabirye in "Papyrus" Vol. 6, No.2, Winter 2000).

A medium sized book in which thousands of African names, their ethnic group and country origins, and their pronunciations are treated to detail. Through the introduction, and the name interpretations, it is shown that names and naming practices in Africa are intimately linked to items like family issues, disappointment, anger, happiness, religion, birth order, demeanor of mother or child, clan group, occupation of the parents, proverbs, etc. The book serves those interested in African names, culture, and proverbs; very good for the general reader and one who is into research on African culture. The book is carefully crafted and heavily referenced. The authors must have devoted a lot of time to putting together literary as well as oral information. Many books on African names are rather simplistic. Some of the names found in this book: Thembi (trust), Sibusiso (blessing), Sepsi (mercy), Simomo (patience), Tayari (ready), Tankiso/ Tebogo(gratitude), Musango (accusation), Lugo (leopard), Lerato (love), Azimio (political declaration), Mayinja (stones), Uhuru (freedom), Umot (a first born), Muguzi (buyer), Mukama (Lord).

"Africa is a continent with thousands of cultures, traditions and languages. Names are part and parcel of the enrichedAfrican heritage. African personal names run into thousands, if not millions.... What this book has done is to compile a listing of about 2,500 names from key central, eastern and southern African countries such as Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Central african Republic, the two Congos, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.... Not only does this book explain the meaning of the name, but it does so in a concise and straightforward comprehensible manner that the general public would understand. In addition, unlike most other books on the matter, this one spells out the actual and correct pronunciation of each name. In addition, unlike most earlier works, this book goes out of its way to list the Western as well as the traditional spelling of the word. For example, "Nalubale" is the Western phonological way of spelling this name, while "Nnalubale" is its traditional and authentic equivalent. What makes this book most appealing is the authors' personal and cultural connection to Africa and hence, their intimate knowledge of the names and their meaning. In addition, the book is written in a concise and clear-cut language that is devoid of unnecessary jargon. ...Jonathan Musere and Shirley C. yakutaga are highly commended for ingeniously having compiled a very well written and illustrated...book about key African names as well as their basic significance, culturally. This book is highly rcommended for people of the African Diaspora, who for historical and/or cultural reasons may want to adoptsome African names. The book will also be invaluable to Africanists, instructors, and teachers of African Linguistics, Literature, History, and Politics, as well as being a basic introductory dictionary to the extremely rich African heritage. The book will also prove to be handy to business people, expatriates, tourists and journey persons who are interested in or have chosen Africa as their destination of travel and/or work." (Stephen Balyanango Isabirye in "The Griot" Vol. 18, No. 2, Fall 1999).