First I must apologize for being late with this newsletter. My work schedule has kept me very busy, and I am having a difficult time finding any personal time to pursue my own interests on this job. I am learning a lot and do enjoy the work, so hope it will get easier as I go.
I am working in Beverly Hills, which sounds glamorous, but is not. I have little time to explore the area. I am getting to see a lot more of my sister, her kids, and grandkids, who live in nearby Fullerton, which I am enjoying. We went live with PeopleSoft at the Hilton Corp. offices, where I have been wrking, at the end of October. We were putting in lots of extra hours.
Anyway, bear with me, and I will continue this newsletter. It just may be a little more sporadic. I had wanted to continue on with the military records of our ancestors, but have not had the time to do the needed research. It just occurred to me that I can go ahead and get this newsletter out, and I will continue on with the military records when I have more time. I am currently at my sister's home in Ca. and did not bring my genealogy files and cannot produce the lineage for everyone listed in this newsletter, as is my normal custom. I also cannot produce the calendars for the same reason.
I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. I also hope Christmas is everything your heart desires, and here's hoping that the New Year will bring us all good things. -
Carolyn
Graeme CARD has recently made contact with me. He is a FILER researcher in England. He is researching the FILER's in Someset/Gloucester-shire (England) from 1812 to 1900. He is looking for the birth of a HENRY FILER (circa 1812) Frenchay/Bitton ENGLAND. We are happy to add Graeme CARD to our extended FILER family until we can make a connection between our families. taken from e-mails from Graeme CARD.
Bob (Helen, Mildred, Elwood MASON, Martha, Squire ADMIRE) and Dianne DAYHUFF attended the MASON family reunion September 13, 1997, and one of the family members present was Bessie GIBSON (Beatrice SMITH who married David E. MASON, Sarah Catherine, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER), age 90. She wanted to see the family again. Her sister, Nina BASORE, is also still living and is 99 years old! The MASON reunion is held the second Saturday of September. In years past, the reunions were large gatherings of the children of John MASON and Martha ADMIRE, daughter of Squire ADMIRE and. his first wife. Squire later married Mary HUDSONPILLER, the widow of Benjamin FILER II. Mary's daughter Sarah Catherine FILER married Charles Clem SMITH. Their daughter Beatrice SMITH married John and Martha's son David E. MASON. The reunion has mostly been attended by descendants of David MASON and Elwood MASON. The last few years, mostly the children of Elwood MASON have continued to come. On September 13, they had about thirty people.
This year was special because Bob and Dianne had contacted some descendants of Leona NEAR
through their genealogy research. Margaret EXNER, daughter of Leona NEAR, and her daughter, Delores
HAYEN also came. They stopped in the day prior to the reunion to visit Bessie
and Nina. The next day at the reunion, Bessie GIBSON and her niece, Marie, showed up to everyone's
surprise and delight. Afterwards, Bob and Dianne escorted Margaret and Delores out to the
Cemetery where many of the MASONs are buried. Bessie and Marie made a stop there, too. The day was
spent going through old picture albums, eating good food, and enjoying each others company. Everyone
had a great time. If there are other descendants who would like to attend next year, they would be most
welcome. Next year the MASON reunion will be held on Saturday, September 12. Lunch starts about 12:00 noon.
Bob and Dianne DAYHUFF can be contacted for more information if someone wants to come.
In July, a forest fire burned several thousand acres plus two homes, close enough to Ginger EAKINS's
home that the smoke and ashes drifted into it. She and her Dad visited her sister, Janet, and her
husband, Bob, the 1st of Aug. Bob stayed home to take care of the animals.
- taken from e-mail received from Ginger EAKIN.
Tami (Ronnie, Alva LeRoy, William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) and Peter BLUGEL, from Germany, visited her parents at the end of July. Ron, Jean, Tami and Peter, and Tim (Tami's brother) then came to visit her grandparents, Irene and Lee FILER on Thursday, July 31, 1997. Ron, Jean, Tami, and Peter took a trip to Las Vegas. Tami also spent time with her mother, Cindy FILER, and they also made a trip into Mexico. It was good to see Tami and Peter. We have not seen them since their wedding.
Delores CRARY visited her parents Irene and Lee (William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) at the end of July and into August, during her break from school. She is a special education teacher. Lee FILER (William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) had Hemorrhoid and Hernia Surgery at the first of August. After a successful recovery he reports that he can sit in any chair offered to him now.
Kevin, Amy and Jared CRABB arrived home around October 12 to visit his parents, Diane (Evelyn, William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) and Mike CRABB. They visited until approximately Nov. 10. Kevin had to report back to the service on November 12 to leave for somewhere in Japan.
Phil and Ellen (Evelyn, William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin) MINNIE have returned to
Belgium. Ellen and the kids went back July 24, but Phil went back October 25. The MINNIE's are
missionaries in Belgium. Diane CRABB spent 3 weeks with Ellen in September (to keep her company in
Phil's absence).
Delores CRARY, myself, and Ron FILER gave our Dad, Lee (William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) FILER, an 80th birthday party on October 11, 1997. About 80 people attended, notably, his sisters, Evelyn HESTERLY and Bonnie RYAN, and in-laws Herb HESTERLY, Curtis RYAN, and Anise FILER. Delores CRARY MC'd the event. Carolyn FILER presented him with an award for having eaten Wheaties for almost 80 years. Jean FILER and her twin sister Sara lead a songfest of old songs. They led off the singing with "A Bicycle Built for Two", by pushing a bicycle built for two around the room as we sang the song. We ended the program by having his friends and relatives, nominate him for awards for his lifetime of achievements. We hope he and everyone else had as much fun as we did at his party.
The following is a song specially written for him and his party:
Old Man FILER
(To the tune of "Old MacDONALD Had a Farm")
Baby Filer's name was Lee --- EIEIO
He was born in '17 --- EIEIO
With a "wah wah" here and a "wah wah" there
Here a "wah," there a "wah", everywhere a "wah wah"
Baby Filer's name was Lee --- EIEIO
Lee was the oldest of 5 kids --- EIEIO
They laughed and teased and played all day --- EIEIO
With a giggle giggle here, and a giggle giggle there
Here a tease, there a tease, everywhere a tease tease
Lee was the oldest of 5 kids --- EIEIO
Lee was raised in Norwood, MO --- EIEIO
His mom and dad raised him just so --- EIEIO
With a good word here, and a good word there
Here a word, there a word, everywhere a good word
He was raised in Norwood MO --- EIEIO
Little Boy Filer went to school --- a-riding on a mare
The kids all called him "Filer Hos" --- EIEIO
With a neigh neigh here, and a neigh neigh there
Here a neigh, there a neigh, everywhere a neigh neigh
Little Boy Filer rode his horse --- EIEIO
Little Boy Lee rode a Model T --- EIEIO
He rode all the way to Cali-for-ni-ay --- EIEIO
With a chug chug here, and a chug chug there
Here a chug, there a chug, everywhere a chug chug
Little boy Lee rode a model T --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer loves Irene --- EIEIO
He married her in 39 --- EIEIO
With a kiss kiss here and a kiss kiss there
Here a kiss, there a kiss, everywhere a kiss kiss
Old Man Filer loves Irene --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer was a sawyer --- at his dad's sawmill
He signaled noon with a big steam whistle --- EIEIO
With a toot for the mill, and a toot for Irene
Here a toot, there a toot, everywhere a toot toot
Old Man Filer was a sawyer --- EIEIO
>/P>
Old Man Filer has three kids --- EIEIO
Delores and Carolyn and Baby Ron --- EIEIO
With a gray hair here and a gray hair there
Here's some gray, there's some gray, all his hair is really gray
Old Man Filer has three kids --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer has a daughter-in-law --- EIEIO
But no one knows which one she is --- EIEIO
With a guess guess here and a guess guess there
Here a guess, there a guess, everywhere a guess guess
Old Man Filer has a daughter-in-law --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer is a grandpa --- EIEIO
Tim and Tami and Jenny and Julie --- EIEIO
With a hug hug here, and a hug hug there
Here a hug, there a hug, everywhere a hug hug
Old Man Filer is a grandpa --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer is a GREAT Grandpa --- EIEIO
Tyler and Ashley made him GREAT --- EIEIO
With a sticky kiss here, and a sticky kiss there
>
Here a kiss, there a kiss, everywhere a sticky kiss
Old Man Filer is a GREAT Grandpa --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer is retired --- From TWA
Fix an airplane here and an airplane there
Fix a plane, another plane, everywhere an airplane
Old Man Filer is retired --- From TWA
Old Man Filer likes to travel --- on his airline pass
And with that pass he goes and goes --- EIEIO
With a snapshot here and a snapshot there
here a snap, there a snap, everywhere a snapshot
Old Man Filer likes to travel --- on TWA
Old Man Filer fixes things --- EIEIO
He fixes nearly everything --- EIEIO
With a screwdriver here and a hammer there
Here a wrench, there a wrench, everywhere a wrench wrench
Old Man Filer fixes things --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer goes to school --- EIEIO
He knows everything to know --- EIEIO
With a grade card here and a grade card there
Here a test, there a test, everywhere a test, test
Old Man Filer goes to school --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer likes to nap --- EIEIO
He's sitting up but he's sound asleep --- EIEIO
With a snore snore here and a snore snore there
Here a snore, there a snore, everywhere a snore, snore
Old Man Filer likes to nap --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer runs the sound --- EIEIO
He turns it up and turns it down --- EIEIO
With a tweak tweak here and a tweak tweak there
Here a tweak, there a tweak, everywhere a tweak tweak
Old Man Filer runs the sound --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer surfs the Net --- EIEIO
He likes to read and write e-mail --- EIEIO
with a type type here and a type type there
Here a type, there a type, everywhere a typo
Old Man Filer surfs the Net --- EIEIO
Old Man Filer loves his Wheaties --- EIEIO
He eats them in a great big plate --- EIEIO
With a slurp slurp here and a slurp slurp there
Here a slurp, there a slurp, everywhere a slurp slurp
Old Man Filer loves his Wheaties --- EIEIO
Everyone loves Old Man Filer --- EIEIO
He's 80 yrs. October 10 --- EIEIO
With a candle here and a candle there
Here a candle, there a candle, better call the fireman
Everyone loves Old Man Filer --- EIEIO
- written by Delores CRARY.
Diane CRABB headed to S.C. a little early for Thanksgiving. She planned on seeing how good-
looking her newest nephew, Tanner DUNIHO is and spend some time with him and his big sister and
brothers. She reports that Tanner Lowell DUNIHO is just about the cutest thing she's ever seen -- he
looks like his big sister did when she was a baby. They were both about 5 weeks early and very small --
that's part but not all of the resemblance. Mike (Diane's husband) joined them later for Thanksgiving.
Terrence Wayne TOWE (Robert Wayne, Jessie Opal HULL, Violet Opal GOODMAN, Rosa
WOODS, Emma Olivia FILER, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin) has accepted a position as an Optical
Application Engineer in California. He started the position in mid-November.
Terry has also announced he will be getting married. He and Larissa COLLINS plan to tie the knot at the bride's home on April 25, 1998.
Larissa is a Texas native and holds a degree in
Marine Biology. Terry and Larissa moved at the
first of November, and won't be able to come back for Christmas or Thanksgiving. Terry has 3 days off
for Christmas, so they're going to pick out their wedding rings.
- submitted by Kristi TOWE (kltowe@specent.com) by e-mail.
Holly (Robert Wayne TOWE, Jessie Opal HULL, Violet Opal GOODMAN, Rosa WOODS, Emma
Olivia FILER, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin) and Dan ALLAN came down at Thanksgiving with
Mackenzie. Her first birthday was Nov. 16th (it's been a whole year!) and she had a small party. Kristi
and her mother called Sunday night and sang Happy Birthday to her. They had a small party as well as
Thanksgiving day with most of the TOWE clan the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
- submitted by Kristi TOWE (kltowe@specent.com) by e-mail.
Kristi TOWE went to visit her grandparents, Bob and Opal TOWE (Violet Opal GOODMAN, Rosa
WOODS, Emma Olivia FILER, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin) at Halloween. She met meet Robert Van
HULL, son of Otto HULL and Margaret HOLT. He is a HULL cousin of Opal TOWE's. She also met
Roy HULL, who is Earl HULL and Hattie DeVAULT's son. They took her all over the local area,
showing her where people lived and telling her stories. She replanted flowers at the
THOMAS and ANDERSON graves, and decorated several others. She thinks she has
found Alfred GOODMAN's grave -- in front of Pleas GOODMAN's grave stands a concrete
cross. She looked at it to determine if it was a footstone for Pleas, or another gravestone. It's marked
"A.G." Opal told her that Elizabeth Riley GOODMAN is supposed to be buried at a cemetery southeast
of town, but she said they had never been able to find a marker. R
- submitted by Kristi TOWE (kltowe@specent.com) by e-mail.
Holly (Robert Wayne TOWE, Jessie Opal HULL, Violet Opal GOODMAN, Rosa WOODS, Emma
Olivia FILER, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin), Dan and Mackenzie ALLAN were in Arkansas the weekend
of Dec. 20-22 for Christmas (Dan is taking part in a wedding in Chicago on the 27th). Mackenzie enjoys
opening presents (everyone else's as well as her own!). She spent the weekend shopping with her aunt
Kristi and playing with crayons and blocks with Grandma Nancy. Most of the rest of the TOWE
clan will get together at Vicki BLANKENSHIP's home (Jessie Opal HULL, Violet Opal GOODMAN,
Rosa WOODS, Emma Olivia FILER, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin) for Christmas on Dec.
28th -which also happens to be Wayne TOWE's 49th birthday!!
- submitted by Kristi TOWE (kltowe@specent.com) by e-mail.
Ron and Jean FILER came visited his parents Irene and Lee FILER
(William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) for Thanksgiving. They brought Jean's grandson, Jonathon,
along to liven things up a bit.
- submitted by Carolyn K. FILER.
Ron FILER (Alva LeRoy, William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) has started a new
job. He reports that the new job is OK so far. The job is much less
stressful, less pressure and not nearly as busy. They also have casual dress, 10 cent soft drinks, free pop-
corn and hot chocolate and a whole lot more money, BUT he does have a 15 minute longer drive. Oh
well, we can't have it all, can we?
- submitted by Carolyn K. FILER.
Evelyn (William Alva, Amos, Jacob, Benjamin, Benjamin FILER) and Herb HESTERLY have
continued to keep the road hot between their homes in Missouri and South Carolina. When in S.C. they
lived in their camper, parked on Tim and Paula's property (their daughter) where their modular home is
permanently set. It was like living in a doll house and playing house. They loved it, and were happy to
have Tim, Paula, and the children occupy their house while Tim and Paula's log home was being
constructed. Watching the log house go up daily was a great experience for all of them. The progress
continued and it was ready to move into the last week in June, so Tim and Paula transferred to the big
house, and Evelyn and Herb moved into the modular. They were thrilled with their living quarters in S.C.
Mike CRABB built a wrap around deck which added greatly to the looks and liveablity of their
home.
- taken from Evelyn and Herb's Christmas letter.
After much careful research it has been discovered that the artist Vincent Van GOGH had many
relatives. Among them were:
His obnoxious brother
.....Please GOGH
His dizzy aunt
.....Verti GOGH
His brother who ate prunes
.....Gotta GOGH
The brother who worked at a convenience store
.....Stopn GOGH
The grandfather from Yugoslavia
.....U GOGH
The brother who bleached his clothes white
.....Hue GOGH
The cousin from Illinois
.....Chica GOGH
His magician uncle
.....Wherediddy GOGH
His Mexican cousin
.....Amee GOGH
The Mexican cousin's American half brother
.....Grin GOGH
The nephew who drove a stage coach
.....Wellsfar GOGH
The constipated uncle
.....Cant GOGH
The ballroom dancing aunt
.....Tan GOGH
The bird lover uncle
.....Flamin GOGH
His nephew psychoanalyst
.....E GOGH
The fruit loving cousin
.....Man GOGH
An aunt who taught positive thinking
.....Wayto GOGH
The little nephew
.....Poe GOGH
A sister who loved disco
......Go GOGH
His Italian uncle
.....Day GOGH
And his niece who travels the country in an RV
.....Winni B. GOGH
- taken from e-mail from Delores CRARY.
With the Christmas season upon us, everyone has been asking me what I wanted for Christmas. Being on the road for my job, there is not much I need or can use. But there is one thing that kept coming to my mind that I really wanted. So one cold night while visiting my parents, I put on my flannel nightgown, and polar fleece robe. I got myself a steaming hot cup of cocoa and floating marshmallows, and sat down in the large overstuffed chair next to a crackling fireplace. I wrote Santa a long letter explaining that I had reached a brick wall researching the FILER family genealogy, and I would like some help in opening up some new possibilities for my research. The next day, I put on my winter coat, mittens, and ear muffs and trudged through four-teen inches of freshly fallen snow to mail my letter to Santa. I was sure that if anyone could help me, surely Santa could.
Three days later my letter was delivered along with hundreds of other letters to Santa's workshop at the North Pole. Obviously, Santa does not have time to go through all the letters that arrive on any given day, so a group of elves are assigned to process the mail. ADDIE, one of Santa's elves, had had a long hard day. She yelled over to Cleo, another elf. "When does all of this end? Are we going to have enough dolls and trucks to fill all these requests?"
Just then she reached for a new letter, and picked up my letter. She opened and read it. She was intrigued. "Hmmm" she said to herself. "This is a real challenge. How can we help her?" "Hey, Cleo, come and see this letter, it is a little different than the ordinary request. Got any ideas how we can help her?"
"Hey, why don't you send the letter to the North Pole Genealogical Society? They might be able to find a researcher to help her."
So ADDIE, sent the letter over to the North Pole Genealogy Society. Genie, another elf, received the letter. He scratched his head, and said "Hmmm, the FILER name rings a bell, I am sure I have heard it before." He went back to a long series of file cabinets that were collecting dust in the back room, and started rummaging though them. After a while he jumped up and clicked his heels. "Eureka! Here is a FILER file!" He found some very old records on a Benjamin FILER and his wife Sarah. He yelled over "Hey OLLIGIE, can you go to the North Pole Court House and do some research?" "Sure, GENIE" Olligie answered. "This is really my slack time, little research gets done this time of the year. I would love an interesting research job!"
So that afternoon Olligie hopped and skipped his way over to the Court House. The records Genie found were for a Benjamin and Sarah FILER, that went back quite a long ways. He decided to try and trace the descendants of this Benjamin FILER and see if he could find a connection to the requester. So Olligie, spent the afternoon sitting on a high stool, occasionally blowing dust from an old book, and hunched over these very old volumes of books. He would occasionally copy his findings into a notebook he had brought along.
He found Benjamin FILER's children: Abram, Joshua, Mary, Beatrice, Claire. He learned that Claire married Solomon and they had Alex, Bertram, Jacob, Catherine, Anna. It took him longer to track the next generation down. He researched each of the children and was getting discouraged, when he started researching the last child, Anna. He learned that Anna married and had a number of children, one of whom was Mrs. CLAUS's grandmother. He was so excited when he made this connection. Being an elf, he could not contain himself, and he jumped off the stool, and danced around in merriment. "I will not only add a present to Santa's sleigh for Carolyn, but will also give Mrs. CLAUS a special Christmas too. I can't wait to break the news to her" Olligie sang.
Genie and Olligie put the findings into an organized and neat format. They typed in notes and sources for each descendant, and then they printed out family trees and charts. They put in pictures for all those they could find, and found a really nice binder to put it all into. It took them weeks to do all the work necessary. When they finished they called Mrs. CLAUS, and made an appointment to see her.
Finally the day arrived, and Genie and Olligie arrived at the door of Santa's workshop. Just as they arrived at the front door, Santa came rushing out. "Ho! Ho! Ho!" he bellowed. "How are you this fine morning?" he inquired. "We are just fine, Santa" Genie answered in awe of the man he addressed. Well, I have to go inspect the sleigh," Santa said, as he strolled off down the lane. Genie and Olligie went on into the workshop and were knocked over by Topsy and Turvey, elves from the workshop, who each had armloads of presents. They all ended up in a heap in the middle of the floor. Just then Mrs. CLAUS entered and saw a pile of wailing arms and legs, and packages strewn every which way. She burst into laughter, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" she laughed over and over. Genie and Olligie scrambled to recover their composure, embarrassed at their predicament. Then they scrambled around trying to find the notebook they have lovingly brought with them, since it had been knocked out of their hands. Mrs. CLAUS bent over and picked up the book which had slid onto the floor over to her feet. "What is this?" she asked.
"Well, Ma'am," Genie sputtered. "We found some information that you might find interesting." With that Mrs. CLAUS took them into the CLAUS's personal quarters, and made them comfortable. She got them cookies and milk, as they pored over the book. She gasped, "Oh, this is such a nice surprise! What better Christmas gift could I have received than a larger family with whom to share Christmas!" she exclaimed. "I have recently been interested in my own Genealogy, and have attended some of the North Pole Genealogy Society meetings. I have been so busy lately getting ready for Christmas that I have not had time to attend the last couple of meetings."
"Well, you have made my Christmas a very jolly Christmas indeed!" she said. As she sat and talked with Genie and Olligie, she told them she had always heard that there was some connection with her family and Rudolph. But she had never had time to check it out.
That got Genie and Olligie intrigued, and they went scurrying back to the Genealogy Society and dug a little deeper. There was lots of excitement as they found additional records. They learned that Benjamin FILER's son Joshua had been the owner and trainer of Hans the reindeer. Hans had the fol- lowing reindeer children: Oscar, Buffy, Binky. Buffy the reindeer had Gustaf, who was Rudolph's grandfather.
Rudolph was so excited to learn that he was related to his favorite person Mrs. CLAUS. Mrs. CLAUS was pleased to learn that Rudolph was indeed connected to her family. So in honor of the new alliance between the FILER family, Mrs. CLAUS, and Rudolph's family, he decided that on Christmas Eve, as he flew over each FILER family descendent, he would blink his nose twice, in their honor. We FILER's now have new avenues of research to do. We have all found a whole new branch of FILER descendants to add to our list of family members. So it will indeed be a Merry Christmas for the FILER family. And if you happen to be awake on Christmas eve and hear Santa, you might run to a window and see Rudolph blinking his nose twice as he flies over your house. And Santa will be saying
- written by Carolyn K. FILER.
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me,
Twelve census searches,
Eleven printer ribbons,
Ten e-mail contacts,
Nine headstone rubbings,
Eight birth and death dates,
Seven town clerks sighing,
Six second cousins,
Five coats of arms,
Four GEDCOM files,
Three old wills,
Two CD-ROMs,
And a branch in my family tree.
Merry Christmas to everyone!!
- (Author unknown) Dot Rhyne ARTHUR originally posted this on the CompuServe's Genealogy Forums. The Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter (A Weekly Summary of Events and Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists) also published it in, Vol. 2 No. 50 - December 13, 1997, This newsletter is sponsored by Ancestry Publishing and Richard EASTMAN, a leader in providing print and electronic research information to genealogists. See back issues at http://www.ancestry.com /home/eastarch.htm
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