More on my hometown: Watercress

17 May 2010 by Libbi.

When I was growing up, we used to go up to New Market for watercress in the spring. At the time, New Market, Alabama, was known as the “Watercress Capital of the World” . That’s because watercress needs fresh water flowing over limestone to thrive, and that pretty much describes the landscape of north Madison County.

Watercress sandwiches were a specialty of my mother’s (along with the best, the definitive cucumber sandwiches!).  Watercress in salads is one of my favorite things. And watercress soup, oh my….

According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, “although never a major cash crop, watercress was an important commodity in Alabama during the first half of the twentieth century. The watercress industry was centered in Madison County, then known primarily for its textiles and cotton, but at the height of production, the area also was known as the “Watercress Capital of the World.” From the early twentieth century through the 1960s, more than 2 million bunches of watercress were grown and harvested in the area, more than produced by any other source in the United States. Today, watercress production continues in Madison County, but on a much-reduced scale. “

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My Hometown’s History

13 May 2010 by Libbi.

This was sent to me by my friend Susie Bruton, who from the list of fowarding addresses, seems to have received it from my mother’s best friend Darlene Davis….Huntsville is SUCH a small town ;D

 

THIS GUY (WHOEVER HE IS) MUST HAVE BEEN SITTING AT THE BAR AT THE

AIRPORT WHEN HE WROTE THIS…

 

A Brief History of Huntsville

By Matthew Pierce

 

Huntsville was founded a long time ago by someone who is now dead. In

the beginning, the city was called Twickenham. This was before Bridge

Street, so it was not a good time to be a resident. Later on the town

was renamed Huntsville, because, come on, Twickenham. The name

“Huntsville” was taken from an Indian word that roughly translates to,

“We’re getting out of here, there’s a tornado coming.”

 

Huntsville was an important part of the Civil War. Confederate forces

willingly surrendered the town to the Yankees, who did not know about

the tornadoes. The rebels thought this was very funny. Several Yankees

were sucked up and landed on Monte Sano, where they remain to this day.

They are called Presbyterians.

 

The first mayor of Huntsville was Wernher Von Braun, who was a scientist

who invented the vacuum cleaner. Von Braun came to Huntsville and

started inventing rockets, presumably to blow up the tornadoes. He never

did figure out how to do this, so he gave up and invented Space Camp. He

was very good at inventing things.

 

Starting in the 1960s, Huntsville was subjected to another invasion.

Only this time it wasn’t Yankees who were invading, but engineers. These

engineers were mostly short men, and all of them drove very fast cars.

No one really understood what they did for a living, but they all had

lots of money. The engineers are still here today, because engineers

never really die-they just keep inventing ways to stay alive.

 

In the 1980s Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco formed a minor league

baseball team called the Huntsville Stars.

The Stars played at Joe Davis stadium, where they excelled at making it

all the way to the Southern League Championship and then losing. Back

then McGwire and Canseco were not using steroids, probably because they

were too busy eating the ice cream at the concession stand that comes in

the little plastic helmets, which is excellent.

 

The most famous person in Huntsville is Dan Satterfield, who is a

television meteorologist and loud person. He is the arch nemesis of the

tornado.

Whenever it begins to rain in, say, western Kansas, Satterfield

immediately interrupts television programming to broadcast warnings for

the next seven hours straight. Many tornadoes have gone away sad because

Dan Satterfield ruined their sneak attacks.

 

Today Huntsville has a bright future, and not just because it has more

restaurants than people. It is a modern city on the cusp of research and

technology. It is a crossroads, where the spirit of the Old South meets

the expression of the arts. It is a bustling, thriving community where

diversity and tradition mingle.

 

Basically, it is a city that prides itself on not being Birmingham.

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Media Release: Where to find genealogy software reviews

10 May 2010 by Libbi.

GenSoftReviews, the website where genealogists and family tree researchers review and rate their software, now lists over 500 different programs  GenSoftReviews is a website that allows users of genealogy software to rate and review the programs they’ve used or tried. This allows others who are looking for programs to better compare and select software that will help them. The site is located at: www.gensoftreviews.com  Now there are more than 500 programs for genealogists listed at the site. Those who are unhappy with their current software can use the listings to find a program they may find more suitable for the way they work. The site includes 244 full featured programs that allow full recording of your family data and more. There are 170 utility programs that do something useful by reading the data produced by a full featured program. And there are more than 80 programs that do not work directly with your genealogy data, but perform useful functions for family researchers.Over 300 of the programs are for Windows. There are 44 for the Mac, 36 for Unix and 26 for handheld devices. In addition there are over a hundred online programs listed, many of which are full featured and allow you to store and share your data online.Almost half of the programs listed are free. In January, GenSoftReviews awarded its first User Choice Awards based on user ratings of their programs. The top program was Roots Magic with an average rating of 4.94 out of 5. Other top programs included Legacy, The Next Generation, Brother’s Keeper, Personal Ancestral File, Reunion, Family Tree Builder and GRAMPS.”Most genealogists are unaware of how many different software packages they have to choose from. Each have different capabilities and benefits, and there is no reason why anyone should be stuck using a program they don’t like” says Louis Kessler who developed and maintains the site. The Genealogy Software Reviews site is free to use and does not require registration About Louis KesslerLouis Kessler has been a genealogist and programmer for over 30 years. He has published newspaper articles on genealogy, given presentations on genealogy, and is Past President of a regional Heritage Center. He is the developer of the genealogy program known as Behold that can be found at www.beholdgenealogy.com. Contact InfoLouis Kessler  111 Wallingford Cres.,Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3P 1L5   Phone: (204) 488-2858  Website: http://www.lkessler.com

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New Facebook Group: Genealogy Dead Ends

6 May 2010 by Libbi.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=110638888968612&ref=nf&v=info

Category:

Organizations - General

Description:

Place for people to post dead ends to their family genealogy search. Hope for the group that other researchers will be able to help : )

Privacy Type:

Open: All content is public.created by:

 

 

 

Email:

staff@ancestorspast.com

Website:

http://www.ancestorspast.com

 

 

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Things we might not know if not for the Census…..

5 May 2010 by Libbi.

Early Presidential Last Names

138

Ranking of the frequency of the surname of our first president, George Washington, among all last names tabulated in the 2000 Census. Other early presidential names that appear on the list, along with their ranking, were Adams (39), Jefferson(594), Madison (1,209) and Monroe (567).

Source: Census 2000 Genealogy http://www.census.gov/genealogy/www/freqnames2k.html

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A census thought for the day…

4 May 2010 by Libbi.

Talking about Census Bureau News - Facts for Features Special Edition - 2010 Census by the Numbers:… — WASHINGT

Quote “72 The number of years census records are kept confidential before being released for genealogical research.  ”

So many times, I hear pundits questioning the use of the questions on race in the census: It’s very simple. 72 years from now, when your grandchildren are doing their genealogy, that race question will help them differentiate you from someone else with the same name….I cannot tell you how many times that has helped me in my research…

Census Bureau News - Facts for Features Special Edition - 2010 Census by the Numbers:… — WASHINGT

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