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Archiver > APG > 2005-07 > 1120329506


From: Elizabeth Whitaker <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Independent scholars
Date: Sat, 02 Jul 2005 14:38:26 -0400
References: <200507020045.j620jphS012952@lists2.rootsweb.com><42C63FE4.2020101@AncestralManor.com><005e01c57efe$0282d9d0$6401a8c0@richard2kgrcz4><001601c57f28$36a835a0$16a1fea9@connieb>
In-Reply-To: <001601c57f28$36a835a0$16a1fea9@connieb>


At 01:05 PM 7/2/2005, Connie Bradbury wrote:
>Richard and Sharon:
>
>Great stories and information.
>
>I've probably overused a tongue-in-cheek expression "east of the
>Mississippi" which came about after attending a conference (maybe in
>Valley Forge) several years ago Just after BLM began publishing the GLO
>cds. I asked one of the folks from BLM when they were going to publish
>the records from west of the Mississippi. She very jokingly said, "Is
>there life west of the Mississippi?"

That must have been a joke. I used to work for BLM: there are three
offices, including the ones in D.C. and
Alexandria (VA), east of the Mississippi. Most of BLM is west of the
Mississippi, mainly in the Rocky Mountain
and Pacific states.

>Then that evening at dinner, everyone was from the New England states and
>were talking about their roots. (Naturally, what else do genealogists
>talk about?) There was some discussion about colonial ancestors in which
>I could not participate except to smile and give an approving nod occasionally.

I've been a member of the S.C.G.S. for most of the past 12 years. Until a
few years ago, when a new president was
elected, the emphasis was on Plantation South Carolina. With the new
president, Jon Andrewes, SCGS programming
has become very diverse. Andrewes' "day job" is teaching history and social
studies to high school students.

>Wanting so much to have something to offer to the conversation I said, "If
>I can ever get to Washington, D.C. I want to search for the Alaska
>colonization records." I could hardly say it with a straight face as I
>was referring to Pres. Roosevelt's "New Deal" which included boosting the
>population of Alaska, which at the time was less than 60,000 and half were
>Indians and Eskimos and the other half Russians, Finns, Norwegians, Swedes
>and Lithuanians with a smattering of those from warmer climates. The
>project was the Matanuska Valley Colonies.
>
>The conversation stopped all around the table and one woman looked at me
>like, "What in the world are you talking about?"

I'd never heard of it. (Incidentally, I was stunned when I found out a few
years ago I have distant cousins in
Alaska: their dad was a third cousin from North Carolina who'd spent much
of his military career in Alaska.)
I'm always fascinated to hear about ethnic communities but, from here in
South Carolina, Alaska is probably
further than most of Western Europe.

Elizabeth Whitaker


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