LOST AND FOUND
Brenda Kellow
March 3, 2013
March 3, 2013
THE ROYALS: The skeleton of King Richard III, the last English king to die in battle during his reign in 15th century England, was found by archaeologists under a Leicestershire parking lot and identified by DNA. An
identified descendant’s DNA matched that of the monarch’s. After using modern technology to reconstruct his facial features experts, for the first time, saw what his face looked like. There were no drawings from his time that showed his likeness. He will be re-interred in a major ceremony at Leicester Cathedral. Read more about this find at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21328380.
SEARCH BEGINS FOR REMAINS OF LONG LOST ALFRED THE GREAT: Experts believe his remains are entered at St. Bartholomew’s Church, where only royals and monks are buried, in a grave with five others. The Anglo-Saxon is known for his social and educational reforms and battles involving the Danes during his reign from 871-899. Alfred’s remains will be harder to identify because of the number of generations involved. Find more on this at www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9848984/After-Richard-III-archaeologists-set-their-sights-on-Alfred-the-Great.html.
DEFUNCT RAILWAYS: In Britain, two publications have reshaped the history of the Victorian and Edwardian railway systems that failed in the 1960s. You can see the original tables and the maps
showing closed routes at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/bookshop/details.aspx?titleId=2955&WT.mc_id=choo.
QUAKERTOWN, PA: A teacher in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, who was scanning old 1800s ledger books from the 1800s found some names of residents of that era who had remained in the town. Some of the names she found in the ledgers, according to The Morning Call [Lehigh Co., PA], were surnames of some of the same kids attending her classes. The generations had remained in the area. The names were Fluck, Weitzel, Scheetz, Fox, Ahlum and Benner. Those at Quakertown High School were amazed at the information from the records that had been stored in the basement all this time. Read the article from the newspaper,
www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-quakertown-high-school-old-records-20130203,0,1671764.story.
TIP: I have ancestors in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania and I have been thrilled at the amount of information I find on them from The Morning Call.
NATIONAL CEMETERY LOOSES VETERAN’S BODIES: After Texas National Cemetery reported errors in 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported they found only 15 burials in the wrong place but found 800 other errors noted as unmarked or mismarked graves. The February 7 Washington Post reported the “14 month review encompassed 3.2 million grave sites in 131 national cemeteries and other burial sites under the management of the Veterans Administration’s National Cemetery Administration. It was the first time the administration had taken on such a task in the 150-year history of the national cemetery system, where veterans from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.” Read more at www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-cemetery-review-finds-remains-in-wrong-places-other-problems/2013/02/07/e24865ae-7152-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html.
BLACK SOLDIERS ADDED TO MONUMENT: Ohio verified 140 black Civil War veterans’names added to Soldiers and Sailor’s Monument in downtown Cleveland. Although hundreds of blacks from that area were enlisted in the Civil War, there are only 18 black veteran names out of 9,000 on the monument. Read more at www.clevelandleader.com/node/20088.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries
to: [email protected].
identified descendant’s DNA matched that of the monarch’s. After using modern technology to reconstruct his facial features experts, for the first time, saw what his face looked like. There were no drawings from his time that showed his likeness. He will be re-interred in a major ceremony at Leicester Cathedral. Read more about this find at www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21328380.
SEARCH BEGINS FOR REMAINS OF LONG LOST ALFRED THE GREAT: Experts believe his remains are entered at St. Bartholomew’s Church, where only royals and monks are buried, in a grave with five others. The Anglo-Saxon is known for his social and educational reforms and battles involving the Danes during his reign from 871-899. Alfred’s remains will be harder to identify because of the number of generations involved. Find more on this at www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/9848984/After-Richard-III-archaeologists-set-their-sights-on-Alfred-the-Great.html.
DEFUNCT RAILWAYS: In Britain, two publications have reshaped the history of the Victorian and Edwardian railway systems that failed in the 1960s. You can see the original tables and the maps
showing closed routes at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/bookshop/details.aspx?titleId=2955&WT.mc_id=choo.
QUAKERTOWN, PA: A teacher in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, who was scanning old 1800s ledger books from the 1800s found some names of residents of that era who had remained in the town. Some of the names she found in the ledgers, according to The Morning Call [Lehigh Co., PA], were surnames of some of the same kids attending her classes. The generations had remained in the area. The names were Fluck, Weitzel, Scheetz, Fox, Ahlum and Benner. Those at Quakertown High School were amazed at the information from the records that had been stored in the basement all this time. Read the article from the newspaper,
www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-quakertown-high-school-old-records-20130203,0,1671764.story.
TIP: I have ancestors in Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania and I have been thrilled at the amount of information I find on them from The Morning Call.
NATIONAL CEMETERY LOOSES VETERAN’S BODIES: After Texas National Cemetery reported errors in 2011, the Department of Veterans Affairs reported they found only 15 burials in the wrong place but found 800 other errors noted as unmarked or mismarked graves. The February 7 Washington Post reported the “14 month review encompassed 3.2 million grave sites in 131 national cemeteries and other burial sites under the management of the Veterans Administration’s National Cemetery Administration. It was the first time the administration had taken on such a task in the 150-year history of the national cemetery system, where veterans from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.” Read more at www.washingtonpost.com/local/national-cemetery-review-finds-remains-in-wrong-places-other-problems/2013/02/07/e24865ae-7152-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_story.html.
BLACK SOLDIERS ADDED TO MONUMENT: Ohio verified 140 black Civil War veterans’names added to Soldiers and Sailor’s Monument in downtown Cleveland. Although hundreds of blacks from that area were enlisted in the Civil War, there are only 18 black veteran names out of 9,000 on the monument. Read more at www.clevelandleader.com/node/20088.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries
to: [email protected].