Summitt Family Research

Planting Your Family Tree Online by Cyndi Howells

2009-01-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

For anyone who has ever built a Web site this book is of marginal value but still should be examined. For someone with little experience with the Web and just as little experience doing genealogy online this book is fantastic. It is for beginners so if you have some experience you'll be bored reading most of this book but that's OK. I was happy to see that she told readers NOT to put music on their sites. That is one way not to get me NOT to visit the site again. Beginners, buy this book and take head of its recommendations and you won't come across as a beginner. If you are an old hand, buy it and check your site against the recommendations. You won't regret it.

Writing the Family Narative by Lawrence P. Gouldrup

2009-01-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

In my efforts to write my family narrative in such a way so that it will be interesting and enjoyable I read quite a few books on how to write these types of stories. Gouldrup's book in one of the most detailed texts I've added to my library. With examples to back up his points, Gouldrup steps through the steps from pedigree charts and family group sheets to the finished essay. Some of his writing is as dry as the writing you'll not want to emulate so try to stay awake but the book is something you should read if you want to write family narratives.

Shrouds of Glory by Winston Groom

2009-01-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for an interesting and riveting book that will hold your attention from the first page to the last, this is it. It tells the tale of Confederate General John Bell Hood and the Army of Tennessee as they moved North after the Battle of Atlanta to outskirts of Nashville that ended the South's last great offensive. Groom tells the tale with energy and excitement that turns this mixture of eyewitness accounts, journal entries, and military documents into a barn burner you won't want to put down. This book gets my whole hearted recommendation.

How to Start Personal Histories & Genealogy Journalism Businesses by Anne Hart

2009-01-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to waste much time on reviewing this. If you are looking for information on how to start a genealogy business keep looking because this is a complete waste of your time and money. This is an extremely poor excuse for a book let alone a how to. Pass on this one. And I suspect you should pass on anything else from this author. I'm going to.

Civil War Genealogy by George K. Schweitzer, PhD, ScD

2008-07-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

I think I've said this before but I started researching my family history sometime around forty years ago now. One of the first stories about my family I learned was my great-grandfather going north from his Tennessee home and fighting for the Union. Over the years I've learned some of the stories about him were just that, stories. But I've also learned how he was charged with desertion because he when home for Christmas and how his father, my great-great-grandfather, was jailed for aiding the enemy by the confederate authorities because my great-grandfather was home during the holiday.
Finding this information has taken years of searching through documents and collaborating with distant relatives. Schweitzer's book makes finding many of these sources so much easier.
Starting with the war itself and providing the uninformed with a brief background and history from which to orient oneself, Schweitzer provides an overview of the various documents and histories available. He then walks the reader through the various national and state archives that are available. The next section deals with the various national and state publications followed by the numerous local resources that are available. His section on the various military unit histories is extremely informational. He closes with a discussion of artifact collections.
Whether you are just beginning your civil war research or you are an old hand, this is one book you should have in your library.

Solomon Summitt Bible circa 1850

2008-03-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Received email from Paul Alvin Summitt (yep, another Paul Summitt, wow ). He has in his possession a bible from the 1850's with the following information listed:

Solomon Summitt married Elizabeth D. Clayton May 19, 1851 (according to family tales her father was a civil war general)
Children were:
Minerva L. 4-8-1852
Laura C. 6-15-1854
Sarah E. 1/18/1856 died 8/30/1886
Alvin J. (Paul's grandfather) 4/1/1858 died 12/2/1945
Evangaline 2/24/1860
William J. 3/1/1862 died 8/8/1896
Charles L. 5/7/1864 died 8/7/1868
Joseph O. 7/16/1866 died 9/4/1899
George W. 12/5/1871

Changes

2008-02-20T21:02:00.001-08:00

I've started the redesign of the entire Summitt Family Quarterly site so things will be changing around here. First off, I bought some new software for the site and will be changing the way we're presenting the family history information. The current method is cumbersome and difficult to make changes to. I'm also adding some content management software for the other information so that we can provide a better display of information.

I'll also be placing audio and video files on the site soon as my oral history program I want to put into place will be added to this site. So stick around. I plan on blogging a lot more also.

later

paul

Missouri Bollingers in the Civil War

2007-04-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Have recently finished reading Bartels' Civil War Stories of Missouri and found a few references to Bollingers within those pages. While the book doesn't provide any references to it source materials, I'll list the individuals and what information can be gleaned from the pages here for those interested in extending their research on this sur-name.

George Bollinger - slave of Del (or Dal) Bollinger and his wife (Aunt Polly or Mary Bollinger) Interview with George was conducted around 1935
Kate Bollinger - daughter of Del (or Dal) Bollinger and his wife (Aunt Polly or Mary Bollinger)
Del (or Dal) Bollinger killed during Civil War by men trying to steal from him.

Olive Bollinger (daugher of a slave owner from around Sabula, Missouri) married John Higdon (from Colorado) Higdon fought for the South at the battle of Fredericktown and was injured in the arm. Olive died in Rockport, AR leaving a small 2 year old child Little John.

John Francis Summitt and sons

2006-02-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got around to posting the pictures that Jack sent me. Sorry it took so long. You can find the pictures at http://www.summittfamilyquarterly.org/SpecialPages/JohnFrancisSummittandsons.php.

Swank

2006-01-15T08:25:00.000-08:00

Information today from Rich Swank:

1) Jacob Scwenk-1640 born in Germany
2) Jacob Jr.-1673 born in Germany
m. Catherina Mueller
3) Son Balthsar Scwenk 12-23-1716 born in Germany
Died 1763 Pennsylania
m. Anna Elizabeth Durst
4) Johannes/ John Swank born 1750
Died in 1794 in Kentucky
m. Rosannah Summit
born 1754 died 1843
5) Jacob Swank

PRIVETT

2006-01-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Donna Walters has provided us a copy of an article from Yank Magazine dated August 17, 1945 that talks about Pfc. J.C. (Jake) Privett. She sent this to the Quarterly because of the information in our online family tree listed below:

[NI00041] Francis says J.C. Privett was the first person to die in WWII, widow was living in Blytheville, AR Killed in auto accident[Summitt_Oct2002.GED] Francis says J.C. Privett was the first person to die in WWII, widow was living in Blytheville, AR Killed in auto accident

Found on internet at url http://www.summittfamilyquarterly.org/FamHist/notes.html

The article she found has been placed at http://www.summittfamilyquarterly.org/SpecialPages/JCPrivett.htm for your reading.

Leon Foster

2006-01-08T04:32:00.000-08:00

Just received word last night from my mother that Leon Foster died yesterday morning in Paragould, Arkansas. He'll be buried Monday in Corning, Arkansas.

Leon was married to my Aunt Bonnie. Aunt Bonnie was married to my mother's brother, Ray Frie. He died in the mid '90's while Mary and I were in Nevada. If I get more information I will post it. I will post a obit to the SFQ site as soon as I can find one.

Leon, to my knowledge, is only connected to the Summit(t)s through marriage and a distant and tenuous connection at best through the Frie connection to the Summit(t)s but as my intention with part of this site is to cover not only the Summit(t)s and the Spotswoods but also the Fries and the Loves, I hope you will bear with my inclusion of someone like Leon. Besides, someone tracing the Foster line may be able to use this information.

La Rue Summit Williford

2006-01-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

Received this email yesterday from Paul C. Summitt. As per Paul's request, as soon as the obit is found we are going to post it here on the SFQ site.

I just reviewed the latest rootsweb social security death index and found La Rue Williford, born August 30, 1908, died November 23, 2005, last residence Houston, Harris Co., TX, SS # 467-05-0339, issued in TX. As you know, she was a Summit descendant of Francis Summit (1826-1892) who ultimately settled in Sims, Montgomery County, Arkansas with his large family. Her grandfather was William Haskell Summit, son of Francis and Emaline Shaffer, and the only son who did not make the trek to Arkansas with the rest of the family and stayed in Texas. I do not have to remind any of you about the importance of this wonderful lady to Summit(t)(Sammet) family history research. I would like to have her obit placed on the Summitt Family Research website if someone can find it. I may write a piece on her for posting, but I have to review my extensive file on her--no one knew it, but she refused to give me permission a number of years ago to write an article about her for the Summitt Family Quarterly, but I collected the information, including pictures, anyway.I thought all of you might wish to know.

Paul SummittNiceville, FL

Dan Summitt's new book

2006-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Glen Summit added this posting to the Summit(t) Research Group on MSN on Dec. 22, 2005. Thanks Glen.

In October 2004 Commander Charles Daniel Summitt had his book published by Texas A&M Press. Here is a summary.

Tales of a Cold War SubmarinerDan Summitt
Though Dan Summitt retired from the U.S Navy years ago, he still regrets not receiving clearance to fill a submarine missile tube with thirty-five thousand pounds of wet grits and launch it at a very pesky Russian spy ship. In Tales of a Cold War Submariner, Summitt tells the story of hismilitary career, proving that navy life at the height of the Cold War ascommander of two nuclear submarines kept him on his toes. He relates his work with Adm. Hyman Rickover, recounts the efforts to stay undetected while patrolling for Soviet submarines, and sharesthe everyday dangers faced by a submarine crew. Summitt graduated from the Naval Academy in 1947, entered Submarine School, and rose to become deputy chief of staff for the commander of the Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet and chief of staff for the Submarine Flotilla 8. He served as commander of the USS Seadragon on its secret mission to the North Pole, where he rendezvoused with the USS Skate to conduct experiments under the ice. Summitt later took command of the USS Alexander Hamilton, one of forty-one Polaris-class nuclear submarines, which carried sixteen thirty-five-foot-tall missiles. Summitt takes the reader ona tour of this vessel, describing daily life and the routine and not-so-routine missions in close quarters with no outside contact for days or even months. Through it all, the fear of mechanical malfunctions, detection, or imminent attack always lingered. Summitt's anecdotes and descriptions capture this tense era in history.
_________________________________________________________
DAN SUMMITT retired in 1974 and now makes his home in San Antonio, Texas.

Civil War

2006-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well the new year is upon us and One Man's Treason still isn't finished. I have, however, started working on the book again. Currently, I am doing research into the causes of the War and what the war should be called. There are a large number of angry people still out there on both topics. After re-reading some of my chapter I am of the opinion that this chapter will probably antagonize both sides of these issues but I also hope that it might make some readers think. I really question if people think much anymore.

I've gotten a few emails recently from my Aunt Ruth, one of dad's older sisters, and am very pleased to hear from her and know she is doing so well. She and my late uncle Carter stand as shining examples of what I sometimes wish I could emulate. They spent a good part of their lives as missionairies in Africa. I believe one of their daughters and her husband are over there now.

Back in the early part of December I received an email from a young lady who had read about Chad Everett Summitt having been shot in an article here on the SFQ site. It seems she was a friend of his and had not spoken to him since 1998 and was wondering if he had survived. I know no more today about Chad's shooting than I did the day that Glen Summit sent the article to me. If anyone knows more please let me know so I can update these pages.

There was also another message asking if there were any connections between the Summit(t)s and the Shumates.

Well, that's about it for now. Good luck to everyone with the new year.

paul

First things First

2005-12-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Christmas Eve, 2005. We quit publishing the printed version of the Quarterly at the end of last year. I've decided to start publishing this blog about the family history here on the site instead. I miss writing about the family history and this seems to be one avenue of doing so again.
I recently received a set of pictures from Jack Summitt of Francis "Frank" Summitt and his sons. As soon as I have a few minutes I'm going to clean these pictures up and post them here on the site for everyone to look at.
My goal is to update my GEDCOM file here on the site also. I've been very disappointed with Family Tree Maker lately. So much so that I have not bought the last couple of upgrades. After the upgrade to Version 10 my file became corrupted and none of the fixes that the company help desk suggested worked. So I've decided to try and get back to a clean version and export out to GEDCOM and then maintain my files in another application. Not sure which one yet.
I also plan to get back to work on the Cardwell Cemetary Project soon. This is a data entry job that just takes time.
Anyway, that's about all for today. Merry Christmas to all of you and please feel free to drop me an email and let me know what you would like to see here on the site.