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Wampler/Wampfler News Letter, 1998 |
Section 1.8.a.5 |
This is the only issue of the Wampler/Wampfler NewsLetter issued in 1998. Many of you will also have been neglected regarding your individual e-mail requests. I apologize for my tardy responses.
With the additions acknowledged below, the Dec. 1998 posting of the Wampler/Wampfler paternal lineage database now has 3090 entries and reference to 1517 spouses. Data on persons with 1041 different surnames are in the database. These data are now in eight family tree sets.
As with previous e-mail issues of this newsletter, the e-mail version is abridged to keep from filling up your mailboxes. The full, unabridged version is located at the web site at http://www.bmb.uga.edu/wf-page/newslet98.html ...JW
Contents:
New Location and Format Improvements
More on Joseph P. Wampler of Allegheny County Pennsylvania, early microscope and telescope maker
Requests from our readers...
Thanks for new data
New Location and Format Improvements:
The web pages have been moved from an old server (selene) to a newer machine that should give you better, quicker access to the material. The new address is:
http://www.bmb.uga.edu/wf-page/index.html
Note: our network has changed somewhat and some shortened names do not load correctly. If you have trouble, used the full URL shown above.
The biggest format change is in the indexing pages where there are files for each letter of the alphabet. Both the Spouse Surname and Given Name indices have been revised to include more information and are now given in Table format. However, this greatly increases the file size of the indices necessitating the break-up into smaller files. In addition, the index pages now have direct pointers to the entry in the database files.
Web authors should note that the database pages are index with NAME TAGS. You may point to the entry of a particular individual by using the ID tag as a NAME tag, e.g. to point a browser to the listing for [he2-1] Johnn Ludwig, use the HTML construct <A HREF="http://www.bmb.uga.edu/wf-page/database/he0.html#[he2-1]"> "link text" </A>.
Other changes are noted on the update page at the web site.
More on Joseph P. Wampler of Allegheny County Pennsylvania.
Allan Edwin Wampler of McKeesport, PA., sent information on the descendents of Jacob Wampler last year and some of the information, so far not linked to the other family trees in the database, was included (see [mc0-1]). One of his descendents, Joseph Wampler, was considered by many to be a genius. Allan reports that even though "his opportunities in life were very limited, having attended school but three months time," never-the-less
"when a boy of sixteen years he manufactured a clock, his only tools being a penknife, a gimlet and a knitting needle. The clock is said to have kept good time for number of years. He became quite celebrated on account of his astronomical knowledge. He made barometers, microscopes, several large telescopes and a planetarium, which was in use in the New York Observatory, at Albany.In his later years, Joseph served several terms as Justice of the Peace. Recently, we received an inquiry and more information on Joseph's optical skills from Bart Fried of the Antique Telescope Society who says that Joseph "was one of the country's earliest lens makers if not the first, and that possibly also the first microscope maker." He sent the following quote from the autobiography of John Brashear:
"Squire Wampler of McKeesport, then a small town some forty miles from Brownsville, brought a little telescope of his own make to our town and offered a view of celestial objects at a nominal charge which I do not now recall. My grandfather learned of his coming, and I was taken to have a view of the moon and of the planet Saturn, that beautiful ringed planet being in good position for observing, although the rings were only about half open.
Young as I was, the scenery on the moon and the rings of Saturn impressed me deeply. Although I have since seen more than four phases of Saturn's ring-system through several of the finest telescopes in the world, the entrancing beauty of that first sight has never been forgotten. I think just here it would be interesting to give a brief history of that first telescope in which I was privileged to look.
Squire Wampler was a lover of astronomy. Since he did not have the means to purchase a telescope, he undertook to make one for himself. He secured a piece of French plate-glass, but he was unable to get a suitable piece of flint-glass to match it. Finally a search in the glasshouse debris of the Bakewell Glass Works, destroyed in Pittsburgh's great fire in 1845, brought into his possession several very good pieces of this material. From one of these pieces of flint-glass, combined with the crown, he constructed an excellent object glass,and then, being a watch- and clock-repairer, he made a very good mounting for the telescope. He later made several larger telescopes.
Through the kindness of my friend, Mr. E.A. Houston of Pittsburgh, I was recently made the fortunate possessor of a four-inch telescope made by this old-time amateur astronomer, who, in later years, paid a visit to my little workshop on the hill, and gave me words of encouragement that I have not forgotten. The four-inch lens, which I have among my relics, is very nicely corrected for what is known as spherical and chromatic aberration; but is literally full of striae, illustrating the difficulty of obtaining good optical glass at that time as compared with the wonderful products of German and French optical glass workers of these later days."
Harry George Wampler - haruw@i-d.com"I am interested in finding descendants of Christian and Samuel Wampler who may have written data or pictures."Kim Jackson - Katej58007@aol.comWho was Henry Wampler (d. 1932, Perryville MI) m. Teresa Marie POINSETTE, daughter Elizabeth Ann.Donna Cuillard - LRFM15A@prodigy.comWho was Erasmus Wampler (Jan1864, Iowa) son of Gehlen Wampler (KY) Walnut Township, Crawford CO. KS Wife of Gehlen= Bethany.Diane E. Brown - Pdsh@aol.comWho was Elizabeth(Bessie) Wampler of Knob Noster MO who married Thomas Lee OLVIS in 1910. Bessie's mother was Sarah SPRENKLE Wampler.Doris Kinser - doriskf@ibm.netWho was Sarah Jane Wampler m. Francis Marion Kinser, son John W. (1793, VA) who m. Susannah MESSIMORENancy Crossley - rcrossley@sprintmail.com"very interested in the Godsey/Wampler marriages: Hezekiah and Sarah as mentioned above, David and Jane Godsey Wampler, and David and Elizabeth Godsey Wampler and will be very happy to share with anyone interested in these branches."Lisa Vaughan - wyldones@worldnet.att.netRE: Paris Gorman Wampler[HM-4-57], Need descendants down to present for him, his son Leonard A.Wampler, his son, James (Jerry) Gorman Wampler, his daughter Dollie Elayne Wampler.Nancy Fore - SN4PAR@aol.comNancy has early pictures of the family of [hg4-73]John W Wampler and Lucinda Montgomery that she would be more than happy to share.Shannon Anderson - shannon@paulbunyan.netWants any information on Lee Richard Ringdahl (1946) or his wife Leslee Wampler (1946). Also looking for Robert R. Allen (1805-1851) born in Oswego Co NY and died in Oakfield, Fond Du Lac WI.
Alan Edwin Wampler of McKeesport PA who gave us much more complete information on the Jacob Wampler [mc0-1] family.
Bob Wampfler for sending his full set of data on the Jacob Wampfler [mc0-4] genealogy which pins down some of the details of the immigration of the Rice Lake WI Wampflers.
Carol Davis for additions to the line from [hm3-38] Elias Wampler.
Fran Wampler Lucas of Indiana for information about her ancestors, descendants of Edward O [hg5-21].
Joseph F. Tobias for descendants of Ezra Wampler [hp5-2] and added data from his investigations of the David Wampler [hp2-7] family.
Nancy Crossley added data Esther [hg4-88], daughter of [hg3-30]Hezekiah.
Kim Wampler for additions to the line from Chas Frederick Wampler (1892) and his wife Cora Celadine FINE.
Kristen Wampler of Weatherford, TX, for information on her family
Lisa Vaughan for data on [hm4-57] Paris Gorman and descendants.
Mark E. Wampler gave several corrections to the entries for the descendants of Robert [hm7-137].
Michael T. Wampler of St. Charles, MO, for information on the Marshall Thomas Wampler [hm7-175] family.
Norm Sechrest, San Marino, CA, for additional data on Mary Wampler [hg3-14]. Mary married Andrew Sechrest and Norm has a large amount of data on their descendents including the surnames STEFFEY, HENDRIX, FOUST, HAMILTON, SHREFFLER, WEST, BORDEN, WRIGHT, IRWIN, HAINES, CAATTERTON, MUSGRAVE, CREED and BARKER.
Patti Necessary contributed data from Nelda Rogers on the descendants of George [hm3-3] and his daughter Sarah Jane [hm4-19].
Ron Hilligos for data on [mc2-8] Joseph Fletcher Wampler, his father Wesley and his children.
Terry Wampler and Lon Wampler (Oklahoma) for additions to the Hans George---George Jr-----John-----John Jacob--- line.
Van Sayler for data on Samuel Wampler [hp4-11]. Van has much more information on descendents of his daughter Jane.
