This month, October 2011, marks the Fifteenth Anniversary of the Wampler/Wampfler Genealogy Web Site. The site has been continuously active and available for all fifteen years. Over that time it moved from a server in my research lab to the departmental server(s) and now to a privately maintained server with its own domain name. Dependent on the domain host, I hope it will stay here a long time. If not, we'll try to keep it going somewhere else. In internet years, this is a pretty long time for one site to stay up and running.

Genealogy Research seems to be in flux as more and more resources move on-line. I'm sure this is stimulated by the large population of aging baby boomers who are starting to have the time and interest in pursuing their family histories. These folks are more at home with computers and the internet than previous generations.

In the past, when I had a question about my family history, my wife and I would take our little travel trailer on the road-- up to Frederick, MD, or Knob Noster, MO, or wherever-- so that we could look at the records in the appropriate library or archives. This is still my preferred approach because you never know what you'll find. It might be an old picture or a distant cousin or a map of an ancestor's farm or a grave in a small country church yard. But, this approach is a slow process even if you could travel full time which we can't. So it tends to focus only on our own family and its history.

This web site, on the other hand, is about a huge number of families, some very far removed from my own. Still, if it is going to be useful at all, particularly in the light of the growth of genealogical material on the rest of the internet, it needs to make some "value added" contribution. One such contribution, has always been that the site can combine disparate materials from a wide range of sources in one place to be easily examined. Another is that we can point out some of the questions and missing links that become obvious in the various family lines. This is done in hopes to stimulate sharing from others. This last role has also and is still being played by various on-line forums. They do it better in that they allow a direct back and forth between participants. Here it is clumsily dependent on my time and competing interests.

However, with the growth of internet resources, there is an alternative to the "pack it up and travel" approach. You can choose to do research in-depth, on-line. I still don't think this approach is as rewarding, but it is much, much faster. I find it is like working a crossword or solving a picture puzzle. But the advantage in time is such that while we can't afford to follow every lead on the road, we can spend some time trying to resolve these puzzles on-line. The section below titled "Some 'WHO's...' Resolved" details how some of the entries on the "Who's This Wampler" page have been resolved. The section "MISC Linked" details work done on-line to resolve the linkage between family groups on the MISC tree and its database page to the other families on the database (or NOT). Not all of the research was done on-line, but even then, the books used were found by searching on-line card catalogs or purchased on-line, a benefit of the "instant gratification" internet book services.

One consequence of these new changes is that site administrator's role is no longer a passive one as far as the data is concerned. Actually, it never was that simple since the editor makes decisions about content. In the narrative pages, I've tried to make clear when the analysis and conclusions were my own, by "signing" my contributions there. In the database, it has not been so clear as I've tended to cite the original sources piecemeal. As the amount of research done and, hopefully, the quality of it grows, this way of citing these contribution seems inadequate. So, I've added my initials, {jw}, to the list in the bibliography. When they occur as {jw-n11}, the evidence for the particular family relationship is in this newsletter. As this process continues, the reference will be to others published subsequently. When the initials occur as {jw-p}, the evidence is in my private files, available on request to family members.

Atlee et al. Atlee the 3rd is a prominent lawyer, who was a US Attorney with a long history fighting crime in Maryland and Miami. He is active in legal associations and is easily found in the public records on-line. Census data, grave site records and a newsletter available at the National Association of Former United States Attorneys tied this family line together starting from [jc4-43] James L. Wampler thru Atlee Sr. to Atlee the 4th.

Atlee, Sr., was a Westminster, Maryland, business man who opened a furniture store in the city in 1930's. The store was taken over by his son, Atlee, Jr., who also founded Town and Country Gas Co. in Taneytown and a radio station, WTTR-AM, in Westminster. He was active in civic organizations in Westminster and a founding father of the Carroll County General Hospital there. Atlee, Jr., served in World War II and was awarded the Silver Star in 1943. His obituary (Baltimore Sun, dated March 16, 1991) gives details of his service record, his civic and business ventures. His silver star is recorded at the U.S. Army, Awards of the Silver Star Index. There is additional information on this family, held privately on some Ancester.com pages that includes pictures and other family information.

This family is part of the Johann Christian Wampfler line (1747 immigrant). They were early residents of Westminster, Maryland. Abraham Wampler [jc3-15] was one of the first commissioners when Carroll county was formed in 1837. His brother Lewis [jc3-16] was the father of the James L. Wampler [jc4-43] mentioned above. The patriarch of this line was Ludwig [jc2-2]. To look at the family tree starting with Ludwig, click here. Ludwig, several of his sons and their off-spring are all buried in the Westminster Cemetery in Carroll County. These graves include those of Jame L. Wampler, Atlee Sr. and Atlee Jr.

Edna WAMPLER and Family. The information said Edna was a daughter of Francis Marion Wampler and that she had a sister, Jesse. There are five Francis Marion Wamplers in our database and there are several more in historical records. The key information to tie this Francis Marion to our [hg5-88] is the 1900 census where the sister, Jesse, is living with their parents. Edna was born around 1882. Her parents were married in October of 1880. Edna's first marriage to Basil Clements was on 11Jul1899 and she was living with her new husband when that census was taken. By 1910 they have five children. In the 1920 census, she is a widow living with three of these children. Her name is Sheets in this listing, but in the 1930 census she is listed as Clements again and living with her daughter Ela Clements Carlson in Decatur MI. This adds two more generations to the family of Henry and Mary Wampler, father of Francis Marion. For the family tree from Henry, [hg4-45], click here.

Harold W WAMPLER. Harold was a son of [hp6-31] Everette L. WAMPLER. He, his siblings, their children, etc. are listed in Mason's book {mas}. Harold passed away this year at the age of 84. A summary of his obituary was published in the September 12th edition of the on-line Brethren Newsletter. He was active in the Mount Sidney Ruritan club, an organization created to foster better understanding between rural and urban people. These sources , along with census and death record data from the FamilySearch.org site, adds data on three more generations to the line from Everette L Wampler and moves one family group from the MISC page as noted below. To look at the family tree beginning with Everette, click here.

The Jesses. With fairly unique names like Tabitha and Canary, you'd think this one would be simple to resolve, but it mixes up different Jesse (Jessie or Jessee) Wamplers and different Canary Wamplers all in the same family line. Jesse, born in Virginia in 1819, has a son Jessee born in 1866 and a grandson Jesse born 1881. One of the other sons of Jesse (1819) is Canary Drayton WAMPLER, born around 1851. He is the father of a Jesse (1881) who is actually Thomas Jesse WAMPLER. In early records he is referred to as Thomas J. and then as Jesse later in life when he also has a son named Canary! None of this is particularly unusual in Wampler lines. There are a lot of names that show up again and again from generation to generation. However, it still leads to confusion.

Most of the added persons in this line are identified by overlapping census data over the period from 1850 to 1930. For example, Baxter O [hm5-244]., a son of Jesse (1819) and Tabitha, is found in both the 1870 and 1880 censuses with his parents. Another son, Thomas Jefferson, [hm5-242], is the second Thomas J. of our story. He was born in Russel County Virginia in 1856, but died in Washington state (1941) where it seems that many members of this family migrated around the turn of the century.

The first Jesse (1819) married Tabitha who was Tabitha Betty GIBSON (based on a census listings of Martha GIBSON, a sister-in-law, living with them; and mother's names listed on the death records of some of Tabitha's children). The line forward in time from this Jesse is pretty clear based on census and marriage records.

Jesse (1819) and Tabitha as parents of Canary D. Wampler. Census records show Canary D (Carars D) at home with Parents in Buchanan, Virginia in 1860. He is not listed at home in 1850 (not born yet) or 1870 when he was probably in Kentucky where he married Mary C. Blankenship in Pike County in August of that year. Indeed, in the 1870 census we find him as a laborer on the Alexander Banyan farm. This farm is near (same census page) the Jefferson Banyan farm where his brother, William P, works with his new wife, Mary C. Banyan. The Nancy Blankenship farm where Mary C. lives is also nearby. The young couple (her around 16, him 18), set up housekeeping in Sand Lick, Buchanan, VA, and are found there in the 1880 census where he is listed as a farmer. This is near his parent's farm.

Canary and Mary C. as parents of Jesse (1891) and Jesse (1891) as father of Noah L. Wampler. Canary and Mary C are living with grand-daughter Pearl B. in Skagit, WA, in the 1910 and 1920 censuses. Jesse and Jane are also living in Skagit in the 1920 census. Jesse's draft registration (1917-1918) in Skagit, WA, gives his full name as Thomas Jesse and Jane as next of kin, as well as his birth date. The 1900 census listing for Canary and Mary C. while they are still in Virginia has a son Thomas J, 18. In 1910, Thomas J. is living next door to his parents with his wife Rebecca J. and their children Ethel, Canary, Arthur and Noah. In 1920, this family is Jesse and Jane with children Columbus C, Arthur M, Noah L, Martin V, Minnie C, Sarah C and Evilyn. Their son, Canary, died 15May1920, before the census was taken.

Martin Edward Wampler. The information on Martin says his father was Barney Wayne Wampler and that they were born in Nebraska. The data itself came from Martin's son, Martin Jr. Census data (1920 and 1930) has a Barney Wampler and wife, Trua, with the following information: Barney, born Nebraska (~1887), Trua (~1894) and son Edward (~1915) living in Decatur, Marion county, Indiana, during both censuses. However, Barney's full name was Barney Edward, not Barney Wayne. A critical piece of information came from "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976", from the FamilySearch.org site. There we find that Martin Edward died 15Nov1968 in Dallas, that he was born 5Jul1915 in Plattsmouth NE and that his father was Barney E. Barney's wife is listed as Trua Fae South in this record. Martin was listed as Martin Sr. implying that there is indeed a son, Martin Jr. On the same web site, there is a photocopy of Barney Edward Wampler's World War II draft card that gives much of the same information including an Indianapolis address, his occupation and his son's full name. It lists Barney's birth as 16Nov1886 in Omaha NE in Douglas county. We might expect to find him there with his parents in 1900, but those US census records for Nebraska were not found on the web sites that were examined for this research.

There are, however, two Barneys (Barnie) listed in the 1910 census in Nebraska, both of the same age (22 years old). One lists a Barney E., born in Nebraska, living as a stepson in the household of Carl M. Lundquist in Benson, Douglas county. His sister Marie E. Wampler is also in the household. Carl's wife is Eva, but there are several families listed in this household. Barney and Mary's mother is probably Lucinda Thennert, wife of Charles R. The ages of these folks support the idea that Lucinda is their mother. Ten years earlier, in the 1900 census for Douglas county where Omaha is located, there is a Lucinda Wampler who is divorced. She is living with Rose Burton. Lucinda's birth date is given as April 1865 which corresponds with the age of Lucinda Thennert in the 1910 census. Barney's data says his mother was born in Ohio and his father in Virginia.

The other 1910 Census listing for a Barnie, says he was born in Virginia. He is then living with his father Joseph Wampler and mother Grace Wampler in Plattsmouth Ward 4, Cass county, NE. Joseph (born in the 1860s in Virginia) is still in Nebraska (Norfolk in Madison county) with Grace and two of their children in the 1830 census. His name is given there as Joseph D and Grace's as Grace Ellen. Joseph is about 20 years older than Grace. In the 1910 census the age difference is not consistent with the other 1920 and 1930 data, but years of marriage are given as 12 years. This when Barney is listed as 22 years old. Based on the other two censuses, Grace was less than 10 years old when he was born. Obviously he is not Grace's son.

The Nebraska locations mentioned in the censuses (Benson, Norfolk, Plattsmouth) are in the same vicinity, near Omaha on the eastern edge of the state. Norfolk is the most removed, about 90 miles northwest of Omaha. Benson is now an Omaha suburb. The two Barney listings in 1910 could be the same person, listed both with his mother Lucinda who has remarried after her divorce and with his father and his second wife Grace. This argument is strengthened by the Ohio marriage record for Joseph D. Wampler and Louisinda Smiley dated 3Jan1884. Assuming they are divorced sometime before, 1898, when Joseph and Grace marry, this would be consistent with the 1900 census listing for Lucinda as a divorced women living nearby in Omaha.

Joseph D. Wampler is the son of John L. Wampler and Nancy C. Winger. Information on him and his family are found in Mason's book {mas}. All of this information ties this "Who's..." listing to the line from Hans Peter Wampfler Jr., [he1-2], to his son John (1768), [hp2-9], and grandson Daniel (1809), [hp3-16]. Daniel is the father of our John L. Wampler, [hp4-50], and grandfather of our Joseph D. Wampler, [hp5-195]. Most of our information on this line from Daniel to Joseph D comes from Mason's book {mas} with additions from the census, death records and marriage data given above.

To examine the family tree starting with [hp4-50] John L. Wampler, click here.

The data from our previous MISC tree entry starting at [mc0-6] Charles Frederick Wampler was move to the Han Michael family line. This based on the information provided by Randall Curtis Wampler {raw} that Charles Frederick's father was a William Wampler who married Edna Brown. Census data links this family to that of [hm4-90] Henry Wampler who married Catherine FRY. Their son, [hm5-191] William H. Wampler, is this same William. Marriage and death records from Tennessee fill out the information about various family members in this line and add a number of individuals to the total record starting with the family tree of Henry.

The data from our previous MISC tree starting at [mc0-28] Harold WAMPLER was moved to the new entries for him and his sons starting at [hp7-112]. This move based on information in Mason's book {mas} discussed above.