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I know that I am behind on my posting, but I am trying to keep up.  It's actually a lot hard than you might think.  This post will be a little "light" but oh well.  There have been a couple of interesting things that are going on with the family tree, so I figure that I would fill you in.

There are a few documents that are KEY to research in some families, and the Toler/Towler family has a few "Must See" documents.  One of those documents is Winston Dalton's Register.  Mr. Dalton's register is an old register of births, deaths and marriages which seem to have occurred, for the most part at least, in the northern portion of Pittsylvania and the southern part of Bedford counties, Virginia.

Big news on the Toler / Towler / Toller surname front.  About 6 months ago I took a DNA test to help add some clues to the info that I have already uncovered.  Using DNA for genealogy is still kind of a new thing; with lots of people still not sure what it can do or tell you.  Working with DNA on a day to day basis and having done a Masters Thesis on DNA evolution, I have a pretty good grasp on the power that this new tool for genealogy offers.  I am hoping that the DNA results will provide solid evidence for a time period that records are scarce.

It's been a little while, but now some results are starting to shed some light.  DNA results indicate that my ancestors are not related to the Toler/Towler clan that is found in North Carolina.  In addition I have a 12 for 12 match on DNA to the Toler clan of West Virginia, with the patriarch of David Toler.  And lastly, I have a 25 for 25 match to another Toler line, which comes out of Virginia.  So what does this all mean?

Like every year I am going to post my goals for 2009.  These are not resolutions, but rather goals.  What's the difference you may ask?  Well if it's a resolution, it is easier to fail or quit on.  For example, if the resolution is to stop drinking coke, if you have a coke, then you failed, and may think about giving up on the resolution entirely.  If it is a goal, having that coke is a "slip" and you can get back to the plan the next day. So.... I am working on Goals for 2009. 

On the way home from my parents house, I was talking with my wife, and we figured it was going to be a pretty big year for us, so my goals are going to be more modest in scope this year.  We plan on having a lot going on so...

Wow, 2008 flew by.  The year has passed, and I did not even notice.  Lots going on this year, but its time to take a look at the goals I set for 2008 and see how well I did.  Without really looking very hard, I can already tell you that I did not do that great of a job on my goals list, so many of them will be carried over to 2009.  I will list the 2008 goals in blue below, and then a description of what I accomplished below that.

The Baskin and Forster Atlas was packed with interesting items for me.  One of the maps that I found surprised me.  It was a detailed map for the city of Hope, Bartholomew County, Indiana in 1870.  I have several members of my line that lived in the town at the time, so I was curious about the map.  Upon closer inspection it turns out that the map has some pretty significant information for me.

The surnames that are linked to the City of Hope are maternal lines, and center on the Spach/Spaugh and Arbuckle surnames.  The map in particular is significant to the Spach/Spaugh name. 

For the first time in 6 years we have a Christmas tree, and it's a real one at that.  The last 2 years or so we have done a small fake tree that was only 3 feet high or so, and it usually got relegated to a corner in section of the house not really used.  This year we decided to actually get a real tree, and it is actually located in a prominent place, the living room. 

Today, 01 Dec 2008 is World AIDS Day.  It is also the 20th Anniversary of the event.  Why do I mention it? A few reasons.  First off, it's what I do.  I work in a research lab that works on Mother to child HIV transmission.  While mother to child transmission in the US is still an issue, it is not near the issue that it is in Africa.  The second reason I call attention to it, is because it is the biggest pandemic the world has ever seen.  HIV was first described in 1981, and has exploded since.  There is no cure, and the virus has proven to be very elusive, able to work its way around drugs that are commonly given to fight HIV.

As I mentioned in my last post I purchased a digital copy of the 1876 Baskin and Forster Indiana State Atlas.  The atlas covers Indiana, and has maps of the counties and Cities that were in the state at the time.  In addition to the maps that are specific to the state, there are some maps that are of general interest.  These general interest maps include a world map, a railroad map etc.