Reliving History Inc

Homecoming Updates - Hotel Reservations

2010-04-06T15:06:00.004-04:00

Following is information about Hotel Reservations.

Also contained herein, will be the following:
If You Can't Attend for the Whole Week
   * First Half of the Week
   * Mid Point of the Week
   * Last Half of the WeekChurch on Sundays
Travel Reservations

Hotel Reservations
Information follows for reserving your rooms at the Holiday Inn Express in Ranson, WV. Keep in mind that reservations can be canceled easily without cost if necessary, therefore it might be good to go ahead now and make your reservations. Reserve rooms early so you can get the accommodations you prefer. We may not be able to increase the number of rooms or change room preferences if we wait too long.

There are currently 40 Rooms set aside for the homecoming with arrival dates beginning on Saturday, October 9, 2010 through the evening of Saturday, October 16 for departure on Sunday the 17th. You can book for the whole stay or for any part of the room block.

Rooms available are broken down as follows:

5 King Smoking Rooms,

10 King Non-Smoking Rooms,

5 Double Queen Rooms with Smoking and

20 Double Queen Rooms with Non Smoking.

Our group rate is: $89.00 Plus 12% Tax.
This is a very good rate and especially for a nice new hotel. (To see the long list of amenities, see the Holiday Inn Express website and go to Charles Town, WV facility.) For example: Every room has a microwave, half-size refrigerator, and coffee pot plus more. Three computers, a printer, and photocopier are available 24/7 and are free to use. A very good hot breakfast is included each morning and is served in a spacious great room. Hot coffee is available most all day and we can probably make arrangements for it to be available later if anyone wants it available later.

To register:

call 304-725-1330

ask for reservations

give the dates you wish to arrive

ask for rooms in the Burr Block under the Code for our group: BFR (Burr Family Reunion)

This Holiday Inn Express is new (built within the last 10 years). The General Manager is on our Board of Directors for Reliving History, Inc. and is always very helpful. He likes us and encourages us to request that everyone make reservations as soon as possible. The hotel is very close (within a good walk) to the race track (horse racing) and slots and table games in Charles Town. October is a popular travel month for this area which becomes extraordinarily beautiful in the fall, so the hotel will NOT likely have vacancies if you do not make reservations. Last homecoming (in 2008) we canceled a room and about 30 minutes later changed our minds. Too bad, the room was gone and there were no vacancies.

If You Can't Attend for the Whole Week
I have intentionally divided the week into two distinct sections for those who can only attend part of the homecoming. In 2008, some of our participants requested more free time. So this year, we have planned for both well-structured, large-group activities (first 4 days) and a Menu of Options for shorter field trips, workshops, and free time with new-found family and friends (last 3 days).

Sunday through Wednesday will be the well-structured, large-group activities. Those who attended last homecoming already know that I tend to over-plan. That means a lot of "experiential activities" will be stuffed into these four days. And none of the plans will be a repeat of the last homecoming.

First Half of the Week

On Sunday, we will celebrate "All Things Family." We will look back at Peter Burr's roots and culture. We will learn of our ancestry including how various important people related to each of us. We will have displays, presentations, info and will focus especially on:

Immigrant Jehue Burre, our Puritan ancestor who arrived June 1630 with John Winthrop's famous fleet and who became a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the 12th member of the church at Roxbury and was quickly assigned the responsibility over the building of roads and cart bridges to facilitate transportation. Within the next 11 years he migrated inland twice and was a co-founder of two towns that today are known as Springfield, MA and Fairfield, CT.

Thaddeus Burr, a close friend of John Handcock and Samuel Adams, was also a spy for George Washington's Culper Spy Ring for gathering and communicating intelligence to colonial troops during the American Revolution. Thaddeus Burr entertained many people in his home in Fairfield, CT and many of these people are well-known in our history books.

Col Andrew Burr, a renowned military officer and political leader in Fairfield, CT. He was Deputy and Assistant for Fairfield to the Connecticut General Court; commissioned Colonel and commanded the Connecticut 4th Regiment against Louisburg and shared in the hardships of the siege, and the glory of the final victory. He was appointed Commissary on Expeditions to West Indies in 1740 and 1746 just shortly before Peter Burr migrated to the Virginia Colony. Andrew was a member and assistant of the Committee of War, and was a Magistrate and a lawyer of eminence.

Rev Aaron Burr, founder of Princeton University and son-in-law of the well-known and very influential Rev Jonathan Edwards. This ancestor was a renowned scholar, graduated from Yale and fluent in about 5 different languages. He had a key role in the Great Awakening as the New Jersey College, now known as Princeton, was established to train young ministers according to the new religious movement.

Vice President Aaron Burr. While everyone has heard the version of Aaron Burr as first told by historians with political agendas, few know of the many well-documented, incredibly-important other things our cousin did. We will explore his life, accomplishments, and motives in context with his culture and political views.

On Monday, we will be at the Peter Burr House all day involved in hands-on experience. In other words we will prepare our own meals similar to the way the Burr family would have. Many other activities are scheduled including some hands-on service to the property, competitions, entertainment, etc. ALL activities will be guided by experts in their fields, but NONE of the activities will be "walk around and watch others demonstrate." The success of the activities will rest on all participants collectively. No activity is mandatory. All activities are designed to accommodate different needs and energy levels of various groups of people. The general public will be invited to participate and the event is intended to be high visibility and well publicized.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we will tour three very historic sites that will help us to place Peter Burr in his appropriate culture and setting in time. These tours will focus on the culture of the yeoman farm family in 16th century England (prior to the 17th century great migration) and on life in the buffer zone of the Virginia Colony in the 18th century (during the French and Indian War when the young adults, Peter Burr and wife, were beginning their family). These tours will provide much foundational understanding of who our ancestors were. Even those among us who are not Burr descendants, the info is foundational to who we are as American citizens.Again, the general public will be invited to join us. By including the public, our plans are multifaceted, and hopefully you will understand the rationale after you experience the benefits of the planning.

Mid Point of the Week

Wednesday evening will be the mid point in the homecoming and the activities will better define our reasons for including the public in our activities on Sunday through Wednesday. The second Wednesday of each month is the regular meeting of the Board of Directors of Reliving History, Inc. The meeting for October will be altered for the benefit of the homecoming participants. We will meet together collectively as a family-supported and community-supported organization with visions for how all of us can participate in advancing the Peter Burr Property to the status of an icon reflective of the colonial time period. You will be shown a much larger vision of what can be, and will begin to see ways you can better participate in Reliving History, Inc. Hopefully, each of you will envision how we can collectively keep the Peter Burr House functional for the general public and for our descendants and also how we can facilitate productive growth in programming in order to secure funding from many sources to assure the preservation and restoration of the house in perpetuity. Perpetuity . . . that means time without end, eternity, infinity, or for a long, long, time.

Last Half of the Week

On Thursday-Friday, we will have a menu small group options that will include organized workshops, tours, and other activities, as well as free time for those who want to site see on their own or organize their own schedule with new-found friends and family.

On Saturday, we will continue to recommend small group tours and site seeing, but we will also provide info for those interested in traveling over to McLean, VA to participate in the Fall Festival at the Claude Moore Farm, a 1771 working farm representative of the tenant farms that existed in George Washington's neighborhood and that were frequently owned by the wealthy plantation owners and operated by worker families for the benefit of the plantation owners. The Claude Moore Farm is in the Tidewater area near Mt Vernon and the location of the plantation owners. These plantations were important in why the Virginia frontier was opened up to settlers who would risk their lives to serve as a buffer between the French and Indian activity and the tobacco-growing plantation owners who needed more land for expansion purposes.

While Thursday-Saturday schedule will be less structured and full of options for small group activities, we will plan for some casual gatherings in the evenings as a method for keeping the group connected and informed.

Church on Sundays
Peter Burr helped to found two Presbyterian Churches that continue to exist in the area. All who are interested in attending services at either or both of these churches will be able to do so. Plans will be made for the two Sundays that open and close the homecoming. More on those plans later.

Travel Reservations
For those who plan to fly, begin now to check prices and schedules. The news indicates that air fares may be very good right now. Also, look ahead toward deals on auto rentals for the week. There is no mass transportation in Jefferson County, WV and the train (MARC) only stops in the area (albeit in walking distance to the Peter Burr House) twice a day (morning and evening) and possibly only on weekdays. Auto rental or driving personal vehicles is strongly recommended. Otherwise, contact me if some of you prefer that I try to link you up with someone else who plans to drive.

I look forward to meeting new family and friends as well as seeing everyone again from the 2008 homecoming. Many plans are coming together and more are in process. Email me if you have any ideas or suggestions. This is your event. Let's make it the best it can be.

Joyce Cole

Peter Burr Society - Who Are We?

2010-03-06T15:12:00.004-05:00

Over the last two years, we have evolved, and in the process some may be unclear as to who we are now. Let us address that question.

We currently have two organizations, wherein the first and perhaps smallest organization is covered by a larger official organization. In 2008, I began organizing what I called the Peter Burr Society. At that time, my vision included locating descendants of Peter Burr and building a network for us to evolve as a finally once again united (after 200 years) around the Peter Burr House. Because of a set of circumstances that exist relating to the Peter Burr House, rationale surfaced for us to consider becoming much more formal in our organizational structure for a number of reasons.

Without enumerating all those reasons now, we have come a long way in less than two years. During 2009, much effort went into organizing Reliving History, Inc., which is now a legal corporation in the state of West Virginia and officially with 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit status. As an official organization, we support the Peter Burr House through educational and charitable service to the public. Reliving History, Inc. is the corporate structure that will be able to apply for grant funding and raise other funds via recognized methods utilized by other non-profit organizations.

The Peter Burr Society will continue to exist as a more loosely organized structure that will function under Reliving History, Inc. and in support of the Peter Burr House, via genealogy and research into how family history connects with local and national history.

Much has been published recently about Reliving History, Inc. and it seems that now is time to clarify more about the Peter Burr Society. Reliving History, Inc. exists because the Peter Burr House still exists. The house exists, however, because Peter Burr existed and built the house. The two are important as they come together as one event in time. A real person built a house that for some reason continues to exist.

Peter Burr was the composite result of generations that lived before him. To understand who he was and what motivated him and his life style, we must also embrace his family history. The same is true for all of us. In addition to all that came before him, he also was shaped by what was going on around him. That too is true for all of us. To better understand him and the significance of his house, we need to know more about his ancestry and their culture, his neighbors and their culture, and the historic events that set the stage for important decisions that were being made by him and by others. And so it is for us; we are the products of all that has gone before us and all that is going on around us.

To bring history to life and make it more accessible as a tool for our own benefits, we need to understand history rather than simply know dates and places. We need to feel feelings that ancestors felt and realize that in similar situations, we may have made the same choices. As we are able to understand cycles that tend to repeat themselves as the result of human nature, we can become wise by grasping the larger picture like a map of how we got to where we are now and how to make better choices for the future.

The Peter Burr Society is intended to utilize genealogy to trace family linage and to help us find and understand better who we are.

A new wave seems to be occurring that many genealogists have long wished for. Younger people seem to be getting interested in their roots.

The internet has opened doors for accessing records that only a few years ago were accessible only in dusty archives. There was been a recent increase in people requesting membership into the Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group. New television shows such as the very recent "Faces of America" on PBS and NBC's new "Who Do You Think You Are?" Regular people see celebrities get emotional as they make initial connections to ancestors they knew nothing about; they relate personally and begin to want to discover their own roots.

As I read reviews and comments about these shows, several themes are repeated over and over. People are saying:

I got tears in my eyes as I watched.
These people who discover their roots seem to feel a personal connection to history.
This helps me to better understand a reason for knowing history.
How wonderful to feel like a part of something much bigger than what is going on today.

And people are asking:

How do I find my roots? What is the process?
Rather than being alone, we are all very alike aren't we?

As our society becomes less and less connected by family togetherness, people often feel less and less rooted or connected to something of value. Perhaps this phenomenon helps to drive the new wave, as people begin to discover the excitement of making a personal connection to some historic event.

Specific lines that came from the initial episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" stated:

To know who you are, you have to know where you came from.
We all have a story waiting to be discovered.
The past can never be repeated, but it can be uncovered.

The Peter Burr Society is about family history. It is about Burr family history and it is about other family histories, because we are all the composite of (and affected by) all who lived before us and of those who live around us. The Peter Burr Society is important because: it will help us not only to discover who we are as a family and as individuals but also who we are as a network of people made up of many families.

It is difficult for family members in other parts of the country to help with local events at the Peter Burr House or for Reliving History, Inc. But family members from all over the country and even else where in the world can easily contribute to the compiling of the family history.

It is now time for us to begin growing the Peter Burr Society and organizing ways for us to function better in ways that will be beneficial to members.

If you are a member of the Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group, please go to that site and post your replies to this topic. If you are not a member, go to the site and request membership. (Allow about 24 for acceptance to be processed.) The link is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peterburrsociety/

Open for discussion is the question: How can we make this site more useful to members?

One of the options might be to consider a group membership to Ancestry.com that would allow us to begin building an online family tree. That subject, however, needs to be discussed and several issues need to be decided. Let your thoughts be known on this subject.

If you cannot figure out how to join the group, or if you prefer to not join the group, you may email me at bjoycecole@RelivingHistoryInc.org
Or go to our website and use "Contact Us" at:
http://www.relivinghistoryinc.org/

Also comment about whether or not you would be interested in a genealogy workshop to be offered during the 2010 homecoming in October.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Joyce Cole, Founder
Reliving History, Inc. and
The Peter Burr Society
Website: http://www.relivinghistoryinc.org/
Email: bjoycecole@RelivingHistoryInc.org

Forecasting: A Growing Interest in History

2010-03-04T11:56:00.002-05:00

The purpose of this blog is to set up a mechanism so I can say: "I told you so" in the future. I believe an important mile marker is before us that will be of benefit to history-related focuses in the future.

A new show airs on NBC Mar 5, 2010 that I believe will be important. The one thing the show does is to personalize history in a way that is key to drawing in the interest of many people. The potential for drawing in younger people is especially important.

New Series: Who Do You Think You Are?
Airs: Friday, Mar 5 on NBC at 8 pm (7 central time)

In the first episode, Sarah Jessica Parker discovers an ancestor accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trails. The show takes a personal look into the family stories of seven celebrities, while helping people everywhere understand what they could discover about their own family history.

Significance of the Series:
I believe that interest in history is growing and is actually beginning to capture the interest of younger people. More easily available resources are finally beginning to make the past relevant to who we are on a personal level.

For example, the moment I learned that one of my direct Burr ancestors was a Puritan who came to America on a boat in John Winthrop's historic fleet that landed near Boston on June 12, 1630, I suddenly found myself interested in my own history and the history that surrounded that event. After all the dull history classes that were totally impersonal with dates and places that meant nothing to me, I suddenly found myself totally (perhaps obsessively) interested when I became aware that DNA coursing through my veins was present at some of those places and in some of those dates. When I first stood in the ca. 1751 oldest wood frame house in the state of West Virginia and realized that the person who laid the floors, built the fireplace, and provided detailed finishing touches to that old house did in fact have my DNA in the veins of his hands, then hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I connected to history in a way I never before dreamed possible. And I am not different from others. I have already heard too many other people use the same description of hairs on the back of their necks standing on end in similar situations. Those upright hairs are an indicator that engagement with history has occurred.

As much as I am able to find fault with Ancestry.com, Bill Gates and Windows, the fact remains: in the larger scheme of things, Ancestry.com is going to be to history as Bill Gates and Windows was to computer compatibility and networking. Genealogy (personal family history) is going to do for history what Windows did for computing: bring it down to a personal level easily accessible to average people.

I believe that the wise among us will recognize this occurrence as an opportunity for opening new doors in history focuses and turning around old embedded obstacles.

While I do not have a membership with Ancestry.com and have no stock in that organization or NBC television, I believe that the new series will be a useful tool.

Do I care whether or not you watch the show? No.
Do I care whether or not the show airs? Yes

I believe the marketing plans behind this show are brilliant. While the show will certainly send people to Ancestry.com in search of their own family history, it will also (in the long-range) benefit every organization with a focus on history. I am certain it will capture a younger generation of data-seeking individuals that eventually could become a part of a new wave of interest in history in many different ways.

I believe that history-focused organizations would be foolish to fail to embrace and plan upon this predictable phenomenon. To those who can read handwriting on the wall, my advise is to be ready.

What does all this mean to us at Reliving History, Inc?
The Peter Burr House has stood for 258 years, primarily in an open field where it in these later days has been of little notice. As a lone structure in a field surrounded by industrial development it is currently of less value to some than the land it sits on. This historic site, like many others, must become more valued if they are to continue standing. That value will be in the eyes of the general public who must come to a place of personally caring about these properties.

The word "personal" has significant meaning in the prospects of raising interest in history. The way to raise interest in historic sites and historic focuses is to engage the "personal" connection to history. Genealogy an important path to personal connection to history.

Another word and phrase also have significant meaning: "networking" for "setting a historic backdrop" is important. As we network with other organizations to "set a historic backdrop" then the Peter Burr House becomes less of a lone structure in a remote field and more of a key part of the extremely valuable larger picture.

Without going into any further detail on these subjects, I've defined personal connection to history (via genealogy) and networking (working together) to set historic backdrops as key elements for helping to utilize and further grow the on-coming interest in history.

Years from now, after we have followed a planned path, I want to be able to look back to this particular post and playfully (but for the record also) say: I told you so.

Joyce Cole
Reliving History, Inc.
Visit our website:
www.RelivingHistoryInc.org

2010 Homecoming - Registration Fees

2010-02-08T20:55:00.001-05:00

As I prepare to send out another mass email updating everyone on the Homecoming plans AND
as I update the website relative to these emerging plans,
I am aware that some people want more information than others.
. . . AND we all know I'm not good at being brief. So, I think it wise to post basic info on the website and to then expand on that info on this blog for the benefit of those inquiring minds who want to know more.

The following update is currently being posted related to Registration Fees for the Homecoming:

Registration Fees:

$75 per person if paid by end of the day May 31, 2010
$100 per person if paid between June 1 - August 31, 2010
$125 per person if paid on or after September 1, 2010

Cancellations:

Registration fees are refundable if canceled by September 30, 2010
Registration fees are negotiable if canceled on or after October 1, 2010 with final decision contingent on whether or not the cancellation creates a significant cost factor that cannot be reimbursed.

What Registration Fees Cover and Do Not Cover:

The fee WILL cover the cost for the luxury chartered buses (for at least two day tours), admission fees, program costs related to the tours, plus all other program-related honorariums and costs for the remaining events, including costs for room and site rentals, shelter and seating costs as needed for use at the Peter Burr House, and for many other related expenses and costs.
All registration fees are to cover actual expenses and are calculated such that early registrants receive a considerable discount in return for registering early.
The registration fee this year will NOT cover all meals as it did in 2008 but will include some meals as we are better able to determine what the remaining budget will allow.
None of the registration fee is for general fund raising or residual income for the Peter Burr House or for Reliving History, Inc.

Register Early to Take Advantage of Discounts!

Your assistance by registering early helps us to cover the cost of deposits that are required in order to make logistical arrangements for program elements far enough in advance that we can schedule based on our agenda rather than based on what less-favorable openings remain.

Tour buses alone will cost about $1250 per bus per day and will require deposits up front to reserve them. Likewise, scheduling room or site rentals and various other program elements require front deposits. In addition to early cash flow, we also need a somewhat accurate clue as to how many people are coming.

The $75 registration fee per person for those who pay before June 1 includes a considerable discount. The tour bus costs $1250 per day and contains 50 available seats. A full bus at that rate costs $25 per seat (even for children). Admissions into the planned day tour sites $8 per adult each day. So, one person attending a day tour will cost $33 per person. That same person attending both tours costs $66 of the $75 registration fee before any other costs for the entire week are taken into consideration. Because sudden changes at the last minute can be costly, then it is worth it to us to offer a significant discount in return for early registration. We will then be able to plan other ways for making up other needed funds in other ways. Help to make planning as effective as possible by communicating your intentions to participate as soon as possible.

To make up the difference
between real costs and registration fees, we will probably:

invite the general public to some of the planned events in return for participation fees,
seek in-kind contributions, and
raise funds by offering some items for sell as snacks and souvenirs.

To Register for the Homecoming:
Follow the instructions on our website at the bottom of the 2010 Homecoming page:
http://www.relivinghistoryinc.org/2010Homecoming.html

Making Better Use of Our Communication Resources

2010-01-01T09:02:00.000-05:00

Recently, we have had a rash of requests for membership into the Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group. While I approve these requests, I am concerned that these new members are about to discover that the group has become relatively inactive. It is not functioning as I would hope. We need to look at our objectives for this group and then explore whether there is a better way of meeting those objectives.

Currently, we have in place a total of three communication resources. It is time we better understand where the Peter Burr Society fits into the larger process and how all the resources can work together. Following are the web addresses for these resources:

Reliving History, Inc. website: http://RelivingHistoryInc.org
This blog spot: http://relivinghistoryinc.blogspot.com
The Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peterburrsociety/

Purposes and Limitations:

The Reliving History, Inc. website continues to grow and much will be added to the site for update and expansion purposes. The website, however, does not have a good connection for an online forum for input from people or a way for individuals to upload or share genealogical or historic documents.
This blog spot contains whatever is on my mind and pertains to both Reliving History, Inc. and the Peter Burr Society. It is a good way for me to communicate with the public and does have a place for the public's comments below, but to my knowledge there is no process for those comments to be organized into a functional two-way forum or a way for others to initiate subject matter. Likewise, the blog does not provide a way for individuals to upload or share genealogical or historic documents.
The Yahoo Groups provides the online forum and a way for individuals to upload and share important documents; however, for reasons both known and unknown the process is not functioning as it should. Or perhaps the problem could be that we have not yet generated enough on-going interest in (or understanding of) the process.

While Reliving History, Inc. focuses primarily on the Peter Burr House and has local support, the Peter Burr Society has its own unique purpose that can play a vital role on behalf of the house as well as the larger general history of the family.

The ca. 1751 Peter Burr House (priority focus of Reliving History, Inc.) is a tangible structure that is a treasure worthy of continued preservation, restoration, and programming. The house was built by Peter Burr (1699-1779) and his son, Peter Burr (1727-1795). The son (about 21 years old at the same time young George Washington, age 16, was in the same area) took up residence in the house and stayed there for the rest of his life as he raised 13 children during the years of our nation's formation. The house exists as an incredible vantage point in time from which our nation's early history can be viewed. Architecturally, archaeologically, and historically the house is a rare treasure of what could be national interest.

The Peter Burr Society (a more loosely structured organization) consists of descendants of Peter Burr and of other related families and friends. Family history plugs into the interpretation and history of the house. Yet, until recently, the family history has been very piece-meal with many pieces of the story still isolated (unshared), fragmented in different locations, or undiscovered. Many remaining pieces may yet be found in dusty archives someday or in boxes of old documents passed down from previous generations and in many cases still packed away in attics, forgotten. Let us hope they are found before age and critters make them too fragile or deteriorated to utilize. Much of our history will be found in obscure references in documents that belong to other families whose ancestors interacted with our ancestors. Until we as an organization become better know, why should anyone with a reference to one of our ancestors (in an old letter perhaps to someone in their family or an old journal) know (or even care) to contact us? Each time a new reference or document is discovered or a new piece of family information is shared, the picture becomes a little clearer. And as the picture becomes clearer, our story becomes more and more amazing.

The Yahoo Group is a great idea and provides us two benefits that are important:

The ability to interact about family history in on-going conversations through the forum and
A place to upload and store our family documents.

But functionally it is not yet doing what it was intended to do. Adjustments are needed and your input on this is important.

If you are not already a member of the The Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group, you can join by going to the web address above. At the home page, you will be able to read about our focus, but you will have to "Join" the group to be able to access the files and documents and other benefits including photo albums. If you are a truly interested person (not some marketing ploy) your request to "Join" will be approved, but you will have to wait a few hours for me to receive and process the request.

The "Joining" process is a protective mechanism. It allows us a method to safeguard our family information. I also allows us a way to block those who might be seeking a place to be opportunistic regardless of their other agendas.

I would like your comments concerning:

What are your general thoughts about the Yahoo Group?
Is there a better or easier way than Yahoo Groups to meet our objectives?
Do you have suggestions on how to revitalize the group and make it more useful?
Do you have questions?
Do you have any other comments on the subject?

There are some known reasons the group has become inactive.
We need to review those reasons in an effort to make the site more useful and therefore used by more people. First we need to understand what the group is for and how it relates to other focuses that are in process. Then I would like for us to find a process that does better than Yahoo what we originally intended. I am requesting your help.

Several reasons are known.

We no longer have a moderator to facilitate (I would love for someone to surface who would like to oversee this project. It does not require a lot of time but could certainly benefit from someone who cares.)
The Yahoo process is not very “user friendly” for our purposes.
The “joining” process is difficult for some people especially for those who are not as internet savvy.
Some people hesitate to join groups for fear of possible unknowns attached to joining.
Some people have to create yahoo email addresses in order to join but then never use those secondary addresses. Some do not know how (or have a reason) to change their profile to link notices of messages to their primary email address.
There is a learning curve to understanding what the group is for, especially for those who’ve never used groups.

There are also some reasons we need to revitalize this group or resolve any problems.
All of us are the composites of the many different families that united years ago and that by marriage and parenting produced our ancestors. Of all the different family lines that make up my particular ancestry, none is as fascinating as the Burr line. The more I dig, the more fascinated I become at how intricately woven this family was in the very roots of our whole American history beginning in 1630 with the first Burrs in the New World, a Puritan family, who arrived with John Winthrop’s famous fleet. Still missing from the over 150 documents posted on the Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group are documents about some of the more interesting people in our ancestry who are the current focus of a possible documentary mini-series on the family. While I do not want to say too much about the possible documentary series here, records of several close relatives of Peter Burr are not currently but clearly should be included in the Yahoo Group files. These documents include information about:

Peter Burr's great great grandfather Jehue Burr, alluded to above as the Burr Immigrant who came as a Puritan to the New World with his young family.
Peter Burr's grand uncle Chief Justice Peter Burr (for whom our Peter Burr's father was likely named) who graduated early from Harvard and became the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court long before our nation was formed.
Peter Burr's first cousin once removed, Thaddeus Burr, who is now being identified as one of the "missing links" in George Washington's Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolution. He was friends with a number of our founding fathers, and his home was the site of the John Hancock's wedding.
Peter Burr's uncle, the Rev. Aaron Burr, who helped found and was the second President of what is now Princeton University and who was also the son-in-law of the great Rev. Jonathan Edwards.
Peter Burr's first cousin, the NY Senator and later US Vice President Aaron Burr. While history books have not done the VP justice, the facts remain that he has many credits to his name and the final story on the truth of the historic events are slowly beginning to be known.

Anyone not excited about our history, most likely is unaware of how intricately our family history is woven around our nation’s history. We had early ancestors who were among the bedrock of our national history.

Not only do we need to connect the Peter Burr House to the known history that was occurring around it, but also we need to connect to the house a better picture of who the amazing family was that lived in that house.

While the general public focuses on revitalizing the house, the Peter Burr Society needs to focus continually on discovering, organizing, and sharing our family history.

I would seriously like to have your input as to how we can better function online in a manner that will allow better or easier two-way communication and help to accumulate more documentation and discovery of existing family-related documents.

To reply to this, you have at least three options:

You can post a reply in the comments section below.
If you are a member of the Peter Burr Society Yahoo Group, then discussion of this matter would best be done by posting a message in the online forum; however it will only be seen by members.
Or by comments addressed to me at bjoycecole@relivinghistoryinc.org or to my primary email address for those who have it. I will be happy to compile the thoughts (into one document) and share them later as appropriate.

Please take a moment to reply even if only by comment below, if with nothing else, then at least with a word of encouragement or thought on the subject.

Joyce Cole
Founder and Chairman of Reliving History, Inc.
Founder of the Peter Burr Society

Volunteer Recruitment

2009-12-30T12:54:00.000-05:00

John Milton in the last line of his famous poem, "On His Blindness," wrote:

"He also serves, who only stands and waits."

I have long loved this line. It speaks to the value of every unique and individual person. Our value as people is not in what we do or how much we do or even in how much our contributions costs. Our value as people is about what is in our hearts. A sincere and genuine spirit of willingness is the source from which the greatest values come. With a spirit of willingness the right contribution and the right timing can flow in ways that meet the deepest needs often in the simplest ways.

Those who patiently stand and wait have their own value that may surprise us when we least expect it. That reminds me of sweet, wonderful Roberta Hughes, who wanted to help "some little way" at our 2008 Burr Family Homecoming. On the very first day of the event, she asked if she could take the fruit back to her hotel room and wash it for me. While this was such an ordinary task, it was one among many that was going to add to the many tasks on my list. Her willing spirit caught my attention and caused her to stand out as a person of extreme value. And I continue to think of her as a wonderful example of where the real value is in people. She blessed me greatly just by her presence, and just seeing her every day for the rest of the event caused me to feel a depth of joy that all was well.

To me John Milton's words mean that every single person regardless of how much he or she contributes, is vitally important if he or she simply cares about our shared focus.

We at Reliving History, Inc. and at the Peter Burr House need your contributions. But measuring the value of those contributions will be quite different from the way the world values contributions. In the next months, we are going to focus on volunteer recruitment. But the question has risen among some as to how family members and friends from a long distance away contribute. Money always helps, but other contributions within each person's abilities are also valuable.

The first thing we need from anyone is that sense of willingness to help. And until the right method for contributing in the most useful way presents itself, each willing spirit is useful if only in standing and waiting. Standing and waiting at its very best implies committed readiness before action.

For many years (all the way back to about age 9) I've believed I was "called" to a special purpose. For years I waited until I became actually discouraged by about age 40. I went through a period of assessing whether or not I was in fact "called." I questioned if this so-called "calling" was instead ego-driven by some deeper desire to be important. I had to go through a process of setting aside my own desires for being valuable in some showy way and to learn to accept a role of just standing and waiting, even at the risk of never being considered valuable.

Today, as I approach the age of 63 (next month), I am aware that I have found my special place. It isn't about being important or about being valued by people who see the world through distorted value systems. It is about being deeply committed and ready to do what needs to be done at the simple place where my ability to contribute matches the need. I did not approach my current role as some aware this is what I was "called" to do, but as one aware that Divine Intervention seemed to me to be all over the task that needed to be done. For me, I had to reach my senior years to actually feel like I'm doing what I was put on earth to do. And it didn't come with planning or vision, but with years of being willing, committed, and ready . . . patiently standing and waiting for the right time and place and service. I had no idea where I was going until after I had gone some distance and looked back. Then I realized I was on a path unaware that it was where I was supposed to be.

I was about 30 years old when I began to seriously pray: "I don't have to know the future or have assurances along the way. I don't even have to see where I'm going. Just WALK me Lord, in such a guided way that though I walk through the dark unknown, my every step will somehow go where you wanted me this day."And strangely years later, I stand and look back and realize my prayer has been answered and continues to be answered. I never knew or would have even guessed that my path would lead me to where I am today.

With all that said, let it be known that I am convinced that something Divine is woven into the objectives before us.

I have no idea why God or Divine Intervention preserved the ca. 1751 wooden house that like almost all others should have fallen down years ago.
I have no idea what unseen dynamics moved me from my home in TN to the local area where the Peter Burr House continues to exist.
I don't know what intrinsic value this house of the effort to preserve the house will bring to others in the future.
I'm aware that the old house currently has some serious structural problems that must be resolved. I don't know what all is going to be needed nor how it is going to get fixed, but I have no doubt but that it is going to survive.

As I look back, I am amazed at how so many things fell into place in the planning for the 2008 Homecoming and how so much has fallen into place in our almost miraculous first year of organization. But as I look back, I know without a doubt that this is the task I was "called" to do over 50 years ago.

There are ways everyone who desires to be of value in this process can do so. But it all starts with the desire, the willingness, the commitment and then it is about standing and waiting. When the right time and task arrives, you may not even know you are being of value. You may not even see your contribution as being of value. But be aware, that which comes from the heart is alive and full of life and value.

No one can begin to imagine how valuable it was over a year ago when a sweet, tiny little, elderly lady genuinely wanted to wash the fruit for me. Her small gesture grew into great value as it symbolically suggests the bathing of our efforts (fruit) in love and nurturing.

Slowly, tasks are emerging that can be done by family members and friends from miles away. This blog is to those who feel a desire to "do something" but who believe they can only "stand and wait." God bless you. If willingness and commitment are behind your heart-felt desires, then "standing and waiting" is only a first step to being ready when the time and task reveals itself.

I love you guys, including those I haven't met yet and even many who are yet to be identified. So far as I can tell, Peter Burr was a man of deep faith and personal commitment to his God.

Joyce Cole, Founder
Reliving History, Inc. and
The Peter Burr Society

2010 Burr Family & Friends Homecoming

2009-12-30T11:01:00.006-05:00

Many have asked about the next Burr Family Homecoming for Oct 2010.

I selected a date 3 months ago and am still waiting for confirmation from the hotel to make sure the dates are good for them. Before I let that sound like the hotel has fallen down on the job, let me state that the person with whom I was working got sick and was out for a while. When I checked on her condition in mid November, I discovered that she had died. So, the hotel's general manager who has been very good to us is taking care of the matter and promises to have info back to me very soon. As of mid December, he hired a replacement person whom I'm sure has been very busy during this hectic season. I will try again in early January to confirm our dates.

Meanwhile, people still want to know when the next homecoming will be. My fear in announcing a date is the slim possibility that the date by chance might not be good for the hotel. Yet, because many still want to know, I will make the following announcement (with fear and trepidation) that I hope the dates for our next homecoming will be Oct 9-16, 2010. While I'm about 95% sure that date will hold, please do not hold me to it if we do in deed need to make a change.

With that said, you will notice that I'm planning a full week for this event. I'm aware that some people may not be able to attend for a full week, but I plan to post the schedule so you may pick which days you want to attend if you can only do a few of the days. The reasons for scheduling a full week is to allow us to do more but to also have more free time for small group site-seeing based on your own preferences. I will organize information to help making choices for optional tours more successful while allowing you to choose places that most interest you. Hopefully, the planning for these optional tours as well as planning for the larger ones will be the beginning foundation for what I hope becomes an online Tourism Resource.

Our first and last homecoming in 2008 was a success. We had fun and got to know each other. We will have more fun this time and we will get to know each other even better. Much will be different. This time,

I will not be preparing all (or even most) of the meals. The registration fee, therefore will be smaller (probably about $75 per person) even though we will enjoy more days together. You will be on your own to select where and what you eat most of the time.
We will have full and unlimited access to the Peter Burr House. I'm contemplating renting a large tent in order to make the historic property the center of our administration for the event. We will be able to post the big chart that shows the family tree and leave it up for the entire week. We will be able to use all of the buildings on site. We will be able to hold and participate in actual workshops.
We will invite not only descendants of Peter Burr but also descendants of in-laws (the people who married Peter Burr's children) and descendants of Peter Burr's friends and neighbors. Many families do not have a 260-year-old homestead to return to and to actually TOUCH and to feel the immediate feeling of linking to the past. I've learned that those whose ancestors had other connections to the Peter Burr House also have the same goose-bumpy feelings as the hair on the backs of their necks stand on end when they too are able to touch a structure that their ancestors visited. These are some of the people who may well become avid supporters for the preservation of the house. And some of these people may have family documents that add to the documentation that our family has found thus far. It is very useful to expand the scope of those whom we want to draw in.
We will also invite all of the volunteers who donate their time, effort, money, and love to the Peter Burr House. The will be invited to attend all of our events. Family needs to know these people and these volunteers need to know who we are as family.
We will also invite the local people of the Jefferson County and surrounding areas to share in a limited number of the events. Our purpose is to blend the descendants of Peter Burr with those friends and neighbors who may someday be the ones helping to support the historic property. The assembling of the family will be the big event that I believe will cause local people to want to come and blend in and become a part of the Peter Burr House experience.
We will have some special invited guests who will share specific expertise and knowledge and possibly conduct some workshops. Much of this is still in planning stages, but as the one who knows what is being planned, I can tell you these will be fun-packed and informative experiences.
I will gather tourism information to help you to make the best of small group tours according to your own choices. While some may have special interest in the numerous Civil War sites in the local area (including: Manasas, VA: Harpers Ferry, WV; Sharpsburg (Antetium), MD, and Gettysburg, PA), others may have more interest in the historic railroad system (including the historic B&O that passes through Peter Burr's property) or the historic C&O Canal, or the important historic roads and gathering points in the area (the National Road, the Philadelphia Wagon Road, Warm Springs Road, or Pack Horse Ford river crossing, and the other old Indian paths) that today are major roads in the area.

The plans already include two full days of touring on a chartered bus to sites focused:

one day on the French and Indian War and
the other day on the Revolutionary War period.

These are both very interesting periods and several sites exist that can provide excellent historic experiences that paint the picture very vividly. Both time periods and the focus on cultural differences are important to the larger picture of motivations and processes behind historic events. The same information will help to identify even better who Peter Burr was and what his life was like. Hopefully, you will leave the event with a much better idea of possible reasons why he came to the area and most certainly with some pride at being his descendant or person with related interest.

At least one other day (and possibly a second day) is planned to be a hands-on 18th century experience. Last year, attendees got to visit the Peter Burr House and see artisans demonstrating 18th century crafts. This time we will be doing the 18th century crafts including preparing our own 18th century supper and participating in other activities and games. You will have the option to dress in authentic reproduction clothing or otherwise in less costly faux-18th century clothing if you wish. We will have news reporters and television cameras present to publicize what is going on at the historic Peter Burr House. We will make this a significant media event. Also, there MAY be one or more professional television people filming or assessing the setting for a possible mini documentary series (about Peter Burr and family) that is currently under consideration. If this documentary series occurs, it will be filmed with Peter Burr telling his story and the stories of other family members from the Peter Burr House. The House will serve as the base setting for all the related stories. While I make no promises, I can envision some shots from the homecoming with people in period clothing being included in the series. And with various personalities emerging, it is possible that some people at the homecoming could be useful later as extras in the filming of the documentaries. Who knows what interestingly little experiences will result?

Well, this is enough on this subject for today, but this blog site will likely be the place where I will post updates related to the upcoming homecoming. It might be useful to bookmark this site and to visit from time to time.

Much more on the 2010 Burr Family and Friends Homecoming will be forthcoming.

Joyce Cole, Founder
Reliving History, Inc. and
The Peter Burr Society

Out With the Old; In With the New!!!

2009-12-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

We are now turning the last page and closing Chapter One: "Organizing Reliving History, Inc." and beginning Chapter Two of our process: "Building the Structure."

2009 has been eventful and down-right miraculous. In one year we have grown from nothing into a fully incorporated 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization with a great Board of Directors that meets monthly, by-laws and all the legal and practical supports in place. We've done some initial fund-raising and while it seems quite small, we are ending our first year with over $1600 in our bank account. That's not bad for a very small organization that had zero money in our account at the beginning of October. We've also put into place a legacy fund with the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation and currently have $2000 there as we work toward full endowment so we can build a beginning basis for preserving our heritage for many years to come. In addition to these amounts, a little over $1000 still exists in the funds donated to the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission by the Bread Bakers Guild for our Archaeology program.

Additionally, according to documented records, our volunteers have:

paid out of pocket over $3500
contributed over 1300 hours
driven over 7500 miles

These totals do not include the additional expenses, hours, and miles that have not been recorded.
These do not include the hours spent working from home or the little amounts contributed a little here and a little there as we each purchase items that will be used for some program element.
They also do not include most of the approximate 60-80 hours per week I spend working from home organizing, planning, and administrating as a full time volunteer.

So, what does it all mean? It means that we have a functional organization that is supported by volunteers and that is ready for the upcoming year.

As we begin our focus on next year, we will focus on:
programming
volunteer recruitment
fund raising
networking

Programming will include putting into place some on-going period correct agricultural and life-styles programs as well as planning special events. I hope to make better use of the Internet with a view toward putting online a virtual Workshop for Making Period Clothing that hopefully will correspond with and supplement a new sewing guild. We hope family members will plan to dress in period correct clothing for at least one of the events during the October homecoming. Also, programming hopefully will include an online focus on tourism that will help visitors to the Peter Burr House and Jefferson County area to blend in site seeing that enhances their understanding of Peter Burr and the significance of his house. Both on-site and off-site programming will focus on helping the local community to benefit from understanding the cultural contributions that resulted from the early settlers of what we now know as Jefferson Co, WV.

While volunteer recruitment and fund raising are on-going priorities that continually require innovative approaches and continued nurturing, I believe that local and national networking is an often overlooked yet potentially important element for any successful program. This is likely the one single element that has long been missing in efforts to revitalize the Peter Burr property. So long as the Peter Burr House sits as a loan structure off in a field behind a growing industrial park, it is doomed to be overlooked and eventually destined to be viewed by some investors in surrounding property as an unwelcome obstacle that could be better utilized as 9.5 acres of more financially valuable property. The historic value of that wonderful property depends on someone effectively telling the story of its significance in a way the community can believe and realize benefit. It is up to us to proclaim the story that allows the community to embrace the property and to protect it and value it as highly as any potential economic prospects.

Networking locally and nationally is therefore vital to the long-range planning for the Peter Burr House. While various volunteers focus on specific areas of interest, I consider my job to include maintaining a clear vision of the importance of networking at every level. The BIG Picture is difficult for many to see because it is difficult for anyone to describe in words. So suffice it to say, I'll keep my eye on the big picture and simply smile as the pieces fall into place. I understand that in the end, many will think our progress was simply good fortune rather than good vision.

Much of my philosophy is based on an example I heard about 40 years ago and never forgot. It says that when sheep hear the rattling of their feed bucket, they will come running. But if they find the bucket empty each time they come running, they will eventually stop coming. I've learned from this that people, just like sheep, respond to that which feeds them (physically and metaphorically). When they start to believe that the rattle of the feed bucket is just noise, they will become disinterested. Once they experience dissatisfaction with the sound of the rattle of the feed bucket, it is hard to get them to respond again to same noise. Filling up the bucket will then not be enough to get them back.

Moral to this truth: It will now require more than assuring that quality food is in the bucket. We now need to find a different beckoning signal than the rattle of the feed bucket.

Together we must assure that the quality is there. Likewise, we must overcome the obstacle of apathy and disbelief and find unique ways to communicate that a very rare and valuable treasure exists at the back of the Burr Industrial Park. And when the sheep come, it is vital that they feast on something of value to them.

Anyone wanting to contribute money should see the Fund Raising Page on our website: http://www.relivinghistoryinc.org/FundRaising.html
Anyone wanting to contribute other resources or wanting to volunteer time, energy, expertise, etc should contact me. http://www.relivinghistoryinc.org/ContactUs.html While I do use a personal email address, it would be more effective to advise everyone to contact me first via our website. This will help to get people use to using the website.
If you haven't already bookmarked our website, now would be a good time to do it: www.RelivingHistoryInc.org Slowly, I'm trying to evolve our website into a platform for communication and information. If you haven't bookmarked the site, please do so and check back periodically.
Also, bookmark this blogspot for updates, explanations, and other information: http://www.relivinghistoryinc.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year! Everyone. This past year has been miraculous and the new year already looks very promising. By this time next year, I hope to have a very productive report to make reflecting back on that which today still lies ahead.

Joyce Cole
Reliving History Inc. and
The Peter Burr Society

PS: What is the difference between Reliving History, Inc and the Peter Burr Society?

Reliving History, Inc is a corporate structure in Jefferson Co, WV organized to support the restoration, preservation, and programming for the Peter Burr House.
The Peter Burr Society is an unincorporated structure (of national and perhaps international scope) designed to give descendants (and other relatives, in-laws, and friends) of Peter Burr (1727-1795) a network for interacting and learning more of our family history. Because the Peter Burr Society is loosely structured and yet very useful for discovering family history related to Peter Burr, then I am considering the Peter Burr Society as a program of Reliving History, Inc.

The Inner Circle

2009-12-03T11:31:00.001-05:00

I suppose every organization has an inner circle. Sometimes new people feel alienated from the inner circle like outsiders unable to get to the core group. Reliving History, Inc. has a core body of volunteers, but we are continually seeking people who would like to be more involved as part of the inner circle.

Without fighting the Aaron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton duel all over again, we know there were some root differences in the core values between certain founders of our nation and some members of the Burr family. While Alexander Hamilton believed strongly that only the more elite of society should govern the country, certain historic members of the Burr family seemed to embrace an ideology that supported individuals based on their values rather than on class, gender, race, or other limiting measurements of suitability. This family value is important as a cultural factor that influenced much of our family history.

We know that after Peter Burr died some of his descendants later owned a small number of slaves in the 1800s, but there is no indication that Peter Burr every owned any slaves who might otherwise have been a great help to him as he ran his 406 acre farm. In addition to finding no records of slave purchases, Peter Burr's estate inventory did not list any slaves or any other possessions that hinted at him ever having owned slaves. We know that his cousin Aaron Burr, while NY State Senator proposed legislation to ban slavery in the 1790s. Likewise, we know that family values supported the education of females more than 100 years before Women's Rights became a political issue in America. We could write a full chapter on evidence and why we believe the Burr family generally supported the basic rights of human beings as individuals, but we'll save that for another day.

The point is that the Founder of Reliving History, Inc. strongly values people not by superficial measurements such as wealth, education, gender, race, etc, but by what's in the person's heart. To be in the inner circle of Reliving History, Inc. one only needs a heart full of passion:

For the preservation of the Peter Burr House,
For the on-going discovery of documented family history, and
For building programming that sheds further light on and weaves in the values and culture of a typical yeoman farmer who in the mid to late 1700s built a house and helped found two churches all of which have survived and continue to exist fully in tact today.

In organizing our corporation, we have attempted to provide a way for those who live a distance from the Peter Burr House to also serve on the governing board of Reliving History, Inc. While the provisions are in place, we are still working out the logistics of how to have distance participation in Board Meetings. In time video conferencing will probably be utilized. Until then, email participation and the telephone are our best options.

Blogging for Updated Information
For now, it is possible that the use of this blog site can be a vehicle for communicating information to those who would like to know more about what is going on. As various people sign on as followers, more time will be designated for using this vehicle for regular, possibly weekly (or in time daily) updates as to what is going on. This will probably do as much as anything else to allow anyone who desires to be in the inner core, to be in the very center of it all.

Those who are local and who can share hands-on assistance are of huge value. But never under estimate the value of those who from distances away share ideas or provide encouragement.

If you want to be in the Inner Circle, sign on as a follower of this blog and I will work harder at updating the information periodically. It takes a lot of time to work up mass emails to advise everyone of what is going on. I can blog more frequently and simply let those interested read what they want as they want to know more.

Let's support and promote this method of getting information out. If you want to know what is going on at the Peter Burr House and with Reliving History, Inc. then sign up as a follower of this blog and let me know that you are interested.

Joyce Cole, Founder
Reliving History, Inc.

Fund Raising the Painless Way

2009-11-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

A Way To Help the Peter Burr House

Sir John Templeton said, “The secret of creating riches for oneself is to create them for others.” The following is a beneficial and painless way to help the Peter Burr House and Reliving History, Inc. and your own selves. I’ve researched this offer extensively for the last week and believe this is a viable, legal, and very useful way for many to help the Peter Burr House (and/or other charities) and their own selves at the same time.

Through the new Blastoff Network, you can get on the average 1%-10% cash back for FREE on all retail purchases made online from over 350 well-known retailers including wireless plans, cable and internet services, dish network, and other innovative technology.

The idea is a new twist on traditional marketing techniques. Retailers have offered rewards for purchasing from them since before any of us were born. But now the cash rewards are being bundled through an internet Network. And guess what? The biggest season for internet purchasing is just now before of us.

For the same reason retailers give coupons for buying their products, over 350 well-known retailers (Macey’s, Target, Starbucks, Gap, Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic Sears, and many more) have joined together to offer cash back rewards FREE for shopping through a portal in a new internet network that launched in October 2009. Blastoff Network last week was the most visited site on the world wide web. It is working through Facebook, Twitter, and other social and word-of-mouth networks to bring savings to those who purchase through the Blastoff Network portal. If you have not heard of it yet, you will soon. Because the network uses Facebook and Twitter both as a design model and also as a companion to these popular cutting-edge services, it is predicted to become equally popular and useful.

· If every retail store gave you 1%-10% cash back for everything you buy, how long would it take to add up to an amount worth counting?

· If you get a cash back rewards of $24-$40 (plus other dealer specials) for purchasing a cell phone plan online, would you purchase it online?

· If you get $10 back for ordering your cable or dish network online, would you buy online?

A picture is worth a 1000 words. Go to: http://ppl.blastoffnetwork.com/PeterBurrHouse

And see how traditional marketing has gone high tech and how it can benefit you and the Peter Burr House at the same time.

On that site: watch the 4 min video “What is Blastoff Network?” (far right of page, second video down)

Scroll down the page and see the online movies, television shows, music, and games that are available for free when you “join” and set up your portal.

In the menu at the top, click on “Shop” and notice the categories: Mall, Wireless, Home Services, Legal, and Travel. All of these are sources from which the cash back rewards come.

· In the Mall, over 350 well-known retailers offer cash back plus special rewards for shopping through the Blastoff Network portal.

· The Wireless menu option has all major cell phones, plans, and other wireless devices. The plans pay at least $25 cash back plus carrier specials and free 2-day shipping.

· The Home Services option is where you will find cable, satellite television, phone and other services.

· The Legal option is a portal into Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., a company on the NY stock exchange that is ranked #66 on the 2009 Forbes 200 Best Small Companies. (This is the company that is co-sponsoring the Blastoff Network at an investment of $5 million.)

· The Travel option brings you Priceline, Expedia, Hotwire, hotels, auto rentals, airlines, cruises, and more. Book flights at best prices and receive additional cash back and specials.

You have two wise options:

· “Join” the network, get your own portal with movies, music, and games, and receive cash back rewards from your purchases and from purchases made by your friends, who set up portals through yours.

· Don’t join, but bookmark this site and come back to this site to make your internet purchases. The cash back rewards will go to the entity that registers the portal (in this case, a public non-profit organization incorporated as Reliving History, Inc).

Questions and Answers

Below you will find answers to the following questions:

Why does the last part of the web address say “Peter Burr House”?

Is Blastoff Network legal?

What’s the catch?

How can all this be free?

Sounds too good to be true!

What if I don’t make internet purchases?

What if I don’t have high-speed (broadband) Internet?

How do I use this to raise funds for my favorite charity?

How can I increase the amount of money I can receive back?

Why does the last part of the web address say “Peter Burr House”?

As the founder and CEO of Reliving History, Inc, my favorite cause in the whole world is the restoration and preservation of the Peter Burr House, ca. 1751, the oldest wood frame house in West Virginia. While other people have a life, this IS my life. Almost everything I do or have goes to support this house. I have set up this portal to accrue cash back rewards that will be used exclusively for this non-profit organization that exists for the purposes of protecting and sharing this old house with the public. I have set up the portal in such a way that checks will be issued directly to our IRS 501(c)(3) organization. (There are several ways you can set up portals to benefit your favorite charity; see “How do I use this to raise funds for my favorite charity?” below.) Meanwhile, cash back rewards will accrue to the non-profit organization for all retail orders placed at this portal. Otherwise, as you and others “join” through this portal and purchase on your own new portal, additional rewards will still accrue to the Peter Burr House in addition to you.

Is Blastoff Network legal?

This network is both legal and innovative. I’ve spent an entire week researching the Federal Trade Commission, US Securities & Exchange, and other sources trying to assure that nothing is illegal. You too, should take your time and do your own research if you have questions. But as you research, you will find the following facts to be among the major safeguards these agencies are especially seeking to assure:

· This offer is not for a business but for a “cash back rewards” program only for purchases you and your friends make online. Either you use the network and earn cash back or you don’t.

· Participation is free and carries no obligations. There is no investment or needed inventories; you are not selling any product. You pay only for normal merchandise you normally purchase.

· You receive no compensation for recruiting participants; the marketing of real products is the objective rather than recruitment of sales people. When the market becomes saturated, the network will slow in growth but will not collapse, because people will continue buying merchandise from which the rewards are paid. The network is not dependent on investments that can never pay off.

· The businesses that are participating are among the most substantial and reputable in the world; most are publically traded on the NY Stock Exchange and stringent government oversight is in place. The success of the network is not dependent on any one organization. If the entire economy collapses, cash backs may decrease, but end-users cannot lose investments they never paid. Also, the network is not dependent on any one business.

· There are no promises that you will get rich quick; your rewards are dependent only on how much you and your friends purchase via the internet portal. If you do not buy online or spread this gift to others, then your rewards will be zero. Cash back rewards come out of the purchase prices paid for the items bought and paid for. Checks are not issued until after payments clear the bank and products are shipped.

Bottom line: This is not a Ponzi or illegal pyramid scheme. If you want further details, please request info at the contact info shown herein.

What’s the catch?

No catch. This is an innovative twist on the same marketing principles we have seen for years. Retailers have long used sales, coupons, and other techniques to entice people to buy their products and services. The innovation is that the Blastoff Network has harnessed this process into a network and channeled it using modern technology through Facebook, Twitter, and other social and word-of-mouth techniques.

How can all this be free?

It is free the very same way special discounts are provided through use of coupons when buying a product. Coupons and discounts are redeemed out of cash paid at the time of transaction. The differences here are: stores do not have to print and circulate coupons or physically process them when used at the point of purchase. Rewards can now be calculated automatically as purchases are made and credited to your cash back account. Checks may take 2-3 months, because rewards are held until purchases are paid and shipped. Status of the rewards can be tracked through the portal through which it was ordered. Checks for less than $20 are held until the cash back amount reaches $20. One time per year, all cash back amounts are paid out and accounts cleared regardless of the amount.

Sounds too good to be true? When something sounds too good to be true, beware. On the other hand, many people have good ideas but only a certain few will ever turn simple ideas into major innovation. Human nature hesitates to be the first to do or to try something new. We tend to want to be near the front after something new is tried and proved, but we don’t want to be the one taking the risks. In this case, someone else (Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. through Blastoff Network and working with several hundred retailers) has taken the risk at a cost to them of $5 million dollars. They will get their money back by being the only legal services offered in the network. We are near the front but only just now finding out where we are. The marketing concept is not new and social marketing is not new. The only thing new is putting the two together. Whether or not you ever do business with Pre-Paid Legal Services, keep in mind, they have been endorsed by the attorney generals of every state in America. The product is not some remote snake oil, but the same products millions of people purchase daily from the same retailers who are participating in this new network. There’s an old saying: Just because someone is paranoid doesn’t mean no one’s out to get them. Likewise, because it sounds too good to be true, doesn’t mean it isn’t true.

What if I don’t make internet purchases?

If you do not make internet purchases, then you make no cash back on your non-existent purchases. You can still benefit if you will share this with your friends. You can “join” for free with no obligations, set up the portal, get your web page with all the games, movies, music, and other “bells and whistles.” And you can still invite your friends to participate. You will get a smaller percent of everything they purchase for 10 levels down. That can add up over time. OR . . . simply invite your friends to purchase through this portal or to “join” through this portal and allow the Peter Burr House to receive the small cash back rewards from what your friends purchase for 10 levels down.

What if I don’t have high-speed (broadband) Internet?

Depending on your computer and internet service, the Blastoff Network may work but very slowly with dial-up. Try and see what happens. With limited computer power or speed, navigation through the menu options may be difficult and slow. If you are unable to use the portal for your own purchases, you can still “join” and invite your friends to join and benefit from their purchases.

How do I use this to raise funds for my favorite charity?

If you have a favorite charity or family you would like to help, this is a painless way to do it. Set up a portal through which all earnings will go directly or indirectly to whatever fund you wish to support. This could be great for band boosters, sports teams, youth groups, charities, and other non-profit organizations. You can set up a portal and donate your proceeds, or you can have someone in the organization set up a portal and invite all members of the group to use that portal or to “join” through that portal. Cash back checks will be issued to the entity named as having set up the portal and with smaller amounts accruing to the portals for 10 levels up. That means that the purchaser can enjoy the cash back rewards, while the non-profit organization also receives benefits. The amounts can add up quickly for an organization with many members.

How can I increase the amount of money I can receive back?

Your rewards will grow exponentially if you buy online through your own Blastoff Network portal and if you share this gift with others who share this opportunity with their friends also. Remember the cash back rewards are a special arrangement for Blastoff members. Other specials apply as indicated (and you don’t have to worry about promo codes; they are already programmed in).

Ways to increase the amount of your cash back rewards include:

· Familiarize yourself with the many retailers and begin planning to increase your own internet shopping. Consider the cost of shipping (which in some cases is free) in comparison to the other savings you could enjoy by not having to drive to on-site malls (gasoline, wear and tear on your car, parking, toll fees, bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic, trying to fine parking, walking, crowds of stressed rude people, cold or inclement weather, and your valuable time). And via the internet, you can shop at 3 a.m. in your underwear and in the comfort and quiet of your own home.

· Invite as many people as you can; there are no limits to how many people can sign up through this or your own personal portal. (Requirements: age 18 years or older and live in the US. See the terms shown when you “join.”) Make a game out of inviting people. Challenge yourself and your friends to see who can get the most people using these internet portals.

· Invite people who will likely purchase cell phone and plans, black berries, and other wireless and electronic devices, or who plan to subscribe to cable, dish network, or other technological subscriber services. These hot items often pay much higher cash back rewards than regular retail purchases.

· Invite organizations that raise funds and have them set up a portal and invite their members. (This would be great for a school class room, PTA, sports team, band boosters, youth organization, church group, charity or non-profit organization, or as a special project for supporting the poor or a special cause.)

· Invite businesses that purchase office supplies on line. (Office Max pays up to 2% cash back; Office Furniture up to 3%; others are listed below. 1%-5% cash back can add up considerably over a year’s time.)

· Suggest that businesses set up a portal and then invite their employees as a way of sharing money earning options.

· Invite big ticket buyers: builders, auto mechanics, computer nerds, shopaholics, pet lovers, book buyers, brides and mothers -to-be, etc. (See the many retailers listed below.)

· Especially invite people who buy for children: schools and day cares, teachers, grand parents. (Hooked on Phonics pays up to 9%; Crayola 6%; Discount School Supply 3%; Nickelodeon Shop 3%; Kid Surplus 3%; The Childrens Wear Outlet 5%; The Baby Outlet 5%; Baby Catalog 3%; Ebaby.com 3%; My Strollers 3%)

Important Notes:

· Cash rewards will come in the form of checks payable to the name registered as owner of the portal that you use. If you use the Peter Burr House portal, the cash back rewards will go to the Peter Burr House. If you set up and use your own portal, the rewards will go to you and a smaller amount will go to the portal through which you “joined,” in this case the Peter Burr House.

· In setting up a portal, be sure to register the portal in the name to which you want the checks issued. (Note the name in which you register the portal is not necessarily the same name used at the end of your portal web address. All portal web addresses and registered email addresses must be unique, but it is likely that accounts may have the same registered name. For instance, there are many Ed Smiths. If 100 different Ed Smiths register their account in their own name, the checks will be paid to the order of Ed Smith, but mailed to different individuals based on mailing info given. If several people set up their account as “name of same charity,” I suspect the checks will be made payable to “name of same charity,” but sent to address given during registration yet distinguished by unique email addresses and web site addresses for each portal.)

· You do not have to (and in many cases should not) register your portal in the name of a charity in order to contribute. You can always keep you cash back reward or simply endorse the check over to the tax deductible organization.

· Remember the IRS considers amount over a certain amount as reportable income. You will be accountable to the IRS for reporting income through this or any other income source. If you turn the income over to a non profit organization, then you can show the amount as a charitable contribution on your income tax.

Blastoff Network launched Oct 12 and became available to the public by invitation only on Oct 27. If you have not heard of Blastoff Network, you probably will soon. It is anticipated that the “invitation only” provision will be lifted in the future and anyone will be able to join.

Do you know someone who would be perfect for this benefit? Then pass the info on.

If you do not want to join but would like to help the Peter Burr House, please bookmark this page and do your internet shopping on this website and encourage others to do the same. The cash back you would have earned will go to a worthy cause.

Stores Participating in the Blastoff Network

as of Nov 1, 2009

Shows Percentage offered as cash back from each of over 350 merchant to people purchasing through a Blastoff Portal. Note: The Network is new and merchants are added daily.

Auto

· Auto Parts Warehouse, 5%

· Autoparts123.com, 5%

· AutopartsGIANT.com, 6%

· TuneUp, 12%

Beauty, Colognes, Cosmetics

· Apothica, 9%

· Avon, 4%

· Beauty, 6%

· Beauty Beverly Hills, 6%

· Beauty Trends, 6%

· Crabtree & Evelyn, 6%

· FragranceNet, 7%

· Makari, 6%

· Origins, 5%

· Perfumania, 6%

· Perfume Worldwide, 5%

· Prescriptives, 5%

· Sally Beauty, 6%

· Sephora, 3%

· SkinCareRx, 9%

· Smashbox, 5%

· Spa Finder, 4%

· StrawberryNET.com, 2%

· The Perfume Spot, 6%

· ZIRH, 8%

Books

· Alibris, 3%

· Barnes & Noble, 4%

· Book Closeouts, 6%

· Booksamillion, 2%

· Borders, 3%

· eBooks, 5%

· eCampus, 2%

· InformIT, 5%

· Magazines.com, 10%

· Reader's Digest, 6%

· Simply Audiobooks, 6%

· Textbooks, 4%

· Time Life, 6%

Brides

· Bridal Party Tees, 9%

· House of Brides, 1%

· The Knot Wedding Shop, 8%

Children

· 2blockheads, 6%

· Baby Catalog, 3%

· Crayola, 6%

· Discount School Supply, 3%

· Ebaby.com, 3%

· eToys, 2%

· giggle, 2%

· HookedonPhonics, 9%

· I See Me, 6%

· KidSurplus, 3%

· Lego, 2%

· My Strollers, 3%

· Nickelodeon Shop, 3%

· Nursery Depot, 5%

· The Childrens Place, 3%

· The Childrens Wear Outlet, 5%

· TheBabyOutlet, 5%

Clothing & Accessories

· 2KTShirts, 3%

· A Pea in the Pod (Maternity), 5%

· Anne Klein, 3%

· Apple Bottom, 4%

· Arden B, 3%

· Armani Exchange Canada, 4%

· Avenue, 3%

· B & T Factory Direct, 3%

· Bare Necesities, 5%

· BeBe, 3%

· Big Mans Land, 5%

· Boden, 5%

· BuyCostumes, 6%

· Casual Male, 3%

· Catherines, 3%

· chickdowntown.com, 4%

· Delia's, 2%

· Destination Maternity Corporation, 5%

· Dickies, 5%

· Dollhouse, 5%

· Edamame Maternity Spa, 5%

· eDressme, 4%

· Fashion Bug, 3%

· Hanes, 4%

· IGIGI, 4%

· Johnston & Murphy, 4%

· Jones New York, 3%

· Jos A Bank, 5%

· Junonia Active, 5%

· Just my size.com (Hanesbrands Inc), 4%

· Justice, 1%

· Karmaloop, 3%

· Lane Bryant, 3%

· Lee Jeans, 3%

· Liz Claiborne, 2%

· Lord & Taylor, 4%

· Lucky Brand Jeans, 2%

· Motherhood Maternity, 5%

· New York & Company, 3%

· Phat Farm, 4%

· Promgirl, 6%

· Scrubs & Beyond, 6%

· Sean John, 4%

· shopbop.com, 3%

· Sierra Trading Post, 3%

· Singer 22, 4%

· Spirithalloween.com (Costumes), 1%

· Star Costumes, 7%

· The Hip Chick, 5%

· T-shirtOutlet, 7%

· Under Armour Canada, 4%

· Uniform City, 6%

· Wet Seal, 3%

Computer, Electronic, Technology

· 123inkjets, 16%

· 4inkjets, 15%

· 6th Ave, 1%

· Adobe, 3%

· Audible, 6%

· Best Buy, 1%

· Cambridge SoundWorks, 3%

· Carbonite, 24%

· Circuit City, 1%

· Cisco, 1.2%

· ClubMac, 2%

· Comp USA, 1%

· f.y.e, 3%

· Fujitsu, 2%

· GoDaddy.com, 3.5%

· HP Home, 1%

· Interstate Battery, 4%

· J&R Computer/Music, 3%

· Lorex, 6%

· MacMall, 2%

· Masterbeat, 4%

· McAfee Canada, 1.08%

· Microsoft Store, 2%

· Newegg, 1%

· OCInkjet.com, 9%

· OnSale, 2%

· PC Connection, 2%

· PC Mall, 2%

· pcRUSH, 1%

· PeachPit, 6%

· Picaboo, 6%

· Radioshack, 1%

· Roku, 3%

· Sirius Satellite, 6%

· Skype, 15%

· Smith Micro Software, 12%

· Sony, 1%

· Tech Depot, 2%

· TheNerds.net, 2%

· TigerDirect, 1%

· TigerDirect Canada, 2%

· Toshiba, 2%

· TV-Silencer, 24%

Construction, Building, Tools

· Black & Decker, 4%

· eFaucets, 4%

· Home Depot, 2%

· Makita, 4%

· Sears Parts Direct, 2%

· Tractor Supply & Co, 3%

Entertainment, Games, Music, Tickets

· American Music Supply, 4%

· Celebrate Express (Parties), 6%

· Favor Affair (Parties), 6%

· GameFly, 6%

· iTunes

· Pretty Party Place (Parties), 9%

· RazorGator (Tickets), 4%

· Taymark Giant Party Store, 6%

· Tick Co (Tickets), 5%

· Ticket Network, 8%

· Tickets Now, 4%

· Wolfgang's Vault, 6%

Food & drink

· Boca Java, 9%

· Coffeeforless.com, 3%

· Cookies Kids, 3%

· Cooking.com, 1%

· Fannie May Candies, 6%

· Ghirardelli Chocolate, 6%

· Jelly Belly, 6%

· JJ Buckley, 5%

· Kosher.com, 4%

· My Wines Direct, 5%

· OmahaSteaks.com, 4%

· Personal Wine and Wines.com, 4%

· Shari's Berries, 5%

· Starbucks Store, 6%

· zChocolat.com, 10%

General, Department Stores

· Acacia Catalog, 5%

· Banana Republic, 1%

· Buy.com, 2%

· Country Store Catalog, 6%

· Dollar Days, 3%

· Gap, 2%

· HSN, 2%

· Kmart, 1%

· Kohl's, 2%

· Macy's, 2%

· Old Navy, 2%

· Overstock.com, 1%

· QVC, 3%

· Sears, 1%

· SmartBargains.com, 4%

· Spiegel, 3%

· Target, 2%

· Walter Drake (Miles Kimball Company), 6%

Gifts & Flowers

· 1800florals, 11%

· 1-800-flowers.com, 6%

· AAA Fruit Baskets, 9%

· Cherry Moon Farm, 5%

· Coca-Cola store, 6%

· Exposures, 3%

· Fingerhut, 2%

· Firebox, 5%

· Flower.com, 10%

· From You Flowers, 9%

· FTD.com, 5%

· Gettington (Fingerhut), 5%

· Hammacher Schlemmer, 5%

· Just Because Baskets, 5%

· Lakeside Collection, 4%

· Miles Kimball, 4%

· Mrs Fields Gifts, Inc, 5%

· ProFlowers, 5%

· Red Envelope, 5%

· SkyMall, 3%

· Things Remembered, 4%

Health, Rx, Vision care

· 1800Contacts, 5%

· AC Lens, 3%

· America RX.com, 5%

· Dermadoctor, 5%

· Drugstore Canada, 5%

· Drugstore.com, 6%

· eVitamins, 6%

· Eye Buy Direct, 6%

· LensCrafters.com, 6%

· NutriSystem, 9%

· Vitamin World, 6%

Home Supplies, Decorating, Remodeling

· AJ Madison, 2%

· Blinds.com, 3%

· Bosch, 4%

· Candle Bay, 9%

· LampsPlus, 5%

· Lenox.com, 5%

· Lighting By Gregory, 4%

· Lighting Catalog, 6%

· Oreck, 5%

· Rubbermaid, 3%

· RugSale, 7%

· Sealy, 5%

· The Great Indoors, 1%

Jewelry & Watches

· Barse, 4%

· Body Candy, 9%

· Carolee, 4%

· FreshTrends, 9%

· Ice.com, 4%

· James Allen, 3%

· My Jewelry Box, 6%

· The Watch Company, 4%

· Ultra Diamonds, 5%

· Zales the Diamond Store, 2%

Kitchen & Cooking

· Shop Taste of Home, 6%

· Sur La Table, 4%

Office & Business

· Current Catalog, 4%

· Dell Small Business, 1%

· Fine Stationary, 3%

· FT Press, 5%

· Logoworks, 6%

· Office Depot, 1%

· Office Furniture, 3%

· Office Max, 2%

· PrintPlace.com, 9%

· PsPrint, 9%

· Trend Micro Business, 10%

Pet Supplies

· 1800 Pets, 7%

· National Pet Pharmacy, 5%

· PetSmart, 5%

Photography

· Calumet Photographic, 2%

· Kodak Gallery, 4%

· Overnight Prints, 12%

· PhotoWorks, 9%

· RitzPix, 9%

· Smug Mug, 4%

· snapfish, 5%

Shoes

· Adidas, 4%

· Buy And Walk, 7%

· Crocs.com, 5%

· Dockers Shoes, 4%

· Dr. Scholls Shoes, 6%

· Eastbay.com, 3%

· Famous Footwear, 8%

· Finish Line, 3%

· Florsheim, 4%

· Foot Action (Footlocker), 3%

· Nine West, 4%

· Onlineshoes.com, 6%

· Reebok, 4%

· Shoebuy.com, 10%

· Shoes.com, 8%

· Skechers, 5%

· SoHo Lab, 5%

· Solestruck, 5%

· Stacy Adams, 4%

· Steve Madden, 7%

· TriCityNewBalance.com, 3%

· Vans, a Division of VF Outdoor, Inc., 2%

Sports & Outdoors

· Altrec.com Outdoors, 5%

· Bass Pro Shops, 3%

· Beyond Bikes, 4%

· BikeBandit.com, 3%

· Camping World, 4%

· CCS.com, 2%

· ChampionUSA.com (Hanesbrands Inc.), 5%

· Champs Sports, 3%

· Dicks Sporting Goods, 2%

· eSports Online, 3%

· FogDog Sports, 4%

· GigaGolf, 6%

· ProBoardShop.com, 5%

· Rocky Mountain Trail, 5%

· Skis.com, 5%

· SummitOnline.com, 5%

· Sun & Ski Sports, 5%

· Sunglass Hut, 4%

· Swell, 4%

· Tactics, 4%

· The House, 5%

· The North Face, 3%

· Timberland, 2%

Travel

· A Better Stay, 5%

· Air France Canada, 1%

· Air France US, 1%

· Avis Rent A Car, 2%

· Avon Canada, 5%

· Bagsbuy.com, 10%

· Best Western, 3%

· Bluebay Resorts, 5%

· Budget Rent a Car, 2%

· CarRentals.com, 1%

· CheapCaribbean.com, 3%

· CruiseDirect, 2%

· eBags, 5%

· Enterprise, 1%

· Expedia, 1%

· Hotels.com, 3%

· Hotwire.com, 1%

· Luggage Online.com, 6%

· Mexicana Airways, 1%

· Priceline, 2%

· Sandals & Beaches, 2%

· Southwest Airlines Vacations, 2%

· The London Pass, 2%

· Virgin Atlantic Airways, 2%

Miscellaneous

· Chemistry (Dating Network), 60%

· Fabric.com, 5%

· Genetree (DNA testing), 6%

· Goodwill Too (Online thrift store), 3%

· Match.com (Dating Network), 7.5%

· Real Goods Solar (Environmental), 3%

· Spring Hill Nursery (Gardening), 9%

Finding Your Relationship to Aaron Burr

2009-10-12T17:32:00.002-04:00

Today alone, I have received two different requests from people interested in discovering if and how they might be related to former VP Aaron Burr. Each stated the same reality that I hear over and over: most of us grew up hearing that we were related to the former VP, but we didn't know if it was true or if so, how we were related. While we silently hope we are a close connection, we often tell ourselves that it was probably some distant relationship. The fact is that the closest anyone can be related to THE Aaron Burr is to be a direct descendant of one of his cousins. While Aaron Burr had no surviving heirs, he did have many well-documented first cousins.

If you were descended from anyone who was born with the surname Burr, then the chances are very high that you are related to Aaron Burr somehow. So the question may not not be "if" but "how" are you related. The all important link we need to discover we shall call the "most recent common ancestor."

To start, there is only one way you can be related to VP Aaron Burr and that is as a descendant of one of his cousins. The VP had only one known child (a daughter) to survive into adulthood, and while she had a son, he died at about age 10, leaving the VP with no name-bearing heirs. Then the VPs beloved daughter, Theodosia (truly the apple of his eye) was lost at sea on Dec 31, 1812 or Jan 1, 1813 as her father waited hopelessly for her and for the ship that never arrived. While some believe the ship was lost in a storm, there is evidence to believe that the ship, upon which she carried many of his journals and papers, was instead pirated about the time of the War of 1812.

Before we go farther on the subject of direct descendants, let's put to rest the long-time question about whether or not anyone could be a direct descendant as the result of an illegitimate off-spring of Aaron Burr. The answer is: "No known evidence of any such children has yet been proven credible." There have been rumors that the VP may have had illegitimate children, however, as a co-administrator for the Burr Family DNA project, no such DNA matches or other evidence have yet surfaced. We believe the rumors regarding illegitimate off-spring was part of the other rumors that were generated to further smear Aaron Burr's name. However, while anything could be possible and surprises do happen, the DNA project has been put in place to provide a way for determining one way or the other whether or not anyone claiming to have descended from the former VP can be determined based on any evidence of fact.

Aaron Burr's sister, Sarah Sally Burr, married the distinguished Tappan Reeves. They had one son and one grandson, each of whom died at ages 29 and 20 respectively, leaving no Burr heirs for the VP through his only sister's line.

So, relationship through direct descendancy from a cousin is the only way anyone can be related to the former VP Aaron Burr. I too, like so many others, always heard that I was related but never knew for sure. Imagine the surprise when after much research, I discovered, that I am not only related to the former VP, but also related as closely as any living person can be, as a first cousin several generations removed. And by the way, if you are related to him, you are related to me, and I just love "Cousin Finding."

So, how do we find out HOW we are all related?

Determining how closely we are related to Aaron Burr requires that we determine how our grand parents are related to their respective parents and grand parents . . . until we arrive at the most recent common ancestor. Numerous options exist, and while I may be able to help link you to some resources, the fact is that I do not have a list of all of Aaron Burr's relatives . . . I sure wish I did.

So let's identify key ancestors in the VP's life. Vice President Aaron.Burr was the son of Rev Aaron Burr who married Esther Edwards, the daughter of Rev Jonathan Edwards (a major leader in the Great Awakening of the 1730s). Rev Aaron Burr also was one of the founders of the College of New Jersey, which today is known as Princeton University. Rev. Aaron Burr was one of either 17 or 18 children. That means that the number of first cousins alone on his father's side was quite large. His mother was one of 11 children, thus further expanding the number of first cousins. The number of his second cousins on both sides was an even larger group.

From about 1800 until much later in the 1800s, many of the VP's first and second cousins named their children Aaron after him. And so did any other branches of Burrs and other relatives including many who descended from one of the other four major Burr immigrants who came to America after 1630 and prior to 1700. While the former VP had some significant political enemies, the fact is that his family knew him much better and loved him dearly. It was an honor to name their children after him. So, do not let the name Aaron Burr get you too excited; the name was quite popular.

Rev. Aaron Burr, one of 17 or 18 children, was the son of Peter Burr (1699-1777), who was the son of Daniel Burr (1660-1727), who was the son of Jehu Burr (1625-1692), who was the son of Jehue Burre (ca.1596-ca.1672). All of these except the immigrant were born in Fairfield County, CT; and all of them except Rev Aaron Burr died in Fairfield County, CT.

We know Aaron Burr's ancestry, but we've got to figure out yours. We now need to focus on your grand parents and earlier. Starting with a grand parent is useful especially if that is alive and can provide further info. Otherwise, people who were alive between the years 1840-1930 have the unique advantage of living in a time when the US census records provide very useful information.

If you know the name of a grand parent or great grand parent who was born before 1930, then you can have access to a method for finding online info about that ancestor that might lead you to more info without you having to visit dusty archives in far away cities. The US Census is a very useful tool. And it is online at ancestry.com for a rather large membership fee. If you do not have a membership, then contact me at bjoycecole@relivinghistoryinc.org and let's go in through my membership to locate some useful info. Otherwise, if you have access to ancestry.com or a full online set of the US Census, then initiate a search for your grand parent or great grand parent whom you believe to have been related to Aaron Burr.

A word on Ancestry.com's Family Trees. DO NOT trust the info in the family trees. The little leaves that pop up are fun to follow, but a word to the wise: those little leaves are almost addicting as they pop up with possible links that others have found. It is so easy to accept one of those links with out verifying the information first. Once you attach an incorrect link, then you are at risk of many incorrect links popping up in the form of inaccurate little leaves. Sometimes the "leaves" are good for clues, but do not accept one as valid documentation until you have personally verified the info. Those neat little leaves far too easily lead people to accepting undocumented often incorrect information that spreads across the internet at unstoppable rates. For this reason, I do not use the family trees in ancestry.com. My advice is to stay away from the trees and focus only on documented info which you can get through their abundant source records in "Search".

So click on "Search". For beginners, your best resource for now will probably be the US Census, which was especially good from 1840 until 1930. The 1940 census will be posted in year 2012. There is no 1890 US census, as most of it was destroyed in a fire in DC. The census did exist as far back as 1790 and is useful for heads of household, but it is very tedious trying to track info on other members of a family.

Next step: In the search box, type in your ancestor's name, birth year, and birth location if you know it. Or give your best guess within a date range. You may only know the year the ancestor died; then use that. The search mechanism needs some kind of criterion for prioritizing the probability of the record you need being near the top.

After clicking on the "Search" button, hundreds (maybe even thousands) of possible entries for your ancestor may come up. Notice that I said "possible" entries. Much depends on what name your ancestor used at the time or whether or not the census taker put it down correctly. Also, some names were popular and may be the same for someone as another person born on the same date. You must look at the information in context with everything on the census record.

For a person who recently contacted me, I put in her grand father's name and info and launched a search for Aaron Burr, born 1856, Texas . . .
An important clue here is: while she knew very little about her grandfather, she knew the year he was born and the state. She also knew her grandfather's father was from NY and and his grandfather's mother was from GA.
The first search result (which is sometimes not so easy) revealed the following:

1900 United States Federal Census
about Aaron Burr

Name:

Aaron Burr

Home in 1900:

Justice Precinct 1, Dallas, Texas

Age:

Birth Date:

Feb 1856

Birthplace:

Texas

Race:

White

Ethnicity:

American

Gender:

Male

Relationship to Head of House:

Head

Father's Birthplace:

New York

Mother's Birthplace:

Georgia

Spouse's Name:

Mary

Marriage year:

1892

Marital Status:

Married

Years Married:

Residence :

Justice Precinct 1 (All West of H&C R.R. Excl. Dallas City), Dallas, Texas

Occupation:

View on Image

Neighbors:

View others on page

Household Members:

Name	Age
Aaron Burr	44
Mary Burr	37
Mary E Burr	5
Maggie L Burr	3
Johanna Burr	1
Walter J Burr	1/12

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This resembles the info she gave me, and could in fact be the census record of her grandparents in 1900. Many questions will surface and hopefully some will be answered. One question for instance arose: this ancestor apparently did not marry until age 36 or so. So was this a second wife or did he in fact not marry until mid 30s? This is the point where family members may have pieces of information. It is also the reason it is difficult and therefore time-consuming and costly for someone else to do the whole search for you. In this case, the process was simple enough and this in fact on first try was the person's grand father. But it isn't the end of her trying to find out how she is related to Aaron Burr. She now needs to follow the leads to her grandfather's parents and their parents. At some point, we need enough info to figure out where this person and VP Aaron Burr shared a most recent common ancestor. That is the key info needed.

If the first search result had not been a correct link for her, she would have needed to continue looking at the other search results. In fact, she should probably continue anyway, because farther down there might be the census records for 1880, 1870, and 1860 for this particular Aaron Burr, born 1856.

As you identify records that are in fact your family, then open each of the links and write down the info you find there. Genealogists usually use one sheet (a family group record, which you can download) to show family makeup including details about parents and each child. They also use an individual page for each person, in order to record additional info they find on each person through other searches. In time the info comes together and starts identifying who your family members was, how they related, and in general a good glimpse of the family makeup.

While on the census page online, open the "View original image" and increase the size of the document as needed in order to find the original entry for your family. Make note of who your ancestor's neighbors were for each census year. This info could be useful in locating relatives in census years when misspellings of names or other incorrect or difficult to read info makes an entry difficult to find. Through another of my family lines, I have great grandparents with a German name that is spelled a different way in each census. Searches based on their name did not provide useful info. To track their info, I identified several neighbors and looked them up. Then on the "View of the original image" I located my ancestor and continued following the info. Each census year, I found those particular relatives by searching for neighbors with names that were not usually so misspelled. This was only useful because those ancestors did not move around. Also, marriages often occurred among people who knew each other in neighborhoods. It's amazing the kind of clues that surface as you look at neighbors especially back in days when people knew their neighbors.

In addition to census records, the search results at ancestry.com may also give you birth, marriage, draft, and other records. Examine each one that seems to be for a member of your family. Do not "assume" anything to belong to your family member unless something ties the info to known data. You may end up with a stack of documents that you don't know for sure whether or not it is for one of your family members. Then at some point, you'll find a name in a census or somewhere else that will tie in to one of those questionable documents and you'll have made a link. That is the fun of genealogy. And today you have the advantage of much of this info being on the Internet. Locating your ancestor as an adult on a census is helpful in identifying where to look in going backwards. On the original view, you should find where the parents of each person was born. Then you can do a search to find the person as a child in his or her parent's household. Through this process, clues can begin to lead you backward into earlier generations. And do not overlook siblings. Tracking the siblings also helps to identify whether or not you are looking at the right ancestor.

As the person mentioned above was seeking further info to determine how she might be related to Aaron Burr, we discovered that her ancestor's father was from NY. The former VP was from NJ but spent most of his adult life in NY. His ancestry however was from Fairfield, CT which was very close to NY City.

There was also a whole early branch of Burrs who settled in NJ. They were quakers. However, both NJ and NY were very close to Fairfield, CT where all of Aaron Burr's most immediate ancestors and first cousins came from. Those who descended from Jehue Burre (the first Burr immigrant who was also a Puritan who arrived with John Winthrop and became a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630), will be more closely related to Aaron Burr than those who descended from the other 4 early immigrants. In fact, relationship between the other Burr immigrants is suspected among some of them but not yet proven. DNA results has indicated a strong possibility that there may be no family connection between Aaron Burr's line and those descended from the NJ branch who were Quakers. The other immigrants were Puritans and may still have family connections. About 10 years after arriving in the New World, Jehue Burre was an original founder of what is now Fairfield, CT and most of his next four generations were born there and many of them died there.

To determine your relationship to VP Aaron Burr, we need to identify who your more recent ancestors were and much of this information can best be confirmed by members of your family who hopefully know at least a few bits and pieces.

Let me know if any of this helps you. After you find more info about your ancestors, I may again be able to help you to some extent, especially if you did in fact descend from Jehue Burre's line.

I descended from Aaron Burr's cousin, Peter Burr, who was born in 1727 in Fairfield Co, CT and migrated to the Colony of VA about 1748. He had 13 children, all born in VA Colony, and he died Jan 20, 1795 long before the area became West Virginia. I am especially interested in locating cousins who share a connection in descendency.

Also, if any of you connect to the Aaron Burr shown above as an example, contact me. I'll be glad to pass the connection on to the person who contacted me today for information.

B Joyce Cole, Founder of Reliving History, Inc. and the Peter Burr Society
See our website at: www.RelivingHistoryInc.org

2010 Burr Family Homecoming

2009-10-10T01:14:00.001-04:00

The Burr Family Homecoming for 2010 is currently being planned. Since the Burr Family is very large, it would be useful first to define who will be interested in this particular homecoming.

Descendants of Peter Burr (who was born 21 Oct 1727 in Fairfield, CT; who migrated about 1748 to the Virginia Colony west of the Blue Ridge Mountains; and who died 20 Jan 1795 in what was then Berkeley County, VA) are having a homecoming. Descendants of the families of various spouses and friends of Peter Burr are also invited. In fact, we will welcome anyone who has an interest in this family and who may help us to further discover historic and genealogical information.

Many names were associated with Peter Burr during the time he lived in the house that today is the oldest wood frame house in the state of West Virginia. We would love to interact with descendants of people who would have spent some time as visitors or extended family in the old house.

Peter Burr's sons- and daughters-in-law included:

John Cowan (ca. 1747-1804) married Abigail
William Biggs (ca 1759-1828) married Sarah
Iscerna (Hannah) Sewell (1769-1838) married Peter III
Nancy McGarry (1781-1847) married James
John McGarry (1777-1850) married Ann
Margaret Young (1788-1852) married William
Daniel Smith married Mary
John Conklyn married Miriam
John Melvin married Jane
John Miller married Hannah
Samuel Reed married Elizabeth
Thomas Embly married Esther

Others of Peter Burr's friends included:

Thomas and Robert Rutherford
General William Darke
and others

While the homecoming is primarily for descendants of Peter Burr's children, we will eagerly welcome others who have an interest in the family and who would like to help us further discover our roots or preserve the treasured 258-year-old house.

The homecoming in 2010 will be held for a full week including both Saturdays. DO NOT lock me into the following date yet, but I am leaning strongly toward scheduling the homecoming for October 9 -17, 2009. One difficulty is the fact that I do not know when the annual Harvest Faire will be scheduled, and I want us to have the ability to enjoy that event. It is usually held on the 2nd or 3rd Saturday of October. By scheduling the homecoming for the week in between those two Saturdays, we increase the chances of being there for the annual event.

We will stay at the same hotel as last year for a very important reason. The General Manager of the Holiday Inn Express in Ranson is now on our Board of Directors. He has already been very nice to us and we are going to be very nice to him. This next event, I will not be providing all the meals. There will also be more time for site seeing, and I hope to have info available for you about other possible tours to be arranged or at least info about sites related to any of the following:

Local History as it Related Specifically to the Burr Family
French and Indian War period in the area
Revolutionary War period
Civil War sites
Transportation in the Area including the railroad and C&O Canal
A day in Harpers Ferry
A day in Shepherdstown

There will also be a service project planned. This will allow family, friends, and local community to have opportunity to contribute significant hands-on service toward helping to make the site more useful and valuable to visitors in the future. Again do not hold me to these plans, but I am looking at the log barn as being the area of greatest need at this time. We hope to get electrical installed in the barn before the homecoming and then unskilled manpower would be extremely useful in chinking and plastering the interior walls. This is work that can be done by people working together who are physically able to do anything between limited to various amounts of more strenuous work. With 20-40 people helping, we can recreate an experience similar to the way early settlers came together to build a house in a day with numerous people helping. We can also utilize the process to do other activities as the early settlers did: prepare meals for the work crews and celebrate in various ways. We can turn the hands-on experience into an interpretive period reflecting colonial values and traditions.

Okay, I assume the comment section at the end of this blog will allow readers to contribute thoughts in reply to the above info. Let's see if it works. Here is the place I would most like to hear your thoughts.

Tell me what you think.

Joyce Cole, Reliving History, Inc.
Descendant of Peter Burr's son, William, and his wife Margaret Young Burr

Vision for Reliving History, Inc

2009-09-27T10:24:00.000-04:00

Reliving History Inc is an educational organization focused on setting an accurate historic backdrop. This backdrop reflects the life of a typical middling-class yeoman farm family who migrated to new frontier west of the Blue Ridge Mountains in about 1748. At that time, our fledgling nation was in its infancy. The yeoman farmer was Peter Burr, whose ancestry is also of significance. He, among other notable cousins, was the fifth generation of one of the Puritan's who arrived in the New World on June 12, 1630 with John Winthrop's famous fleet. Peter Burr (1727-1795) was the gg grandson of Puritan Jehue Burre, who helped found two historic villages that have survived into significant cities today: Springfield, MA and Fairfield, CT. The same Puritan ancestor was the progenitor of numerous descendants, many of whom also attained recorded places in American history. These include among others:

Chief Justice Peter Burr of the early Connecticut Supreme Court and esteemed graduate of Harvard
Rev. Aaron Burr, son-in-law of Jonathan Edwards (of Great Awakening fame) and one of the original founders and early president of New Jersey College (today known as Princeton University).
Vice President Aaron Burr, who almost attained to President of the United States and who among all his wonderful achievements managed to achieve notoriety during a brief few minutes when he became the man who shot Alexander Hamilton in perhaps the most famous duel in history
Thaddeus Burr, who from his estate in Fairfield, CT played a major role in the Revolutionary War as he entertained British royalty and American patriots and helped in collecting secrets while providing wine to his guests.

Peter Burr (1727-1795) who migrated to the Virginia Colony long before the area became West Virginia represents a long line of settlers who played significant roles in settling new frontiers. And the pioneering blood must somehow be in the DNA as other Burr cousins have added their names to lists of early settlers who helped found new frontiers whether in the New World, or beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains, or those who helped settle the Northwest Territory and parts of Ohio, or southward to Logan County, KY and Robertson Co, TN, and other new lands across our country. And today the pioneering spirit lives as at least one Burr ancestor trains astronauts who are headed for the International Space Station. Documentation of this family is abundant but also fragmented, located in many archives across the country and sometimes misrepresented in published histories. Yet, the history of this family, with roots in the Puritan influence, grows representatively as a core family, typical of the many families who tell the historic story of who we are today as a nation.

My intentions are to use this blog to announce and record periodic updates related to what we at Reliving History, Inc are doing and how and why we are doing it. Many families have roots back to the Puritans and Pilgrims and earliest settlers, but few have a ca.1751 house built and sustained by the blood, sweat, and tears of ancestors with their own DNA coursing through their veins. Our old house is a local treasure that is owned by a local government agency dedicated to helping to preserve it. Our old house is situated to become an ideal center for administrating historic focus of the colonial period via hands-on, experiential, educational programming. The tasks ahead of us are many, our methods are complex, but our vision is singular. We plan to help visitors to relive history through the eyes of those who saw history in the making.

Today, our plates are full as they are every day. We currently are trying to:

Update the website as well as tie in this blog as a vital source of information
Finish final revisions of the bylaws
Complete preparation of the 501(c)(3) application to secure our status as a tax exempt organization
Get ready for the upcoming (Oct 10, 2009) Harvest Faire at the Peter Burr House
Prepare to write the AmeriCorps grant
Watch for other RFPs (requests for proposals) from other funding organizations
Build a network with and for other organizations focused on history of the local area (in and around today's Jefferson County, WV) during the years of about 1750-1800
Plan for the 2010 Burr Familyl Homecoming
Work with volunteers in building an accurate focus on period clothing
Work with our archaeologist on the artifacts found at the Peter Burr House and support efforts to build exhibits with these artifacts as they are processed and identified
Work with other volunteers to plan enhanced interpretive programming for next year (2010)
Identify items we can sell online and at events to raise funds to support our programes
Promote the new Eastern WV Community Foundation Reliving History Fund to raise funds in perpetuity (forever) to support the preservation, restoration, and programming at the Peter Burr House and other related sites that help to define the historic setting between about 1750-1800 and accurately educate the public so they can begin to identify with the history as it happened.
Work with the Potomac Valley Audubon Society toward putting a rain garden on our property for the adjacent school to build "bridges" with educational organizations and to tie today's needs to those of our ancestors
Work with the Potomac Valley Master Naturalists toward how to manage and shape our wetland to better use our property while also reflecting how the environment was important to the early settlers
Work with the American Chestnut Foundation via their regional office at Penn State to put an American Chestnut Tree project on our property to help bring back the trees that were typical of the period
Focus (with Dr Bill Theriault) on revisions needed for the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission's Master Plan for the Peter Burr House
Develop a related tourism focus that will help set a backdrop to allow visitors to the Peter Burr House to understand the context of historic sites and events that Peter Burr would have visited, experienced, or known about
Find descendants of Peter Burr to expand and help recover accurate documentation of the family's history and to build a family support base for the property upon which our DNA connected at a specific time in history
Further find other citizens interested in helping to dig up and assimilate accurate documentation of the history of the local area and how the typical family fit into the daily setting.

These begin to enumerate the bulk of what we are doing right now. Meanwhile, as all these and other pieces come together, it is my desire to weave Peter Burr's ancestry into the information, so we will all have a better view of who this man was. So often in genealogy, people become only names and dates. Peter Burr represented a somewhat misplaced branch of the family when he, like so many early settlers, migrated to new frontiers at times when official record keeping was not yet organized. Written records vanished or more likely than not . . . just never existed. Filing birth certificates in new territories where cities did not exist and county governments had not been organized was not a priority for people more appropriately focused on survival.

In the last five years, Peter Burr (1727-1795) as become far more than a genealogical entry on some historian's family data sheet. As records come together, we have discovered that he is the same Peter Burr who helped found two Presbyterian Churches that continue to exist and hold services today. We now find his name recorded on documents with and among other notable names like: Charles and George Washington; Thomas and Robert Rutherford; Generals William Darke, Horatio Gates, Charles Lee; and Adam Stephen; and others.

And the Peter Burr House? Few families have such a marvelous place to come home to 250 years later. It is my desire to endear this typical family and its typical old farm house that has survived when others have not, and to share our family with those who would like to join us as adopted family into a vibrant thread of American history.

Meanwhile, at age 62, I know I'm getting too old to wish for a long future doing what I'm doing. Therefore, I maintain a constant awareness that I need to build this project to a stage that it can sustain itself with such potential that someone a little younger will want to step in and take over for me. While this project is also becoming my legacy and while I plan to give my self to it for so long as I am able, be aware that I clearly understand the need to groom a successor. Anyone who wants my job should let me know, and I will help a good candidate with the appropriate passion and vision to take my place.

B Joyce Cole
Founder of the Peter Burr Society (genealogy focus)
Founder and Chairman of Reliving History, Inc. (history education and networking focus)
And direct descendant of Peter Burr (1727-1795) via his son William Burr (1783-1746) who migrated to Logan Co, KY

A New Beginning Five Years Later

2009-09-25T07:45:00.000-04:00

This month is five years later . . . five years later after the first time I discovered that I descended from Peter Burr who built the oldest surviving wood frame hose in what is today West Virginia. It is five years later since that cloudy day in September 2004 when I first saw the old house and walked around the locked chain-link fence, looking in and yearning to touch the old house. Next month, October 2009, will mark five years later since I first set foot in that old house and since the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I walked from the 21st century into a room built in the 18th century by two men with my DNA running through their veins. I knew the moment was monumental and I was fortunate to do what the vast majority of people today cannot do, walk in their ancestor's very foot prints. I looked out the window and imagined 13 pairs of little feet running and playing, totally oblivious to the fact that over 250 years later their descendants would look out their window at their playground and feel a connection to the past that was at the time just a normal day in the life of a child.

I walked on wooden floors installed plank by plank by my ancestors and touched fireplace stones set in place with the skill of a craftsman. And I marveled at the details. Only 20 years after settlers built the first permanent house in the new frontier, my ancestors in the same frontier were attaching chair rails to interior walls and hand beading the beams used for the ceilings. Later additions to the house did not utilize such craftsmanship, but at the same time young George Washington was purchasing his first land grants, my ancestors were purchasing property also and adorning their home with features known previously to them in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Today, is September 25, 2009 and I look both backward and forward on this day. This blog is not intended to be entertaining or funny, but to be informative and factual as it chronicles the on-going progress of our new organization, Reliving History, Inc. Herein we attempt to connect today with the past and with the future for the purpose of making history come alive and relevant for the sake of our future.

The Peter Burr House has long set isolated on its surrounding farm lands and until recently almost faded quietly into oblivion. Then about 20 years ago new visions for the house were born. Local citizens, especially one incredible visionary (Dr. William Theriault) had the foresight to realize this old house has stood against all odds, surviving wars, storms, freezing winters, hot summers, floods, droughts, pests, children, and industrialization . . . . For some unknown reason it has outlived all other totally wooden structures in the state and the vast majority of brick or stone structures. And we today wonder why? and how? And no one knows the answer.

But many of us have come to realize the old house is now a treasure that should and must be preserved and utilized for the value it brings to the landscape. The Peter Burr House, now (and hopefully forever) owned by the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission, is a public property with capacity to become an administrative center for networking with other local focuses related to the period in history when men like Peter Burr, Robert Harper, General Braddock, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis, Benjamin Franklin, and James Rumsey were walking old roads that also continue to exist in the area.

The last five years have materialized into a progression that joins hands with the earlier progression started by Dr Theriault twenty years ago. The hairs that once stood up on the back of my neck are now aged with the rest of me, but the impact of that moment has not faded. Passion for the house and for the intricate history materialized into action. In the last five years we have located other descendants of Peter Burr and organized and held (October 2008) a successful first Burr family homecoming in over 200 years. Since that homecoming, renewed energy has led to the incorporating of Reliving History, Inc., an organization dedicated to preserving the Peter Burr House and breathing life back into the local history that lays dormant in the bowels of dusty archives.

Incorporation is complete. By-laws are written and in final stages of approval. A new Master Plan for the Peter Burr House is in review. The application for non-profit, tax exempt status or IRS 501(c)(3) is almost complete. Grant proposals are being prepared. Planning meetings are under way. And next spring is our target date for increased programming and local networking to benefit the Peter Burr House and other related historic sites and to likewise enhance the local focus on the incredibly rich colonial history in Jefferson County, WV.

This blog is intended to provide both background and updates as progress evolves. So check back periodically.

B Joyce Cole,
Founder of the Peter Burr Society and
Founder and Chairman of Reliving History, Inc.