New Orleans passengers may be found at this website
Because the passenger lists for immigrants arriving at New Orleans are not neatly assembled all in one place, the following website may be helpful. Check out:
http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/neworleans.html
It suggests sources both online and off-line for passenger arrivals at New Orleans. Each item mentioned is evaluated and explained. There are links to other websites for things not onsite.
Thanks to the Immigrant Genealogical Society for this information. They are at P. O. Box 7369, Burbank, CA 91510-7369.

Did you have an ancestor in the Lewis & Clark Expedition?
If you have an ancestor in the Lewis & Clark Expedition, you are eligible to receive a "Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery Descendant Certificate." This new group has been started by the Clatsop Co., Oregon Genealogical Society. Certificates are available for collateral descendants, too.

Information collected from qualifying genealogists will be stored permanently in the archives of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. Library in Great Falls, Montana. The Clatsop Genealogical Society also intends to publish the information in book form after the 200th anniversary of the start of the expedition on May 22, 2004.

You may check out the names included in the book at: http://home.pacifier.com>/~karenl/lewis&.htm.
Thanks to the Immigrant Genealogical Society Newsletter, P. O. Box 7369, Burbank, CA 91510-7369.

Herman Obelweiss left me what?
This is a REAL will!
Will of Herman Obelweiss:
I am writing of my will mineselluf. That dam lawyer want he should have too much money. He asked to many answers about family.
First thing I want. I don't want my brother Oscar have a dam ting what I got. He done me out of forty dollars fourteen years since.
I want that Hilda, my sister, she gets the north sixtie akers of at where I am homing it now. I bet she don't get that loafer husband of hers to broke twenty akers next plowing time. She can't have it if she lets Oscar live on it. I want it I should have it back if she does.
Tell Mama that six hundred dollars she been looking for for twenty years is berried from the backhouse, behind, about ten feet down. She better let little Frederick do the digging and count it when he comes up.
Pastor Lucknitz can have three hundred dollars if he kiss that book he won't preach no more dumhead polotiks. He should have a roof put on the meetinghouse with (it) and the elders should the bills look at.
Momma the rest should get but I want it that Adolph shud tell her what not she do - so no more slick Irishers sell her vokum cleaners. Dy (they?) Noise like hell and a broom don't cost so much.
I want it that my brother Adolph should be me execter and I want it that the Jedge make Adolph plenty bond put up - and watch him like hell. Adolph is a good business man but only a dumkoph would trust him with a busted pfenning.
I want dam sure that schlemic, Oscar, don't nothing get. Tell Adolph he can have a hundred dollars if he prove to Jedie (that) Oscar don't get nothing. Tham dam sure fix Oscar.
/s/ Herman Obelweiss.
Thanks to Dick Rumage for submitting this to the Lake Havasu Genealogical Society, Inc. Newsletter, P. O. Box 953, 1750 N. McCulloch Boulevard, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86405-0953.

Ellis Island website has one-step searches
If your ancestors entered America at Ellis Island, you can find the records of that entry in the Ellis Island records. For years genealogists pored over microfilm copies of these records. In recent years, many of the records (but not all) have been transcribed into computer databases, and extracts of the original records are available at http://www.EllisIsland.org.

The Ellis Island website has become one of the most popular genealogy sites online. It is very easy to use, although the search mechanism is not perfect. Variations in the spelling of names can often lead to difficulties. (Contrary to popular belief, names were almost never changed at Ellis Island. That happened in the months and years after immigration. The records made at Ellis Island almost always had the correct spelling from the old country, a name that modern-day descendants might not be familiar with.)
Another frequently encountered problem resolves around common names: several hundred or even thousands of people with the same name may have passed through Ellis Island. Which one is your ancestor?

Stephen Morse has created a series of online "forms" that can be valuable for narrowing the searches at EllisIsland.org. The forms include:
* Ellis Island Database white form: Searches all passengers, has very restricted town search and somewhat restricted sounds-like search.
* Ellis Island Database (Jewish Passengers) blue form: Searches for Jewish passengers only - has unrestricted town search and unrestricted sounds-like search, supports some additional search parameters.
* Ellis Island Database (Short Form) gray form: Searches all passengers - has unrestricted town search and unrestricted sounds-like search, lacks some of the other search parameters.
Town Searches may be conducted using the exact spelling of the town, by using only the starting letters of the town name, or by "sounds like" spellings.
Name searches can also be conducted using a "sounds like" methodology. This is especially good for Slavic and Jewish names with sounds that do not translate well into the English language. Again, remember that the names WERE recorded correctly at Ellis Island, but were often modified later.
Best of all, the researcher can also search for:
* Gender. * Marital status. * Month/day of arrival (year only on white form). * The person's age at time of arrival. * Ship's name, starting with a specified string of characters or containing a specified string of characters (white form requires exact spelling). *Port names starting with a specified string of characters or containing a specified string of characters (white form gives you a partial list of ports from which to select).

If you are searching for Jewish passengers and you have reason to believe that they were identified as such in the database, then the blue form is the preferable one to use. Otherwise, you should use the white or gray form. You use the gray form if you need to do a flexible search by town, and the white form if you want to enter such parameters as ethnicity. You'll also need to use the gray form if you want to do a single search involving both a town and a name-sounds-like, since you can do either one but not both on the white form. It might turn out that you will have to switch back and forth between these forms until you get the right mix and find the passenger you are searching for.

This great resource from Stephen Morse recently moved and now can be found at http://www.stevemorse.org.
Thanks to Eastman's Online Newsletter, 3/24/03, and the Lake Havasu Genealogical Society, Inc. Newsletter, P. O. Box 953, 1750 N. McCulloch Boulevard, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86405-0953.

Congratulations! The Lothians celebrate Diamond Anniversary
Lord and Lady Lothian celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at Ferniehirst Castle near Jedburgh, Scotland last spring. It was a happy, but relatively quiet celebration compared to their joint 80th birthday observance last August when about forty of their immediate family - children, grandchildren and spouses - assembled for that grand event at Ferniehirst.

One would guess that the quiet anniversary day at Ferniehirst was interrupted many, many times by congratulatory telephone calls from family, friends and well-wishers all over the British Isles. And the postal deliveries likely were heavier than usual.

Lord Lothian is Chief of the Name of Kerr, the title in the Scottish Lowlands for clan chief of the Kerrs, Carrs, Kers, Karrs and other variant spellings of the name. The formal titles of Lord and Lady Lothian in the Scottish peerage are Marquess and Marchioness of Lothian.

Lord Lothian offered , "Sixty years is a long time, but it has passed too quickly."

It was during World War II when young Lieutenant Peter Kerr of the Scots Guards wed Antonella Newland, the daughter of Major General Sir Forster Newland, KCMG, CB. She had not reached her 20th birthday at the time of the wedding, although they had grown up together. She was half-Yorkshire, half-Italian, and was born into an Army family and spent most of her early life in travel, attending Army school, and in her mid-teens she lived in Germany not long before the outbreak of the war. Most of her early married life was spent at Monteviot, the Kerr estate just north of Jedburgh, when her six children were young.

Lady Lothian has made her own career as a prominent journalist. For over a decade she was a columnist for The Scottish Daily Express and she organized The Woman of the Year Luncheons in London, which have raised over a million Pounds for the Greater London Fund for the Blind. She is the biographer of Russian Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space. In 1997, she received The Order of the British Empire honors at an investiture at Buckingham Palace, London.

In a Scottish interview Lady Lothian said, "My husband Peter and I grew up together and so it seemed quite natural to marry. I'm not a believer in flaming romances. They don't last.

"When I married it was wartime . . . my wedding dress was of great excitement. But I had no family jewels and my new husband went straight back to the Scots Guards after a week's honeymoon in Scotland."

Thanks to The Border Line. Clan Kerr may be reached at 125 Briar Cliff Road, Durham, NC 27707-2225.

WNGGA announces 2003 award winners
The Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association Scholarship and Grants Committee is very pleased to announce the recipients of the 2003 awards.

Dr. Mary Williams-Norton of Ripon, Wisconsin is involved in a cooperative educational project with Welsh schools. She requested some financial assistance for her group of 6 student teachers who are traveling to Wales this summer to further their partnership.

Karen Jones Wojahn of Windom, Minnesota requested funds to help her attend a Folk Harp Society Conference in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to her other musical accomplishments, Ms. Wojahn wishes to learn to play the Welsh triple harp and our assistance will pay a portion of her costs.

Cymdeithas Madog was awarded a grant to assist in the presentation of the Cwrs Cymraeg in Kenosha, Wisconsin this summer. The St. David's Society of Pittsburgh was awarded a grant to assist in the establishment of a Welsh Nationality Classroom at the University of Pittsburgh.

Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin, Dr. Dulais Rhys will be touring the United States this year, lecturing on Dr. Joseph Parry. As 2003 marks the centenary of the death of Dr. Parry, the WGGAW requested a grant to bring Dr. Rhys to Milwaukee to inform them about the life and times of this great composer.

The Welsh Harp and Heritage Society of North America requested financial assistance to present their Welsh Heritage Week in Newport News, Virginia this summer.

The Welsh Society of Northwest Ohio has turned a donated house into a museum celebrating the Welsh history of Gomer, Ohio. They requested our assistance as they need to preserve a large number of documents and items of memorabilia. Our grant money will be used to buy supplies and storage equipment.

Any group or individual may apply for assistance with their upcoming projects. The purpose of the project must be in keeping with the purpose of the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association.

To be eligible, an individual must be a member (either life or annual) of the WNGGA, must be of Welsh lineage and be a citizen of Canada or the United States. A group must be an organizational life member of the WNGGA, must be headquartered in Canada or the United States and must be a nonprofit organization.

The application forms list the information and documentation that is to be submitted with the application. Many applications are rejected due to incomplete documentation or inadequate financial information. Complete applications must be submitted by March 1, 2004 for consideration next year.

For more information and application forms (please specify whether you would like an Individual Form or a Group Form), contact Myfanwy S. Davies, Chair, WNGGA Scholarship and Grants Committee, Unit #2 - 3205 Uplands Drive, OTTAWA, Ontario K1V 9T3 (Canada) (613)526-3019; e-mail buck@ejsa.com>.
Information provided by NINNAU, The North American Welsh Newspaper, 11 Post Terrace, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.

Are you looking for ancestors from West Prussia or Poland?
Do you have ancestors who lived in West Prussia, (not a province of Poland), back in the years 1772-1773? If so, they may be listed in the Land Register for 1772-1773 for that area - if they owned land.

The Land Register is listed alphabetically, by surname, and is posted on a convenient website: http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/library/land/wprussia/. (Source: Immigrant Genealogical Society Newsletter, California, #228, March 2003.)

James E. Montgomery, a charter member of the Clan Montgomery Society International and a powerful member of the St. Andrew's Society of Maine, passed away quietly Sunday morning May 25, 2003. Jim died at home surrounded by loving friends and family, with a big smile and no pain after a 31 year long fight with cancer. First diagnosed in 1972 with terminal esophageal cancer, he was given six months to live. Then diagnosed with terminal liver cancer in 1999, he was given 12 months to live. Strength and courage were redefined by this Scotsman, but then he was a Montgomery.

Both his parents, James and Davina (Lees) Montgomery and his brother, David, were all born in Scotland. James was the first of his family line to be born in America on July 21, 1929 in Rumford, Maine. Jim married Lorraine Ross on October 9, 1950. Jim never made it over to Scotland, but on Sunday, May 25th, the Scottish weather came to Maine.

Sephardic Genealogy wins great award!
Sephardic Genealogy has won the Association of Jewish Libraries "Outstanding Reference Book" Award. This is the third book published by Avotaynu to win this award. The company has released 26 books on Jewish genealogy since it began publishing in 1991.

Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy will be published this summer. This comprehensive guide is being written by more than 60 experts on Jewish genealogy and will consist of some 100 chapters. Visit http://www.avotaynu.com/books/guide.htm for more information.
Thanks to the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM for this news. You may contact them at P. O. Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940.

There's even a website about "poorhouses"
The Poorhouse Story is a clearing house for information about 19th century American poorhouses. The site gives tips for researching poorhouse records, historical information, and features articles and genealogy news. Visit the site at http://www.poorhousestory.com.
This information was shared by the Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM, P. O. Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940.

Library authorizes restoration of maps
As a Washington Territory Sesquicentennial Project, the Washington State Library has authorized the restoration of two maps: (1) an 1897 postal map (showing routes and frequency of delivery); and (2) an 1881 map of the Department of the Columbia (showing the present-day states of Washington, Oregon, and parts of Idaho and Montana with Indian reservations, railroad routes, and wagon roads). These will be digitized and placed on the State Library's website. Visit them at http://www.statelib.wa.gov
Thanks to the following for this information: Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM, P. O. Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940.

Databases contain African American records
The Louisiana Slave Database contains 99,419 records and 114 fields and is part of the "Databases for the Study of Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy 1719-1820," compiled and published by Dr. Gwendolyn Midlo Hall. This resource for Louisiana and Florida contains a plethora of information concerning the transfer, enumeration and manumission of slaves in Louisiana and parts of Florida. Each record represents an individual slave who has been described in these documents and includes a variety of information, such as inventoried estates of deceased slaves.

Another database, The Louisiana Free Database, records documents involving manumissions of slaves. It contains 4,071 records. With the exception of the slave trade shipping, it contains all of the fields found in the Louisiana Slave Database as well as some additional fields.

It is likely that most people and/or families that lived in Louisiana through 1820 will be mentioned regardless of race or status in one or both of these databases. They were created almost entirely from original manuscript documents found in archives and courthouses throughout Louisiana, France, Spain and Cuba, and from holdings at the University of Texas at Austin.

For more information on the project and databases, visit the Afrigeneas website: http://www.afrigeneas.com>/library/louisiana.  To search databases visit http://www.ibiblio.org>/laslave/.

October 4, Ohio, Cleveland: The Genealogical Committee of the Western Reserve Historical Society announces the last of a series of beginner's classes with a combination of lecture and hands-on research in the WRHS Library. Contact Roger Ellsworth, P. O. Box 181201, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118-1201; by telephone 216-283-6451, or e-mail wrhsgen@juno.com.

October 5-12, Utah, Salt Lake City: The International Society for British Genealogy & Family History announces its Third Annual British Institute. The Institute is a classroom setting of in-depth study. For more information, see the society's website http://www.isbgfh.org, send an e-mail to sbgfh@yahoo.com or send an SASE to ISBGFH, P. O. Box 3115, Salt Lake City, UT 84110-3115.

October 6-10, Georgia, Atlanta: The Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance in cooperation with the Georgia Archives and the National Archives Southeast Region announces a workshop with J. Mark Lowe, Linda Woodward Geiger, Pamela Boyer Porter and staff members of the Georgia Archives and NARA. For more details, visit the website at http://www.RIGSAlliance.org, e-mail info@RIGSAlliance.org or write to: RIGS Alliance Workshop, P. O. Box 1273, Jasper, GA 30143.

October 9-10, Kansas, Dodge City: The Kansas Genealogical Society announces a seminar featuring Richard L. Hooverson. For more information on this event, contact the Kansas Genealogical Society, PO Box 103, Dodge City, KS 67801-0103.

October 11-12, Maryland, Baltimore: The Maryland Genealogical Society will present a seminar on various aspects of family history. For further details visit http://delmarvaroots.com or contact Ed Wright at edwright@delmarvaroots.com or by telephone 800-576-8608.

October 17-18, Arkansas, Little Rock: The Arkansas Genealogical Society announces its Fall Seminar featuring Cyndi Howells. More information can be obtained by visiting the website http://www.rootsweb.com>/~args/seminar.htm.

October 17-19, California, Foster City: The San Francisco Bay Region of the California State Genealogical Alliance will host "California Conference." More details can be obtained by e-mailing Cath Trindle CAConference@aol.com or by going to the conference website http://users.lmi.net/catcn/ca_conf.

October 18, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Dells: Wisconsin State Genealogical Society announces its Fall 2003 Seminar. Details will be posted at http://www.wsgs.org. To receive a program brochure for this seminar, send you name and address by postal mail to WSGS Office, P. O. Box 5106, Madison, WI 53705 or by e-mail to wsgs@chorus.net.

October 24-26, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada: The Saskatchewan Genealogical Society announces its 2003 Seminar, "Unearthing Our Ancestors: Finding the Skeletons" featuring Hank Z Jones, Jr., Sherry Irvine, Kenneth G. Aitken and others. Detailed information can be found at http://www.rootsweb.com>/~sksgs/2003_seminar.htm or contact Gus Morrow at ustaveous@mail.com.

October 25, California, Burbank: The Pommerns Special Interest Group of the Immigrant Genealogical Society announces its Fall Seminar, featuring Martha and Less Riggle. For more information, contact Toni Perrone at <perrone@cwia.com>.

October 25, Kansas, Lenexa: The Johnson County Genealogical Society will host its Annual Seminar "Getting to Know Your Ancestors" with John Colletta. See the society's website: http://www.johnsoncountykansasgenealogy.org for further information or send an SASE to PO Box 12666, Shawnee Mission, KS 66282-2666.

October 25, Ohio, Independence: The Cuyahoga County Council of Genealogical Organizations announces its Annual Tri-C GL Seminar, "Researching the Past: Publishing for the Future." More information can be obtained by contacting John Stoika at either 206-524-3472 or <jstoika@juno.com>.

October 27-31, Texas, Fort Worth: The Regional In-depth Genealogical Studies Alliance in cooperation with the National Archives Southwest Region announces a workshop with J. Mark Lowe, Linda Woodward Geiger, Pamela Boyer Porter and staff members of NARA. For more details, visit the website at http://www.RIGSAlliance.org, e-mail info@RIGSAlliance.org or write to: RIGS Alliance Workshop, P. O. Box 1273, Jasper, GA30143.

November 1, Illinois, Grayslake: Lake County Genealogical Society announces its 2003 Fall Conference with keynote speaker Helen Hinchliff. In addition, Sandra Luebking and Michael John Neill will also present talks. Additional information can be found on the society's website http://www.rootsweb.com>/~illcgs, by writing to Carol Knigge, Conference Chairperson, at 8206 Penny Lane, Richmond, IL 60071 or by sending her an e-mail at caknigge@yahoo.com.

November 1, Ohio, Cleveland: The Genealogical Committee of the Western Reserve Historical Society announces an advanced class, "Mining the Resources of the WRHS." Contact Roger Ellsworth, P. O. Box 181201, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118-1201; by telephone at 216-283-6451 or e-mail wrhsgen@juno.com.

November 6-9, Massachusetts, North Falmouth: The 7th New England Genealogical Conference "New England: America's Melting Pot" has been announced. Speakers will include Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, Sharon Kennedy, John Philip Colletta, Maureen A. Tayor. For more details about this event e-mail: cranbor@attbi.com or see the website http://www.rootsweb.com>/manergc/queries.

November 8, Maryland, Frederick: Frederick County Genealogical Society announces its Fall Conference, "Reality Genealogy." Contact Nancy Thrasher Cherry, Chairman, 3100 Elkridge Court, Beltsville, MD 20705, telephone 301-572-4406, or by e-mail at NancyTC@aol.com for more details.
Thanks to Federation of Genealogical Societies FORUM, PO Box 200940, Austin, TX 78720-0940.

Love that Dandelion Wine!
Thanks to Carl Coleman...

We received this wonderful letter from Carl Coleman of Warner Robins, Georgia. Mr. Coleman said, "Years ago I was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, while in the Air Force. I lived on base with my wife.

"We had our share of dandelions. Matter of fact, they were taking over. One day I was reading the Base Newspaper. The Base Commander had an editorial about ways to combat the dandelion. One way was to make Dandelion Wine and he gave the recipe.

"Although I haven't tried to make any wine, I kept the recipe. I thought you all would like to hear this short story. The article about the dandelions made me think of the story."

Dandelion Wine: Pick 12 to 16 cups of flower heads on a sunny day. Put them in a two-gallon container and cover with a gallon of boiling water. Then stir in 1/2 a pound of finely diced raisins, 2-1/2 pounds of sugar, a whole chopped orange and a lemon (both with the peel). Once the liquid has cooled, mix in 1 ounce wine yeast. You can even get a special Chamblis yeast for a good dry wine. After the brew has steeped for 4 days in a warm spot (72-78 degrees), strain the mixture through cheesecloth. Squeeze the pulp to get out the last of the juice and discard the pulp. Pour liquid into a crock, cover with fresh cheesecloth, and let continue to ferment in a warm, dark corner for another three weeks. Then decant gently into clear bottles. Cork tightly and store in a cool place for six months or more before drinking.

Thanks, Mr. Coleman, for sharing this special recipe with us. Mr. Coleman can be reached by mail at 308 Sparta Street, Warner Robins, GA 31088.

The 2nd annual AzGenShare workshop is coming
You're invited to attend the 2nd Annual AzGenShare Workshop.

The event will be held Saturday, November 15, 2003 at the Salt River Project Administrative Building located at 1521 North Project Drive in Phoenix, Arizona. Workshop time will be 1 PM to 5 PM.

A program and discussion will be held on publicizing societies and increasing membership. "From Blah to Bodacious," the program will tell you how to visually make your presence noticed, and will feature Marian Shepherd and Joel Ayala, Arizona Capitol Museum Curators, as speakers.

The event is free to all, but registration is required. There also will be refreshments and raffle prizes to be enjoyed!

You can register online at http://www.lib.az.us/eventreg/?custid=7 or contact Betsy Howard at 602-542-5841 if you do not have access to the Internet.

Ronald Douglas passed away on April 27, 2003 after a long battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Merle, sons Russell and Andrew, and daughter Kylie. Ron was born September 9, 1932 in Queensland, Australia.

Throughout his life he expressed a strong interest in Scottish culture and participated actively on many committees in executive positions. Ron received an Australian Honor, the OAM (Order of Australia Medal) of which he was very proud. This was for services to the community in which he lived. He was a founding and Life Member of the Clan Douglas Association of Australia, as well as Armiger, which meant that he had been granted his own personal Coat-of-Arms with a shield, crest and the motto "Onward brave heart" by the Lord Lyon King of Arms in Scotland. This gave Ron the right to wear an eagle feather in his bonnet and carry his banner. Under Scottish Law, this is heritable property and the right to those arms descends to his eldest son and heir.

He was a member of the Company of Armigers, Australian Chapter, Inc., and had previously served as Armiger Provincial for Queensland. Being a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA Scot, meant much to Ron as he had been nominated by the famous Clan Donald historian and genealogist, Graham MacDonald Esq., formerly of Toowoomba.

Ron was Chieftain and former President of the Toowoomba Caledonian Society, Past President of the Clan Douglas Association of Australia, Past President and founding member of the Scottish Clans Congress of Queensland, member of the Australian Scottish Heritage Council and Companion of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem - The Knights Templar.

Honoring Ron's services to the Gaels and the Celts, the Celtic Council of Australia awarded him the medal and title of Duinne Urramach "Honored Gentleman" D.Urr, one of only twelve ever granted in Queensland. Ron was accredited with the founding of the Darling Downs Branch of the Society of St. Andrew of Scotland (Q'ld) and was the Current Vice-President, Life Member, member of the Board of Governors and Director of the Society of St. Andrew of Scotland (Q'ld) Inc.

He was a published author and historian and wrote "The Braw Manawdge," meaning "The Fair Society," a history of the Caledonian Society of Toowoomba. A fine genealogist, a great Scottish country dancer, a manufacturer of Scottish silver jewelry, a collector of books, artifacts and antiquities are just some of Ron's achievements.

Mary Weeks Maclean, President of Scottish Heritage USA, passed away on August 4, 203, following a reoccurrence of cancer.

Mary will be remembered best as the wife of the indomitable Reverend Dougald Lachlan Maclean, former Chairman of the Board of Scottish Heritage USA. For more than three decades Dougald and Mary attended the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, where Dougald gave the "Address to the Haggis" at the patrons' and sponsors' reception on Friday nights and conducted the church service on Sunday mornings.

Mary was Dougald's right hand, always there to help smooth the way. They were, in fact, inseparable. But Mary had another important role in this life - that of educator. For more than twenty years, Mary dedicated herself to teaching elementary school in New York, and even after she officially retired, she returned to work - first as a substitute and then as a full-time classroom teacher.

Her energy knew no bounds, and she tackled any and all tasks with dynamite enthusiasm. Whether it was teaching school, attending to parish affairs, antique hunting on weekends or enjoying her West Highland Terriers, she infused everything she did with her great zest for living.

Both she and Dougals loved Scotland and worked ceaselessly to support both the country and its ex-patriots in this country. They visited Scotland frequently, sometimes for pleasure, sometimes on Scottish Heritage USA and National Trust for Scotland business. Scottish Heritage USA and its support of the National Trust for Scotland held an important place in their hearts, and Dougald had been closely involved with the organization almost from its inception.

In 1986, in recognition of her many contributions to Scottish Heritage USA, Mary was invited to join its Advisory Council. In 1990, she became the organization's secretary, and following Dougald's death in March 2000, she became a member of the Board of Directors and a Vice-President. Last March, following A. R. "Pete" Hamilton's retirement as President to become Chairman of the Board, Mary became Scottish Heritage USA's President.