THE GENEALOGIST'S PSALM by Wildamae Brestal: submitted by Helen Bowser, Bloomington, IN  Genealogy is my pastime, I shall not stray; It maketh me to lie down and examine half-buried tombstones. It leadeth me into still Court Houses, It restoreth my ancestral knowledge. It leadeth me in paths of census records and ships passengers lists for my surname's sake. Yea, though I walk through the shadows of research libraries and microfilm readers, I shall fear no discouragement; For a strong urge is within me; The curiosity and motivation, They comforteth me. It demandeth preparation of storage space for the acquisition of countless documents; It anointest my head with burning midnight oil, My family group sheets runneth over. Surely birth, marriage, and death dates shall follow me all the day of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of a family-history seeker for ever. ORIGINAL COPY OF R.C. STONE'S BOOK FOUND  James A. Stone of Vestal, New York (biography on our web site) has what he believes may be the 2nd copy of Richard Cecil Stone's "Genealogy of the Stone Family originating in Rhode Island". Jim came upon this book around 1998 when he wrote to a Ms. Bedard, who deals in books and lives in the Providence area. He bought his first copy from her and she was aware of his interest in the Stone family    The marriage of Richard Cecil Stone and Alma Stone united the branches from Peter Stone and John Stone. Their children are the 7th generation from Hugh Stone and Abigail Bussecot, common ancestors, running back through both branches. Richard's daughter, Sarah born in 1826 married Stephen C. Arnold. Why inscription was signed (with respects of the Author) I have no idea - She was his daughter and it does seem a bit formal.(It was dated 1866) Sticker on the opposite page indicates that S.C.Arnold might have been the selling agent of the book.Two later signatures and addresses make it appear that Sarah must have remarried and show where she lived. Note: James A. Stone also has a daughter named Sarah. Virginia Meadowcroft, our member from Orinda, CA. is a direct descendant of Richard Cecil Stone, her great,great grandfather!.  MISSING MEMBERS The following members e-mail address appears to be invalid, as mail  is returned. They have not advised of new e-mail address and I do not have phone number or street address. If you have an e-mail, street address or phone number, please send it to me so I can try to re--connect them as members of the Stone Family Association. Michael Krasulski David Stone Gale Stone Robert Underwood Dorthea Yates Check members roster for last know address, city and state. RECENT NEWS FROM MEMBERS     Vance Middleton wrote "Thanks for the update". [4th Annual Report] Linda English sent her new e-mail address and the following note " My 93 year old Mom, who has apartment in our house is keeping me quite busy these days. Her dementia seems much worse and it's a struggle to get her to eat, drink enough liquids, etc. Am trying to hire someone to help out. They're not easy to find. So, should you not hear from me for months at a time, do not despair. I'll get back to you one day. One of these days when I'm caught up with e-mail, I want to check out your web site again. Thanks so much for phoning me. It was great to hear the voice behind all the wonderful work". I am sharing the following e-mail message from Roger Stone just to call attention to effort we go to in trying to help our members and viewers to connect their family. "Earlier this year (I had a query from Jimmy Greene about this same Phebe Greene/Samuel Walker data. Apparently, I have an error in the source data so I can't tell where it came from. I originally thought it came from Sharron Currie and referred Jimmy to her but she responded that that was wrong. I then referred Jimmy to Donna Potter but she hasn't responded to him. It is also possible that the data came from Nancy Cooper who is deceased). I am copying Robert Allen Greene on this in hopes that he can help. I haven't head from him to date. Sorry for all the confusion folks". I am pleased to report that Robert Allen Greene did respond by phone but did not have the data Jimmy Green needed. By the way, here is the request that started this "Hi, I was looking for Phebe Greene and ran across your Stone Family page. You have a Phebe Greene, wife of Samuel Walker, as the daughter of Nathaniel Greene and Mary Mott. I wonder if you know anything of this family, or if you could put me in touch with someone who may have info. Phebe Greene andSamuel Walker, were my gggg grandparents. Thanks, any help would be appreciated, Susan Finlay , Greenville, SC. Please let Roger and I know if you have any information to help. GOLF BALLS AND RARE BOOKS !!! An original story by Byron T. Stone What do they have in common? A beerwagon of course. Here's the story. As many of you know I am a golfer [at least I play golf]. Sometimes I go to the course early in the morning. No one is on the course except the work crew. One of that crew is the guy riding the fairway mower. When he see me coming down the fairway, he pulls his tractor over [out of the way] and waits for me to take my shot. Then he always comes over and says "Gee, that was a great shot". Of course, I know it wasn't but I accept his comment with gracious humility. If the ball is not right in sight, he will come right along side of me and help me fine the ball. Now many of you know that I love genealogical research, especially the historical aspects. I live 25 miles from Notre Dame.I spend several hours, at least once a week, during the non golf season, browsing in their 14 floors of open stacks. They also have a Rare Books and Special Collections department. The other week, I was looking for a rare book. These are in closed stacks. When I filled in the necessary form, this lovely lady said "Oh, I see you are from Michigan". Yes, I said. She said, "so am I, Buchanan". Oh, I said, "that's where I play gold - at the Orchard Hills Country Club". Well what do you know she replied "my husband mows the fairway at Orchard Hills". Well you guessed it, I had met Mr. and Mrs. Beerwagon. One helps me find lost golf balls and the other finds me rare books. Don't you just love the oddities of genealogy? WHAT DO YOU THINK - I'D LIKE TO KNOW Would you be interested in attending a Stone Family Reunion in England next summer? Would you be interested in having your own Family History Page on the Association web site? What is the best way for our Association to pay the estimated $750 per year expenses of our web site - A] paid advertising B] member dues or C] voluntary contributions [present method] or D] some combination or different method? This association belongs to the members - we are 160+ strong and growing. Your thoughts are vital to making good decisions. Please take a few minutes and share your thoughts on these important questions with me. I'd like to hear from you!! Thank you Byron and Roger Stone THE RELFE/STONE HOUSE -ca. 1708 Hugh and Abigail (Bussecot) Stone were the parents of ten children, of these six were girls. While most genealogy reports tend to concentrate on the male descendency of a line, this particular daughter of Hugh and Abigail's, Mary, holds significance in many respects. It is assumed, though as yet unproved, that Mary was the first born child to our Rhode Island Stone family. Born ca 1667, Mary Stone married Samuel Relfe ca 1687/8. Samuel Relfe was born in Guilford, Connecticut ca 1650 to Thomas and Elizabeth (Disbrowe) Relfe. Thomas and Elizabeth also had a daughter Elizabeth Relfe who married Andrew Benton in Guilford, 4th Feb. 1664.The first record of Thomas and Elizabeth having more than one child (Elizabeth 2) can be found in the passage of a Court entry " the 1st Thursday of May, 1651". 20.  Thomas and Elizabeth Relfe divorced in Guilford in 1651, whereupon Thomas moved to Providence, Rhode Island.Upon his arrival in Providence, Thomas Relfe married Mary Cook, widow of John Cook of Warwick, Rhode Island. Thomas and Mary had four children together. At what point Samuel Relfe (son of Thomas)removed to Rhode Island is a yet unknown. To date the earliest record of Samuel in Rhode Island, I have found is February 1, 1680. In Hugh Stone's 1726 Agreement with son John Stone (Providence City Archives docket A262, Hugh's daughter is referred to as "Mary Relfe". Mary Stone and Samuel Relfe's marriage holds even further significance. As far as we know, their home in Old Meshanticut (formerly a section of Providence Plantations and currently, since 1754, within the boundaries of Cranston) is the earliest Stone residence still in existence today. Samuel and Mary (Stone) Relfe built this quintessential early 18th century cottage in ca. 1708 Described in the September 1980 Cranston Rhode Island Statewide Historical Preservation Report P-C-1, as a "small 4-bay, 1 1/2 story gable-roofed house with an altered central chimney and a kitchen all added ca. 1800. Relfe was the son of Thomas Relfe, one of the original Meshanticut Purchasers who acquired western Cranston from the Indians in 1662. In 1767, the house was used as a smallpox infirmary; later records indicate a huge cow barn, corncrib, and blacksmith shop all adjoined the house. In January, I was fortunate to have been able to visit the Relfe/Stone homestead, recently purchased by Jim Carr, a Providence police officer. Another Relfe/Stone descendent, Shelia Stewart of West Warwich had met Jim while taking pictures of the exterior and put me in touch with him. Both Shelia and Jim have been extremely supportive of my research which I am pleased to publish in more detail and pictures,  on our Stone Family Association web site www.stonefamilyassociation.org.     Recent e-mail address changes    Brown, H. Andrew Brown, Rebecca Bowser, Helen  Collins, Joyce  English, Linda C. Deibler, Heidi   Jesperson, Fred  Stender, Richard  Stone, Carrie A. Zeigler, John  habraun2@netscape.net rlbrown@usa.com milliemag@hotmail.com rjcollins@bvea.net mirror@mail.emcs.net ryjen@uri.edu Ford44@harbornet.com stendersall@aol.com Cestlimber1@cs.com lfzeigler@aol.com Please also check the roster of members for the many new members and update your addresses. REPORT ON SECOND RESEARCH TRIP TO ENGLAND BY LAURIE CARPENTER, NORTH ATTLEBORO, MA.   Again, this March 14th - 25th, I returned to England to sift through county record offices and blow the cob webs and dust from old manuscripts. While last year was sunny and warm, this year I experienced the typical England weather, rain, rain and then for a change of pace, HEAVY rain. (I heard tell it has been the wettest year on record since 1776.) Actually, made it much easier to be sequestered indoors for 8-10 hours per day. This year I turned my sights towards Gloucestershire/Bristol. Based on merchant and shipping records it seemed a necessary trip to investigate the Stones of the 16th and 17 century who resided or otherwise did business there. My final research report will reflect some of the findings there. The next 3 days of my trip took me to Lancashire to visit with Michael and Lisa Redshaw, current owners of "Carr House" ,the ancestral home of the Stones, built in 1613 by Thomas Stone, haberdasher of London and his brother Andrew, merchant of Amsterdam. The home was everything I had imagined it would be. I took plenty of photos and a video, which I hope we will soon be able to stream online on the web site. If our expected connection to this Stone line bears, true, start planning to join all of us for a future reunion in Much Hoole! Mike Redshaw has offered Carr House to the Stone Family Association.for a week end "take over"! The final week of my journey deposited me in London for a whirlwind race against the clock to transcribe as many records as I could from 5 repositories. With laptop and a pocketful of pence I whisked from Guildhall and the British Library to the Society of Genealogist, the Pro and the London Metropolitan Archives. (I bet most of you didn't know the term "Mad Cow Disease" was actually coined by the Brits to describe American genealogical/historical researchers who learn how darn tough they are about their anti-copyright laws! After depositing 2 pounds (and finding the machine does NOT give change) to copy an atlas with 17th century parishes denoted, I was abruptly (but kindly) halted as the book date was recent. "Hoof in mouth" was to describe what they had to do to me to stop me from screaming that the next guy in line was using my unreturned change!(truth be told, the English librarians are fantastic and extremely patient with we roundheads!) So, I have been back in the colonies a week and a half and have transcribed 2 legal pads of notes with 5 more to go. I feel I made headway, and hope, with additional cooperation from my neglected family, that I can piece the now 8 filing bins of information into a cohesive, accurate, readable publication as to the Origins of Hugh Stone of Rhode IslandI RECENT NEWS FROM MEMBERS CONTINUED VIRGINIA MEADOWCROFT wrote "Congratulations on a fine Annual Report. I read with interest the web site activity statistics and the increase in hits and membership. The increase in hits is great. Do you think moving to Roots web allowed for a broader access? As I remember, it was quite easy to access the Quantum site through most web search programs by typing in a search for Hugh Stone. The data on the Hugh Stone origins research was well written and the inclusion of the description of Carr House was great. It would be fun to eventually have a similar description written about Carr House today, externally and internally. Let's keep a reunion at Carr House in our future plans. The Association is fortunate to have Roger and you with your organizational skills and dedication. Thanks again. I was sadden to read of Louise LaCount's death in December of pancreatic cancer. It was quite a surprise to me as she looked just fine when we talked with her in Providence but that is a nasty and fast spreading cancer. She'll be missed at the library in Salt Lake City." VIRGINIA recently returned home after her annual research trip to Salt Lake City, March 11-18th. She has promised to write about her research projects as soon as she gets caught up after being away from the office. This very interesting note from Mary Salisbury. "Hello Byron: I always enjoy getting your reports and look forward to them. I have been a member for some time. However, I have not researched the Stone lineage for several years. I have been concentrating on several other lines. I have to travel 25 miles to the nearest LDS Family History Center to do any research and it is getting more and more difficult for me to maneuver through the San Diego traffic. However, since you asked for replies, I though I would let you know I am still alive and very much interested in what you guys are doing. I am very much interested in your work of trying to find the ancestry of Hugh Stone of Rhode Island. I had searched all the data RI had for the Stones births, deaths, marriages, etc.) when I had access to the Salt Lake City Family History Center and could get all the film I wanted in a day's time. That was fun; but no longer possible as I live near San Diego now. Our health does not allow us to travel to Salt Lake City and more We really want to go 3 times this year as we have 3 grandchildren getting married in March, May and August this year, but it will be impossible. Again, thank you for the reports. Please keep them coming so we can keep up to date on the research efforts of your association". Mary and Elmore Salisbury SPRING CLEANING-2001 I am in the process of giving our web site a Spring Cleaning. Up until this Spring, I though Spring Cleaning was something you did to your home but I discovered that web sites, like homes, get cob webs. Last year our web site had nearly 250,000 visitors. That got me thinking - is our site as good as it can be? I knew the answer was "not really" and I also knew I should do something about it. Here is what has been or is being done to give the Stone Family Association web site a Spring Cleaning - 2001. The table of contents has been rearranged to make navigation easier and more logical. Broken links have been repaired and a monitoring service advises us when one needs fixing. I got an e-mail recently from a retired college professor who called my attention to some misspelled words. So, I am in the process of going over every one of our 500 plus pages with a spell checker. This will probably take all summer. Keeping our members roster current is an on going chore. We have to depend on each member to advise us when there is a change of e-mail address. Some people foget. One of the ways we find out is that about 3 times a year an e-mail announcement is sent to every member and those that can't be delivered [invalid e-mail address] are returned. We had 22 the last mailing. Contact is made, if I have a street address or phone number. You can help with this part of Spring Cleaning - let me know when your street or e-mail address or phone number changes. Thanks. Finally, like every good housekeeper, we are always on the look out for new tools and cleaning agents. Web site "cleaning" involves learning and mastering all the functions of your web site development software. We use NetObjects Fusion v. 4.0. I have a lot to learn yet.If you spot something that is untidy or dusty, would you please let me know.