I updated the database today, so all new information and changes that I've received since August are now included.

Our move to our own domain will take just a little longer, but will be done by the end of the year. Also I changed the picture of myself on my data page to one more current (and better quality too!)

As you can see, we are getting ready to move the site soon. I expect it to be completed before the year's end. There may be some glitches, and I hope anyone who finds a broken link or other problem will let me know. This is a bigger project than it might appear. There are over 400 html files in 4 directories and 25 custom html pages in another. In addition there are over 100 image files.

Today we were contacted by Mark Stickles, the great-great grandson of Adam Finger, who offered to send some additional information. We're always happy to have any additions!

Also, Ellen Gerwitz sent some additional information which I have not been able to incorporate yet, but I will try to do so soon.

My how time flies. It seems like I'm able to update our NewsPage only about once a month. Not too much is happening in the research front. I am keeping busy with other projects and havn't done any further research. I do have more pictures to add to the site and I hope to get to them soon.

We did get a message from John Vanko, the great grandson of Conrad Finger, who came from Bottendorf to Baltimore in 1883. John tells us that Conrad was the ancestor of all the Fingers in Baltimore, but that the Finger name has died out there. He has names of a few other Fingers who came to the US from Bottendorf too. Look for this on our Known Finger Family Lines page.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised today when doing some searching on the web to find these comments from Distant Cousins about our site:

This site should be referred to as THE Finger Family Site as it is packed with information from a multitude of sources. Make this your first stop for researching Vinger, Finger, and Fingar...

Terri (Finger) Bigelow has sent some corrections to her information. She had thought that the parents of Joseph Finger were Johann Finger and Anna Herrmann. But with further research she has found that his parents were Conrad Finger and Agatha Buchderkirchen, both from Meerhof, Germany. Her information can be found on the Known Finger Family Lines page.

Ellen Gerwitz has finally found the information that establishes that Peter Finger, who was the son of Jacob and Christina Finger, was the same person who married Mary Barnes and who lived in Yates County (see the July 30, 2000 news item below). This is significant, as Peter and Mary's children are the ancestors of many of the Fingers in Yates county today. As the details come in, I'll add them to the site.

The web database has been updated! I finally was able to find the time to do an update, and there have been many additions and corrections, some of which are mentioned below on the July 30th entry.

Also I was able to post the first of a number of pictures I have received. The Fiftieth Anniversary of Clarence and Nellie Finger, taken in 1947, has been added.

Contributions have come in faster than I can handle them this month! But I am putting it all together as fast as I'm able, and will have some additions to the site soon.

Clair Smith sent some pictures and some additional information on his line (The first thing I need to do is spell his name correctly!) I have scanned in the pictures and will try to get them posted soon.

Ellen Gerwitz has just about made the connection between her Finger line and mine. It would be wonderful to find proof, since it would connect our line together with a large number of Fingers in Yates county. Here's part of her message:

Jacob J. married Christina Traver and had ten children. Number seven was Peter. He was born 13 SEPT 1824.

Jeremiah married Eva Rector and had seven children. Number two was Andrew. Andrew married Rosetta Barnes.

This would make Peter and Andrew cousins.

You can see ... that Jeremiah appears in Yates CO. early on. In all the early census records, there is no Peter Finger. Not even as a child. He does not appear until his marriage to Mary Ann Barnes in June of [1850]. In the 1855 census, he, Mary and their first son Charles H. show up. (This is not the same Charles H. Finger [who] was in the Civil War.) The wierd thing is that five years later in 1860, Mary Finger is shown with her two children, Charles and Mary Eva. But Peter is living in Benton with Andrew and Rosetta (Barnes) Finger and kids. Why???? I don't know. But there is no other Peter Finger anywhere on the census records for the other towns for those years. So, it must be the same one. Then, you can see that Peter does not show up on any of the other census records after 1865. That is because he died of smallpox in the civil war. I think that the Peter that I have (who was born in AUG/ SEPT of 1823/1824) is the son of Jacob J. Finger. I think he came to Yates County [from Columbia county] to visit/work with his cousins, met Mary Barnes - the sister of his cousin's wife - and decided to marry her and stay.

Documented I have 3 death certificates with Elizabeth Finger, mother and John Harris, father. These are for their 3 sons Jermiah Harris b 1837, d Sept 29, 1902 at age 65; Edward Harris b 25 Sept 1841, d 19 Aug 1900 age 65; and John Ira Harris b 01 Dec 1848, d 03 Nov 1914 age 66. All are buried in Wiltwyck Cemetery,Kingston, NY.

We received a number of messages this week, all with little bits of information to add to our database.

Bill Poucher sent some additional information on his line. His g-g-gf was Jacob Poucher who was married to Eva Finger. He mentioned that Jacob's father was probably Anthony Boucher, a Dutch and French Huguenot settler in the Hudson Valley.

Clair Smith, the great grandson of Almeron Finger and Laura Mower, made contact and let us know he grew up with the four brothers Foster, Robert, Virgil and Alson Finger in Saugerties. He presently lives in Pennsylvania.

Terry Finger contacted us again and tells us there were four Robert Fingers around when he grew up in Saugerties. He offered to do a little research and share his findings with us. He too is aware of the Finger / Fingar split but doesn't know what the cause was.

And finally, Douglas Austin sent some additions to his part of the Austin line. The common ancestor to him and me was Samuel Austin, with his line progressing through Samuel's son Samuel and mine through son Thomas. It was Thomas' great grandaughter Lydia Ann Austin who married my great grandfather, Ellis M. Finger

The web database has been updated! So any changes I've received since February should now be on the site.

Terri (Finger) Bigelow was in touch and has additional information on her line. Joseph Finger's father is Johann Finger and his mother is Anna Maria Herrmann. Their names have been added to the Family Lines page. [note: this has been updated, see the August 12, 2000 item] - Dwight

Also, Terry Finger, who found himself in our database, has sent along some additional information on his part of the family, which included some corrections to his parents information. Terry says although he now lives in Missouri, he was born in Saugerties, NY.

A sincere thanks to all who help make our information useful and accurate!

Not too much happening on the Finger Family website these days, mostly because I'm keeping pretty busy with my web work. However we did hear from Judith Finger Bradley this week. She and her sister, Diane Finger Brenneman, just got back from a Finger family reunion in Saugerties, NY; held at the Smith farm. She didn't know it would turn out to be a reunion of the Finger relatives until she arrived:

We didn't know it was really a Finger reunion until we got there - and discovered that everyone there (about 30 people) was indeed a descendant of Nellie and Clarence [Finger] or married to those who were. The Smith farmhouse belonged to Clara Finger Smith's husband's family, and the Smiths have occupied it since 1810. . . I think there have been about three annual reunions, started after the death of Jean Davis Martin (granddaughter of Clarence and Nellie).

At any rate, a good time was had by all - very informal and unstructured - and another is planned for next year.

Shirley Maynard has discovered the name of the first wife of Philip Finger. Laura Johnson is her name, and she is, possibly, the daughter of Freeman Johnson. Laura and Philip are the parents of two children, Egbert (b 1831) and Mary (b 1834). Laura will appear on the site after the next update. Again a big thanks to all our contributors.

Keith Finger from "upstate NY" sent us a message about his ancestor. Even though he lives in the area of Johannes Vinger's descendants, he is from a different family line. His information, about his great-grandfather Fredrick Finger from Switzerland is on the Known Finger Family Lines page.

Also, Kathy Lathrop was in touch and sent us information on another line, that of her g-g-grandfather, Gottried Finger. Read about her family also on the Known Finger Family Lines page.

I have something a little different but interesting this month. I heard from Patricia Figner. That's right, not Finger but Figner. Here are some snippets from her messages:

The name "Figner" , means "of noble wear", the Figner's were part of a line of Russian Nobleman. The first one I've found in Russia, so far, was Samoil Figner B- Approx. 1762. However I recently found a Figner born in Seifersdorf, Preussen, in 1682. I'm not sure, but I think that's part of Germany. We are a confusing clan, I also have a Figner that was in the Magna Carta, and that's English stuff!
To make a long story short, we lived in Russia for a good 100 years, so I say were Russian. It appears also, that we were a bunch of hired hit men! One hired to fight for the English, 1 in the Napolean war of 1812, a spy, and Vera Figner, the Russian Revolutionary that killed the Czar of Russia!. . .
All my research shows, that there is only one "Figner" family in the entire world. . . I'm quite sure my surname has remained the same since the 11th century, but I have some ancestors in PA that have your last name...

Hi, I write to you from Repentigny just beside Montréal in Canada. Excuse me for my English because I'm French Canadian. I'm doing some research about my family (FINGER) for 5 years now. In the provinces of Quebec in Canada we are only 3 with this name, but I know there is more in Canada but I dont' know how much!. . .

I send to you my ancestor who came in Canada. . . Charles Finger b. AUG. 8 1870 Dijon France, died Dec. 21 1943 St-Jerome, Quebec, Canada. He takes the boat with his family, to go to Buenos Aires in Argentine but that boat broke when he was on the sea and [he was] rescued by the boat Dominion [that] came to Canada.

Unfortunately, I am pretty busy these days and so there isn't much news to report. I did update the database today, but there is nothing of great significance, just some minor changes and a couple of errors fixed.

Rick Coon sent some pictures of maps of the Germantown and Clermont areas of 1888, I'm trying to decide how/if to post these. Many familiar family names are on these maps - Bathrick, Coon, Fingar, Livingston, Moore, Rifenburgh, Tinklepaugh, Scism and more.

There was an inquiry from Ellen Gerwitz asking for information about a Clarence J. Finger (b. 1880-90) who seemed to loosly match Clarence Finger in our database, but it turned out to be a different person. Interestingly, both Clarences were married to women named Nellie.

To start off the new year I have reset the home page counter. We had over 12,000 hits to the site during 1999.

Also, this greeting came from Carlos Finger:

From Argentina, I send [you] an affectionate greeting and my desires of a good year 2000. For [your] intermission greeting to all the FINGERS that visit [your] beautiful page.
A hug -
Carlos Finger