Finally found the time to update the database. As I have said before, this requires uploading over 400 files so I don't usually do it until a number of changes have accumulated.

I haven't had too much time to keep up with the site recently, but there are two additions to the Known Finger Family Lines page, one from Carlos Finger and one from Lisa Finger. Now there are 10 family lines listed.

Also, the name Houghtaling has come up again, this time in a mail message from Betty Holt:

Just for fun information. Untangle this if you can. All the names are on 19 Livingston St. Saugerties, NY.
Owners
Henry Houghtaling--1830
Paul Snyder-----------1841
William F. Russell--1853
Ellen M. Finger-------1893-niece of William Russell ( Daughter of David Russell )
Haven't had time to figure this out yet. Just thought it was an interesting bit of information.--Betty Ann Minkler Holt

With information I received today from Richard Finger, the number of different family lines listed on the Known Finger Family Lines page is now up to 8.

Also I have rescanned the picture on the home page to improve its appearance somewhat.

It's pretty busy around here, but there are a few things to report.

Gina Moon has been in touch and has sent some additional information on her line. It will be included in the next upload. Henrich (Henry) Moon was married to Maritje (Mariah) Finger.

In hearing from more researchers, Terri Finger sent me information on another Finger line, which is now included on the Known Finger Family Lines page.

Donna Railsback-Braly has sent some additional information on the Railsback line. This will appear on the site with the next upload. The Railsbacks are related to me through my g-gm, Lydia Ann Austin, who was married to Ellis Finger. Lydia Railsback was the mother of William Morgan Austin, Lydia Austin's father.

In hearing from many other researchers, I thought it might be beneficial to have a list of different Finger family lines. With that in mind, I have created the Known Finger Family Lines page. I welcome additions.

It seems that the NewsPage was beginning to get pretty large, so I have arranged to break it into years. The NewsPage will always be for the current year, and previous years will be available in a NewsPage Archive file. For last year's news see the 1998 Finger Family NewsPage

I had a message from Kitty Bishop who is the 4th great-granddaughter of Tuenis Snyder and Catharine Finger. She sent some additional information on some descendants of that line. Originally, I had his name spelled Schneider, but since she is a direct descendant I will change it to Snyder, since she says she had not seen the name spelled any other way than Snyder (the spelling change and added family members will appear on the web site after the next upload).

More information has come in from Carlos Finger, which has been added to his page. He mentions that his grandfather was Wolfgang Finger, whose name was changed to Felipe when he arrived in South America. Sounds a lot like Ellis Island, doesn't it! It's on the Finger Family in Argentina page. At Carlos' request I have included his name on the home page as a Contributor and Researcher.

I have received a number of messages from Carlos Finger concerning a Finger family in Argentina. It was beginning to take up too much space on the NewsPage, so I have moved it to a page of its own. Here you can read about the Finger Family in Argentina as reported by Carlos.

I received an interesting e-mail message last week, here is a portion of it:

Hi there,
My name is Nikki Finger. I was e-mailed a page of your Finger news from my cousin (Jane Finger). I don't know if there is a connection between [our] families, but my family also has a German background. Two brothers left Germany - one branch went to Switzerland (we are still in contact with that branch) - another went to England (one, my great grandfather, was a tailor to Queen Victoria) and then on to the US.

I think what you are collecting is delightful. Will try to get together some information to send you. I am in New Hampshire now, but most relatives are from Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas. The Ferguson branch was from Texas - two Finger brothers married two Finger sisters (my grandparents - so I have double cousins). My grandfather's brother was CJ Finger, the author of the [1925] Newbery Award book Tales From Silver Lands, also Our Navy that Kennedy kept on his desk.

The Fingers in our family are known for being of good stature with large hands. They are frequently writers, artists, and interested in electronics (and computers!).

The database has been updated as of today, and this week marks the one-year anniversary of the NewsPage.

There's lotsa things to report this month. Betty and I took a trip (Sep 9-22) to Columbia, SC where we visited the South Carolina Archives to do some research on her family. We then went to Clarksville, Tennessee where we saw the birth of a new granddaughter. After that, we stopped in Connecticut to visit my sister, and to sort through more things at my mother's house. More about all this later.

I had stopped off at the local Family History Center again recently and got some census copies. The 1850 Ulster County, NY with some Fingers in Saugerties and some in Woodstock was one, and I got some copies of the 1850 Columbia County, NY census with Fingers found in Taghkanic, Claverack and Gallatin. I did not see the spelling Fingar on any of these. From these I found the following:

1. The children of Matthew Finger, age 35, laborer, and Sally A. Finger, age 34:
   Almira Finger, age 6
   Angeline Finger, age 3
   William Finger, age 10/12

2. I came across the name Houghtailing again. A male person with unreadable initials, age 15 and that last name was found in the household of James and Anna Woodruff, where Bryan Finger, age 19 was living.

3. There was Kurman Houghtailing living in the house with John and Eliza (Friss) Finger.

4. John Finger and his brothers Philip, Peter and Michael were all next door neighbors, as was Isaac Houghtailing, age 69. I have posted a query on the Houghtaling Genforum asking for further information. Cheryl Morrison reports that the wife of Philip, Lovinia Coons, may have been previously married to a Francis Houghtalling, she's still investigating this.

Larry Boddy hired Arthur Kelly to do some research and got the answers he was looking for. He found the correct birth date for Hannah Clum (who married Michael Finger), also her parents, siblings, and paternal grandparents. Nice going Larry and thanks for making the information available to us.

During my research at the South Carolina Archives I found Conrad Finger listed in the book Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots by Patricia Law Hatcher. The entry on page 32 read: Finger, Conrad Ref Ch Cem, Germantown, Columbia, NY 48. The number 48 refers to the year in which the grave was located, 1948.

In sorting through things at my mother's house, I found many more pictures which I'll add as time permits. Two I added today are my great grandfather's sister Alice Rowland and her husband Earl Wellington.

From the Lazorik side, I received a message from Christopher Lazurek, the grandson of Andrew Lazurek and Anna Bizak and the great-grandson of John Lazorik, whose family lived with my grandfather's family in the early 1900's. He sent me some updated information on his part of the family. I was able to add him, his mother, his wife and his two year old daughter. He presently lives in South Carolina. I was planning to visit with him during our South Carolina visit, but he had to be out of town at the time.

During the Connecticut part of the trip I was planning to visit with Skip Lazorik and meet a new cousin, but Hurricane Floyd upset our plans. However I was able to have a nice visit with Albert Ambrisko.

I have on file quite a few names that I don't know what to do with, so I have added an Unknown Relation page.

It has been a very busy month for us here in Sacramento, but there are quite a few interesting things I am pleased to relate.

I stopped off at the local Family History Center recently and found a book with entries from the 1855 Gallatin, Columbia NY census. I was able to verify much information I already have on file. But I found this concerning Adam Finger: Living with him in 1855 were his brother Jacob, a farmer, his widowed mother Dorothy, his sister Eve, his sister Betsy and a nephew, Egbert, the son of his brother Philip. There is no listing of a wife. I also was able to get Halena Finger connected to the correct parents, Philip and Lovina Finger. I found that Philip had a stepdaughter living with him, Anna Houghtelling, the first time I have seen this name.

I answered a message from Debbie Chrysler Ricci who offered to do lookups in a book she obtained Reformed Church, Copake, N.Y. by Arthur Kelly, which lists baptisms from 1783 - 1899. She then sent me a two-page document with many birth and baptism dates she found for the Finger name, which are now incorporated into the database.

Also, I have added a picture of my great grandmother Louise Anna Tenger.

Larry Boddy sent me a Gedcom file, and I was able to add many more Fingar relatives. Also, he sent Some Notes Concerning Hugh Fingar and his Family.

I spent some time browsing on the LDS site and I found and added a number of Deckers to the web site. It was Jeremiah Finger, the son of Johannes Finger and Tysje Dekker who moved from Columbia County to Yates County around 1820.

On my mother's side of things, Jane Parker sent a message with some additions to her part of the family. Jane is the daughter of John Julius Lazurek, the son of John Lazorik whose family lived with my grandfather's family in Derby, CT around the time of 1909-1920.

Last, but not least, Wilson Simmons, the Town Historian of Potter, NY sent numerous cemetery records. These deal with the portion of the Finger family that moved to Yates county mentioned above. Included are a number of Finger relatives that I don't yet know how they are related. Wilson was pleased to be added to the homepage list of Contributors and Researchers.

Again a big thanks to all the contributors. Our site continues to get over 1,000 hits a month, so I'm sure many people appreciate what we're doing.

The are quite a number of changes to report now. First, the database has been updated, including some additional Fingar connections; and, some Tribbeys have been added, thanks to contributor Patrick Tribbey. Some of the new information came from Carolyn Finger White, who sent an e-mail message last week with some connnecting information I didn't have. She retired from 30 years of teaching in May and is now "attempting to organize my research from 20 years ago". Also Cheryl Morrison sent me a Family Tree Maker file with updated information.

The are many more pictures, too. The first is William Benton Austin, brother of my great-grandmother Lydia Austin. Next is a picture of uncle Gus, Gustav Baur. I have a picture of my grandfather's brother, Dwight Austin Finger and his wife, Charlotte Abbott. Another great-great grandfather's picture has been added also, Christian Tenger.

In doing some research, I see that privacy is a growing concern. Therefore, I have added a Privacy Policy page to the Finger Family Website.

May 30, 1999

The database has been updated, so now all the recent changes and additions I've received should be on the site. This is the first time I've uploaded since I changed to Fzip Family Tree, let me know if there are any glitches on any of the pages.

Some items of interest include, a picture of Lillian Best who married Henry Finger in 1906. A picture of Floyd Fingar also has been added. And on the picture page, there is now a picture of Floyd and Foster Fingar who were twins born in 1911.

May 25, 1999

We are getting more and more interest in the web site. I have heard from two more researchers this week. I always enjoy hearing from them as I get more persons to add and corrections to some of the data I have posted. It's nice how all are willing to share, and I believe in sharing freely, too.

One contact came from Ed Rossman. He is a descendant of Johannes Roschmann, a Palatine ancestor. It was a member of this family, Hannah Rossman, who was married to John Shut. John Shut, in turn, was the grandfather of Maria Shutts, my great-great-grandmother who married Jacob Finger.

Another person I have heard from is Mary Lalumiere. Her husband is a descendant of Andrew and Matilda Sears of Ferrisburg, VT. This is interesting, since another descendant, Adolphus Sears married Mary Lazurek in Derby, CT in 1924. This is the Lazurek (Lazorik) family that my grandfather, Michael LaSurke was related to.

Also there were inquiries about the Farland and the Stickles families. I have a couple of names from each family, but the persons inquiring did not seem to be related.

May 18, 1999

Well I'm back from my trip to attend my mother's funeral and ready to move on. Quite a few things of interest to report.

My sister and I began going through our mom's house, and we found many interesting old family pictures and some old post cards. These post cards were sent to family members from about 1900 to 1920, and some contain clues to relationships. I'll post some pictures and add information from these post cards in coming weeks.

I posted a different, better picture of my mother, Vera Finger, and I posted a picture of my Aunt Phyllis, Phyllis LaSurke Edwards.

I have heard from Chrissy H., who has some information on the Decker family. Emrich Decker married Lea Finger in 1788 and Charles Decker married Dorothy Finger (unknown year).

Also have been in contact with Sue Sohn who is a descendant of the Moon family. She has given me additional persons to add to the site. William Moon was married to Anna Finger. She also sent some interesting commentary on the family's movement from Columbia county to Yates county and then on to Ohio. The new names and information will appear when I do the next upload, probably within the next two weeks.

I am in the process of converting from Brother's Keeper (DOS version) to a Windows^© based program. I have worked with Andrew Croft, the developer of Fzip Family Tree, a relatively inexpensive shareware genealogy program. It has many features I like, one of which will allow me to convert references to links, another is that is allows for a greater amount of text in the notes section.

I made contact with John Finn, who is related to that Finger family in Branford, CT I mentioned earlier (April 30). I found that they are not directly related to our line, they descend from Adam Finger who came to New Haven, CT from Germany in the 1800's.

The site continues to get about 900 hits a month, so there must be some interest in what we are doing. Thanks to all the Contributors and Researchers.

April 30, 1999

It is with a heavy heart that I must report the passing of my mother, Vera Finger, this morning at 4 a.m. eastern time. She had been battling cancer for almost a year, and was residing at Connecticut Hospice the past few weeks. Fortunately, I was contacted last week and was able to spend parts of 4 days with her, concluding my visit just two days ago, on Wednesday.

Yesterday I made contact with Deborah Finger, daughter of Phillip Finger of Branford, Connecticut. I had seen the obituary of her grandfather, Philip, while I was in Connecticut. We plan to meet together next week during my trip to help my sister make arrangements for my mother's funeral.

Also I have added a picture of the Rowland family taken in 1913.

April 11, 1999

More good news. Today I made contact with Paul Bullock, who has a web site concerning the Rector family. Eva Rector was married to Jeremiah Finger. The best part is that his site has a wealth of information on the migration of numerous families from Columbia county westward to Benton, NY just after 1816. As I mentioned in my March 16, 1999 news entry, I was anxious to find the connection between Columbia county and Yates county. On the home page I have added a link to an excerpt from the History and Directory of Yates County which describes the movement of many families from Columbia county to Yates county, including some of the Finger family.

April 9, 1999

At the kind suggestion of Shirley Maynard, I have added the text of Johannis Finger's will, written in 1779.

April 1, 1999

Today I've made some changes to the site, and I uploaded all the recent updates and additions that have been made to the database in recent weeks. I have made many of the references into links so now it's possible to link to another researcher's site. More of these will come as I have the time.

Also I have received some email from Carolyn Traver who says she's my Iowa connection. She's related to Christina Traver, who was married to Jacob J. Finger, my great-great-great grandfather, born February 21, 1786. Carolyn has offered to send me some interesting information on the Traver family's trip to America in 1710.

I notice the site search feature is being used, however, remember it's still in the beta testing stage and may have a few glitches.

March 24, 1999

I've added a new feature, although it's in the experimental (beta testing) stage right now. It is now possible to search the entire site for any word, including, of course, any person's name. Sometimes you might have to scroll down on a found page to get to the name you searched for. I have been in touch with the developers of the program, SearchButton, and they are looking into various ways to improve its capabilities.

March 18, 1999

Well, this week will be an interesting one. I have been in touch with Sheila Shutts who is related to Maria Shutts, my great-great-grandmother. Maria married Jacob Finger in 1840. As I mentioned earlier, there is a picture of their marriage record. In coming weeks I'll be adding and verifying the information I have on the Shutts family.

March 16, 1999

I have been contacted by Michelle Fingar, daughter of Larry and Ericka Fingar. This family presently lives in Chugiak (near Anchorage), Alaska and descends from the branch of the family in Yates county, NY. I have a few family members from that area listed, but I don't know how we are all connected. So I'm hoping by exchanging information with them we can add some more names and find some connections. They are as anxious as I am to discover our kinship. Stay tuned as we learn more. . .

I've taken some time off from my research lately, as I'm learning to create web pages for a part-time business. I'm learning about counters, and have added a counter to the Finger Family Home Page. Also at the bottom of my home page is a link to my business page.

I did get an e-mail from Therese Tinklepaugh, a descendant of the Tinklepaugh family, and added a few birth dates. I have only one connection to that family, Lena Finger married Adam Tinklepaugh about 1785, and they had 7 children. According to my genealogy program, I am the fourth-great-grand-nephew of Lena Finger!

Today I updated the entire web database with things I have been collecting since last month. Some other additions are listed below:

1. I posted a picture of the marriage record of Jacob Finger and Maria Shutts in 1840, taken from a microfilm of church records.

2. Also, Cathy Ambriscoe Mullenix kindly sent me some pictures to add, one of herself, one of her father, Albert A. Ambrisko and a picture of her grandmother, Julia Lazorik.

3. And recently I added a picture of my Aunt Frances and Uncle Charlie, Hyacinth Frances Rose, and her husband, Charles H. Rowland. In addition, there is a picture of my great-great grandfather, Charles F. Rowland

Two more pictures are now available. The first picture is of my grandfather, Michael Harry LaSurke with his two daughters Phyllis, and my mother, Vera. It was taken in front of Helen Street School in Hamden, CT in 1928.

The other is of my great grandparents Luther Rowland and Charlotte Alnora Hull Rowland and it too was taken in 1928, in front of their house on North Street in Hamden, CT.

Well, things are on the move again. I have heard from two more researchers who would like to contribute to this site.

Larry Boddy contacted me last month and we finally made arrangements this week. He is researching the Fingar, Kilmer and Coons (Kuntz) lines as well as associated Palatine families. He has some interesting pictures to send too, so we look forward to including them.

Also heard from Ted O'Bryan of Brookfield, NY who says he's related to himself about 15 different ways! He sent me attached files with information on the Shultis and Sax families, who settled around Catskill and Kingston in the 1700's.

It takes a little time to enter all the data and then upload it, but in the coming weeks I'll be adding things as time permits.

My thanks to these two new helpers, whose work we all appreciate.

I had to take a trip to Connecticut in December to visit my elderly mother and while there I did some research on the Lazorik family in Derby. Also I met George "Skip" Lazorik in Hartford and visited with him and his daughter, Judy, who also is researching the family.

In addition, I made contact with a nice lady at St. Michael's church, who sent me some birth and baptism information on many of the Lazorik's from Derby, CT.

While at my mother's I was able to borrow some old family pictures, and have added one so far to the site. Four generations are pictured here in this photo from 1939. I expect to add more soon, on both my father's and mother's side.