Robert WEAKLEY,
descendants
Genealogy Mailing List Digest Archives

WEAKLEY-ROBERT-D-request@rootsweb.com

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My name is Ken Powers. I am the owner of this list, which means I am responsible for the administration of the list. (Email: kenpow@bellsouth.net)

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SOME BRIEF INSTRUCTIONS:

1. There are two versions of the list. You may subscribe to either one.
There is probably no reason to subscribe to both, but you may if you want to.

2. To subscribe send an email to:
Weakley-Robert-L-request@rootsweb.com (for the individual message version)
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Use only one word in the body of the message: subscribe

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6. To Post a Message to the List: Send an email to Weakley-Robert-L@rootsweb.com

PURPOSE OF THE LIST and SOME BACKGROUND:

The purpose of this list is to promote exchange of information among descendants of Robert Weakley, a pioneer immigrant to Southern Virginia, whose family is now scattered over the world. A major part of the family moved to Tennessee in the 1790s and later, with a large number of descendants now living in several Middle Tennessee counties.

The main source document, which has served as the launching pad for additional research, is The Southern Virginia Weakley Families and Their Descendants (abbreviated SVWF) by Samuel Anderson Weakley (abbreviated SAW), privately published in 1963. This work was done manually, and involved many hours of travel, interviewing, photographing, recording, and arranging material. Mary Weakley, SAW's wife, then wrote camera-ready copy of the 500-page book by hand. While there are errors and shortcomings, this was obviously a labor of love for Sam and Mary, and a contribution of inestimable value to our family and to genealogy.

The referencing system used in SVWF appears to be unique, and is quite simple and convenient. Each of the four children of Robert Weakley, the patriarch, is assigned a letter according to order of birth: William is A, although there are no descendants in his line as he never married; Robert is B, m. Elinor Stewart; James is C, married Hannah Coffee; and Jean is D, married John Stewart. Descendants in each line are given a number according to birth order; for example, I am decended from Thomas, the second child of Robert and Elinor, whose reference number is B2. By the time it gets down to me in the seventh generation, my number is B2.8a.7.6.1.3. The reference 8a indicates the second wife of John C.H. Weakley, the 8th child of Thomas. Third spouses are designated by the letter b, and so forth, but numbering of children continues according to the Weakley or Weakley-descended parent. SAW stopped with the seventh generation, and had many gaps prior to that. He also stopped his lines of descent after two generations in female lines. One of our purposes could be to expand descent to further generations and to greater depth in female lines.

Another purpose of this mailing list could be to grow in relationship to the point that we could create and sustain a Weakley Family Association with a family historian and whatever that may involve. Whatever our purposes might eventually come to be, there has to be a beginning, and I am happy that you have chosen to be a part of that.

MAILING LIST ETIQUETTE: It may come as something of a surprise to you, but a reminder of mailing list etiquette has proven necessary on most lists. So I am posting a few here for your consideration.

1. Please participate in discussion. Share your information and insights. Lurkers will not be ejected, but perpetual lurking does not contribute to the common good.

2. Please keep your messages on topic; that is, related to matters of interest and applicability to the Robert Weakley Families, as discussed in the purposes section. Topics of interest include migrations, immigrations, historical and biographical sketches, Weakley settlements, census data, wills, family Bibles, vital records, web sites, etc. Public announcement of information of interest to genealogists in general, though it may not be Weakley-specific, may be posted, but please use discretion.

3. In replying to posted messages, keep quoting to a minimum, in order to keep the length of messages down. A good rule is to quote only enough to identify the thing to which you are responding, and that only when it is not apparent from context.

3. Do Not Post announcements or opinions on current political events, and in any case, keep such postings relevant to Weakley history.

4. Do Not Post virus warnings, test messages, chain letters, items for sale, personal messages of a general nature, etc.

5. Do Not Attach files to messages. If a member wants a file that you have, send it by private email.

6. Do Be Courteous; no flaming. It seems that should go without saying on a family mailing list, but experiences of other family lists shows the warning to be warranted. One of my responsibilities as list owner is to maintain a friendly environment. I am committed to that purpose, and although I would not enjoy removing a member from the list, I will if it becomes necessary to maintain a proper environment. PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This mailing list is hosted by rootsweb.com.
Rootsweb was founded in 1996 by Dr. Brian Leverich and Karen Isaacson.
Due to their foresight, expertise, and financial commitment, we have a wealth of genealogical information and communications resources available to us.
Visit the http://www.rootsweb.com website and learn how you can contribute to the maintenance of this resource.

Email: kenpow@bellsouth.net
Ken's web page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/3779