Historian's Report Winter 1997
By Patricia Thayer Muno
Probably the most exciting news we have to share is the tremendous success of the Mass Mailing Project. Our membership has increased incredibly since this work was accomplished. As most of you know, the original deadline for the acceptance of any new information for inclusion in the forthcoming Thayer genealogy was 31 Dec 1996. It is because of the diligent efforts of members that contributed their hard work in attempting to informing every Thayer family in America of this worthwhile project that the deadline has been changed to 30 June 1997. This will mean that I will commence the formatting of A Comprehensive Genealogy of the Thayer Family of America upon my return home from our Thayer Family Reunion and TFA Annual I Meeting to he held the week of June 18th through the 22nd. Your TFA leaders have been working the last two months to pull together the necessary elements to make this 1997 gathering an event ëto die for!î Please set aside this week to come and meet with us in Braintree, MA at that time. Our emphasis will be on having fun and getting to know one another! Watch for additional details, and hope to see you THAYER!
If large amounts of ìrawî or non-compiled information is submitted in the next few months, it may not be received in time to be included in the publication. I have an incredible backlog of requests and submissions, regardless of the extensive amount of hours I have expended trying to keep up with the e-mail and ìsnail mailî correspondence! fldt During the months immediately following the Mass Mailing Project, I was receiving upwards of 100 e- mail messages a day! If you are one of those individuals still waiting for a response to your mailing, I thank you for your patience and long-suffering. I will earnestly attempt to respond to each that requires a response. My sincere gratitude to the numerous Thayers who sent words of appreciation and encouragement to me at Christmas time.
Also, I must put a deadline of three more months on the submission of pictures to be included in the comprehensive genealogy. Please send your pre-1920 photographs of Thayer ancestors to our TEA photographer for his duplication.
Robert William Thayer 1194 Parkwood Blvd. Schenectady, NY 12308
Introducing New Family Representatives
Bruce Errol Thayer of Fairchild, WI will serve as the Family Representative for the descendants of Martin P. Thayer and Elmira Collar. Martin was born 1822 in Litchfield Co., CT and died 1860 in WI. His wife, Elmira was born 1830 and died 1887. This couple went to Fond du Lac County in Wisconsin in 1849, eventually settling in Empire Township where they lived tine remained of their lives and are buried. Many of their descendants remain in that area to this day.
Bruce is a farmer and educator with a background in History, Social, and Political Science. His work in teaching Adult Basic Education at a local Vocational College for the last decade has been the most rewarding time of his life. Bruce's premise for teaching current affairs is that "to appreciate what we have today, we need to know who and what was sacrificed for our freedoms and responsibilities." This came about through an assignment in his Freshman Civics class when his teacher wanted the students to know where they came from!
Bruce and Karen Thayer
If you have information to share with Bruce on the line of Martin and Elmira, he may be reached at: ToRoy Farm, W14101 County Rd. B, Fairchild, WI 54741. E- mail address: ToRoyFarrn@aol.com. Bruce is shown here with his wife Karen.
Randy and Cindy Thayer
Randy James Thayer of Dimondale, MI found us through the Internet! He will serve as Family Representative for the descendants of Willard Thayer (1813-1876) and Amelia NEAR (1824-1909). Willard was of Carroll, Chautauqua Co., NY; he settled with his family in Aurelius, Ingham Co., Michigan about 1851. If you have information to share with Randy on the descendants of this couple, please contact him at: 4478 hiailcy Road, Dimondale, MI 48821-9705. E-mail address: RJThay@aol.com. Randy is shown here with his lovely wife, Cindy.
Lynne and Eric with daughters Allison and Diane
Lynne Thayer Bartholomay of Kingstown, RI has been representing the line of George Washington Thayer (1817- 1892) and Candace Rising (1808-1880). Lynne is one of my first family representatives. She can be contacted at: 130 Sedgefield Rd., North Kingstown, RI, 02852-3818.
This is probably the third picture I have been sent of Lynne. I apologize for taking so long in getting one in the newsletter. Ed.
Lonnie, Cyndi, LJ, Clay, Curt, Kordell Thayer
Lonnie Eugene Thayer and his wife Cyndi will serve jointly as Family Representatives for the descendants of their earliest known ancestors, Ira Allen Thayer (1872-1941) and Anna Katherine RUPPERT (born 1872). This couple's earliest known origins commence in Peoria, Peoria Co., IL. The couple settled in Montgomery County, IA by 1900 and then in Frontier County, NE where they lived the remainder of their lives. Their descendants settled primarily in NE, but also spread out to KS, CO, NV, TX, FL and AZ.
Ira and Anna remain in my "Unplaced" files. If anyone has any information that may help Lonnie and Cyndi with the parentage of Ira Allen Thayer, or information to share on the descendants of this couple, please contact them at 7721-A Saratoga Ave., Tucson, AZ 85708. E-mail address: Rodeodust@aol.com. Lonnie, who works as a security guard and Cyndi, who runs a day care in their home, are shown here with their four adorable sons, "LJ," Clay, Kurt, and Kordell. And these guys go roller-blading at the end of every day, just for exercise?!
We are always looking for new writing talent and fresh ideas for our great newsletter! Is your branch of the family planning a Reunion this summer? If so, you may wish to send your information to our editor so that it can be announced in the next newsletter.
If you have E-mail and have not let us know, please share your on-line addresses with us. Notices can be sent to Barbara Reese at Windancer3@aol.com. Barbara is kindly helping me keep track of the many, many Thayers who have joined us online!
If you have not checked out our AWESOME TFA home page on the World Wide Web lately--you will be pleasantly surprised!!
The site can be found by most web browsers if you enter "Thayer Families" (www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/4507/ tfa.htm) Lee Thayer, our hard-working Internet Chairman keeps adding new pages and some really amazing Thayer related links. So many of our "new" cousins are finding us through this great service! Lee, who is serving in the Navy in Japan, is going to be out to sea for a few months and Robert James Thayer of VA will be helping to keep the pages current. Our thanks to Bob for his willingness to help in this capacity! Bob may be reached at the following e-mail address: RThayer@idsonhine.com. If you are one of our on-line Family Representatives, and if you have not already done so--please let us know that it is ok to list your e-mail address on the home page.
Representative, Lu Anne Kriebs of Omaha, NE has performed a valuable service of extracting a large assortment of Thayer-related NE, IA, and IL records over the years. She has organized and computerized all this data and submitted it for our files. Many thanks to Lu Anne for this project.
Member, Patricia O'Sullivan of Kingman, AZ is a perfect example of a most willing assistant. Pat is never waiting around for someone to seek her out--she is always camped on my e-mail doorstep asking: "Next assignment, Tricia?"
Rep Jerry Thayer and wife, Judy, of Hampton, VA have made some gigantic strides in the Vermont research this last Fall during one of their jaunts to that state.
We can all be very thankful for the volunteered services of G. David Thayer of Salem, OR. David found us through surfing the Internet when he came across our TFA home page. He has made a couple of trips to visit with me here in Beaverton, and will be helping me with the tedious work of formatting our forthcoming Thayer family genealogy!