Lybarger Linkages Newsletter
Spring, 1998 . . . . . Vol. XIV No.
1 . . . . . ISSN 0887-9354
Official Newsletter of the Lybarger Memorial Association
LMA MEETING & REUNION PLANNED
We hope that you will plan to attend the annual meeting of the Lybarger Memorial Association and reunion at the Lybarger Lutheran Church at Madley, Pa. on Sat. and Sun. July 18-19. One important item to be discussed will be how The Lybarger Descendants has been selling. Copies for purchase will also be available. The schedule of events are as follows:
Sat. Lunch: 12 noon, Best Western Motel, Bedford, PA Trustees meeting: 1:45 p.m., Lybarger Lutheran Church, Madley Annual meeting: 2:30 p.m., Lybarger Lutheran Church Dinner: 6:30 p.m., Irene's Restaurant Bedford Sun. breakfast: 8:00 Clara's Place, Best Western Church Service: 10 a.m., Lybarger Lutheran Church nondenominational service of remembrance Photo opportunities and social fellowship: 11 a.m. Lybarger Church Picnic 12 noon, Lybarger Grove next to church
Twelve rooms have been reserved at the Best Western Motel for to Lybarger reunion. Call 814-623-9006 for reservations. Be sure to say that you are in the Lybarger reunion party. No reservations are required for any meals at the motel or at Irene's.
Coming by car, via the PA Turnpike, you exit at Bedford. Turn left out of the exit and proceed uphill. You will quickly see the Best Western on your left. There are many good motels but make your reservation early as Bedford is a popular tourist location. If you have the equipment you can camp under the trees at the Lybarger Picnic Grove. Call Jack Lybarger at 814-266-7919 for details. Any other questions? Call Jack Lybarger the LMA president at 740-342-3110.
LYBARGER HISTORY WELL RECEIVED
The Lybarger Descendants was reviewed recently in the official publication of the Ohio Genealogical Society. This is what was said: "Here is a fine example of what can be accomplished with computer technology plus the help of a family association and the dedicated willingness to devote thousands of hours to the project. The immigrant ancestor was Nicholas Leyberger (various spellings) in 1739 from the Palatinate. His descendants are traced through 13 generations, with a numbering system which, in combination with the index, allows easy location of any lineage.
"In addition, there is an excellent background of history, well footnoted, and suggestions as to avenues of research possible with the computerized data. The family moved into Frederick County, Maryland, on to Cumberland, then to Bedford County, PA. As they moved to Ohio, many settled in Knox County. There have been previous Lybarger family histories, but this book with its 18,141 names, becomes the most comprehensive on all known members of the family in the United States and Canada." (Maxine Hartmann Smith, reviewer)
Sales of The Lybarger Descendants are moving right along. As of March 31 there are just over 100 copies left. They will be available at the Lybarger reunion in Pennsylvania in July. If you are intending to get a book you best not delay but order your copy now. See last page of this newsletter for the cost and how to order.
LYBARGER HISTORIES ARE DONATED
The Lybargers Descendants has been donated to various libraries and genealogical societies. Here is the roster to date:
Connie Hillegass (Manns Choice, PA) to the Pioneer Library at Bedford, PA. It is a main center for genealogical research in Bedford Co. (County), PA.
Gen Smalling (Macomb, IL) one to the Fulton Co. Historical and Genealogical Society at Canton, Ill. She gave another one to the Schuyler County
Genealogy Society at Rushville, IL. and a third book to the McDonough Co.
Genealogy Society at Macomb, IL. Fran Zlock (Newtown, PA): one to the Lancaster Mennonite Library, Lancaster, PA.
Sam Lybarger (McMurray, PA): one to W. Penna. Genealogical Society (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA)
John Laverne Lybarger (Mansfield, OH): one to the Ohio Genealogy Society at Mansfield, Ohio and another to Willard Public Library, Battle Creek Mich.
Lee Lybarger (Delaware, OH) one to the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH where Donald F. Lybarger papers are archived.
The LMA sent books to two of the most important libraries in the country namely The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and the Library of the Church of the Latter Day Saints in Salt Lake City, UT. The books have yet to get into some of the most important libraries in the country including the Historical Society of Penna in Philadelphia, The Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, The Newberry Library in Chicago, and libraries in San Francisco, Houston, and New York. If anyone wants to donate a book for $27.00 please contact the LMA office.
BEWARE OF COMMERCIAL RIPP-OFFS
If you are like the editor of this newsletter you have been bom-barded with promotional material to buy "The New World Book of Lybargers" or "The Lybargers in America: from 1820 to 1997". Both come from a "Eugene Lybarger" of Halberts in Bath, Ohio. Hate to say it folks, but there just ain't no such critter. Eugene? Yes, but one lives in Arkansas, one in Oklahoma, and one in Illinois. There is no Eugene Lybarger in Ohio unless he has an unlisted address.
An excellent analysis of the Halbert's outfit was done by Dick Eastman who is the manager of the four genealogy forums on CompuServe and is an expert on genealogy research with the computer. He reports that Halberts is "the most notorious of the mail order companies that send out ads offering to sell… a book that tells all about your family name. These "books" are all mass produced by computers with family surnames and your name inserted in appropriate places."
Eastman goes on to say that "if you are gullible enough to order the book for $34.50 plus another $4.98 for postage and handling, you eventually receive a booklet of general information about how to get started in genealogy research plus many pages of extracts from old telephone directories listing people with the same last name as yours. The Halbert "book" I looked at last year had names and addresses listed for some of my relatives who had been deceased for years."
Eastman reports that Halbert's has been ordered to cease and desist from the false use of family names by the U.S. Postal Service and by court order. However, this has not stopped them. The long and the short of it is that you should not be taken in by them or others like them.
LYBARGER WEB SITE
We are fortunate to have our own valid bona fide Lybarger family organization with a newsletter, a recently published history, and a web page on the Internet. It can be accessed by simply typing "Lybarger" in any net search engine. The first item that comes up is "Lybarger Descendants". You can also access it by typing
www.richnet.net/~jllyb/ . This web site is maintained by John L. Lybarger of Mansfield, OH. He is officially authorized to create and operate this web site for the Lybarger Memorial Association. It contains information about the programs and events of the LMA. You can also communicate with John by e-mail at
jlybarger.neo.rr.com or with Lee Lybarger the newsletter editor at
lybarger@midohio.net .
If you have a computer with access to web sites you may have come across "Hall of Names International". For no charge they will do a family name search. They will also generate a full "family history" which including a coat of arms and a 1700 word history of your family name. A search of our name in their computer data base came up zero. Sorry to say, but we Lybargers have no coat-of-arms. We are descended from common folks. If you want information on your lineage it is far more reliable to contact John or Lee at their e-mail addresses noted above. Their snail mail addresses are: 2205 Cloverdale Dr., Mansfield, OH 44903 (John) or P.O. Box 611, Delaware, OH 43015 (Lee).
LYBARGER FAMILY NEWS
There is an outfit based in Denver, Colo. Which puts out a 28 page "Lybarger Family News". I, Lee Lybarger, ordered a sample copy for $3.00 and discovered that it consisted mostly of ads and promotional material. They take whatever information they receive and add it to the precanned material they have put together from various computer databases. It is important to remember that the information explosion on the Internet makes it possible to assemble information from a wide variety of sources including family names.
A good example is a brief piece they had on "The most popular Lybarger First names". I checked the national white pages on the world wide web and came up with a different order of first names. For example, "The Lybarger Family News" said that the most popular first name is George (13) when it is actually Robert and John (18 each). They said that Charles and William were next most popular (11 each) when in fact it is Charles, James, and William (15 each). After these comes George with 13 first names. Such a listing is, of course limited to those with names listed in telephone directories. There are many who choose not to be listed, who do not own telephones, or are too young, too old, or too poor to own a phone. So how many Lybargers there really are with the given names of Tom, Dick or Harry is anybody's guess.
One page was devoted to promotion of the so called Lybarger coat-of-arms. Another article purported to list the oldest
Lybargers who ever lived but are now deceased ranging from 91-97 Years. The sources of this information are not given. A complete listing would best be found by consulting The Lybarger Descendants. Additional information about the person would also be available.
In short, the best source of news about Lybargers past and present is the semiannual "Lybarger Linkages" which is now in its 14th year. It links together information and happenings about Lybargers no where else available. And it goes out to just over 1,000 households across the country and Canada. And not only that, we do not limit it to subscribers. A good example of its in depth reporting is found in the article in this issue entitled "Families: Real and Ideal" on page four. We hope that you will feel moved to make an annual dues contribution of $10 to the LMA. Without your dues it would not be possible to publish this newsletter. An application for dues is found on the last page.
IT'S A BOY!
Another Lybarger entered this crazy but wonderful world of ours on March 21, 1998. He is Collin Christopher Lybarger, son of Timothy Todd Lybarger and Lori Jill Roberts. Collin is the grandson of Billy Beryl Lybarger, and the great grandson of Margaret Coe and the late Merle C. Lybarger. TIM and Lori reside Gambier, OH. They bought and moved into his grandmother Lybarger's home on the day that son Collin was born! Tim is an accountant and Lori is a social worker.
SALLIE CHRISTMAN LYBARGER 1937-1998
It is with utmost sadness that the Feb. 6, 1998 death of Sallie Christman Lybarger of Shaker Hts., OH must be reported. Born on July 14, 1937, Sallie was the daughter of Dr. Herbert E. Christman and Margaret R. Burleigh She and her husband Leonard became acquainted during their Lakewood (OH) High School senior year. They graduated from the University of Michigan in 1959 where she received her Bachelors Degree in Nursing.
She was well known in the field of diabetes education and was elected to a variety of positions in local and national diabetes organizations. She was a member of the American Diabetes Assoc., the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the American Association of Diabetes Educators. She was a founding member and past president of the Northeastern Ohio Chapter of AADE. She received the "Trustee of the Year" award from the Diabetes Assoc. of Greater Cleveland. As the daughter of a physician and a nurse, she learned at a young age how to live life to its fullest with insulin-dependent diabetes and enjoyed assisting others in doing the same.
Sallie will be missed by her colleagues in the diabetes community, and by her many friends and relatives to whom she gave so much of herself. She was an elder of the Old Stone Presbyterian Church of Cleveland and, together with her husband, a member of the Lybarger Memorial Association from its beginning in 1985.
She is survived by her devoted husband, daughter Allyson, and husband Glenn Graham and their two children, and by son Kyle and wife Jennifer Stuck and their son. In addition, she is survived by her parents; her brothers John and Calvin Christman and their families; sister-in-law Cornelia Lybarger and husband Henry Neuswanger; and brother-in-law Lee H. Lybarger and wife, Connie Diller.
SISTERS MARRY BROTHERS
The Lybarger Descendants (p. 51) contains an interesting bit of marriage history from the late 1700's. Mary (1765-1833) and Elizabeth (about 1766-1847) were two of seven children of Nicholas Lybarger Sr. (about 1733-1808). These sisters married into the firmly of Catharine and Abraham Miller Sr. Mary married Elias Miller (1763-1848) in March , 1789 and Elizabeth married Abraham Miller Jr. (1765-1823) (marriage date not known). Both of these families lived in adjoining Pennsylvania counties - Mary and Elias in Bedford and Elizabeth and Abraham in Somerset County.
It gets more interesting. Mary and Elias had 8 children and Elizabeth and Abraham had 10 children. In each of the two families one was named Abraham, a second was John, another was Sarah, and a fourth was Rachel! In addition, Mary and Elias had a daughter Mary and Elizabeth and Abraham had a daughter Mary Ann. There must have been a lot confusion when these families got together for the holidays or for birthday celebrations!
THE MEANING OF YOUR MONOGRAM
Did you ever think that your initials could be rated as "good" or "bad" from a health point-of-view? Well, if recent research is to be believed there could be something to it. Researchers at the University of California at San Diego, looked up 27 years worth of 27 million California death certificates mid came up with some startling results. They reported, according to a news report in the March 28, 1998 "Columbus Dispatch "(OH), that men with "good" initials lived 4.8 years longer than those with neutral or ambiguous monograms, while those with "bad" initials died an average of 2.8 years earlier than those with neutral monogram.
Examples of "bad" initials would be APE, BAD, BUG, SAD UGH, DIE, MAD, RAT. Those with "good' initials include ACE, GOD, HUG, JOY, WIN, WOW. The researchers said that "there's some psychological symbolic factor than can exert its impact cumulatively over the years. You get teased at school, and wonder what your parents thought of you."
The news report said that "liking your name and liking yourself may be linked, and that parents should be sensitive when naming children. A professor at the psychiatry Department of
Louisiana State University concluded that "If people tend to look at your name and look up to you and laugh, you're sort of at a disadvantage". But she warned that this does not mean that "good" initials by themselves mean that you will live longer than those with "bad" initials. Too many other factors are involved.
Imagine what this could mean for Lybargers (or Lybergers). How would you classify those with the initials EEL, ILL, KIL, PIL, or YEL? What if you are a female and have the initials CAL, WIL, or BIL? Would you be kidded for having a male name? Or what if you are a male with the initials of VAL, JIL, or SAL? Were you ever kidded for having the initials of a female name?
If you have a sunny personality and your initials are SOL that would be a good fit as SOL was the sun god of the ancient Romans. Another good fit is the Lybarger who is in sales and has the initials SEL. If you are a commercial pilot and have the monogram of JAL you might have to explain why you do not fly for Japan Airlines. Or what about an OIL monogram? That suggests a person with a smooth slick personality or maybe one who can dispel conflict and calm troubled waters. Or maybe it refers to a Lybarger who is a rich Texas tycoon!
We can go one step further and look at those with the middle name of Lybarger (or Lyberger). What if you are a nondrinker but have the initials of ALE? Would these initials be classified as "bad": ELF, OLD, ILK? If your initials are OLE that is the Spanish expression for bravo!. If your monogram is ALI you might be considered to be a Muslim.
The possibilities of what different initials could mean are almost endless. Wise parents will take this into consideration when naming a new-born child. If any of you have experiences, good, bad, or humorous, about your initials, please send them to the LMA office and they will be reported in a
follow up story.
FAMILIES: REAL AND IDEAL
Lets admit it. We live in a time when we are not sure what some of the simplest things mean. Take "family" for example. We usually think of it as a group consisting of a married couple and their offspring which is the case is the majority of cases. But now the concept of "family" has been extended to include single parents and their children, remarried divorced couples and their children from earlier marriages, and even homosexual couples and their adopted children.
Many of us look to an earlier time pictured in the illustrations of Currier & Ives or Norman Rockwell which depicted the peaceful homestead of loving parents and their children perhaps with grandparents hovering in the background. Or maybe we carry the image of television's "Leave it to Beaver" around in our heads.
Whatever the case, the stark reality has always been something else. Richard Shenkman, in his book Legends, Lies, & Cherished Myths of American History (pg. 71-76) devotes a chapter to the way the family really was. For example, children were raised by their fathers in the colonial period. It was not until the middle 1800's that mothers had the economic freedom to devote themselves full-time to their offspring. Children were looked upon as little adults. As late as 1845 juvenile books were considered a novelty.
Couples did not marry for love until about the time of the American Revolution. Divorce proceedings did not mention loss of affection as grounds for separation. According to Shenkman, "court records show that the number of divorces began increasing in the nineteenth century when women began demanding to be treated as equals." By the late 1800's "so many Americans divorced that the federal government decided it was a major social problem." By the 1920's "Americans were divorcing almost as often as in the early 1960's. One change is that today almost everyone tries their hand at marriage while a century ago 10 percent of American women preferred not to marry.
Some may claim that if divorce did not come from the failure of religion or the national character it sprang from the unprecedented growth of single-parent homes. Shenkman states that this is not true. "Children in America have often had to grow up in single-parent families. In late seventeenth Virginia, for instance, parents died so young that most children were reared by just one parent and more third lost both parents. In the nineteenth century death came so early that the proportion of families headed by a single parent came so early that the proportion of families headed by a single parent was roughly the same as today. It resulted in a widespread incidence of combined or 'blended'
familes. Such families are not new.
This and the next issues of "Lybarger Linkages" will be devoted to a survey of the early generations of Lybarger history which bear out what Shenkman has said about the prevalence of broken families. The editor studied 69 families in the first four generations in the new history, The Lybarger Descendants where death dates of the parents and birth dates of their children could be identified. He found 29 instances or 44.6% where one or both of the parents died before at least one child had reached age 16. It is assumed that by 16 a child could, to a greater or lesser extent, be independent of their parents. Obviously the actual age probably varied based on the needs of particular families. This and the next issue will discuss such families and suggest how the loss of one or more parent was remedied. Reference to the family under consideration will be preceded by their code number so that owners of The Lybarger Descendants can find the family in their book.
The most notable example of a broken and blended family is Ludwick Lybarger Sr's (#3) family. It is from him and his two wives that the overwhelming number of Lybargers are descended. Sometime before or after 1758 he married a Barbara. They had 8 children. We do not know when Barbara died (we assume there was no divorce) but we do know that he married again to a Philbena in the late 1700's. They had 7 children. How many of these children lived to adulthood is not known but we can surmise that accommodating so many children under one roof must have been a challenge at best. Presumably the older siblings helped raise the younger ones. In any event it is hard to imagine how relations among 15 siblings from two mothers must have worked out!
A different example is Margaret Lybarger (#11) (1768-1855) who married Henry Amrine Jr. about 1791. they had 8 children. The last two, Elizabeth and Rebecca, were born in 1802 and 1811. However, Henry died in about 1815 at age 45 when these two children are only 13 and 4. It is not known if Margaret remarried or if any of the older children were on hand to help with parenting An-older sister, Susanna, married in 1818 when her kid sister, Rebecca, was still only 7. Were Margaret's brothers and sisters able to be of economic assistance at least to Margaret? It is hard to say for sure what arrangements were worked out as they had their own large families (8-10 children) to raise.
And then there is Anthony Lybarger (#46) 1800-81 who married Elizabeth Geller about 1825. They moved from Bedford County, PA to Richland County, OH in 1933 a year before
the last child was born He owned a saw and grist mill. However, Elizabeth died in 1836 leaving 5 children without a mother, 2 of whom were under 6 years. Anthony remarried to a Marjorie McKinney but not until 8 years later. Who cared for the children in the interim is not known. Presumably they were taken in by his brothers or sisters. However, only his brother Daniel moved to Richland County and he had a family of 10 to provide for.
Most of Anthony's other siblings moved to the adjoining Knox County or stayed in Bedford County, PA. And again, they each had large families; of their own to look after. Thus when a parent died leaving many dependent children it created a hardship for not only the remaining parent but for any other families who cared for the children. We are talking here about a time in the early 1800's when life in rural Ohio was a difficult existence without Social Security or modem conveniences that we have come to expect today.
John Demos, an American historian, point out in his essay "Images of the American Family, Then and Now" (in Changing images of the Family edited by Virginia Tufte and Barbara Myerhoff, 1984), that "the family and the wider community were joined in a relation of profound reciprocity: one might almost say they were continuous with one another." He says that membership in the family was not all that different from what we see today: husband, wife and their natural-born children. However, other persons often did join this unit including "orphans, apprentices, hired laborers, and a variety of children "bound out" for a time in conditions of fosterage. ...such persons lived as regular members of many colonial household; and if they were young, the "master" and "mistress" served in loco parentis. Occasionally. convicts and indigent people were directed by local authorities to reside in particular family". Thus it is likely that orphans or dependent children of single parents were farmed out to close relatives or members of the church or community.
A particularly tragic situation occurred in Kaskaskia, Randolph County, Illinois. Samuel Lybarger (#102), a blacksmith, married in 1819 to Mary Taylor. Between them they had 8 children. However, Mary died in 1834 at age 35 and Samuel died in 1835 at age 39. They left 8 children orphans all under age 16 and the two youngest were 5 and 3 years old. It is not known what became of the children. Presumably they were farmed out to one or more of their aunts or uncles. However, most of their father's sibling's families never came to Illinois preferring to stay in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.
There are other stories from The Lybarger Descendants that illustrate how precarious and difficult family life really was in the days when our ancestors were barely removed from frontier existence in Pennsylvania, Ohio, or Illinois. These were not the lives of those depicted in Currier & Ives paintings or Norman Rockwell illustrations. These Lybargers, where death came when there were children at home, may be counted as unsung heroes and heroines to whom we are deeply indebted. The next issue will continue with more accounts drawn from The Lybarger Descendants , so stay tuned.
LYBARGERS AUTHOR BOOKS
We have two writers of fiction in our greater family. Four novels written by Jon and Lois Foyt were recently sent on to the newsletter for reviewing for this issue. Jon Foyt was born Otto Johann Feucht on June 4, 1932 in Indianapolis, IN. He married Lois Ann Rehfeldt on Aug. 26, 1951 who was born on Dec. 20, 193.2 at Fond Du Lac, WI. Otto has gone by the pen name of Jon Foyt ever since Sept. 19, 1977. He is, however, the grandson of Eva Lybarger (born 1871) and the son of Anna Mae Lybarger Counts (1892-1956).
Jon and Lois's short novels were written between 1995 and 1998. The brief descriptions that follow are drawn from the flyleafs. All are hard bound editions except Marathon, My Marathon The first one, Last Train from Mendrisio opens when Trevor Thomson dies in a mysterious fall from a Swiss train resulting in a legal battle for his billion dollar estate. The heirs are his stepchildren Sam, a history professor in New Mexico, and Judith, a do-good socialite. Then there is high-powered black Felicia who was allegedly fathered by Trevor. The tycoon's funeral on a remote Caribbean island is the focus for those who mourn a benefactor and who remember an oppressor and those who dream of love and charity. But it is back in Switzerland when the traditional Mendrisio Easter Pageant turns into a menacing nightmare that fate springs some surprises. The book has 270 pages.
Their second novel, Postage Due happens to be very relevant, to recent news from the Balkan states of Europe. This book centers on Toledo Squires who is weary of corporate America and has a dream of turning Albania into a modem country. His girlfriend, Katherine, has a dream of preserving the country's heritage so that it becomes an unspoiled tourist paradise. It is 220 pages.
Their third book, Marathon, My Marathon, brings together a melding of history, athletics and environmental sensitivity. It centers on Cotton, an artist who stills mourns the infant daughter she gave up 24 years ago; Mel, a Hollywood stuntman; Keith, the barefoot wonder; Howard, an octogenarian runner, and others. All are obsessed with the sport of running and with changing the history of a town in western Texas. It is 124 pages.
Their most recent book, just published this year, is Four Corners and is authored under the pen name of Ruth Clapsaddle-Counts which is a composite of Lois's great great Chippewa grandmother and Jon's grandmother, Eva Lybarger Counts. It is the story of Anna Ardmore, an eminent Southwest archaeologist and Worthington Rhodes, a Washington, DC transportation czar. They are each consumed by ideals that are bound to clash. Both struggle to fulfill their dreams despite the best efforts of their fiercest antagonisms. It is only through great sacrifice that they can find the means to save their dreams. This novel also has relevance to the recent news item about the proposal to build a six-lane highway through the Petroglyph National Monument, an austere expanse of black volcanic boulders etched with ancient images of dragonflies, serpents and masked men. The book is 200 pages.
These books may be purchased from the authors for 20% off the list price plus $3.00 for priority mailing. They can be reached at 369 Montezuma #332, Santa Fe, N.M. 87501, by e-mail at
jon@cnsp.com , or by phone at (505) 820-2292
COUSINS MARRY SISTERS
An interesting inter-family marriage relationship in The Lybarger Descendants (p. 51-52) concerns Margaret Lybarger (1768-1855), younger sister of Mary and Elizabeth mentioned earlier, who, together with her cousin Ludwick Lybarger Jr. (1764-1845) married into the Amrine family. In 1791 Margaret married Henry Amrine Jr. (1770-1815. He was the son of John H. Amrine and Sarah Picony. Ludwick Jr. married Elizabeth Amrine (1767-1833). We do not know who her parents were so we have to presume they were the same as for Henry Amrine as their birth years were only 3 years apart and they were from the same Bedford County, PA.
LYBARGERS ON THE WEB
The presence of Lybargers on the Internet is really expanding. Our relations are posting their hobbies and businesses on the electronic information highway in the hopes of connecting with anyone from any country who has similar interests. You can find out who's who and who might have an interest comparable to yours if you have a computer and are hooked up to the Internet. Simply type "Lybarger" in any of the search engines (Yahoo, Webcrawler, Excite, etc.) click on "search". A list of references will appear where the word "Lybarger" maybe found, i.e. the reference may not include the word "Lybarger" in its listing, but by clicking on the reference a Lybarger will be found in the document.
A good example is "History of Olympia, WA" which contains within its web site a reference to Lybarger Street where, at the comer of 10th Ave., is found Madison Scenic Park. The "Official Hazardous Web Site" features members of the rock band called "Hazardous" and includes a color photo of Joe Lybarger playing his electric guitar. It also explains the kind of music he plays.
If you would like to check out a web site that Win blow your socks off try "Lucky's Ultimate Thug Immortal Homepage". You will be in for a real surprise when you click on that web site and find the photo of Lucky Lybarger!!
Then there is a reference to "Lybarger Racing Enterprises" which has served race cars drivers for over 25 years with parts, track side support, transmission and shock services, and free advice. Or maybe you would be interested in "Zepfest 1997 Photos" which includes a Jeff Lybarger who has his own web site entitled "Song of the Day" which promotes rock music.
Another web site entitled, "Winfield Daily Courier", features the photos and brief bios of the staff of this newspaper. Included is Eric Lybarger who covers the sports for Winfield College and events in surrounding towns. Eric's wife, Carrie, teaches at Cowley County Community College. Their first child, Victoria May, was born on Sept. 19, 1996. Winfield is southeast of Wichita and about 18 miles north of the Oklahoma state line.
Most of the web sites put you in touch with folks who are doing genealogy that impact directly or indirectly on Lybargers. The most extensive example is the reference to "Lybarger Descendants". It and certain other web sites refer to John L. Lybarger's web page,
www.richnet.net/~jllyb/ . It is authorized by the Lybarger Memorial Association and it is the one site where news and events of the LMA may be found and where Lybarger family history information is being collected.
If you do not own a computer or are not on the Internet you can always access these web sites with the computer at your local library. Your librarian will be very willing to be of assistance. Of course you may have to wait your turn behind all the children who use the library's computer!
MEDICAL GENEALOGY
When family relations fall victim to the same severe illness many of us are left wondering why they got the disease but no one else. Could he or she have inherited the propensity for the illness from parents or grandparents? It is common knowledge that certain diseases run in families. One of the best known genetic disorders is hemophilia (lack of clotting in the blood). It is usually transmitted from a mother to her sons. Queen Victoria is a well known example. Other inherited illnesses include non-insulin dependent diabetes, alcoholism, sickle cell anemia, Tay Sachs Disease. Sometimes mere susceptibility to disease can be inherited. For example, a tendency to develop heart attacks or specific types of cancer seems to run in some families.
A good example of a disease transmitted through families is polycystic disease, or PKD. It is characterized by the growth of cysts on the kidneys which cause the organ to malfunction. There is no known cure other than risky kidney transplants. Erma Bombeck the writer and humorist died from it in 1996 following a kidney transplant. It afflicts over 600,000 people in America more than many other better known diseases combined.
Our attention was drawn to PKD because of a PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETI'E story that Christine Lybarger sent in. She has the disease as do 4 of her 5 sisters one of whom died following a kidney transplant in 1996. Last year this disease surfaced in her son, Brian Lybarger. Christine is a coordinator for the PKD fun-nation that raises funds to do research and educate the public. She reports that her mother, Dorothy Plunkett Fulton, was a carrier of PKD. She has three brothers and two sisters of whom one brother and both sisters inherited it. Many of Christine's cousins have also inherited PKD. She sent the article in the hopes that the LMA would publicize the story and to help educate folks about this disease.
Could there be a family-related illness in your future? To find out chart a family health tree. The Lybarger Descendants will likely contain the names not only of your family but those of your parents, grandparents and on back to the original immigrant. There is also a pedigree chart in the rear of the book where the names of your family and ancestors can be inserted. Note how long they lived. You can find out the causes of death of your relations and ancestors by writing to the Vital Records office of your state health dept. Some of the information may be found in family letters, or from older members of your relations. And do not overlook cousins aunts and uncles.
The value of having this information may alert you to watch your diet, request more screenings from your doctor, or prevent a misdiagnosis. It would also be a blessing to younger persons to know what to be on the lookout for as they get older. But do not think that knowing your health future will result in bad news. After all longevity, can also be genetic. A good resource to consult on this whole topic is Family Diseases: Are you at Risk? by Myra Gormley (Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989).
1910 MISSIONARY PHOTO DISCOVERED
In the Fall of November, 1987 "Lybarger Linkages ran a story about Lela M. Lybarger who was a Methodist missionary to China. Born on Sept. 3, 1871, she was the eldest daughter of Sarah Gilbert and George Henry Lybarger of Monroe Mills, Knox County, Ohio. She was sent to Tzechow, China to do evangelistic work for the Women's Missionary Society of the Methodist Church. She died at age 62 in 1933 and was buried in the British Cemetery at Tiensin, China.
What brings this story to life is the recent discovery of a photograph that appeared in The Gospel of Gentility American Women Missionaries in the turn-of-the-century China. by June Hunen (Yale University Press, 1984). The picture was taken in 1910 and shows how missionary women traveled in the countryside accompanied only by male Chinese bearers. This is most interesting as they were not allowed to be unchaperoned in the company of American or European men! In the photo, below, Lela is setting out on a village excursion. Her colleague, Alice Brethorst, traveled alongside of her carried by her own entourage of coolies.
This photo story is also interesting because of the current interest in China as an emerging economic and trading power in the world today. Thanks goes to Loren D. Lybarger who came across this photograph while pursuing his Ph.D. studies at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.
