In the course of genealogical events, it is sometimes necessary to think outside the box. To find other resources to use and to knock of those To-Do List items. Such was the case the other day. I had several books on my list that I wanted to take a look at.
The first one I got from Ancestry and was the National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. The person it was in reference to was Edward Rumsey Wing. He was the youngest head of a foreign mission, appointed when he was just 24. Apparently it was a bit too much for Edward or E. Rumsey Wing as he was also known, because he drank himself to death. Nice story, eh? Got that tidbit from the State Department archives. Unfortunately, he is not in volume 5 of that book, so it got removed from my list. In stumbling around the web, however, I find that he was considered the worst diplomat of all time, first trying to annex Ecuador to the United States and then trying to assassinate the British Ambassador. Guess it was a good thing for the United States that he drank himself to death.
Then I had a couple people in Lee, Massachusetts that I wanted to check out and the book needed was Vital Records of Lee Massachusetts to 1850. That was accomplished by downloading the PDF of the book. I think that cross off four more items.
I had hoped to find the rest of the books on the web, but no luck. So those items will remain on the list a little longer. It just is so easy to forget to Google your relative's name. And it is so much easier to do if you leave a little reminder for yourself!
Copyright 2010, ACK for Gene Notes
Why am I not surprised that the man who preferred Rumsey to Edward as a first name drank himself to death. I understand that in diplomatic circles, attempting to assassinate your foreign counterparts is very bad form.
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