She was a beautiful, young Irish maid, working in a wealthy English household. Her employer’s oldest son fell in love with her. When he announced intentions to marry her, his parents said they would disown him. He married her anyway. Then, bride and groom ran away to live happily ever after. “Her name was Mary Cordial,” my maternal grandmother Marilyn Matilda Dietz told me, that distinct glimmer of pleasure in her eyes—the one she always had when she retold this story. “And you are her legacy.”

This blog is a resource for those who want to--have to--find out more about who they came from.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

New Goodreads Giveaway for "Publicize This!"

Do you work for an underfunded or completely unfunded community/nonprofit group? Then please enter my Goodreads Giveaway, which begins shortly, for a FREE copy of Publicize This! Promoting Your Group or Nonprofit on a Limited or Nonexistent Budget:



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Publicize This! Promoting Your Group or Nonprofit on a Limite... by Kathleen P. Vermaelen
Enter Giveaway

This book is excellent for members of lineage groups in particular, as it describes methods I've used for years to promote my own DAR chapter, which had 52 members when I first joined and now has close to 100 members due to our group's publicity efforts.

Thanks for entering, and good luck!
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Monday, June 13, 2016

Kady Brownell Tent #36 DUVCW Launches New Web Site

Ladies of Kady Brownell Tent #36 at President Grant's Birthday Celebration in NYC, April 24, 2016

I am so very proud to announce the official launch of Kady Brownell Tent #36's new web page. If you're a lady with Civil War ancestry, please visit and learn more about us and what we do!


We also have a social media presence, thanks to our Facebook page.  Please stop in and "Like" us to get all of the latest news about tent activities.

We hope to hear from you!
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