With the new HP InkJet printer successfully installed, my week has been filled with printing pictures. The finished products are acceptable, having no lines on them (some printers make lines on the picture).?

I use HP premium glossy photo paper. Because the finished product looks good, I always try to purchase the same kind of paper.

With the printer comes the capability of scanning slides and negatives, which is all new to me and will be addressed at a later time. The problem facing me this week is dating the pictures and deciding which one of the four Stevens sons are in them.?

I strongly advocate?identifying everyone in a photograph, dating the photograph and describing the event.? If we know who the people are and when the picture was taken, then it certainly would make the genealogist's life easier when we have a pile of old photos.

Most of you have read my story about a couple of my relatives, who inherited pictures and, because they did not know any of the people, they threw all the pictures away.?A feeling of sadness comes over me every time I remember that story.?

My Stevens family has always been referred to as "my lost line;" however, I no longer can say that since my trip to West Virginia, where I met many members of that family.?

While visiting them, I made copies of old pictures using my digital camera.?One first cousin once removed?identified a picture I had in my possession as her father, Orval.?

My annotations were that it could be the two younger sons, Clyde or Orval, as I had not seen a picture of them.?All four sons were in the military -- three in the U.S. Army and one in the Marine Corps.?

The picture in question has three men in uniform; I know the one who is a Stevens, but wanted to be sure he was in an Army uniform. I received this picture by e-mail from a distant relative in Indiana, who did not identify its contents.

Stephanie had inherited all of her grandmother's pictures and had several with the names Esther, Clyde and Orville Stevens. She did not know how these cousins were related to her family as her grandmother was a Jackson.?

When I answered her query on GenForum, I told her that her great-grandmother was a Stevens who married a Jackson, and that the Stevens were her brother's children. These pictures have added so much to my Stevens family history.

My husband identified the?uniform as an Army uniform. I have decided the man in question is Joseph Earl Stevens who was in the Army until 1911.?

On the 1910 Missouri Census, he was listed in the Army at Jefferson Barracks which is in St. Louis.?On his induction papers he was described as being about 5 feet 7 inches tall. The man in the pictures was about that tall.?The only brother who would look like him was in the Marine Corps and was described as being tall.

Jennifer, my second cousin, is working on my copy of the Orval Stevens family history, which I should receive in a couple of weeks.?If they send copies of pictures, I trust them to have identified and dated them.?I am copying family pictures to share with them for Christmas.



Oklahoma genealogical society meeting

OGS's Monday meeting will feature speaker Ruth Eager Moran, who will present the topic "Let's Use the Old Court House Records!" The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Oklahoma Historical Society Auditorium, 2100 N. Lincoln Blvd. in Oklahoma City.

Moran will explain how, by using courthouse records, a researcher can not only prove who their ancestors are, but also can enhance and expand the knowledge they already have about them.?

Her knowledge of genealogy is well-known, as she has taught genealogy classes and lectured on most areas of genealogy.?She prefers to speak and share her knowledge of court house records and tax rolls.?

She has a degree in history and a juris doctorate in law.?Family history research has taken Moran to Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and Pennsylvania for on-site research in applicable courthouses, as well as local and state libraries.?

Ruth's quest to learn more about her family's history has taken her to several well-known libraries, including the Salt Lake City Family History Center, Ft Wayne-Allen County Library (Ind.), the Dallas County Public Library and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

OGS' general meetings always are free and open to the public. Several members will be available at 5 p.m. for genealogical help.



Genealogy foundation offers DNA testing

Billie Fogarty, OGS president, sent an e-mail to share information about the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation discounted DNA testing offer.?

She is not endorsing the program, but suggests if anyone is interested they should check out the offer. To receive a coupon for the reduced price, participants must provide a four-generation pedigree chart.

The coupon expires Feb. 16.?The other major DNA testing company is FamilyTree DNA at www.familytreedna. com.

The SMGF invitation states participants will be able to redeem their coupons in two ways:

A discounted 26 Marker Y-chromosome Paternal Line Analysis for $95.

A discounted mtDNA Maternal Line Analysis for $95 USD.

New participants may take advantage of this offer by requesting a kit from http:// smgf.org/request_a_free_kit.html. New participants must submit a four-generation pedigree chart along with a mouthwash sample to qualify for the coupon.

Past participants may take advantage of this offer by filling out and submitting the online form found at www.smg f.com/coupon_request.html.

Participation in this project helps build an invaluable and innovative tool for family history research.?

For more information, write to: Collections Team, The Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, 2511 S.W. Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 or e-mail info@smgf. org.

When sending in queries or sharing information, write to: Relatively Speaking, P.O. Drawer 1058, Norman, OK 73070 or e-mail Darlene Shawn at Djshawn 636@aol.com.