One very positive benefit of having a family genealogy web site is that it gives us the opportunity to connect with family members that we might not otherwise reach (or even know of).  

If you enter the right search words, our WestClan web pages will turn up in most of the major search engines, and that serves as a beacon -- of a sort -- to attract family who may be looking for information about our common ancestors.  As a result, I have had a few e-mail contacts recently from some of our cousins in the West-McElroy family tree.  
 

JIMMY CROWLY
 

The first is from one of Uncle Ted McElroy's grandkids, Jimmy Crowly (Ella Rae).  As it turns out the Crowly family lives nearby in the LR-NLR metro area and were able to give us information to fill in a few of the blanks from their branch of the family tree.  Jimmy also had a question concerning Grandpa McElroy's name.  

Jimmy said that he had always heard that his name was "Gusham" Hill McElroy.  I had only heard that his first name was "Gaash" (pronounced Gaysh) and that our cousin Jimmy West got his middle name (Gaash) from Grandpa McElroy and Uncle Hardy got his middle name (Hill) from him, too -- but anything is possible when it comes to names.  Well, that question did prompt a little more internet genealogy research and led to the discovery of a file of McElroy ancestry data that contains one "Gasham" McElroy who was born on June 2, 1871 to parents who lived in Searcy County, Arkansas (did someone say Snowball?).

G. H. McElroy, father of Loretta Jane (West) McElroy was born on June 2, 1871 and the McElroy family lived near the Snowball community in Searcy County.  Could it be coincidence that the Gasham McElroy listed in this genealogy file and our grandfather McElroy were born on the same date and lived in the same area of the country.  Could it be that Grandpa McElroy was named Gasham but went by Gaash?  (Could these be rhetorical questions?)  We have no definite proof, but it looks like we may have a match here.  

According to the data, this Gasham McElroy was born to John Houston McElroy and Sarah Jane Condley.  I haven't heard back yet, but Jimmy plans to ask his Aunt Ginny (Ted McElroy's daughter, Virginia) about the matter and see if any of this rings a bell.  If so, we can trace the McElroys back another couple of generations.  If anyone has something to add to this question, please let me know.  Many thanks to Jimmy Crowly for the family information and I'll report more on this as I learn more.
 

ROGER WEST
 

Another message came in from Roger West.  Roger lives in Bakersfield, CA and is the son of Kenneth Neal West, and grandson of D.L. West's brother, Kenneth Wade West.  Roger sent us updates for their branch of the West tree that is now included in the Family Tree page.  Roger has two brothers, one also lives in California and the other lives in Idaho.  It's great to hear from the West Coast Wests!
 

JERE & ANNA GAYLE MCCLURE
 

The latest message was from the McClure branch of the family tree.  In case you don't recognize the name, look at the updated Family Tree page (first entry), or on the West Genealogy pages at the Owen West entry.  Owen West (b.1819) was apparently D.L. West's great grandfather and married Jane Jennie McClure (b.1821) in Gibson Co., Tennessee in 1841.  The couple eventually settled in Conway Co., Arkansas, where the Arkansas Wests took root.  The email was from Dr. and Mrs. McClure (ret) who now live in Colorado but were looking into the McClure family history from down home in Tennessee and Kentucky when they found our family page and the link to -- I guess we would have to say -- "Grandma Jane McClure West". 

The McClures have done quite a bit of research into their family history and were able to give me some tips.  Thanks to Anna Gayle McClure for her help in finding census and marriage records from Tennessee that help document the John William West family, including Owen West and Jane McClure during their time in Tennessee.

It is always good to hear from our kin, near and far.  I hope that we continue to receive messages from our cousins around the country as they find us on the world wide web.  q