Froggie's Friday Book Review

Last week here I reviewed Gena Ayers Walls' book, "The Netherland Leatherlin Legacy and Allied Families Crane and Walls." When I opened my email a couple of days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gena, advising me that she had stumbled upon my blog and thanking me for reviewing her book. Also, Gena mentioned that she still has a number of books that are available for purchase. The cost of the Netherland book that contains 175 pages of documents and photographs and mentions over 10,000 names, is $65, with shipping and handling included.

From Gena's email I learned that she has now published a second family history book, entitled "Franklin Folks, Descendants of Job and Hannah Wheeler Franklin." Gena's new book chronicles this large family of Habersham, Georgia, beginning with Job and Hannah and their seven children, Nancy, Jeremiah Richard Warren, Wesley, Thomas Alfred, Jonathan Mitchell, Sarah Jane and Moses. According to Gena, Job and Hannah Franklin's seven children produced a total of 54 grandchildren, and today these descendants have familial links with almost everyone in Habersham County, Georgia. Published by Gateway Press, a division of the Genealogical Publishing Company of Baltimore, the 600 page book is 8.5 x 11 inches, hardbound, and contains 280 pages of photographs and evidentiary documentation.

The index included in "Franklin Folks" is a handy reference itself, since it contains over 10,000 names that represent approximately 1150 families. Among the surnames in the book's index are Allen, Adams, Barron, Belew, Benefield, Brown, Burrell, Carter, Church, Davis, Dawkins, Dodd, Dover, Edmonds, Fry, Garrett, Henderson, Ivester, Loudermilk, Rudeseal, Shirley and Shore families. "Franklin Folks," like the Netherland family book, can be purchased directly from Gena Ayers Walls for $55.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling.

Gena's books, comprehensive and well-documented with copies of photographs and actual family records, are indeed finds for family researchers everywhere. If you have ties to Crane, Walls, Leatherlin/Neatherlin/Netherland, families, or to the Franklin family of Habersham, Georgia, these two books are must-haves.

To order a copy of either of these books by Gena Ayers Walls, please contact Gena by email at HFRsearch@aol.com, or by snail mail at: Gena Walls, 7418 Swanson Drive, Richmond, Texas 77469.

Froggie's Friday Book Review

The subject of today's book review is "The Netherland, Leatherlin Legacy with Allied
Crane and Walls Families," written by Gena Ayers Walls, of Houston, Texas.


But first I want to tell a brief story about how I first became aware of this book. It all started on the genealogy floor of the wonderful Erikkson Library in Dallas, Texas, where I was researching several family lines, including the Netherland family. I found the book among the many volumes there written specifically about various families in the United States. If you have never been to this library, I can only say that it seems a book is available there for every name known to man. Handwritten inside the cover of the book's cover was an inscription by Clarence Netherland, indicating he was a Dallas resident who had donated the book to the library.


After perusing the book's pages, I decided that I wanted to purchase a copy for my mother. As soon as I returned home, I looked up Clarence Netherland, who just happened to have two more copies of the book that he agreed to sell to me. Not only did I obtain a copy of the Netherland book, I also found a Netherland cousin. Unfortunately, Clarence Netherland, a well-respected Dallas resident, a petroleum engineer and founder of his own consulting firm, died early last year.


The name of this book itself, "The Netherland, Leatherlin Legacy with Allied Crane and Walls Families," offers some insight into its contents. Actually, this book has been written by Mrs. Walls about her husband's ancestors, his Netherland, Crane, and Walls families. The title is an indication of one of its contents, a discussion of the origins and variations of the present day Netherland family's name. In her well-researched and documented book, Mrs. Walls provides an in-depth discussion of the family's initial settlement in colonial Virginia and traces its migration path westward into Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Included in its almost 300 pages are many family pictures and other documentation that includes birth, marriage, and death records. Photocopies of other types of historical documents are provided in the book, as well. Some of these are copies of land grants, wills, and war records that may provide the researcher with evidence needed to establish a long sought after familial relationship.


Of particular interest to me, a Netherland family researcher myself, was medical history information that I gleaned from death certificates included in the book. It was because of this finding that I now know that five of my maternal grandfather's family, including my grandfather himself, died of complications from stomach cancer.


Although the book written by Mrs. Walls was first published over 10 years ago, it is still the leading genealogy book available about the Leatherlin, Neatherlin, Netherland family in the United States. If you have ties to the Crane, Netherland, or Walls families in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas, this book may be able to assist you in finding your "roots."


New copies of the book may still be available by contacting Gena Ayers Walls directly.

Recently, I was able to purchase an inexpensive used copy of the book for my uncle through this bookseller:


Barbara A. Geisert, 290 Birchfield Dr., Marietta, GA 30068-3803. Barbara can also be contacted by email at http://gencenlibbooks@aol.com