The Crane Family Heritage Book

None Given: Beatrice Bayley, Inc., 1983. First Edition . Hard Back. Very Good/No Dust Jacket As Published. 6" x 9 1/2. Pages not numbered. These books published by Bayley were touted as limited number prepared expressly for individuals with a special surname and were supposed to assist you in finding your heritage. In fact the only difference between this book with your special surname and the thousands of others sold over the years is a printout of a dozen or more pages of names and addresses lifted from telephone directories. Phone numbers are even omitted. These books were sold to unsuspecting and trusting individuals in the 1970s and 80s for $50 and up even into the hundreds. Here is one example of a listing in this book Arlene Craine, Travelers Motel, Wells, NV. 89835. This kind of heritage information of course is useless to family researchers. Even the chapters called Origin of Names, Prefixes and Suffixes, Common Names and Their Meanings, Common Names and Their Translations are of questionable value since any library or internet search would yield this information and more. There is no family genealogy in any of these books or for that matter any specific information that would relate to your family ancestry as to lineage, localities, vital statistics - all of which are essential in determining your heritage. There are indeed lots of blank pages and forms for you to fill in this information but a yellow writing pad will serve just as well. This qoute is from The Genealogy Beginners Guide at the Denver (Colorado) Public Library. Fraudulent family histories continue to flourish! Beware of ads that say I have spent thousands of dollars and months of work to research this limited edition about your rare name. Beatrice Bayley and son Kurt Schneider seem to be the first to scam unsuspecting family researchers, using front companies such as Robt. E. Franz and Douglass Family Association. They buy lists of names from research firms taken from phone books, utility company records, etc. If after reading this caveat emptor you still want this book - go ahead, make my day. Who knows - it may become a collectible example from the long list of literary scams. -- Don PIerce, Albuquerque.