Cemetery Research Weekend!

This weekend, my mother and I have big plans -- we're leaving early Sunday morning and traveling to eastern Ohio to visit cemeteries on the Fink side of the family, then driving to Anderson IN (and spending the night somewhere along the way) to do the same for the Cookman and Forkner sides. My aunt is off Monday, so she's going with us. I'm so excited!

Cemeteries on the visit list:

Ohio - Brush Cemetery, Mount Tabor Cemetery, Franklin Cemetery, Ewington OH (there's a cemetery there that doesn't want to come up on Google maps, plus it was founded by my family), Gilboa Cemetery, Thurman Cemetery, Dixon Run Cemetery, Salem Cemetery, and Ridgewood Cemetery. We'll be in Gallia and Jackson counties. We'll probably take a lunch break between Gilboa and Thurman and go down to Rio Grande to visit the first Bob Evans. There's a lot of cemeteries but they're all pretty close together.

Indiana - Grovelawn Cemetery, West Maplewood Cemetery, Otterbein Cemetery (supposedly near the airport but doesn't show on Google maps), Nelson Cemetery, Penniston Cemetery (doesn't show on Google maps either).

I have directions to all the cemeteries, a word document with details on each cemetery's location and some pictures, and a spreadsheet with all the graves we're looking for.

Clifford Ancestry Notes Part III - The Shinkles

"Henry Shinkle was born in Lancaster Co. (now Lebanon Co.) PA. He married his first cousin, Maria Margaret Shinkle, later known as Margaret. He died in Fayette Co. IN. After his death, Margaret Shinkle moved to Madison Co. IN and later married a man named Stover. They moved to Missouri where she died.

"Philip Jacob Shinkle was born in Edenkoben, Electoral (Rhenish) Palatinate, Germany. he was brought to Pennsylvania at about 5 years of age. During the Revolutionary War, he was a Private in the Heidelberg Twp. Company of Associators (militia). He married Julia Ann Bolender and later moved to Ohio, where he bought land on 18 March 1805, and died at a date unknown to us.

"Christian Shinkle was born in Heidelberg Twp. Lancaster Co. (now Lebanon Co.) PA. During the Revolutionary War he was also a Private in the Heidelberg Twp. Company of Associators (militia). He married Maria Magdelena _______ and later moved to Lewis Twp. Brown Co. OH in 1805. After the death of Maria Magdalena, he married Elizabeth Stayton.

"Philipp Carl Schenkel was born in Edenkoben, Electoral (Rhenish) Palatinate, Germany. He married Maria Elisabetha Zimpel. As a serf of the Electoral Palatinate, he had to be manumitted (freed) before being allowed to emigrate, but was manumitted and permitted to emigrate without paying any of the usual fees because of his poverty. He and his family came from Rotterdam to Philadelphia on the ship "Snow Ketty" in 1752. They settled in Heidelberg Twp. Lancaster Co. (now Lebanon Co.).

"On July 22, 1984, our three-generations-in-a-van (Richard and Jeanne Forkner, Steve, Jo Ellen, Rich and John Ham) visited Edenkoben, a picturesque town on the Deutche Weinstrasse."

This image shows where Edenkoben is located in Germany.

How Long My Family Has Been In Indiana 2

Here is an examination of the rest of the Forkner / Clifford branches presence in the state of Indiana.

Family #7 - The Showalters and Farmers who married into the Hollingsworth Family

9. Abraham Showalter was born in 1778, married in 1802 and died in 1869. I don’t have locations for these events, but he lived in Franklin County, Virginia and Henry County, Indiana.

8. Abraham and his wife Frances had a daughter named Mary who was born in 1802 and probably lived in Indiana, considering that her father, husband and son all resided in that state.

8. John Farmer was born in 1794 and married in 1820. He resided in Franklin County, Virginia and Wayne County, Indiana.

7. John and Mary had a son, Isaiah, who was born in 1825, married in 1844 and died in 1853. I do not have locations for any of these events, but I do know that he resided in Henry and Madison counties in Indiana.

6. Mary Ellen Farmer was Isaiah’s daughter with his wife, Elizabeth Fifer. She was born in 1850 and died in 1928 in Madison County, Indiana. She resided in Anderson, Indiana.

Family #8 - The Fifers who married into the Farmer family

8. John Fifer was born in 1784 and married in 1808. He died in Indiana.

7. His daughter Elizabeth married Isaiah Farmer. She was born in 1816 and died in 1892. It is probable that she lived in Indiana since her husband did and since her father died in that state.

Family #9 - The Forkners

8. Isaac Forkner was born in 1775 in Surry County, North Carolina. He married Mourning Moura Lawrence in Grayson Virginia in 1797 and died in 1863 in Wayne County, Indiana.

7. Isaac and Mourning had a son, Jesse, who was born in 1798 in Surry County, North Carolina. He married Hannah Cornelious in 1817 in Virginia and died in 1844 in Madison County, Indiana.

6. Jesse’s son Samuel was the first Forkner born in Indiana. He was born in 1821 in Henry County, Indiana. He married in 1844 to Elizabeth McShirley (his first marriage) and died in 1872 in Madison County, Indiana.

5. Elizabeth and Samuel had a son they named Martin Luther. He was born in 1850 in Madison County, Indiana. His second marriage was to Victoria Belle Sharpe and they wed in 1891 in Anderson Indiana. Martin died in 1937 in Anderson.

4. Martin and Victoria had a son they named Samuel Ray. He was born in Anderson Indiana in 1892. He died in 1956 in Anderson Indiana. He was my great great grandfather.

Family #10 - The Cornelious', who married into the Forkner family

8. George Cornelious was born in Madison County, Indiana in 1774.

7. His daughter Hannah was born in 1800 in Indiana. I’ve also seen Pennsylvania as a birth place for her, but find Indiana more believable since that is where her father was born. She died in 1853 in Madison County, Indiana. She married Jesse Forkner.

Family #11 - The McShirleys married into the Forkners

6. Elizabeth McShirley was born in Macon County, Kentucky in 1825 and died in 1858 in Henry County, Indiana. She married Samuel Forkner.

Family #12 - The Sharps, who married into the Forkner family

6. Samuel Sharpe was born in 1832 in Rush County Indiana

6. Malinda Heflin was also born in Rush County, Indiana, but she was born in 1836.

5. Their daughter Victoria Belle was born in 1858 in Rush County, Indiana and died in 1918 in Anderson Indiana. She married Martin Luther Forkner.

How Long My Family Has Been In Indiana 1

My father was born in Indiana. After my recent post on how long my family has been in Ohio, I thought I'd see how long his branch has been in Indiana. And I found out that the Forkner / Clifford branch has been there, just as long as the Finks have been in Ohio. There's so much information though, that I plan to split this post. So here's the first post covering the first six families.

Family #1 - Clifford, Pierce, Forkner, Cookman

10. Johnathon Clifford was born in 1769 in Rumney, Grafton, New Hampshire. He resided in Barnet, Vermont and Fayette County, Indiana and died in 1836 in Fayette, Indiana.

9. His wife Sarah Pierce was born in 1774 in Barnet, Caledonia, Vermont and died in 1862 in Indiana.

8. Johnathon and Sarah had a son , Isaac. He was born in 1812 in Vermont and married in 1841. I don’t have a death date for him, or a location of his marriage or death. However, considering that his parents died in Indiana and his son was born in Indiana, one can assume that he at least lived in the state for a period of time.

7. Emery Clifford is the son of Isaac and his wife Mary. He was born in 1842 in Fairview, Fayette County, Indiana (the first Clifford born in Indiana!) and married Letitia Makepeace in 1864. He died in 1915 in Indiana. IN

6. Emery and Letitia had a son named Hadley, who was born in Anderson, Indiana in 1869. This is our first Anderson birth! He married Daisy Hollingsworth in 1891 and died in 1957 in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana.

5. Harriet Clifford was Hadley and Daisy’s daughter. She was born in 1898 in Anderson Indiana and married Samuel Ray Forkner in 1918 in Anderson, Indiana. I don’t have a death date for her.

4. Harriet’s daughter is my grandmother – Kathleen Frances Forkner. She was born in Indiana and married Donald Cookman.

3. Their son Clifford (my father) was also born in Indiana. However, he moved to Ohio, so as we already know, I was born there and not in Indiana. BUT, my uncles’ children (2) were all born in Indiana and my cousins’ Casi and Jessica both have children that were born in Indiana (1). So that gives us ten generations of the family in Indiana.

Family #2 - The Sangstons, who married into the Cliffords.

9. Isaac Sangston died in 1828 and resided in Fayette County, Indiana.

8. His son William was died in 1833 and resided in Brownsville, Indiana.

7. And his daughter Mary Sangston married Isaac Clifford. She was born in 1822 and died in 1866. I don’t have locations for either, but assume she lived in Indiana for at least a period of time, since her father and grandfather lived in Indiana and her son was born in Indiana.

Family #3 - The Makepeaces, who also married into the Cliffords

8. Amasa Makepeace was born in 1777, married in 1800 and died in 1848 in Chesterfield, Union Township, Madison County, Indiana. He resided in Norton, Mass. and Chesterfield, Indiana.

8. Betsey Babbitt was born in 1784 and died in 1858 in Chesterfield, Madison County, Indiana.

7. Amasa and Betsey’s son Alfred was born in 1804 in Norton Mass. I also found that he may have been born in Chesterfield, Madison County, Indiana. He married Hannah Irish in 1828 in Madison County Indiana, resided in Anderson, and died in 1874.

6. Their daughter Letitia (Emery Clifford’s wife) was born 1842 in Chesterfield Indiana and died in 1926 in Anderson Indiana. She lived in both cities during her lifetime.

Family #4 - The Irishs, who married into the Makepeace family

8. James M Irish was born in the 1780s in New York and married in Rensselaer County, New York. He died around 1861 either in Texas or in Madison County, Indiana. Since he’s buried in Madison County, I personally lean towards Indiana as his death place, unless they moved his body.

8. His wife Elizabeth Dibble was born in the late 1780s / early 1790s in Connecticut and died in 1869 in Pendleton, Madison County, Indiana.

7. James and Elizabeth’s daughter Hannah (wife of Amasa Makepeace) was born in 1810 in Nassau, Rensselaer County, New York and died in 1858 in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana.

Family #5 - The Hollingsworths, who married into the Cliffords

8. Elias Hollingsworth was born in 1794 in Fish Dam Townhip, Old 96^th District, Union County, South Carolina. He married Elizabeth Curtis in 1814 in Clark County Ohio and died in 1846 in Osage County Missouri. He may have lived in Indiana for a time before moving on to Missouri.

8. His wife Elizabeth was born in 1795 in Harrison County, Virginia and died in 1849 in Indiana, either in Lafayette, Tippecanoe County or Richland Township, Madison County. You may remember Elizabeth from my Pioneers post a little while ago – she was the first white woman in Madison County.

7. Elias and Elizabeth’s son James was born in 1815 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. He married Mary Elizabeth Shinkle in 1836 in Fall Creek, Madison County, Indiana. James died in 1902in Lafayette Township Tippacanoe County Indiana.

6. James and Mary Elizabeth had a son named George, the first Hollingsworth born in Anderson, Indiana, in 1843. He married Mary Farmer in 1858 and died in the early 1890s in Anderson, Indiana.

5. Daisy Hollingsworth was the daughter of George and Mary. She was born in 1873, probably in Indiana since that is where he father was born. She died in 1940 in Anderson, Indiana. She was the wife of Hadley Clifford, mentioned above.

Family #6 - The Shinkles who married into the Hollingsworths

8. Henry Shinkle was born in the mid 1790s in Pennsylvania, probably in Heidleberg. He married his wife Maria Margaret in 1814 in Feesburg Ohio and died in 1857 in Osage Missouri. I’d like to note here that my great uncle Dick’s research puts Henry’s death in 1827. Henry lived in Indiana.

7. Mary Elizabeth Shinkle (wife of James Hollingsworth) was born in 1819 in Feesburg, Ohio. She died in 1891 in Indiana, either in Anderson or in Lafayette Township, Madison County.

My Cousin and BFF Kristen Prather

One of the most exciting things I discovered in my research is that I'm related to one of my best friends - albeit very distantly and through marriage.

I am the daughter of Clifford Ray Cookman (born 2 Aug 1954). Clifford is the second oldest son of Donald Lee Cookman. Donald is the son of Willard Clement "Clem" Cookman (Born 6 Dec 1882 in Anderson IN; Died 22 May 1943). Clem was the son of Sarah Jane Meade. Sarah (Born 11 Nov 1854 in Florida IN; Died 16 Feb 1930 in Anderson IN) was the daughter of Susan Moore. Susan (Born 25 July 1828 in Mifflin Pike Co Ohio; Died 25 Sept 1856 in Madison Co IN) was the daughter of Samuel Moore (Born 2 Aug 1775 in Layfayette, Christian Co KY; Died 14 Jan 1882 in Anderson IN or in Lafayette Twp Madison Co IN). Samuel was the son of Joseph Moore (Born about 1770 in KY or about 1769 in PA; Died before 15 Apr 1836 in Mifflin Twp Pike Co Ohio). Joseph was the son of Ezekial Moore (Born between 1730 and 1736 in Prince George Co Maryland or about 1740 in KY; Died before 18 Apr 1836 Mifflin Pike Co. Ohio) Some information on Ezekial - He moved to Pennsylvania in the 1770s. In 1779, he sold property in Westmoreland County, PA (modern Greene/Fayette counties). He is reported to have taken part in the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. By 1797, he was in Ross County (modern Pike County) Ohio. Ezekial's brother Aaron married a woman named Mary Prather.

Kristen contributed the following information: Kristen is the daughter of Douglas Benton Prather. Douglas is the son of Donald Benton Prather. Donald is the son of Clarence Prather. Clarence was the son of John Prather, who was the son of Thomas Benton Prather (and Civil War Vet! Defend the Union!). Thomas was the son of the elder Thomas Prather. Thomas was the brother of Mary, who married Aaron Moore.

According to a cousin chart I found on the State Library of North Carolina's website (found at http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/genealogy/cousinchart.html), we are sixth cousins, twice removed by marriage. Provided of course that I used the chart correctly.

That's all for now.

Jennilee