Vacation Means Family Research Time, Yes?

So two weeks from yesterday, my mother and I leave for vacation. We're going to Tennessee for a week: Memphis, Shiloh, Chattanooga and Gatlinburg.

I'm sure you're wondering where family research fits in, right?

Well, my great great great grandfather Emery Clifford fought in the Civil War, remember? He was part of the 17th Indiana and, in all likelihood, was at the battle of Shiloh, the siege of Corinth (part of the Shiloh battlefield) and maybe even Chattanooga and Chickamauga. So I get to indulge my Civil War obsession AND be where my ancestor fought at the same time.

Be still my heart.

Anderson IN Research Weekend

I'm heading to Anderson in the morning, to spend some time in their library's genealogy collection. I'm going to spend some time looking for obituaries among other things. I'm also planning to head to a couple cemeteries to see if I can find any graves on my own. Last time, I had my aunt's help.

Compiling My Research

I'm undertaking the ambitious project to compile all my research, as well as more accurately document it.  Currently, my research consists of a total of several hundred pages (I think, might be closer to a thousand), split into four documents (one for each grandparent), of typed research, organized in my own fashion which pretty much only makes sense to me. My goal is to (1) get all of my research into genealogy charts (starting with five generation ancestor charts and I'll probably also do family group charts) (2) re do all my typed research into detailed research for each chart, including stories if I have them (3) document anything I can and include copies and (4) also include decent photocopies of all my family photos.  All of this is going to be organized into binders. I'll start with one per each grandparent, and break it down as necessary.

Speaking of, my mother just gave me a whole bunch of old photos! Including what we believe is Minerva and William G. Fink's wedding picture. She's one of my favorites. And one of William G. with his railroad crew, wearing a fantastic outfit. I may also be undertaking an ambitious sewing project of attempting to recreate Minerva's wedding outfit...

Gravestone #33 Floyd and Sarah Helen Curtis, Middletown, OH

My great grandparents Floyd and Sarah Helen (nee Fox) Curtis at Woodside Cemetery in Middletown OH. This one was taken recently, during Memorial Day weekend 2013.

Gravestones 30 thru 32 East Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, IN

 Edna (nee Groff) and Willard Clement Cookman, my great grandparents. East Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson IN.

 

Belle (nee Sharpe) and Martin Luther Forkner, my great grandparents. East Maplewood

 

 Samuel Forkner's obelisk, my great great grandfather. East Maplewood. He's near his son Martin.

 

Close up of Samuel Forkner

Gravestone 29 Alfred Makepeace

 Alfred Makepeace, my 4th great grandfather on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

"The Home is located on Lot 3 of the original plat patented by President Monroe in 1823 as Andersontown by William Conner, son-in-law of Chief Kikthawenund (Chief Anderson). Here Captain John Berry built a log cabin. In 1865 Alfred Makepeace erected a dwelling which forms the East wing. In 1871 Moses Cherry started a French Second Empire Townhouse which forms the West wing. Martin Gruenewald finished the Townhouse in 1873."

Gravestones 21 thru 28, West Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, IN

 

Daisy (nee Hollingsworth) Clifford, my great great grandmother on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

 

Hadley Clifford, my great great grandfather on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

 

Hannah (nee Irish) wife of Alfred Makepeace, my 4th great grandmother on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

 

Letitia (nee Makepeace) Clifford, my third great grandmother on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

 

Lieut. Emery Clifford, my third great grandfather on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

He served in the Civil War, in Company G of the 17th Indiana Infantry. From my research, it looks like he was promoted twice (sergeant to 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant) and he served for several years. The 17th was part of Wilder's Lightning Brigade. As I'm sure you can imagine, I was beyond happy to find a Civil War veteran in my family tree!

 

Mary (nee Sangston) wife of Isaac Clifford, my 4th great grandmother on the Forkner-Clifford line. West Maplewood.

 

George and Sallie Groff, my great great grandparents on the Cookman-Groff side. West Maplewood. Sallie's name was Sarah Elizabeth Dobell, but they called her Sallie.

 

Minter Bailey and Sarah Jane (nee Meade) Cookman, my great great grandparents. West Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson, IN. Minter is pretty much the farthest back I've found on the Cookman line.

Gravestones 19 and 20, Anderson Memorial Park, Andeson, IN

 Harriett (nee Clifford) Forkner, my great grandmother. Anderson Memorial Park, Anderson IN.

Samuel Raymond Forkner, my great grandfather. Anderson Memorial Park.

I usually just refer to them as Grandma Harriet and Grandpa Sam. My father's middle name is "Ray" after his grandfather.

There's also a 'family plot' in Anderson Memorial Park that my grandparents own. They lost an infant son and he is interned there. I believe they have six spaces.

Gravestone 18 James Irish Grove Lawn Cemetery

James Irish, my fifth great grandfather on the Forkner-Clifford side. Grove Lawn Cemetery, Pendleton, IN.

Gravestone 17 Amasa and Betsey Makepeace in Otterbien Cemetery, Chesterfield, IN.

Amasa and Betsey Makepeace's obelisk in Otterbein Cemetery, Chesterfield, IN. It is off to the left as you enter the cemetery, near a large tree.

 Close up of Amasa Makepeace's carving. He is my 5th great grandfather on the Forkner-Clifford line. Otterbein Cemetery.

Close up of Betsey Makepeace's carving. She is my 5th great grandmother on the Forkner-Clifford line. Otterbein Cemetery.  She was born Elizabeth Babbitt and called Betsey.

And we just take a moment to reflect on how surprisingly old they were when they died? Amasa was seventy while Betsey lived to the age of seventy-one!

Gravestone 16 Penniston or Croan Cemetery

Penniston or Croan Cemetery, Madison County IN: The farmer who owned this land in the early 20th century removed the stones and plowed the cemetery, destroying the graves of about thirty people. Now its a small fenced off area in front of a house with only this memorial to mark the burials.

Samuel Moore, listed as a known veteran buried there, is my ancestor. My research shows that his wife Eliza, along with her parents Isaac and Sarah Elizabeth are also buried here.

Gravestones 13 - 15 Nelson Cemetery in Madison County IN

I took this picture of Nelson Cemetery, with the side visible because there was one grave we were unable to find. My research shows that Elizabeth (nee Curtis) Hollingsworth, the first white woman in Madison County, is buried here but her grave is unmarked and forgotten. She is my 5th great grandmother on the Forkner-Hollingsworth line.

 

 Hannah (nee Cornelious) Forkner, Jesse's wife and my 5th great grandmother on the Forkner line. If you can see, the last name is spelled "Falkner" instead of the modern Forkner. Nelson Cemetery, Madison County, IN.

Finding this grave was kind of funny. My Aunt Sarah knew where Jesse's grave was but my research said Hannah was buried there was well. I remember turning from Jesse's grave and seeing "HANNAH" with "wife of Jesse Falkner" underneath. I looked at my aunt and said something along the lines of "I bet that's Jesse's wife's grave".

If my memory serves me right (my research is not at hand), Forkner was "Falconer" then "Faulkner" then "Falkner" and finally was changed to the modern "Forkner" spelling.

 Jesse Forkner, my 5th great grandfather on the Forkner side. Buried at Nelson Cemetery in Madison County, IN. Him and his wife are along the east side border.

 

I'm Still Here!

Sorry guys, I apparently have been REALLY lax in updating this blog. My apologies.

I do plan to post all my Cookman / Forkner cemetery photos, so watch for those.

My vacation this year will once again be genealogy related: My mother and I are going to New England for a week. We will be visiting Plymouth! So keep an eye out for grave pictures from there, as well as other photographs, because I'm sure that I'll take a ton :)

Gravestones 9 to 12 - Ridgewood Cemetery in Wellston Ohio

 

My great grandmother Calfernie (nee Braley) Fink. Also known as Granny or Grandma Fern. She's the original owner of my sewing machine and the reason it's named Fern.

 

Fern's parents: Cora (nee Gleason, daughter of Levi and California) and Ripley Braley, my great great grandparents on the Fink-Braley line. 

 

William and Minerva (nee Dupre) Fink, my great great grandparents. 

 

My great aunt Esther Jo, my grandpa Bill's older sister. Not a direct ancestor, but a favorite relative and probably the one that I got my obsession with genealogy from. 

All of these graves are in the Ridgewood Cemetery in Wellston Ohio. 

Gravestone #8 Levi and California Gleason

Levi and California (nee Bishop) Gleason. My third great grandparents on the Fink-Braley side. Salem Cemetery, not too far from Wellston. Their graves are near the little church that's in the cemetery. 

Levi, a veteran of the Civil War, also had his own gravestone. He served in the 194th Ohio Infantry.

Gravestone #7 Jordan Mascall Mannering and his wife Elizabeth

Jordan Mascall Mannering, my 6th great grandfather on the Fink-Ewing line. He was in the Revolutionary War. This is his new tombstone. Centerville/Thurman Cemetery in Gallia County, Ohio.

Jordan Mascall Mannering's original gravestone.

Jordan Mascall Mannering, both headstones. Jordan is the only Revolutionary War veteran buried in Gallia County.

Elizabeth (nee Clark) wife of Jordan Mannering. My sixth great grandmother on the Fink-Ewing line.

Gravestone #6 John and Annette Fink

Annette (nee Ewing) and John Franklin Fink, my third great grandparents on the Fink side. Dixon Run Cemetery, Gallia County, Ohio.

Annette's the daughter of Mary from the previous post.

This cemetery was probably the most difficult to get to -- up a narrow winding guardrail-less 'road' at the top of hill. Next time, we park at the bottom and walk up.

Gravestone #5 Mary White Ewing

Mary (nee White) Ewing, my 4th great grandmother on the Fink-Ewing line and wife of William Ewing. She's buried in Franklin Cemetery in Gallia County, Ohio.

If I remember correctly, her grave is towards the front, on the left side of the cemetery.

Close us of her gravestone.

Food for Thought

In 1920, the 19th amendment was finally ratified, granting women of the United States the legal right to vote.

 This is my Grandma Fern. I've talked about her before. She was born in 1902, when women couldn't vote.

 This is my grandma Minerva. She was born in 1879 and married in 1901. She raised a family and lived in a country where she had no power to choose the government she was living under. When she died in the early 1950s, women had only been able to vote for a mere thirty years.

This is grandma Leah with her chickens. She was born in the 1850s and married around 1883. Like Minerva, she lived and raised a family in a country where she had no right to vote. She died in 1936, when women had only had that right for SIXTEEN years.

Many of my favorite ancestors never had the right to vote -- pioneers Mary McNeil Ewing and Elizabeth Curtis Hollingsworth. Grandma Mary Fox that died in a flash flood in the late 1800s. Just to name a few.

I also have ancestors that fled here seeking freedom -- the Puritans (Brewster), the Huguenots (Dupres) and more than likely the Quakers (Hollingsworth).

So please, just remember that today is a day when we exercise our hard earned rights. We have the right to vote in this country, a right that many of our ancestors were denied, a right that millions around the world don't have even today. We have freedom. Use it.

Gravestone #4: Abraham Franklin Dupre and Minerva A Clark

 Abraham Franklin Dupre and his wife Minerva A (nee Clark), my third great grandparents on the Fink-Dupre line. Mount Tabor Cemetery, past his parents' obelisk.

Also buried in Mount Tabor are Minerva's parents, Jeptha Clark and Mary (nee Null) Clark, but we couldn't find their graves. We did find two small square markers inset in the ground that read "Clark". Our thoughts were that the gravestones had been destroyed and replaced with these so that the graves wouldn't be lost.