Our Journey West

Military Monday | Earnest Lindley's WWI Draft Registration Card

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:58:00 +0000

Earnest Lindley registered for the WWI Draft on 5 June 1918 in Richland Center, Richland, Wisconsin. At the time of his registration he was residing at R.F.D. #3, in Richland Center, Wisconsin. He was a laborer with Ike Sippy in Loyd, Wisconsin. The Registrar's Report lists him as having blue eyes and light hair. He is listed having been a natural citizen by birth on 19 April 1987 in Olin, Iowa, making him 21 years old. He listed his father's place of birth as Iowa and also listed his father as his nearest relative. At the time, Ulysses (his father) was living at Route 3, Richland Center, Wisconsin.

Click image to view a larger size.

Military Monday is one of the many blogging prompts supported by www.geneabloggers.com to help genealogy bloggers record their family histories.

Military Monday | Edward F. Heisz's WWI Draft Registration Card

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Edward F. Heisz registered for the WWI Draft on 12 Sept 1915 in Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, Wisconsin. He is listed as having been born a natural citizen on 25 April 1900, putting him at 18 years of age at the time of registration. At the time of the draft he resided at an address listed as (Route?) 1, Gays Mills, Crawford, Wisconsin. He listed him occupation as farm labor in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, and indicated that he worked for David Heisz. For his nearest relative is listed as David Heisz, of Gays Mills, Wisconsin. The David Heisz listed as his employer and next of kin is most likely his father, David Lincoln Heisz. Edward is listed as having brown eyes, red hair, and a medium height and build.

Click image to view larger size.

Military Monday is one of the many blogging prompts supported by www.geneabloggers.com to help genealogy bloggers record their family histories.

Family Recipe Friday | Cowboy Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:08:00 +0000

With spring right around the corner, I have been preparing my favorite "winter" meals one last time. One of my favorite winter meals is Cowboy Beans. As a kid, nothing tasted better after a playing outside for hours in a Wisconsin winter than a heaping bowl of Cowboy Beans.

Many years have past since I've spent hours playing outside, but this dish is still one of my favorite comfort foods. Living a thousand miles away from where I grew up, I miss my family something fierce. When my homesickness gets to be too much to handle, I often pop this in the slow cooker and let the memories of my family gathered around our table on cool winter days settle my soul.

Cowboy Beans

Ingredients

6 slices of bacon
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. vinegar
16 oz. can of pork and beans
16 oz. can of kidney beans
16 oz. can of butter beans

Directions
Cook bacon until crisp (then crumble and set aside). Brown the beef until no pink remains (drain and set aside). Combine all ingredients in a crock pot. Set crock pot to high for 4 hours.

I often double the batch so that we can munch on it for a couple days. You can also easily substitute the types of beans to fit what you and your family like.

Family Recipe Friday is one of the many blogging prompts supported by www.geneabloggers.com to help genealogy bloggers record their family histories.

Military Monday | David Lincoln Heisz's WWI Draft Registration Card

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:20:00 +0000

David Lincoln Heisz, my great-great grandfather, registered for the WWI Draft on 12 Sept 1915 in Prairie du Chien, Crawford County, Wisconsin. He is listed as having been born a natural citizen on 20 May 1877, putting him at 41 years of age at the time of registration. At the time of the draft he resided at an address listed as (Route?)1, Gays Mills, Crawford, Wisconsin. He listed himself as a farmer in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, and indicated that he owned the farm. For his nearest relative he listed his wife, Mrs. Theresa Heisz, of Gays Mills, Wisconsin. Physically, his registration card lists as having dark hair and blue eyes and of medium height and build.

Click image to view larger size.

Military Monday is one of the many blogging prompts supported by www.geneabloggers.com to help genealogy bloggers record their family histories.

Sentimental Sunday | Family Road Trips

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:00:00 +0000

Every summer my parents piled us kids into the family car, and together, we set out to explore the beauty of North America. We always had a destination in mind, but the path on which we would arrive there was organic and every changing.

Our trips weren't just about driving through the park. They taught us how to respect and mingle with nature. My father was never one to miss pointing out a specific plant, animal, or tree while on a hike. My mother shared stories with us about historical events and curiosities about each area we passed through. We frequented and grew to love historical markers and visitor centers.

Theses trips weren't just educational, they were a time for us to bond. A time for us to all step away from our busy schedules and relax. At the mention of spending two weeks stuck in a car with your family, most kids would protest... loudly. But not us Heisz girls, we would look at maps and plan outrageous side trips to see the locations of our favorite books (De Smet, SD, and Chincoteague) or the hometown of our favorite athlete (Kiln, Mississippi). We couldn't wait to get on the road.

Even in our excitement, we fought like all kids do when locked in a car together for hours on end. My parents devised a solution in the form of a "fight jar". The jar was an old 35mm flim container and for each fight we got into (no matter who started it) we had to put a quarter in the fight jar. The quarters collected more quickly on some trips than others and were always used for something super lame, like laundry or gas. I think I speak for my sister and I both when I say that our fondest fight jar memory was on a trip out to Montana with our parents and three cousins. Not a single coin was put in by us kids on the entire trip, but we can't say the same thing for our parents!

Not every trip went off without a hitch. I don't think any of us will ever forget our trip to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. That unforgettable trip started with all five of us packing into my Dad's Ford Ranger pickup (my older sister and I sat in the jump seats - cozy, right?) and ended up with me running a fever so I high that I was hallucinating and had to be taken to the hospital. Even with all of that kicking and sickness, I still have great memories from that trip and hope someday to repeat our ride on the Agawa Canyon Train Tour with my children.

Shortly after that fateful trip to Canada, my parents made sure that our future trips were taken in the comfort of the family van. We would load the van with camping gear (more often than not), picnic lunches, a snack box, and activity packs. My parents would take turns driving, and as we got older, us kids even took our turns at driving. I will never forget when I woke up from a nap and (loudly) freaked out when I saw that my newly-licensed older sister was driving the full-size conversion van down the freeway!

After our first few road trips, my sisters and I started ranking campgrounds (ones with showers and pools ranked highly), rest stops (Mississippi is a favorite as they gave out free cups of Coke, South Dakota ranked low because many of them have pit toilets), and hotels (just because we were on a budget didn't mean a pool and a continental breakfast with a waffle maker weren't important). My younger sister Courtney and I still rank amenities based on this scale today - having just added West Virginia to the short list of states with nice rest stops on our recent genealogy road trip due to their superb bathrooms and historical information features.

Growing up, I understood what an opportunity these trips were, but it wasn't until I was older that I was able to fully understand the sacrifices my parents made to make them a reality. My parents felt that it was essential to our up-bringing that we were exposed to different cultures, natural wonders and the experiences that came along with that exposure. I am eternally thankful that my parents worked as hard as they did to save up for these trips and sacrificed the finer things in life to teach us that the experiences we have in our lives are much more important than any monetary thing we could collect. As a result, many of my most cherished memories come from these family adventures.

Thank you.

Sentimental Sunday is one of the many blogging prompts supported by www.geneabloggers.com to help genealogy bloggers record their family histories.

Family Recipe Friday | Chocolate Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 19:24:00 +0000

The weeks leading up to Christmas each year were a special time in our house while I was growing up. We prepped for the holidays like most families, cutting a Christmas tree, putting lights on the house, and hanging our stockings. One of my favorite holiday prep activities was my mothers baking. Every few days she would make a different type of baked goods.

My mother is an excellent baker, and as her loving family, we were ready to taste-test each of her creations. It certainly didn't matter if she used the same recipe year after year, we still needed to sample one from each batch. As each batch was finished, she would put them in tins and set then on our screened-in porch (there is no need for a freezer during Wisconsin winters).

As Christmas grew closer, her stock of cookies would dwindle between our repeated "sampling" and the various gatherings we attended. My favorite thing to sample from her porch stash were her Chocolate Balls. Seriously, who doesn't love peanut butter and chocolate? To this day, I still prefer most of my cookies a bit on the chilled side, lol.

Chocolate Balls

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups rice krispies
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Mix ingredients and form into small balls that are approximately 1 inch in diameter. Chill balls until firm. Dip balls in chocolate. Keep cool until shortly before serving.

Family Recipe Friday is one of the many blogging prompts supported by www.geneabloggers.com to help genealogy bloggers record their family histories.

Genetic Genealogy | Genome-Wide Comparison

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:41:00 +0000

Now that the test results for both my personal and my maternal grandmothers tests are available, I've been using a lot of the features to run comparisons between our results. One of my new favorite areas to play around in has been the Family Inheritance section.

My favorite sub-feature is the GrandTree section. When placing myself and my maternal grandmother in the dummy family tree, it allows me to see which traits I inherited on my maternal side from my grandfather and grandmother. I've included the results from select traits below:

Weight/Body Mass Index

Genes related to weight/body mass index.

Maternal grandfather: 38%
Maternal grandmother: 62%
This makes sense as I do have the build of my maternal grandmother's family.

Immune System Compatibility

Genes related to histocompatibility.

Maternal grandfather: 100%
Maternal grandmother: 0%
Hopefully G-Ma doesn't need an organ transplant from me... I doubt with these results that I would be a match. Also, my immune system is crappy... thanks Grandpa!

Pigmentation

Genes related to skin, eye, and hair color.

Maternal grandfather: 38%
Maternal grandmother: 62%
I do have my Grandma's skin color and our eyes are similar in color too.

Genome-Wide Comparison

Lastly, I was able to run a genome-wide comparison that analyses 22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes. For this purpose, the sex chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA are excluded.

Maternal grandfather: 48%
Maternal grandmother: 62%
My maternal grandmother and I share a special connection, so it makes me happy to know that even when distance separates us, she's always walking around with me.

Genetic Genealogy | Test 4 Results

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:30:00 +0000

For the past few years my research has primarily focused on my maternal lines for two simple reasons: that side of the family has always been interested in our family history and I had more information to start my research with.

Last summer, I started to dive deeper into my paternal family history and asked my father if he would be willing to take a DNA test. Being the amazing "I'll do anything for my girls" father that he is, he said yes and we ordered a test through the first release of Ancestry.com's AncestryDNA.

My family has previously tested with FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe and I wanted to see how it compared. The AncestryDNA test allows both the maternal and paternal lines to be tested by analyzing the entire genome (all 23 chromosomes). Our test with FamilyTreeDNA was taken by my uncle and we ended up with Y-chromosome and mtDNA results. Our tests with 23andMe were taken by myself and my grandmother and only reported on our mtDNA.

We received my father's Ancestry.com DNA results several months ago. At that time I should have posted about the results, but I shared them with my family and never got around to posting them until now (I know...!).

AncestryDNA Test Results
The results are in and there were quite a few surprises. As far as I have been able to trace in my limited (3 to 4 generations past my father) research, his family seems to hail from Germany and the British Isles.

Central European = 71%

I was not surprised by these result as it appears the majority of my father's paternal branches can be traced back to Germany or Austria.

Scandinavian = 21%

I was quite surprised to see such a high percentage of Scandinavian ethnicity.
I have not found any documents that document locations in Norway, Sweden, or Denmark (Ancestry's "Scandinavian" locations).

Uncertain = 8%

This is quite a large percentage! Most of the results I have viewed have between 0% and 3%.
Maybe this is where the British lines come in, but it would seem odd that such a well known ethnicity would not show up.

In conclusion, it looks like I have a lot more research to do to help uncover the Scandinavian results. Also, I hope that as more people are tested that his uncertain results decrease.

Genetic Genealogy | Comparing Top Relative Surnames

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:54:00 +0000

This is a follow-up to my two posts on our individual results from 23andMe's Top Relative Surname finder that shows the popularity of the surnames in our relative finder matches. I currently have 988 people in my relative finder, while my maternal grandmother only has 986. Our numbers are different because the test incorporates both maternal and paternal lines into it's results.

In my previous posts about this feature, I just shared our top five surnames. The service actually let's you view any surname that is listed at least five times in the profiles of your matches. I currently have 124 surnames and my grandmother has 51.

Below I've listed the top 10 surnames in my grandmother's list and have indicated in parentheses where they were found on my list. It's interesting to note that six of her top 10 surnames were not in my list.

Wells (#84 in my list)
Palmer
Mitchell (#81 in my list)
Johnston
Hunt
MacDonald
Adams
Moore (#109 in my list)
Hansen
Smith (#115 in my list)

Below I've listed the top 10 surnames in my list and have indicated in parentheses where they were found on my grandmother's list. It's interesting to note that only two of my top 10 surnames were in her list.

Pragle
Gawton
Andriessen
Garner
Walker (#17 in her list)
Allen (#48 in her list)
Payton
Custer
Peyton
Gibbs

As you can see, even though we are closely related, our results are quite different. These results should be fluid and I will explore them periodically to see how they have shifted.

Genetic Genealogy | Test 2 Top Surname Results

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:52:00 +0000

Having recently posted about my personal 23andMe Top Relative Surnames, I figured I would also post about those from my maternal grandmother's test. The Top Relative Surnames feature shows how popular the surnames in my relative finder matches. Currently, my grandma's relative finder section is showing the results for 986 participants.

Her top five surnames are Wells, Palmer, Mitchell, Johnston, and Hunt. In the image, the count column shows how many times the name is shown in the profiles of my matches, while the enrichment columns shows how common a surname is in my entire relative finder matches.

Genetic Genealogy | Test 3 Top Relative Surnames

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:03:00 +0000

I was recently looking back over my personal 23andMe genetic genealogy results (Test 3) and discovered an interesting feature: Top Relative Surnames. The Top Relative Surnames feature shows how popular the surnames in my relative finder matches. Currently, my relative finder section is showing the results for 988 participants.

My top five surnames are Pragle, Gawton, Andriessen, Walker, and Garner. The count column shows how many times the name is shown in the profiles of my matches, while the enrichment columns shows how common a surname is in my entire relative finder matches.

I'm interest to see how often this changes as more people are tested and added to the database.

Genetic Genealogy | Test 3 Results

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 20:53:00 +0000

Those of you who know me well, know that I'm a bit competitive and I don't like sitting on the sidelines. This trait has crossed over into my family history research and I ordered a genetic genealogy test for myself. I know that my maternal like has been thoroughly tested, but I just couldn't stop myself. I ordered the test, took it, and then waited impatiently for my results to come in. (Patience is not one of my virtues!)

Knowing my maternal grandmother had just taken the same test a few months earlier, I wasn't surprised to see that my haplogroup results matched hers exactly: H2a2a. This has now been confirmed through three different tests, and I think it's safe to say that it won't change any time soon. :D

The Ancestry Composition (provides you with a percentage breakdown of your DNA in the 22 worldwide populations) results were a different story. These results are a combination of both my maternal and paternal lines, so I knew they wouldn't match G-Ma's exactly, but I wasn't expecting the results.

My results showed that I am 99.7% European, 0.1% East Asian & Native American, <0.1% South Asian, and 0.2% unassigned. I was pretty confident that my European percentage would be that high, but was not prepared to see East Asian, Native American, or South Asian.

Obviously, these results are reflected from my paternal line and I am not sure my reach will ever be deep enough to match ancestors with these areas. Of course, that's not going to stop my from trying and explore this through the relative finder area of the 23andMe database.

While I'm not going to share them in detail here, I was even more intrigued by the health results of my test. It broke down my disease risk, carrier status, traits, and drug response. My disease risk showed elevated risks for things that have effected my family members. My carrier status showed that I had absent variables for many of the genetic variations that have been strongly linked to diseases. My traits correctly guessed the detail of my amount of hair curl and hair color. And lastly, my drug response showed "greatly increased odds" of toxicity to a drug that I have taken and to which I have had a sever allergic reaction. Quite fascinating...

Genetic Genealogy | Test 2 Results

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:35:00 +0000

After receiving the results of the genetic genealogy test my maternal uncle took, I was excited to branch out and see if anyone else wanted to take a test. Being new to the genetic genealogy world, we wanted to have my grandmother take a test to see if the results matched those from the first test. With this in mind, we ordered a test through a different company.

I had been seeing a lot of good things online about a company called 23andMe and so that was the company we selected for this test. The test that 23andMe uses not only calculates your ancestry breakdown, but also does a health breakdown that tells you what diseases you are at greater risk for and what traits are common in people with a similar genetic background.

As I live a thousand miles away, my dear mother (aka Saint Marla) walked G-Ma through the test and dropped it in the mail. A couple months later I received an email stating that her results were in. While the nerdy science girl in me really wanted to dive into the health analysis, I headed over to the ancestry results page first.

As expect, the results of this test confirmed the haplogroup results from our first test. Grandma's maternal line clearly belongs to the H2 subgroup: H2a2a. The map for this test (click on the image to enlarge) looks a bit different from the first test and I found this one to much easier to understand.

The next section I explored was her Ancestry Composition. The ancestry composition provides you with a percentage breakdown of your DNA in the 22 worldwide populations. This result combines both your maternal and paternal lines and reflects where your ancestors were roughly 500 years ago (before ocean-crossing ships and airplanes were available).

G-Ma's results showed that she is 99.6% European, 0.1% Sub-Saharan African, and 0.3% unassigned. Overall, these results accurately reflect my research and support the first test my maternal uncle had taken. I was a bit surprised that only 0.3% was unassigned, as I have heard higher numbers from others who have taken the test.

At my grandmother's request, I have not shared the health risks with her or anyone else, and as a result, will not be blogging about them here. They are a different kind of personal and she didn't want to know about them. In her mind, she has lived a long life and doesn't need anything else to worry about. I respect and support her decision to not familiarize herself with this information.

Tombstone Tuesday | Oxford Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Click on the image above to view a larger photo size.

While these headstones are not kin, I was intrigued by the unique grouping. The photo was taken in the Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Ohio.

Tombstone Tuesday: Cephas Lindley

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Click on photos above to view larger image sizes.

Cephas Lindley

Died

Sept 16 1853

Aged

(the rest is has sank into the ground)

Cephas was laid to rest in the Gopher Hill Cemetery, Warren County, Indiana.

Tombstone Tuesday: Abigail (Day) Lindley

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Click on photo above to view larger image size.

Abigail

Wife of

Isaac Lindley,

Died Oct. 13, 1849,

Aged 78 years

& 2 days

Laid to rest beside her husband, Isaac, in the Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Ohio.

Tombstone Tuesday: Isaac Lindley

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Click on image above to view larger photo size.

In memory of

Isaac Lindley

who departed this life

Oct. 16th 1840

Aged 71 years & 23 days

Laid to rest beside his wife, Abigail, in the Oxford Cemetery, Oxford, Ohio.

Genealogy Road Trip | Warren County, Indiana to Dubuque, Iowa

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 23:05:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 14.

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After paying our respects at the grave of our 5th great-grandfather, Cephas Lindley, in Warren County, Indiana, we wondered our way back to the freeway and once again headed west.

We hauled it across Illinois, stopping for food and fuel and one very important ice cream break. ;) We didn't have time for much else as we needed to reach Courtney's house in Dubuque by nightfall. We didn't want to have to get another hotel (money that could be put towards vital records) or post-pone our plans for the next morning. Our mom would be driving down from Wisconsin the next morning to join us for the third and final day of the great genealogy road trip of 2012.

As we drove, we chatted about how much we had accomplished in the past two days. My trip planning may have seemed a bit lofty to most, but Courtney and I are well-worn road trippers and we were confident that we could do it without issue. Which, we did (not that I'm bragging or anything). :D

When we rolled in to Dubuque later that evening we headed straight Target. I'm not even joking here, lol. One of our aunts, a cousin and her daughter happened to be in town and were shopping there, so we just had to stop in and say hi. Our visit quickly turned in to an enjoyable dinner and some much needed catching-up.

After dinner, we made our way to Courtney's house. She had recently moved to Iowa and I had yet to visit her, so it was nice to see where she was living these days. Not ones to waste the last minutes of daylight, Courtney drove me around town showing me where she was working and where her and her friends hung out. I hadn't been to Dubuque in years, so I enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

Genealogy Road Trip | Gopher Hill Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:54:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 13.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Click on image above to view a larger photo size.

We made it to Warren County, Indiana in the early afternoon. Unlike our first few stops, we were easily able to navigate to our next stop using the map on our phones. There were so many roads and turns that I'm glad we had a bit of extra guidance as we drove past fields and farms.

The Gopher Hill Cemetery was not only the smallest cemetery we had visited on this trip, but also the most rural. Considering the size of the cemetery, we thought we would have more luck in finding the headstone of our 4th great-grandfather, Cephas Lindley.

As per usual, Courtney and I split the cemetery in two and started our search for Cephas. Not long after we started, it seemed that we both came up empty hanged. We quickly narrowed our search to an older section of stones that were broken (some were even stacked).

It was in those broken stones that we found the VERY weathered stone that belonged to Cephas. His stone was broken in half right along the line where his name was carved over a hundred years ago. The only way I could verify that it was his, was by tracing the fading letters with my fingers (I've confirmed this with some images of a distant cousins). I was shocked by the state of his stone considering that the stones of his parents and grandparents are still standing and in excellent condition. Pictures of the stone can be seen below:

Click on image above to view a larger photo size.

I'm not sure what can be done to repair Cephas's stone, even if it can be salvaged. If not, I wonder if there is something that can be done to this type of stone to stop further damage. Anyone of you genea-bloggers have any ideas?

Genealogy Road Trip | Oxford, Ohio to Warren County, Indiana

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 19:18:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 12.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After spending our early hours of Day 2 visiting the final resting place of our 5th great-grandparents we stopped by a quick mart to prep for the long day ahead. We put ice in the cooler, filled up with gas, refilled our snacks and headed towards the interstate.

The remainder of the morning would find us driving out of Ohio and across Indiana. Our goal was to end the day in Iowa at Courtney's place, but we wanted to make a quick stop first along the Indiana/Illinois state line to locate the cemetery where our 4th great-grandfather, Cephas Lindley is buried.

As we drove, I couldn't help but think about what it must have been like for our ancestors to make this voyage west. From what I know, our Lindley ancestors settled first in New Jersey, before moving on to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. What prompted these moves westward? Was it land, opportunity, adventure, or just simply time to move on? Did they have a wandering heart like me?

I also wondered how they made the journey. There weren't automobiles back then, and the drive we would make in a few short hours would have taken them days. Were they able to take their possessions with them? What made them stop where they did?

Did they ever get to go back and see the family they had left behind or were they just left with memories of their loved ones? Living 1,000 miles from my family means that I only get to see them 2-3 times a year, and more days than not, this distance breaks my heart. It also makes me so much more thankful when an opportunity like this road trip comes up, because I wouldn't miss it for the world, and I know it's the same for Courtney. After all, she flew to the east coast to join me for this genealogy road trip knowing very well that our journey would lead us right back to her house a short 72 hours later.

Genealogy Road Trip | Oxford Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 02:19:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 11.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Day 2 of the genealogy road trip started at shortly after dawn as we drove the final hour to find the graves of our 5th great grandparents, Isaac and Abigail (Day) Lindley in Oxford, Ohio. The previous day we had paid our respects to Isaac's parents in Pennsylvania and it seemed a bit surreal that we would have the honor to do the same for Isaac and his wife the very next day.

We arrived at the Oxford Cemetery in the twilight hours. We pulled in through the main gate and drifted towards the right, making our way up small hill. The cemetery was much larger and more full than I had expected based on what I had viewed in online photographs and maps. The area had a large selection of older stones and we thought they looked close to the age of those stones our 5th great grandparents would have, so we parked the car, grabbed the camera, and started searching. Until this point we were able to easily find the headstones of our ancestors and didn't quite expect this search to take the turn that it did.

Click on photo above to view larger image size.

We searched and searched and searched. After walking two of the larger sections of the cemetery, we took a break in the car to hydrate and regroup. It was then that we decided that it would be easier to slowly drive through the remainder of the cemetery and see if we could locate any more older stones that might help us narrow our search.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a dedicated "older stone" section as we had wished. Instead, it seemed like every 50 feet there was a new grouping of older stones. We weren't expecting a giant blinking sign, but a little thoughtful planning back in the day would have been appreciated as we continued our exhaustive search. As you can see from the sections highlighted in yellow, we had nearly searched the entire cemetery and were quickly approaching the very new section of the cemetery, which would have meant that we had missed them in our early searching.

Finally, when I was nearly ready to give up hope, we stumbled upon Isaac and Abigail... right next to the roadway! One section I was wondering how we had missed them, and then next, I couldn't believe that we stumbled upon them while walking on the road. Upon closer inspection, I was once again shocked at how well preserved the headstones were. What a blessing.

Click on photo above to view larger image size.

The carving on their stones wasn't as unique or elaborate as that of Isaac's parents, but it was legible and the great condition provided easy access to dates. It's as if the simplicity of the stones mimicked the change in lifestyle that Isaac and Abigail faced after leaving their well established families in Pennsylvania for a life in the new west. I hope they found what they were looking for...

Genealogy Road Trip | Marr, Ohio to Dayton, Ohio

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 20:24:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 10.

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As we wound our way out of the hills Courtney and I chatted at length about the cemetery, Mr. Burkhart, and Marr. The road out of Marr eventually started to follow a ridgeline and we were able to get a few bars of cell service. We were eager to call our mother and share the day's adventures with her. After a few attempts and several dropped calls we were able to get in touch with her.

We put her on speaker phone so we both could chat and barely got to the first stop on the trip when we lost our connection. She had been so excited to hear from us that we wanted to share more, so we pulled into the gravel parking lot of a country church at the crest of a hill and called her back. We shared the highlights of our day with her and explained our plans for Day 2.

After we hung up with her, we both realized that we were quite parched from the days events. Reaching into the cooler, we discovered that the ice had melted leaving our beverages luke warm, with no mini-mart in sight. Courtney reached for our glass bottles of pop from our quick trip to the general store in Marr and luckily they were still a little on the cool side as they had been left in the shade. At this point, we wanted nothing more than a refreshing cool drink. Unfortunately, in true general-store-style, the tops were pop-off, not twist-off and we didn't have a bottle opener.

We searched the SUV for something to open them and didn't have any luck. Before I could think of another way to open them, Courtney was out the door and walking towards the edge of the parking lot with her bottle in hand. I stared at her in confusion until I saw her stop at the guardrail lining the edge of the lot, settle the bottle top edge on it, and with the hands of a bartender, used the metal to pop the top off. She smiled, lifted the bottle towards me and then took a sip. She returned to the Rav reached for my bottle and said "that's how us country girls do it." She rocks. ;)

We got back on the road, rolled the windows down and blasted some country radio. It was an enjoyable and relaxing ride as we caught up on the happenings in each others lives. Too soon, we had made our way to the interstate. We stopped for gas and then started heading further west into Ohio as the following day we would make a stop near the Ohio/Indiana border. We pulled off the interstate for a quick bite to eat and got back on the road. After about another hour or so of driving we found a hotel near Dayton, checked in and went to sleep as we needed to recharge for the second day of our genealogy road trip.

Tombstone Tuesday: Jacob and Rebecca (Martin) Miller

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

Jacob and Rebecca (Martin) Miller

Married 7 Oct 1809

Jacob Miller 1786 - 1869

Rebecca Martin 1788 - 1853

Laid to rest at the McVay Cemetery in Marr, Ohio.

Genealogy Road Trip | McVay Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 23:18:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 9.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Once Courtney was comfortable with the temperamental four-wheeler, we were ready to set off. We had shared the copy of the map my cousin had provided that showed the path she had taken to find the cemetery with Mr. Burkhart and he told us that it would be easier if we cut through the pasture and then followed the horse path that went to the top of the hill and to the McVay Cemetery (as he called it).

We took his advice and Courtney drove us across the pasture through the tall grass that was swaying to the wind. It was a peaceful ride and all too soon we were slowing down so that we could dip down into the nearly dry creek bed. After navigating through the creek, we started to climb higher and higher up the trail.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

The higher we climbed, the steeper it got. So steep in fact, that I was caught off guard while enjoying the view and as a result started slipping off the back of the four wheeler. Acting quickly, I gripped the tie-down rack with all my strength and Courtney gunned it. Thankfully, our actions worked and I refused to release the rack even after the trail started to level into a more gentle slope. Even after nearly falling off, I was still thankful for the four wheeler, as it would have take much longer to make the journey on foot.

After we crested the hill, it felt like we were in a different world. The forest surrounding us opened up to a mystical space that was surrounded by a sun-soaked canopy of trees. Courtney parked the four wheeler along the fence line and disembarked. My eyes first settled on the larger stones at the back of the cemetery before quickly drifting towards the shards of stones that lay at my feet. Everywhere I looked, there were broken and illegible headstones. Some were in the open and easily visible, while others were tucked next to saplings or laying broken in the uneven terrain. It took my breath away and broke my heart.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

I had so many questions swirling in my mind as I carefully walked to through the broken down remnants. Who let it get into this state of disrepair? What happened to the descendants of those laid to rest on this hilltop? Why wasn't something done to clean it up before my cousin made it her mission? I took pictures of several of these stones and have included them below.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

Once the initial shock of the condition of the stones wore off, I started making my way towards the back of the cemetery towards the stones that were still standing. The closer I got to the back of the cemetery, the better the condition of the stones. Even with that in mind, some of them were still in really bad shape and were slowly being eaten away by mother nature.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

It probably took a good 10-15 minutes for me to snap out of the the instant sadness the condition of these stones put me in. So long that, Courtney had already located the stones of our fourth great-grandparents and had moved on to other members of the extended family. It was easy to find there resting place as their new stone was easily identifiable, even at a distance.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

The new stone looked like exactly like the one I had seen in photographs at our family reunions. The only difference was that instead of the two slabs of illegible stone I had viewed in the photos, I was able to see the engravings on the stones in person. Sadly, due to the state they were in, I was not able to ready anything on Jacob's original stone and I was really only able to read Rebecca's name and a few partial bits of dates and words on her original stone.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

Even with the limited details on their original stones, I was happy I had made the trek. I know many of my maternal family members would love to see them in person and I am one of the lucky ones who has.

As we walked back to the four wheeler, I couldn't help but think that the majority of the headstones around us were lost as they had no visible identifying markers and would most likely remain unidentified moving forward. I am so thankful that my cousin took the time to not only find, but took the time to coordinate the initial clean-up of this cemetery. If it weren't for her efforts years ago, the location of our ancestors stones might have also been lost to time and mother nature.

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Note: To make the path we took even more clear, I've created a map (shown below) to help others searching for the cemetery. Please make sure to leave time to stop in and see Mr. Burkhart on your way. If you click on the image below, you will be able to see a larger version and can print it from there if desired.

Click image above to view/print a copy of the route to the cemetery.

Genealogy Road Trip | Finding the Miller-Martin Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Sara Beth Davis) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 15:26:00 +0000

My sister Courtney joined me for a three-day genealogy road trip in June 2012. I am writing a series of posts that shared the stories and sights of our adventure. This is Part 8.

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For years I've been hearing about an old family cemetery in rural Ohio where my fourth great grandparents John Miller and Rebecca Martin are laid to rest. From what I know, the cemetery was lost to time, and a forest, until a distant cousin of mine learned of it and set about cleaning it up. She worked with the township to get a crew in there to trim trees and fence the plots. We even took up a collection to add legible headstones during our family reunion.

I had contacted her a few days before the trip to see if she could give me directions to what our family called the Miller-Martin Cemetery. This stop was a late addition to our itinerary and what little information I could find about it online, didn't give any concrete directions or a specific location. My cousin was excited that we would be making a stop as she hadn't been able to see it for several years and wanted to know what condition it was in today. As the location of the cemetery is only accessible by foot and is hidden on maps due to the tree canopy, she printed off a Yahoo map, drew the path we would need to take, scanned it in, and emailed it my way. (She's pretty amazing, right?)

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

Using only her hand-drawn map (remember my trusty iPhone navigation was down thanks to a lack of cell service - lesson learned), we did our best to navigate to the farm we thought was housed the cemetery. As we approached what appeared to be the right farm based on the map, I noticed a rough looking "bridge" on the left side of the road and it matched the description my cousin had given me. Unfortunately, we were driving a bit too fast to stop, so we went up the road a bit and turned around.

When we returned we cautiously drove across the bridge. Courtney was driving, which gave me the opportunity to really take in the scene around us. The bridge wasn't meant for fancy cars and high traffic, it was built to get farm equipment across the creek. The creek was unlike anything I had seen before. It had the most amazing lush green covering of hydro plants that make it look like something out of a movie.

Click on photo above to view a larger image size.

The farm itself had seen better days and look like those of the tinkering retired farmers back home. In an odd way, it was very calming to me and it was a place I could see several of my relatives living in. Courtney parked the Rav next to a shed and I got out and walked across the yard to see if anyone was home.

As I approached the house via an old stepping stone walkway, and knocked on the door. After about a minute of waiting with no response, I felt my heart break a little bit. Planning this additional stop was so last minute that I didn't have time to contact anyone ahead of time. All of my eggs were in the "someone will be home" basket. I knocked again, and the disappointed continued when no one came to the door. I knocked a third time, hoping that it would be the charm, but had no such luck.

I wasn't sure what to do next. I didn't want to trespass, especially as we would need to be on his land for at least an hour or two from the hike up to the cemetery that my cousin had told me about. Did we just write a note and pin it to his door or leave it on our car telling him why we were there and where we had went? Did we wait it out and see if he would come home soon? Did we leave and try again in a few hours or wait another day? Our schedule was tight and I didn't want to leave without paying our respects to our great-grandparents after coming all this way.

I got back to car and explained the situation to Courtney. She too didn't want to leave, but also didn't want to trespass. After a minute, it was decided that we would visit the neighboring farms to see if they knew where Mr. Burkhart was and if they knew the protocol for visiting the cemetery. Knowing there was a farm about a half-mile down the road, we returned to the stop where we had made our u-turn.

I was met my a young child playing on the porch and asked if his parents were home. He pointed at he door and returned to playing. I knocked on the door and a few seconds later, a nice man came to the door to greet me. I explained who I was and that I was trying to access the Miller-Martin Cemetery. Once I told him that I had stopped by Mr. Burkhart's farm, he explained to me that his relative was Mr. Burkhart and that the old man was hard of hearing and most likely didn't hear me knocking.

The next thing I knew, he was on the phone calling to see if Mr. Burkart was home. After a minute or two, the call ended and I was told that Mr. Burkhart would be expecting us. I was giddy as I returned to the Rav and filled Courtney in on the last few minutes. We pulled back onto the two-lane road and make our way back down to Mr. Burkart's farm.

We parked the Rav and I once again walked up to the porch and knocked again. Even though I knew he was home, there was still no answer. Knowing now that his hearing wasn't the best, I opened the outside door and walked across the mall mudd-room and knocked loudly on the second door. About 30 seconds later an old man greeted me at the door with a smile on his face and an apology on his lips. He was so sweet.

Mr. Burkhart walked outside with me where we met up with my sister, Courtney. We talked for a bit and shared with him where were were from, where we were living, who our ancestors were, and most importantly, why were were standing in his yard. He told us that every year a couple people stop by looking for the cemetery and he seemed proud that people hadn't forgotten it.

With the sun high in the sky, he seemed a bit concerned for our safety, as accessing the cemetery required walking across a horse pasture, crossing a creek, and then trekking up a steep horse trail to the top of the hill. He quizzed us a bit more and than asked if either of us knew how to drive a four-wheeler. Courtney piped up and said that she did.

The next thing I knew, Courtney was getting a lesson on how to handle his temperamental "Big Boy Polaris". I went to the car to change my shoes into something more sturdy, and grabbed the camera, map, and bottles of water. This trip had just got a whole lot more interesting.