I had considered video taping our walk, but for some reason I had visions of it becoming a Blair-Witch type movie and decided against it.  I obviously watch too many movies.

I really don’t have an irrational fear of the woods.  I grew up on an island in the Puget Sound, surrounded by nothing but trees.  It was the “No Trespassing” signs nearby and the fact that I was possibly doing just that, that had me freaked out.  Oh, and the lack of cell phone coverage.

Think happy thoughts.  Think happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts.

The happy thoughts worked.

As we turned a corner and looked up the hill, we saw it.

There, in the middle of the woods. almost half a mile down an unmarked path, was a well-maintained, fenced cemetery.

There was a nice wooden sign.

And a new stone with their last name on it.

And flowers on the graves.

This was obviously lovingly maintained by living relatives.  I was amazed.

But the biggest surprise to me was that there was more than the four graves I had been told about.

I was expecting to find my great-great-great grandparents, Austin and Eliza Jane (Hensley) Agee. And I did.

I knew that their son Jesse and his wife Iowa were also buried there.

But that was it. I had never heard mention of any others.

What I didn’t expect was the grave of Austin and Jesse’s father (my 4th great-grandfather) John Agee, Jr.  He had a newly engraved stone.  (Which poses the question – Who placed it there and how are they sure that it is him?)

There were also a few old rocks used as headstones and footstones to unmarked graves.

Could the one next to John be his wife, Sena Hilton?  Possibly.

I don’t know who the others might belong to.  Here is one of them.  I wonder if it once said something.

An There was one other marked grave in the cemetery.  I will have to find out who she was.  Possibly one of Jesse’s daughters.

I wanted to mention that I found the positioning of the stones kind of odd..  Don’t you think this is an awkward way to place them? They are actually facing each other.

So, as always, answers lead to more questions.  But I like it that way.

Here is the view as we left the cemetery. It is truly in the woods.

And I’m so glad that I didn’t chicken out and pass the trail up for another day. A dry and sunny day.  A day that I had my husband and a gun with me.  But I have to admit that I heaved a great sigh of relief when we rounded the corner and could see our vehicle again.

If you’re ever in the Woolwine area and are looking for the Agee Cemetery, contact me and I will give you some very specific directions!!!  It’s really there, even though there isn’t a sign.

I have been working on my DAR membership for the past few months.  The patriot I chose was Nathaniel Brittain, my 5th great-grandfather.  He was from Virginia, and served in B. Company of the 8th Virginia Infantry during the Revolutionary War.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that his unit fought in the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, SC on June 28-29, 1776.  Of course I had to make a road trip!

After the War, Fort Sullivan was renamed Fort Moultrie after Colonel William Moultrie, who fought during this battle.  Today, it is a part of the National Park Service.

So, we piled all of the kids in the car and drove to Charleston.  It’s only about 2 hours away, but it’s kind of a boring drive – not much to see on the way.  They grumbled a bit, but were fine after we stopped for food.   We took them to the aquarium first, and then headed across the bridge and over to Sullivan’s Island.

I think that we must have chosen the windiest day of the year to visit.  It wasn’t super cold, but we were being blown away. Two of my kids finished the Junior Ranger programs, so they had to fill out their booklets and learn about the fort.  They had a hard time keeping hold of their papers with all of the wind!

I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more exhibits geared towards the Revolutionary War period, but I should have known there wouldn’t be much.  The fort was in use through WWII, so a lot of the exhibits were geared towards that and the Civil War.  The Palmetto Fort that was used during the Revolution is of course, long gone.

I’m still glad we made the trip.  It’s always nice to walk in the footsteps of your ancestors.

I also was able to give the kids a great history lesson!

Here are some pictures from our visit:

(The first few were taken at Battery Park in Charleston, where there is a memorial to those that died or were wounded at this battle.)

I was reluctant to go because I hate not spending a 4 day weekend with my husband, but then again if I don’t go now, when will I?  The kids are old enough to be left without missing  me too much.  Andy has time off, so I don’t have to find a babysitter.  It’s only 4 hours away, so I can drive.  No excuses, right?

I even get to spend one blissful evening in a quiet hotel room – all by myself.  I don’t think I’ve been alone in 11 years. I’m not exaggerating.

I’m so excited about the classes being offered – and about meeting other genealogists and especially geneabloggers!!

Hope to see you all there!!!!

We didn’t have much problem finding the small St. Andrew Catholic Cemetery just outside of town. It appears to have been the site of the first St. Andrew Catholic Church. I would have loved to have seen that.

It is a beautiful little cemetery.  I walked through most of it and was surprised at the number of people buried here with the last names I was looking for.  I could tell that many of the descendants had stayed in the area.  Also, the entire town must have been full of Germans!  There were row after row of German names.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will post many of the gravestones I found in this cemetery.

Here is one that is unrelated to me.  I thought that it was interesting though, because it was quite old.  I could make out that the person was born in 1785.

Since we were already meandering through Virginia, I decided to add a trip to Abram’s Delight in Winchester to our itinerary.

Here is what the Winchester-Frederick Historical Society has to say about the home:

““Abram’s Delight”, the site of five generations of the prominent Hollingsworth family covering 200 years, has a story of its own.

When Abraham Hollingsworth came to the Valley circa 1728, he was exploring, with the intention of finding a spot to build a home for his family and to establish a mill to supplement his income as a farmer. On this spot, he found the answer to his requirements – fertile land and an ample water supply.

After receiving a grant for 582 acres, his first dwelling was a log cabin located just to the west of the present house. The hand dug well included in the cabin can still be seen. It is believed that a wooden stockade surrounded the property and that several years before Abraham’s death in 1748 he began construction of the house as we know it today. Following the
death of his wife, Ann, in 1749, the property was inherited by the couple’s second son, Isaac.

Isaac was a leading member in the local Quaker meeting and planned his house so that it could be used for Quaker meetings. It was referred to as a “mansion” when compared to the log cabins in which his neighbors lived.

The builder, Simon Taylor, had completed “Springdale” in 1753. This was the home of another early settler, John Hite, and was located about five miles south of the Hollingsworth property. The stonework in both houses is very similar. Taylor’s skill as a stonemason still shows in the twenty-two inch limestone walls. While under construction, one wall in the house was made a movable one with hinges that could be raised and attached to hooks on the opposite wall. This made it possible to accommodate large crowds for meeting in this home (the largest building in the area) with men sitting in the parlor and ladies in the dining room.

When the house came into the possession of the third generation, adaptations had to be made. The new owner, Jonah Hollingsworth, and his wife Hannah, had thirteen living children and more space was needed. Therefore, around 1800, the west wing or reception room was added, using stone that closely matched that of the original house. He put dormer windows on both the north and south roofs so that his children could sleep in the “attic”, which was one large room on the top story of the home. He also added a portico (no longer standing) on the south entrance.

One of Jonah’s sons, David, acquired the house around 1830 and made many improvements. David, a prominent citizen, wealthy businessman, and community leader, was known for his love of entertaining and hospitality. We know that he moved the stairway from the northwest corner of the dining room to its present location in the hall. The west wall, which had been the moveable one, was made permanent. His most spectacular improvement was the construction of a large lake on the south side of the house, utilizing the plentiful water supply and increasing the water flow to his nearby mill. A summer house was built on an island in the lake and a fleet of boats carried visitors from the island to the shore.

David’s three children, none of whom ever married, inherited the property just two years before the beginning of the Civil War, an event which greatly affected these three members of the fifth generation of the family. As most properties of the area suffered from the many battles and changes of command, so did the “Abram’s Delight” complex. Following the deaths of Jonah Isaac and Mary (whom some considered a spy), only Annie remained in the old home. In her seventies, she soon made arrangements to leave. She promised to give her property to two cousins who lived in Winchester, if they would care
for her for the rest of her life. After an agreement was reached, she took her private possessions, closed the house, and left it unoccupied for almost 30 years.

In 1943, the city of Winchester purchased the old home and 35 acres of land for two reasons: to preserve the oldest home in Winchester and to protect the water supply provided by the Spring, which they leased for many years. A committee of the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society with Mr. Irvan O’Connell as the overall chairman and Miss Mary Boxley in charge of the interior restoration, worked for nine years to restore the house. The house was opened as a museum in 1961.

A log cabin located on the west lawn dates to 1780 and was reconstructed on the premises in 1967. The cabin, located right across the west lawn of “Abram’s Delight”, is not Abraham’s but is similar to his. It is included with the tour of the main house.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we were headed there.  For some reason, I had pictured in my head that the house was going to be in the middle of a large field on the outskirts of town.

I was wrong.

Had I thought about it more, I would have realized that since it’s the oldest house in Winchester, it is actually in the middle of town.  It’s just such a stark contrast to see such a historical building just down the street from a gas station and a strip mall.

I had originally planned on taking the whole family through the house, but when we arrived, I realized that wasn’t such a good idea.  The home is a museum, containing many very old antiques.  And most of them are out in the open.

I quickly changed my plans.

Andy waited in the car with the younger kids and I took the older 2 through the home.  There was no photography allowed inside, but I got some pictures of the outside.  Andy then took his turn and went through.

Even though the home actually belonged to Abraham’s son Isaac (and my husband is descended through Abraham’s other son George), I still thought that it was really interesting to see and well worth going a bit out of our way.

James Patrick Thornton (1824-1887) was my immigrant ancestor.  He lived in Alton, but moved on to Nebraska in the 1870′s.

His brother Phillip and his family stayed in Madison county, Illinois.  They were buried in Greenwood Cemetery in nearby Godfrey, Illinois.  I believe that it is owned by the church.

Philip Thornton born in Ireland 29 Sep 1831 and died 10 Feb 1898.

Margaret Thornton born in Ireland 10 Aug 1829 and died 10 May 1888.

Here is their son, James Paul Thornton.  Born 19 Sep 1858 and died 3 Jan 1925.  His wife was Catherine (1865-1948).

And Philip’s son Edward Charles Thornton (1868 to 1906).  His wife Albertine.

And Philip’s son Michael:

I will post my Pottgen findings next week….

UFO Above the Earth

I was getting very frustrated.

But  I’ve solved the mystery with the help of a very knowledgeable guy at the Niagara County Historian’s Office in Lockport.  He sat and pored through the records for me and found what I was looking for.

Thomas was born in Lockport and not England.  That was the first thing that I had been trying to clear up.

He wasn’t an orphan (or an alien ).  His father died when he was young and his mother (Sarah/Sally) remarried a George Hanscomb (A few of the variations I’ve seen are Hanson, Hanascomb, Hascomb, and Hancomb.)

We found the announcement in the Lockport Daily Journal from 2 Jan 1860:

Mr. George Hascomb of Wilson to Miss Sarah Woods of Lockport, by the Rev. R. Norton.

Thomas was born in September 1859 and his mother married George in Jan 1860.  George would have been the only father that Thomas knew.

That means that the 1870 census that I found, where Thomas Woods was 14 and living with George and Sarah Hanson was indeed him.

At the historian’s office, we were also able to search the state census.  I love state census.  I wish that all states had their own census.  It can be so helpful.

Anyway, I found them in the 1865 census: George, Sarah, Thomas, and Anna Hancomb.  Yes, Thomas was listed as Thomas Hancomb.  I now have another name to search for.

He was also in the 1892 census, living with his mother.  She was 73 and he was 34.

And we even found a newspaper abstract of his mother’s obituary. The actual newspaper is no longer available for this time period (I searched the library also).:

Mrs. Sarah Hanascomb. May 19, 1893 at home of son Thomas Woods, 139 N. Adam St. Lockport, age 72 years.  Cold Springs.

Even though she was listed as having been buried in Cold Springs Cemetery, we weren’t able to locate her gravestone in the short amount of time we had in Niagara county.  It was not listed in the tombstone transcription, but it is possible that it was in an older section of the cemetery.  Maybe on our next trip (whenever that might be!).

Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough time to head across the street to the courthouse and check out what records may have been available there.  I am happy to have at least solved my mystery though.  Thomas Woods did indeed exist before 1900.

I now have more things to look for:

1. When/where did Thomas’ real father, Henry Woods die?   Is he buried there in Lockport?  Did he die on the way over from England? Actually, now that I think about it, I shouldn’t rule out the possibility of him having run off or of them being divorced.  I think that it’s more likely that he died though.

2. When did Sarah Woods/Hanscomb immigrate?  Where in England was she from?

3. What happened to Thomas’  half sister Anna/Hannah?  Did she live to adulthood?  Did she marry?  There is no mention of her in Thomas’ obituary in 1934.

4. Where is Thomas in the 1880 census?  Is he perhaps going by Thomas Hanscomb instead  of Woods?

I’m so excited that I’ve made some headway on the Woods line – finally!  I now feel like I have a jumping-off point for further research.  I can’t wait to get started.

I’d also like to add that while I was doing my research at the historian’s office, I signed a petition that I would love for you to sign also!  Thanks!

Here is the information from the flyer I received:
“Fourteen Niagara County citizens have been awarded the Medal of Honor.  One, however, has been denied his medal and his grave marker.

Michael Huskey, Irish-born Lockport native, earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War as a sailor aboard the USS Carondelet (Steele’s Bayou Expedition, Vicksburg).  He died before he received his medal.

His family continued to reside in Niagara County and also never received his medal.  The family line has since completely died out – except for us, the people who benefited from his service and sacrifice.

Efforts are currently being made to have his grave marked and his medal put on permanent display in the rotunda of the Niagara County Courthouse.

We and Michael need your help to persuade the US Navy to honor his bravery by releasing his medal and marking his grave.”

On my recent cross-continent trip, I managed to stop in Bedford, Virginia.

Did you know that they are home to the National D-Day Memorial? Their town lost more men per capita than any other on D-day.

I didn’t get  a chance to actually go and see the memorial, because I had one precious day to hit 3 neighboring Virginia counties.

I would have had an extra day, but we happened to arrive in the area on a Thursday night and we weren’t able to stay through Monday.  That gave me one day to hit the courthouses and the genealogy library before they were closed for the weekend.  I had to work fast.

My poor husband was in the van with my 5 not-so-happy kids.  We were nearing the end of our journey and they weren’t very excited about being strapped in anymore.  They were especially not excited about sitting outside of the Bedford County Courthouse for 2 1/2 hours.

I managed to slip across the street to the genealogy library for a few minutes after having made a stack of copies from the will books at the courthouse.  I did a quick search through the tombstone census for the county and I was able to find the gravestones of my 6th great grandparents – or rather their lack of gravestones.

The tombstone census stated the following about the cemetery that they were buried in (which is near Moneta,VA in Bedford county):

“This cemetery has been bulldozed over but Mr. Nance gave us the following names of people who are buried there: Somon Hancock, Jane Flournoy Hancock, Edward Hancock,  Jane Nichols Hancock, Christopher Hancock, Simon Hancock, and others (slaves).

Evidence of a cemetery having been present just SE of a tree and a large flint rock and W of the barn and E of the old home site.  An old iron post has worked its way to the surface of the pasture in this area.  There are several sunken areas.”

The informant was a Mr. Ray Nance on Jan. 30, 1992.

I am elated to have found where their last resting place is.

It saddens me though to know that they no longer have visible markers of their burial sites.

It makes me wonder if  there is something I can do about it.

Maybe I could find other descendants and see about getting permission from whoever currently owns the land to put up a single gravestone in the vicinity of where they were buried?  I have no idea what the cost would be for a stone, but since Simon died in 1791, my guess is that he has a large number of descendants.

Any ideas?  Have any of you done this before?

This article is about my husband’s great uncle, Henry Woods.  It is very sad.

The Union-Sun, Lockport, NY.  Thursday Evening, August 26, 1915.

“YOUNG MAN TRAPPED DIES IN FIRE AT PARENTS’ HOME

Henry Wood Sufferer From Epilepsy, Victim of Flames at Clinton Street Residence.

In a fire that consumed the greater portion of the home of Thomas Woods, an employee of the Thompson Milling Company, at 440 Clinton St. shortly after 6 o’clock last night his son Henry, aged 23 years, was burned to death in a front room on the second floor.

Members of the family were at the supper table and Henry who had gone upstairs an hour before was assumed to be taking a nap.  The smell of smoke became noticeable to those at the table.  One of the sons ran upstairs and found the rear in flames.  He returned to warn the family.  Thoughts quickly turned to the son Henry who was a life long sufferer from epilepsy which trouble had also affected his mind.

But when effort was made to go back upstairs the flames had reached the stairway in a great mass.  One of the brothers ran outside but could not locate a ladder in the neighborhood.  Frantic effort was made to climb to the second story window to save the unfortunate boy but they failed and the fire soon turned the room in which he was known to be into a seething furnace.  The outside blinds of the window had been kept locked to prevent the young man from jumping out in a spell of epilepsy.

The department was called from Box 24 and several streams were played on the fire.  It was quickly gotten under control. Chief Coyle and firemen got inside and located the charred remains of the dead boy, under a bed.  He had evidently tried to crawl under.  Coroner Kittinger was called and took charge.

The members of the family were prostrated by the death of a son and brother and were taken in charge by neighbors.  Part of the household effects were saved but the house was practically destroyed. The loss is about $1500, covered by insurance.  The origin is not known but is believed to have been with a chimney.”

That is when we’re leaving Alaska for good and starting on our 6,000 mile journey to Savannah.

I have a lot of things planned for the trip. National Parks.  Museums.  Visiting family.  And of course Genealogy.

The first few thousand miles of my trip are going to be genealogy-free, because I don’t have any ancestors that lived in the Yukon Territory, Alberta, Montana, or Wyoming.

But after our visit to family in Kansas, it starts.

I just bought a wireless card for my laptop. so I will be able to get onto the internet and blog as we drive.

I am really looking forward to this adventure!!!!

First with my hives.  Yuck.

Then we decided to hop in the van and take a little drive.  We went from Fairbanks to Valdez to Anchorage to Denali and back to Fairbanks again.  Over 1,000 miles. In 2 days.  It was a gorgeous drive with beautiful scenery.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many mountains in my life.  Everywhere we turned, there were more. Here is Denali (aka Mt. McKinley) which is impressively humongous.

And do you know what?  I still managed to get some genealogy done.  Because I’m sneaky like that.

While we were in Anchorage, we stopped at Ft. Richardson to get something at the PX.

And I managed to talk my husband into stopping at the National Cemetery on Post.  I knew that my mom’s Uncle “Red” Walden Bergman was buried there, along with his wife June.  He was stationed up here while he was in the Army and he ended up staying. This is the only picture that I have of him.  I never knew him, because he died when I was 2.

I was worried that it was going to be hard to find the gravestone, but I was pleasantly surprised.

They had a book outside, full of all the names of the people buried there, with sections and grave numbers listed.  If only every cemetery was as organized!

Here is his gravestone:

With 5 young children looking to me for their cuddles, food, schooling, safety, entertainment and general happiness, I don’t always have the amount of free time I want.

And what time I get is usually in the wee hours of the night – like now.  I’m lying on the floor of our hotel room, typing by the light of the nearby bathroom, while everyone else is blissfully slumbering.  Pretty pathetic, huh?  I take what I can get though!

Anyway, I have all of these things that I want to research, but I have to keep reminding myself that I need to be more focused and less frenetic.  I need to quit jumping from person to person and place to place daily.

There are lines that I’m itching to research, but what I really need to be doing over these next 3 weeks is coming up with my game plan for our trip.  I need to have super-specific lists of what I’m looking for.  I need to do my homework before arriving at these places.  What resources do they have?  What hours are they open?  Directions please!  Fees?  How many rolls of quarters am I going to need??

So, I am forcing myself to focus on the following lines and places for the next few weeks.  I would hate to show up unprepared and waste my very precious time.

• The Davidson and Stafford families in Leavenworth county, Kansas.  I’m specifically looking for their probate records at the library in Topeka.  (Note to Andy’s parents: Don’t worry I promise this is the only morning I’ll spend with my nose in the microfiche!!)
• Talbot in Warren county, Missouri.  I need to find out more info on Dr. James Talbott to see if he is my Sophia’s father.
• Pottgen in Alton, Illinois.
• Weeks and Parks in Clark and Scott counties, Indiana.
• Baker, Campbell, Pierce, Galbreath families in Indiana and Jefferson counties, PA.
• Woods, Leonard, and Spencer in Niagara county, NY.
• Agee, Lee, Glass, Moorman, Hensley and Hilton in Patrick, Roanoke, Montgomery, Bedford, Franklin, and Halifax counties, Virginia.  (They moved around a lot!  Looks like I will be spending a few days in VA.)

I think that’s it.  It’s quite a long list, I know.  I’m excited for this opportunity though and don’t want to pass it up.  A free vacation sponsored by the Army only comes around every 3-4 years.

I’m going to get that and much more in May.  We will be leaving North Pole, Alaska  forever and heading to a new adventure in Savannah, Georgia. Thank you Army for sending us somewhere warm!  I think it will take us a few years to thaw out.

It’s not only the sun that excites me, though.  It’s the fact that I will be in a city with history – and lots of it. Not that Fairbanks has no history.  It does.  But the history here only involves the gold rush, dog mushing, and native Alaskans.  And I’m ready for something else.

Maybe I’m crazy, but I think that hopping on a plane and flying over the entire continent would be boring.  We’d miss all of the sightseeing along the way.  So instead of that, we will be strapping our 5 kids into the car and driving over 6,500 miles – stopping at fun places along the way.

We’ll be visiting  family in Montana and Kansas.  We’re going to take the kids to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Niagara Falls, St. Louis Arch, Mammoth Caves National Park, Hershey PA, Gettysburg, DC, Shenandoah National Park, Monticello, driving the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smokies National Park, etc.  I’ve never been east of the Mississippi (I’m a West Coast gal) and I have a lot of catching up to do!!

But what excites me even more than all of the cool parks and museums we’re going to visit??

You guessed it – I’ve managed to work a bunch of genealogy research into the trip too!

I had to be sneaky.  “Hey Honey, don’t you want to go and see Niagara Falls?”  Of course I have cemeteries and courthouses to visit in nearby Lockport.

“Haven’t you always wanted to visit the tank museum on Ft. Knox?”  Clark county, Indiana is just a short drive away.

I am not sure if we’ll be able to hit all of the places on my list.  During a 30 day long trip with 7 people in the car, anything can happen.  But at least I have made the list as a general guideline of the places we’re going to try to stop.

So, here are the places I’m hoping to do some research:

• Douglas and Leavenworth counties, Kansas
• Moniteau county, Missouri (Tipton in particular)
• Montgomery/Warren county, Missouri
• Alton, Illinois (across the river from St. Louis)
• Clark county, Indiana (across the river from Louisville)
• Indiana county, Pennsylvania
• Niagara county, New York
• Winchester, Virginia
• Bedford, Roanoke, Montgomery, and Patrick counties, Virginia

Here is the general route of our trip:

Now, I just need to figure out what my poor husband is going to do with the kids while I’m lost in microfiche.

I have promised myself that I will have a very clear research plan for each place I want to stop.  No wandering around and perusing the stuff they have.  I will be limited on time, so I need to have very specific goals of what I’m trying to find.

Of course, I can put the kids to work!  I can offer a prize for whoever finds the gravestones I’m looking for.  I have a small army of helpers that can spread out across the cemetery.  And they work quickly when there is a chocolate-covered incentive involved.

Doesn’t it sound like fun???