Filed in Researching Places,Sanchez/Sanchez-TeresoTags:

My Sanchez-Tereso ancestors lived in an area of Keokuk County, Iowa,  called Hedrick.

The town motto, which welcomes you from the main road, says “Where Friends Meet”.  That may be true, but there sure aren’t many of them!  It is a small town, with about 800 people living there.  My great-great grandparents lived on a farm just north of town – from the 1860’s until she died in 1918.

It was never a very large town, but it had a quaint downtown with gorgeous old buildings.  I saw pictures of parades going down main street from late in the 1890’s.

We drove through town last week, looking for the cemetery where they were buried.

The downtown is now like a ghost town.  The old buildings are still standing, but they are boarded up and neglected.  There are weeds growing through the sidewalks.

undefinedundefinedundefinedThe farms in the area seem to be thriving, but I think that everyone drives to the larger towns to shop and do business.

There are people living in the town.  The post office is open, as is the city hall.  The lady at city hall was really nice and helped me find the cemetery I was looking for. 🙂

It just makes me so sad to see a town in such a state of decay.  I would love to see someone invest in restoring the old buildings down main street – much the way they do in Savannah, GA.  It would be such a quaint town!

Did any of your ancestors live in what has now become a “ghost town”?

Share on Facebook•Tweet this Post•Pin Images to Pinterest•Back to Top

Filed in Agee,Cemeteries,Genea-TripsTags:

This is a continuation of last week’s Tombstone Tuesday, in which Ellie and I very bravely ventured down a muddy trail into the Virginia woods to find our ancestors’ burial place.  Remember the mud? It was slippery.

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.

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

undefinedundefined

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.

Share on Facebook•Tweet this Post•Pin Images to Pinterest•Back to Top

Filed in Amanuensis Monday,Sanchez/Sanchez-Tereso

Another great find in Iowa! Here is the will of my great-great grandfather, Frederick Sanchez-Tereso:

“I Frederick Sanchez Tereso of the County of Keokuk and State of Iowa do make this my Last will and Testament
first, I will that all of my Just Debts and funeral Expenses be paid out of my personal property and all of the ballance of my Property both Personal and Real Except that hereafter Excepted I do will and bequeath to my wife Matilda Jane to have and to hold During her Lifetime and at her Death then which is Remaining of my property is to be divided Equally among my children Milton F Helen Handelman Nancy Sheridan Viola Theodore + George Oscar and if my son Milton shall stay on the premises and assist his mother in managing and caring for the Property untill the youngest one of my children Shall become of age then it is my will that in addition to having an Equal Share with the other heirs above named he is to have the North East quarter of the North West quarter and the North West quarter of the North East quarter of Section Twenty five (25) Township Seventy four North of Range No thirteen west, which he is to have for the Services that he is Required to perform as above and Should he fail to perform Said Services as above stated then all of my property Remaining at the Death of my wife including the above Described Land to be Equally Divided among my heirs above named and Should my wife Die before my youngest child becomes of age then it is my will that my Son Milton Manage and Controll my property Remaining at that time untill the youngest heir becomes of age and I do choose my wife Matilda Jane to act as my Executor with my Son Milton as her assistant with of which shall be Required to give bonds and it is my wish and will that my property be divided by my Heirs mutually among themselves without Having the Same to go into court witness my Hand this 24th day of August 1881

Fred Sanchez Tereso

witnessed by

JoS Merryfield

[unreadable]”

Share on Facebook•Tweet this Post•Pin Images to Pinterest•Back to Top

Filed in Sanchez/Sanchez-Tereso,Sunday's ObituaryTags:

I know that it’s not nice to play favorites.  I have five kids and I always try to keep things pretty equal between them.

I really can’t help myself when it comes to my ancestors though. I play favorites and I’m not sure why.  I think that maybe I tend to like the ones that I have more biographical information on.  Names and dates aren’t all that exciting.  Stories are.

Jacob Frederick Sanchez-Tereso, my great-great grandfather is definitely at the top of my “cool ancestors” list.  He led such an interesting life.  He spoke many languages, served in the military, and had a rare book collection.  My kind of guy!

A little background info before I give you his obituary.  Fred’s  father was Nicanor  (Nicholas)Gonzalo Sanchez-Tereso.  He was born in Herencia, Spain and moved to Germany sometime around the Napoleonic Wars.  He married  Anna Marie Weber there and all of their children  (Fred included) were born in Germany.  I can’t wait to dive into some German research, because I have a feeling that the Sanchez-Tereso’s are going to stick out like a sore thumb there.

Another side note.  His obituary is very detailed (Which is so wonderful!  I wish everyone’s obits were so fact-filled) but I noticed that a portion of it was in present tense (as if he were still alive) and it sounded very familiar.  I realized a portion of his obit is almost word for word from the biography included on him in the local county history.  🙂

Here is the obituary which I found at the KeoMah Genealogical Society’s library in Oskaloosa, Iowa.  This was published in “The News”  of  Sigourney, Iowa, dated April 27, 1882, on page 3, row 3.  (The town, by the way, is not pronounced like “Sigourney Weaver” – the emphasis is on the “Sig” instead.  It was painful for me to hear this said over and over, especially since I had been mispronouncing the name of this town for about 10 years.)

Frederick Sanchez-Tereso, of Benton township died Monday evening last at 9 o’clock.  He was until recently a member of the Board of Supervisors, and resigned on account of ill health.  He has been suffering with lung trouble for almost a year and most of the time was confined to the house.  In the loss of Mr. Tereso the county loses one of its best and most popular men.  He had a fine education and was competent to take charge of most any kind of business.  the whole county will sympathize with the bereaved family.  He was born March 30, 1824, at Hackenheim, Hessen, Germany; his father was a native of Spain, and his mother was of German ancestry; his youth and early manhood were passed at the place of his birth, where he attended first the common school and then the high school; German, Latin, Greek and French were some of the studies here pursued; at the age of 17 years he was appointed clerk of the court, which official position he filled to the satisfaction of the higher officials, and with credit to himself.  On the outbreak of the revolution of 1849, when but 24 years old, he received the important appointment of General Financial Secretary, under the Republic at that time established; this position he held for about six months, when the Republic collapsed, and in company with other patriots he crossed the Rhine into France, and after remaining there a short time, he embarked at Havre for America.  He arrived at New York in September, 1849, and from there he went to Philadelphia, where he engaged in the printing business; after remaining there for ten months he returned to New York to meet his parents, and while there awaiting the arrival of the ship he was employed by a publishing house as a translator. Upon the arrival of his parents they set out for Iowa and settled in Jackson township, this county; in [I believe it says 1856] he removed to Benton township and settled where he resides, owns a farm of 270 acres, under good cultivation; has a comfortable, well arranged house, in which is a choice library of rare books.  In August 1862, he enlisted as a private in Co. F Thirty-third Iowa Infantry; June 2, 1863, he was promoted to the position of first lieutenant; served during the war, and was discharged July 2, 1865 at New Orleans, and after his discharge returned home; December 24, 1857 he was married to Miss Matilda J. Britton, a native of Henry county, Iowa; they have seven children: Milton F.,  Helen (now Mrs. Handleman), Nancy A., Sheridan P., Viola, Theadore, and Oscar G.

Didn’t he lead an interesting life?  He was definitely so much more than an Iowa farmer.  I really need to brush up on my German history and read more about the revolution of 1849 so that I can understand his life a bit more.  Do any of you have Germans that came to America during this time period?  Did they do so for a similar reason?

 

Share on Facebook•Tweet this Post•Pin Images to Pinterest•Back to Top

« Older posts Newer posts »

F i n d   i t

  • Archives

  • Categories

B u t t o n

  • Grab a button!