Tombstone Tuesday: Bitten While Hiking to Shoot a Family

My love for history and genealogy has led to some interesting field trips around the area in which I live.  As a volunteer for Find-a-Grave, I get requests from time to time for photographs of long departed loved ones.  I don't know these genealogy buffs who submit the requests, but I enjoy the hunt.  I always learn something new.

For instance, take a closer look at one of the recent requests to come my way.  It seemed easy enough.  All the lady wanted was some pictures of a couple of gravestones in the Old Landrum Family Cemetery in Fayette Co, GA. 

Looking it up seemed easy to do.  Here it was.  And then I got lost. 

The description of the location was confusing as I am not an "oldtimer" of the area.  The directions said, "accessible from the abandoned section of Peachtree Parkway."  Hmm, abandoned Peachtree Parkway?

One fine, steamy day last week, I took a quick drive to the area I thought could be the abandoned Peachtree Parkway.  Well, the area is all built up and even has an elementary school on it. So, if it was it, it's not now.

Being an enterprising young grasshopper, I popped into the first funeral home I saw.  The kindly gentleman asked (in a oh-so-sorry-for-your-loss-gentle-voice) if he could be of service.  I told him  I was looking for a graveyard.  One can imagine the looks on the faces as I beamed and said I wanted to shoot someone.  Oops, clarification was needed.  I wanted to photograph someone who was buried in a local cemetery and I couldn't find it.

Well, they couldn't either.  The lady who was happily and joyfully assisting me at this point called City Hall to see what they knew.  Nothing.  But, they knew someone who would know. 

My new buddy and I were looking at maps of the development of Peachtree City when she spotted an area called "Landrum's Mill Pond."  About that time, the lady at City Hall called back and told us she has spoken to someone else at the library who said the cemetery was down a well worn path through the woods.  She even had directions!

"Go up Hwy 74.  Turn onto Peachtree Parkway, and turn left onto World Dr.  Go to the cul-de-sac and park.  Walk down the path and it will be in the woods."

A quick driveby told me it was going to be a little harder than that, so I went home and got my energetic fun loving family and dogs.  As usual, they were eager to assist :).

Hiking, we went down the path which quickly showed evidence of asphalt and old faded lines.  Eureka, it's the abandoned Peachtree Parkway that we didn't know existed!  Hmm.  No graveyard seen here.  Let's start taking some of the paths off of this path.

At the second path I sent the kids and dogs down, they started yelling.  "Come quick! It's a cemetery."

There sat the old Landrum Family Cemetery in a nicely fenced in area. 

As I surveyed the area, I could see a spot where the trees were younger.  Could this have been the site of the family home of Jeptha Landrum?  He was the owner of the land from around 1825 or so, and is reported to have assisted the Creek Indians in their removal after the Creek Nation signed the land over to the state of Georgia.  The Landrum family owned quite a large plantation and Landrum served the new county as a Judge and also as sheriff.

I don't know if the clearing with the young trees was the house site, but I can imagine the site if it had been.  The cemetery would have been down the hill off of the dirt road leading to the house in an area close enough to visit, but not close enough to be disturbed by the creek or mill pond.  The mill pond is still there and is further down the path from the cemetery.

Back in the cemetery, I started taking shots of the graves.  Some were legible and others were not.  There were a number of broken stones that appear to once have had markings on them.  Others had succumbed to the elements of time.  Still, other spots were quite sunken.  Could these be the slaves indicated by the Landrum family to be buried there?  Early tax records show the Landrum family had somewhere around a dozen slaves or so around the 1850 time frame.  Of course, these same records indicate taxes on the land were less than $1.  Oh, if only I could have that tax bill today!

We wiped off some of the stones as I snapped away.  Some of the markings appear to be gone.  Others, I can probably make out enough to match them with the index of the cemetery put online by a Landrum family member.

I sent some of the pictures to a local photographer friend who tried to bring out the details for me.  She suggested I go back and take some more shots for her to play with.

I plan to go back out there in the fall to retake some shots.  Photographs of old graves can provide some more clues if the lighting is different (hence, a different time of year and time of day).  I will also take some water with me to sprinkle on the graves.

Yes, I will go out there again on another hike.  But I think I will wait until the chigger bites heal!

Ahh, genealogy.  It's fun hiking around the past, even if the present bites you.

Note:  Many thanks to the wonderful folks at the Carmichael-Hemperley Funeral Home and Crematory on Senoia Rd in Peachtree City.  They were super as they spent about an hour with me trying to find the old cemetery.  I appreciate their kindness!

©2010 AS Eldredge

World Archives Project Launced by Ancestry.com

Note: This is pretty exciting.

Ancestry.com Launches World Archives Project to Help Digitally Preserve Millions of Historical Records Worldwide

/PRNewswire/ — Ancestry.com, the world's largest online resource for family history, today launched the World Archives Project, a new initiative dedicated to digitally preserving millions of the world's historical treasures. The World Archives Project accelerates the rate at which important historical records are digitized and made available online by giving people everywhere the opportunity to play an important part in preserving history.

The World Archives Project allows individuals to transcribe historical documents at their convenience, from their home computer. Using a free transcription program, contributors select from the many historical record collections that Ancestry.com has digitized – from naturalization records to ship manifests to marriage records, and type in the information from the scanned image. All of the online indexes that are transcribed as part of the World Archives Project are easily searchable and available for free on Ancestry.com.

"Because digitizing historical records and making them available online is both costly and time consuming, many governments and libraries don't have the budget to do so," said Tim Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com. "The World Archives Project contributors who donate their time play a critical role in preserving these important stories by helping us publish more historical content online, extending the opportunity for others to explore their family history."

Since the project's beta launch in June 2008, more than 11,000 contributors have collectively put in more than 200,000 indexing hours and have helped digitally preserve 6 million records. Devoted to making these documents easily available online, many of these contributors spend numerous hours each week transcribing from their home.

"Family history is about sharing," says Paula Bradley, a member of Ancestry.com from Wichita, Kansas. "The Ancestry.com World Archives Project has given me a chance to give back to the community and help other people discover their own family history."

Ancestry.com estimates that it will be able to digitize and index 20 percent more historical content in 2009 to put on its site as a result of the World Archives Project. Many of these transcription projects are small collections that would likely never be digitized were it not through this project and the dedication of these unsung heroes.



There are millions of historical records from around the world that are available to index through the Ancestry.com World Archives Project. Some of the current collections include:

Naturalization Index Cards – Index cards that can easily lead researchers to the documents created when their ancestors became U.S. citizens.

Slave Manifests Filed at New Orleans, Louisiana, 1807-1860 – These records document the transporting of more than 30,000 slaves to the port of New Orleans from other stateside ports as a result of the growing tobacco industry in the southern states.

England Newspaper Index Cards – Compiled in England between the 1880s to 1965, these index cards contain information on individuals taken from next of kin advertisements, will notices, unclaimed estates and missing persons listings found in several national and overseas newspapers.

For more information about the World Archives Project and how to play an active role in preserving history by becoming a contributor, visit http://www.ancestry.com/worldarchive

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Caught in 1885

The best gift for me last year was the presentation of the 1885 Bible. While it has been in the family since that time, there have been no entries made into the marriage, death, and birth sections. I suppose it is because the owner of the Bible never married.

So, I shall fill in the blanks for the family history.

In the meantime, I have lovingly looked at the pages, so old and yellowed with time, and realize the truth is still there in those pages. The pictures in the Bible are so beautiful.

Take time to get caught in the past. It can be a beautiful moment in time.

Happy New Year!

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Happy Holidays Fellow Genis!

This poem is republished with the permission of the author:

The Clues

Fayette County is but one of the few
of many places ancestors passed through.
They stayed for a time, with jobs and kids
Daily survival and busyness they lived amid.

Whether out on the porch or in the yard
Neighbors hardly needed an 'Introduction Card'.
They shared their sorrows, good fortune too
Neighborhoods became family without 'Ta-do'.

Like marriages, in sickness and health
Everyone helped, shared their wealth.
Whether fresh fruit, veggies, or milk
Friendships made life go 'smooth as silk.'

Now, we look with a magnifying glass
At where our ancestors lived in past
We boldly search for the lives they led
We scrounge for records til we go to bed.

When they gave their name, did they think
100 years ahead that we'd curse fading ink?
Did they consider how all their daily acts
Would become so important to us as "facts"?

As they married, baptized, raised their kin
Did they imagine future generations coming in?
A 5th great-grand, whether narrow face or so round
Descendants from one to hundreds here abound.

No, they never thought we'd want them so
As we search here, there---high and low.
They simply lived lives, much as we all do
Without considering leaving us any clues.

Written by Judith Florian, Dec. 21, 2008 at 3pm

Sharing Pilgrim Blood with Sarah Palin

Well. What do you know. Since my household has several members in it who are descended from passengers on the Mayflower who arrived on these shores back in 1620, I thought I'd look more at the Mayflower history sites.

The Mayflower Society is a lineage society which is for blood descendants of the Mayflower. My spouse had three grandpas on the Mayflower- Francis Cooke, John Cooke and Richard Warren.

Richard Warren and his wife, Elizabeth, appear to have the most descendants living in America today. Some of the more famous ones listed are President Ulysses S. Grant, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, President George Bush, President George W. Bush, and recent Vice President Candidate Sarah Palin.

I am currently reading an old book on the Mayflower which is self described as a form of documentary chronicle. I'm early into the book, but think I will enjoy reading it as it is the story of the family, my family. One of the sites I visited refers to this book as a fictitious account. No matter. It's still interesting.

If you're interested, the book is The Plymouth Adventure by Ernest Gebler.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Zoom and Read, Zoom and Read

Just thought I'd pass this along--

On one of my forums, it was announced that Google Earth has a new feature. In some locations, when you zoom down to the street level at the location you desire, it may be possible to see some tombstone readings from the road.

Apparently, there has to be a small camera you can click. Click the top right hand bubble and use it for a 360 degree view.

I tried this for a couple of cemeteries in Fayette County but the small camera is not there. At least it isn't at this time.

I did look around another cemetery in another state and was able to read some tombstones. Unfortunately, none were of interest to me.

Could be of interest to you though!

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Look It Up, Dano!

I was wandering around today and came across the site "Books We Own.". It is manned by a group of volunteers (my favorite people) who are willing to provide complimentary lookups in books they own.

This site has been active for over 12 years. Reimbursement may be requested for copy or snail mail services.

Check it out.

Hunley Men Remembered

The discovery of the Hunley and its crew continues to amaze genealogists, history buffs and the general public. Recently, I visited the Hunley Memorial at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, SC, where our family placed wreaths in memory of all sea faring men who have perished in the service of their country.

It was eerily quiet in the cemetery. We followed the signs to the memorial. While on our way down the long paths, we found many beautiful old tombs from the time of the Civil War. Magnolia Cemetery is the final resting place of many an early Charleston family. You can easily follow the history of the area just by looking at the many names.

It was a surprise to learn the Hunley had three crews which had perished in her history. As the 145th anniversary of the loss of the second crew has just been observed within the last week, I find it fitting to remember the crew.

Horace Hunley was aboard this training mission of the Hunley on October 15, 1863, when it sank. Once again, the Confederacy raised the Hunley from the ocean, only to have it sink again in February 1864.

The story of the Hunley is fascinating. To learn more, click here.


-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Genealogy Fair & Pie Contest

Note: This entry is written by Donna Rosser, who is the author of The Barefoot Photographer Blog on the Fayette Front Page. She was gracious in allowing me to post it here for you.

The National Archives, Southeast Region is having a Fall Genealogy Fair and Pie Contest October 18 from 9 am to 4 pm. The facility is located at 5780 Jonesboro Road, Morrow, GA.

A few weeks ago I received an email from my friend at the National Archives asking me if I would come give a short presentation on restoring and preserving old family photos. Of course I would love to! So I am! I will be presenting from 2 to 3 pm. There are many very interesting presentations throughout the day.

In addition to my talk about preserving your old photos – Christine Wiseman from the Georgia Archives will tell you how to care for your family archives. Just what are family archives? Well, old family bibles, letters, deeds, certificates, etc. Just about anything paper you want to keep and preserve for future generations. Christine will discuss storage materials and techniques.

Kevin Kuharic from historic Oakland Cemetery will be on hand to discuss cemetery preservation. He will also talk about the damage (and repairs) from the tornado that went through Atlanta and Oakland last spring.

In addition to these interesting programs – you will learn all you need to know about searching for information at the archives and using many new online features. If you are thinking about getting started searching for your roots or have been doing it for a while, this is a great place to spend a Saturday to ask as many questions as you can think of and get some great tips.

Registration for this event is $20 and includes lunch provided by Honeybaked Ham! Oh and I forgot the best part – you can bring a pie (dig out a good old family recipe) to share and enter in the contest. At 3 pm ribbons and prizes will be awarded.

For more information and to get the registration form – click on this link http://www.archives.gov/southeast/public/2008-genealogy-fair.pdf.

About year ago I wrote a blog about the National Archives and what an interesting place it is to visit. http://thebarefootphotographer.blogspot.com/2007/10/trip-to-national-archives.html. If you haven’t read it – here is a handy link to find it.

Donna Rosser

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Community News You Can Use
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Chief Who, You Say?

It's another one of those mailman moments. Over the weekend, another envelope appeared out of his truck and into my eager hands. Now this one was a surprise.

The letter was from a grandson of one of the cousins who had dropped by to see us about six years ago. This grandson was on the visit with his grandfather as we sat and talked genealogy. We had been trying to decipher some old floppies that reportedly had information going back to Charlemagne. I've yet to find anyone who can break into these floppies. (The author has since passed.)

This young man, who is a now a grown up man, was kind enough to send some updated information on the family. He has linked his bloodline to that of Chief Wampage II of the Siwanoy Indians of Westchester County, New York.

I've not heard of this Chief, so I was eager to learn the significance of this. In my quick (and admittedly, not thorough) research, I find Chief Wampage signed a treaty under the "Treaty Oak" with Thomas Pell for something like 50,000 acres of land extending from the Bronx area to the Hutchinson River.

Of interest in my readings was the name Anne Hutchinson. Wampage is said to have murdered her himself when a group of Indians came calling on the settlers. Hutchinson has quite a story, and it is one worth reading. She was the daughter of Francis Marbury, and she reportedly had a brilliant mind. She was a devout Believer and went as far as to hold Bible studies in her Massachusetts home for both men and women. She stood trial for being a "strumpet" and later moved down to the New York area with her husband, William Hutchinson.

She's a fascinating woman. At her trial, it is reported she said, "You have no power over my body, neither can you do me any harm. I fear none but the great Jehovah, which hath foretold me of these things, and I do verily believe that He will deliver me out of your hands…."

I urge you to find a book or just look online for her story. What a woman. What a time she lived in. What a fate she suffered.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Readng the Newspaper

Google recently announced indexing of OLD newspapers has begun. If you are lucky, you can google the name of the newspaper of interest, along with a date and name, and find it!

I've been looking at this new option over the past couple of weeks. There is a learning curve involved as well as some glitches in the system. There are also opportunities to purchase some of the newspaper articles.

Never mind those small inconveniences. If you hit upon more family history, you will be excited. One word of warning-- be prepared to stay tuned closely to your computer. It takes a lot of time to do this.

I hope the process will become easier and faster. In the meantime,

http://news.google.com/archivesearch/advanced_search?hl=en .

Enjoy!

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

The Patriot's Hymn on September 11

The Patriot's Hymn
Penned by Rev. Thomas Garland
1915 Philadelphia, PA

Remember. Reflect. Pray.

_____
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page

Crossing the Political Line in History

The mailman delivered more fun to my mailbox today. I was thrilled to see the pages arrive from the History of Harrison County Missouri which was published in 1921. I was surprised to see a cousin had crossed the line.

In all my research to date, I have yet to find even a hint of anyone leaving the Republican party. All history books I've seen seem to indicate my ancestors were all dyed in the wool Republicans. I wasn't sure anyone alive today disagreed with the family of old. Today, I stand corrected.

Let me backup and fill you in on some of my recent quests. Recently, I was looking more indepth at Barnet VANDERVORT and his wife Elizabeth HENRY, daughter of John HENRY (1750-1838) of Allegheny Co, PA. One of their sons, Dr. Robert Henry VANDIVERT (1817-1887) left Muskingum County, Ohio, sometime around 1856. End of trail.

I had to know more. So, online I went and checked the census records. The spelling of the name seems to change quite often during this time frame. I contacted the library in St Louis, Missouri, to see if they could help me out. They located information on the family and popped in the snail box.

Here we are now:

The information in the book tells us he was the presiding officer at the first Republican Convention held in Harrison County, Missouri. He was quite respected and served two terms in the Missouri State Senate. From family notes, he also served in the Missouri Militia as a surgeon and organized a company for the Mexican War.

His brother, Samuel Smith VANDIVERT, also left Ohio at or about the same time as Robert. Samuel appears to have "crossed the line" as he is mentioned in the book as a Douglas Democrat and the presiding officer at the Democratic Convention in Harrison County held the same year.

I bet those dinner conversations were exciting. I have to wonder how much they debated or if they put aside their personal politics for dinner.

I wonder what each of them would have to say about the election this year. I wonder if they could have comprehended a time with the ticket of Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin. I wonder....

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
www.artsacrossgeorgia.com
Arts Across Georgia

1787 Documents Located

What a day I've had. What a sense of American pride I have today.

As you may be aware, our country is celebrating the 221st anniversary of the signing of the US Constitution on September 17. Did you know you can see some of the original documents pertaining to the framing of this great document all while sipping your coffee in your jams?

Wow. Who knew? I stumbled onto this find this morning and am inspired to share this link with you. We all need to honor and protect the Constitution. Dig in and look at some of the documents. You'll see records of votes, delegate credentials, drafts and some other interesting pieces. Come on, you didn't expect me to give away all the secrets, did you?

Go to http://www.footnote.com/browse.php#Revolution:%201775-1815|4032462
and spend some quality time with the founders of our great nation. Spend some time reflecting on this great land. Then, get on your knees and thank our Creator for this land.

If you want to read some more, look around the Fayette Front Page for more articles on the Constitution. You can find them in Hooked on History and in Patriotic Potpourri. Keep an eye on these as we get closer to the big day.

You won't be disappointed......

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone

Newsworthy Notes of Old

It's been one of those months. I've only kind of dabbled in my past. Today, during my "dabble" time, I came across another website I thought you might like to peruse.

The website is Newspaper Abstracts and it appears to be contributions from volunteers. I did a quick search to see if there were any abstracts of interest in my search. There were not.

There are also no abstracts from any Fayette County newspaper. This would be an interesting project should anyone want to jump on it.

I've signed up for the email newsletter so I will be interested to see what pops up. If you look at the site, be aware. The clicks on the sidebars quickly redirect you to two paid sites which do have loads of newspaper articles.

It's worth a look-see in my dabbling opinion.

Click here to view Newspaper Abstracts.

-----
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Community News You Can Use

To Abandon or Not?

Just thought I'd pass along this tidbit.

I checked on the status of HR 6056 bill today and the latest press indicates it "appears to have been abandoned." Of course, it could have also been incorporated into another bill.

I'll be sure to let you know if I hear of anything else on the subject.

House Votes July 10 on Preserving American Historical Record Bill

On July 10, the US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on HR 6056. Here is the link to learn more about the bill, the background, the money, etc.

http://www.archivists.org/pahr/

Photos of Stinchcomb and Turner Families

There are several photos available to descendants of the STINCHCOMB and TURNER families of early Fayette County, GA. The owner of these photos has graciously offered to share them with any who may be interested.

Let me know if you are interested and I'll get you in touch.

Stinchcomb Cemetery

Nathaniel and Susannah Stinchcomb

It was a beautiful late May day when I took the golf cart over to the Stinchcomb Family Cemetery, which is located just east of Lake Peachtree in Peachtree City. There are only a few marked graves in the well kept plot, which can be found just off of Hwy 54 and adjacent to a cart path.

The largest monument is for Nathaniel and his wife. Nathaniel was the son of Absolom STINCHCOMB and Mary PENN. In the 1833 Elbert Co, GA, will of Absolom, he gives one half of his land which he drew in the GA land lottery to Nathaniel. The actual location is designated as "number 101 in the sixth district."

For those researching the STINCHCOMB family, Absolom and Mary were married in 1785 in Amherst Co, VA. Mary was the daughter of Philip PENN. Early family lore placed Mary as a niece of William PENN, but research by family members find evidence that Philip PENN (b. 1736) was a son of George and Ann.

I have not researched any further into the PENN family lines. According to a John M Penn, there are no living descendants of the founder William PENN with the PENN surname by about 1860 in America.

Go out and photograph old grave stones. Each of them have a story to tell, and some of them will send you on a journey into history.

Line Creek Trail Update

In early April, I was pleased to bring you news of the old Line Creek School photo which had been located. A blown up version of the picture is on display at the Peachtree City Library. There is also a video of the picture with an interview on the Fayette Front Page.

A reader who lives in the area sent the following comment as a response to the "Follow the Trail" column:

I'll bet, if you have Browns in that picture, you might also have Stinchcombs (remember, the Fayette patriarch of that clan is buried on the side of the Hwy in PTC! He's my gggrandfather!) His youngest son, Elijah, married Mary Elizabeth Brown. Dempsy Brown mentions his grandchildren and deceased daughter, Sarah Ann Stinchcomb, in his will, but I haven't made that Brown to Brown connection.

Just a little ways down the road, Zadock Davis is buried on a hilltop off of Huiet Rd...my ggggrandfather.

On the other side of the county, I descend from Moses T Turner whose son was "exhorter" at Inman Methodist Church.

I have an old school picture, and in it Mary Pyron (my mother's first cousin) is the only child in the picture wearing shoes, but then, she was the only girl in her family!

I do enjoy your column! Keep going!

Jane
other names in my lines are: Darnell, West, Jones, Wesley

Yes, I have heard the name Stinchcomb while learning more about the early graves in the area. According to one of the paid genealogy sites, Victor Stinchcomb (d. 1925 in Fayette Co) did marry Sarah Ann Brown, daughter of Dempsey and Martha. Dempsey Brown was the child of Benjamim Brown, who is buried in Brown's Cemetery. Victor Stinchcomb was the child of Nathaniel and his wife, Susannah Oliver.

Since you haven't made the Brown-to-Brown connection, have you traced another early set of Browns in the county? They were over in the Fayetteville area, and there are descendants of those Browns still in the county.

I contacted the "other" Brown family in the county and gleaned some information which may be beneficial to you in your search. Roland Brown (b. 1795 in SC) married Dicey Waldrop and lived in Fayette County. His son, Robert Brown (b. 1819 in SC), married Rebecca Pope in Fayette Co in 1842, and is reported to have died in Haralson Co, GA.

I would appreciate you sending a copy of the picture of the old school that you have. Chances are other readers could see a familiar face.

Perhaps, I'll get out today to snap some shots of some old graves. Following old trails is fun-- and it's educational. Who knew there was so much life in the area before Peachtree City was founded 50 years ago!