Older daughter thought I should mention meeting relatives in cemeteries. So here is my story.
Hubby, both daughters and I made a return trip to the old Burlington Cemetery, in Burlington, Kentucky to take another look for relatives. And to revisit great-great-great grandma's grave. We met another couple there, who were also looking for headstones for their family members. Turns out we were related through the Kirtley line. That was probably the most enjoyable visit our kids ever had to a cemetery.
Quite a few years earlier, we made a trip up to East Tawas, Michigan where my mom's paternal ancestors and aunts and uncles were buried. Older daughter took pictures for me. She did a good job, too!
One time, we went to visit a cousin of my dad, an elderly woman who lived in Richmond, Missouri. Well, we found her house all right, but didn't find her. We knew she was expecting us. What we didn't know was that she was expecting us to stay with her. While we had never met her before, my parents had met her and one of her nephews a year or so before. Fortunately, while we were parked out front, the relative's step-daughter drove up and had us follow her to the hospital where our cousin was a patient. It seems she hurt her back while cleaning house preparatory to our visit.
One of the purposes of this visit was to return pictures to her which she loaned my dad. As a young teenager, my dad would spend summers with her uncle, Mansur Oliphant. We had a really nice visit with her and unfortunately never got a chance to visit her again before she passed in 1999.
Also on this trip, we visited MachPelah cemetery in Lexington, Missouri, where my dad's mother, grandparents, etc. were buried. I had made a copy of the plot at the Family History library in Michigan, but apparently forgot to take it with us. We went to the cemetery not knowing where the graves were. I tried calling my dad from our cell phone (1996 era cell phone) and he wasn't home. Fortunately the little history library in Lexington had a copy of the same book and I was able to get a section plan. So we parked -- in the same place as the day before and there they were. Now I always try to go prepared.
Copyright 2010-2013, ACK for Gene Notes
I can't believe you ran into (living) relatives in the cemetery! Too funny. :)
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of stuff from when I was a kid that I didn't fully appreciate, that I would now. But yes, meeting relatives in the cemetery was a highlight!
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