This 'n That and 21.3%

This... I guess it's about time I checked in with y'all. Yep, I'm still alive and kicking but those Hoffman folk have taken over my research... I now have a pretty good idea of the meaning behind that ancestry.com slogan "You don't even have to know what you're looking for... you just have to start looking." Of course, it does help to have a few "clues" to start with. But in the past three months I've added nearly 500 descendants of John and Catharine (Coy) Hoffman to my Legacy database! And yes, they are sourced... but not necessarily in the "ESM" style.

It had been quite a while since I had gone looking for "more recent" relatives and I do love how ancestry.com gives those hints along the right side of the screen after you've found someone in a census or other record. Sometimes there are lots of those hints and other times not so many. Of course, you still need to be able to determine if the hints are really for the person for whom you are looking. But, my goodness, it's so much easier now than it was, oh, 20 years ago!

'n That... Research is on hold for now. I left Indiana last week to come to Huntsville, Alabama to help out my friend/distant cousin (3rd cousin once removed in the Joslin line) while she is recovering from cancer surgery. Recovery from the surgery has been very good but she's had a terribly painful flare-up of rheumatoid arthritis in her hands and shoulders. Then her left knee started swelling up and has been quite painful - that's been diagnosed as osteoarthritis. After visits to several doctors yesterday and today, medication has been prescribed that will, hopefully, ease the pain. After she recovers from the surgery she will have 5-6 more rounds of chemo to blast away the remaining cancer. So, if you'd care to add Babs to your prayer list, I'm sure she would appreciate it.

and 21.3%... I'm a little behind on blog reading but I saw Judy Russell's post More Lost Than Found and Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge and, though a little late, thought I'd see how I measure up. Like Judy, I've got far more ancestors missing than I've found, but overall, not too bad. Things look good for the first four generations, but starts dropping off at the fifth.

I'd be quite pleased if I could locate the six missing 3rd Great Grandparents, but they are back in the "old country" of Switzerland or Germany and I haven't a clue really, as to which little town from whence they came.

The missing 3rd Great Grandparents:

• Parents of Charles Wiseman (1815-1895) born Switzerland, died Switzerland County, Indiana
• Parents of Michael Fisher (abt 1800-1845) born Germany, died Carroll County, Ohio
• Parents of Christena Houck, wife of Michael Fisher, (abt 1805-after 1850) born Germany, died unknown

And, if I could find the elusive parents of Ruth Dyer, Sally Church, and Abigail Price they would surely fill in some of the empty spots!

Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "This 'n That and 21.3%," Kinexxions, posted August 21, 2012 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2012/08/this-n-that-and-213.html : accessed [access date])

It Sounded Too Good to Pass By

Last week, driving along Alabama Highway 72, on the way to Springfield, Missouri we noticed the signs announcing “Coon Dog Cemetery” but didn't have time to stop just then. However, on the way back to Huntsville we made time for a little excursion. Of course, we took the long way around and thought we'd never find it, but eventually it appeared alongside the back-country road.

To be honest, we were laughing and joking about going to a dog cemetery. Now, don't get me wrong, I love dogs and several years ago had to put old Bootsie to rest. It was one of the most emotional things I'd had to do up to that time. So I know how deep the affection can be.

The truth is, we were totally blown away by what we saw when we finally arrived at the cemetery. Nearly 200 coon dogs have been laid to rest in that small plot of ground. Most have markers of some kind – from rustic wooden crosses to fancy stones. And nearly all have flowers, albeit artificial, decorating their resting place. I think my friend Lorene would have enjoyed a stop here...

Only Cemetery of Its Kind In The World.

Only Coon Hounds are allowed to be buried.

Troop First Dog Laid to Rest here Sept. 4, 1937

Please Be Careful With Fire!

Nearly all of the graves are lovingly decorated.

Coon Dog Cemetery came into existence on Labor Day of 1937, when Key Underwood sadly buried his faithful companion “Troop, who was half redbone coonhound and half birdsong, and who was known through out the region as the best. He was "cold nosed," meaning he could follow cold coon tracks until they grew fresh, and he never left the trail until he had treed the coon.”

Track “wasn't the best but he was the best I ever had.”

Ruff Redbone.

Black Ranger “was good as the best and better than the rest.

The variety of styles of markers was fascinating.

Train's grave was originally marked with a brick wrapped in butcher paper.

A traditional marker now marks the spot where Train was laid to rest.

Easy Going Sam was the “Last One on the Wood.”
That's his collar wrapped around the cross.

Looks like the Coon won out over Loud.

There were several markers like this – with the information punched out of metal.

For more information about Coon Dog Cemetery see the “official” website. Also, Travels With Ace has a nice writeup about their visit.

On The Road Again...

Saturday March 12, 2011 – Five days ago, on the morning of March 7th, I left Columbia City, Indiana heading south for, hopefully, sunshine and warmer temperatures. As I passed into central Kentucky I noticed the grass was a little green and then through Tennessee things warmed up a bit; some of the trees were sprouting little leaves and bushes (don't know what kind) were blooming too.

I stopped in Huntsville, Alabama and spent two nights with a friend (and distant Joslin cousin - 3rd cousin once removed). Tuesday night they had high winds and got over three inches of rain, which altered my traveling plans somewhat. Instead of meandering through on state highways I stuck to the Interstates. Just didn't want to deal with any flooding issues. And from the Interstate you could see that the streams and rivers had risen over their banks and the waters were flooding nearby land.

It rained much of the day Wednesday but at Montgomery I decided to strike out to the southeast taking US 82, which goes all the way to Brunswick, Georgia. It was a pleasant drive and much less stressful than the Interstates though it rained all afternoon. That night I stopped at a nice campground at Lakepoint Resort State Park north of Eufaula, Alabama and just a few miles from the Georgia state line.

The next morning (Thursday, March 10th) I was most pleased to see the sun coming up through the trees. There was some fog but it burned off quickly. The above photo was taken through the rear window. The dark lines across the picture are from the window defroster.

By 2:30 pm I had checked into the campground at Laura S. Walker State Park just east of Waycross, Georgia. That evening and the next day I visited my niece and her daughters and delivered some things that my Mom wanted them to have. Today (March 12) was spent in just relaxing and taking it easy. I went for several walks, easing back into activity as it has been more than three months since I've done any walking let alone hiking!

I did get my wish - temperatures were in the 70s and there was lots of sunshine! The scenes below are of the lake at Laura S. Walker State Park. Photos were taken on March 12, 2011.

Morning fog rising off the lake.

Lilly pads.

And, of course, a Sunset...

Greetings from KenTennMissAla

After leaving Vevay a week ago, I spent the night at Clifty Falls State Park near Madison, Indiana. The next morning I crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky and took a meandering route to Mammoth Cave National Park. I had been there before. Many, many years ago. The weather was fantastic with sunshine, blue skies and temperatures in the 70s – a rather late “Indian Summer” but one I was quite happy to experience! I took one of the cave tours but mostly just spent time walking in the woods and being lazy around the campground, enjoying the gorgeous weather. After three nights there, and with the weather changing, I slowly made my way towards Shiloh National Battlefield in southern Tennessee (near the borders of Mississippi and Alabama).

It rained most of the day at Shiloh. It was the third time I had visited the Battlefield and each time it has rained... I think it adds to the ambiance. Walking along the “Sunken Road” where so many men lost their lives is rather sobering.

The drive through northeast Mississippi on the country roads was beautiful. Lots of hills and trees all the way through southern Indiana to northern Alabama. A surprisingly number of colorful leaves still on the trees. Rain off and on the past three days. But the sun has come out and has burned off the fog... it's time to move on down the road, still going south...

These photos were taken this morning at Lake Lurleen State Park, a few miles northwest of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was foggy and a brisk 36 degrees. My hands were freezing after half an hour, but I think it was worth it!