Archive for the ‘Cemeteries’ Category

by Sherry Stocking Kline
27 April 2010

Here is a tombstone for a family member on my husband’s side, and I’ve been having a great deal of  fun lately trying to put the puzzle pieces together, and honestly, trying very hard to just shove some of those pieces in place and make them fit!  I knew they had to, I just didn’t know how.

Guy Wood Tombstone - Milan Cemetery, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas

On the Stone:

Guy L. Wood
Apr 16, 1891
Oct 11, 1947

Located in the Milan Cemetery,  just about 15 miles west of Wellington, Kansas (and a couple of miles west of Milan) on Highway 160.

But the pieces just wouldn’t fit, no matter how hard I tried.  And then one day, someone said “a Wood married a Wood” and it all fell into place.

Now what are the odds that a Wood family would live a mile away from another Wood family, that they would NOT be related (for at least two generations back), they would originate from totally different Eastern states, and that they had several children with the same name?

Thanks to helpful family hints from a cousin, research I’ve done, and the records that I’ve found at the Sumner County History & Genealogy Center in Wellington, I’ve added some good branches to this tree, and firmed up some of the other connections.  More to come!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
13 April 2010

I snapped this Tombstone for a couple of reasons. One, I hoped he was family, and Two, it just caught my eye.  It stood there, and though it said  “Gone, but not forgotten,” it seemed, well, lonely.

And like some tombstones that you see, it just made me wonder, who was he?  Why is he buried there all by himself?  What did he  do for a living? What did he die of?

All those questions ran through my mind, but I guess first and foremost, was the question, is he part of my family?

Julian Jones - Caney Fork Baptist Cemetery

On the Stone:

Julian Jones
1863 – 1932
Gone But Not Forgotten

Today I don’t have those answers, and even though he is buried near my Smith family stones, I don’t have the answer to the  “is he family” question.

But it’s a puzzle that I plan to solve!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
06 April 2010

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday is my Mom’s Great-Aunt Bettie Crabb.

Bettie Crabb's Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

On The Stone:

Bettie Crabb
Oct 15, 1866
Oct 31, 1932

What you can’t see in the photograph here is that Bettie is buried next to her father, J. R. U. Crabb who died 11 years before she did.  (Bettie never married.)

For a few years, J. R. U. and Bettie’s mother, Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb lived on a farm in Sumner County, Kansas, just east of Milan, Kansas.

Bettie’s mother Elizabeth, died and is buried there, far away in the Milan Cemetery, Sumner County, Kansas.  You can see her tombstone here.

Sometime after Elizabeth died, J. R. U. and Bettie returned to Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky, to be near Bettie’s sister, Sally Crabb Mayfield, wife of George. Sally and George are buried in the Glasgow Cemetery, Glasgow, Kentucky, also.

The photograph below shows Bettie and J. R. U.’s  place in the cemetery next to each other:

L - R: Bettie Crabb and father J. R. U. Crabb Stone - Glasgow Cemetery, Barren County, Kentucky

Our new-found cousins, Dennis and Nancy (Bertram) Bush who so kindly showed us around Barren County, told us that just a couple of years earlier, some man picked this spot, and this tree, to hang himself…  Gave me shivers then.  (Still does.)

Related Posts (also included in the Text):

J. R. U. Crabb’s Tombstone

Elizabeth Laird Jones Crabb Tombstone

Milan Cemetery Listings, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas

by Sherry Stocking Kline
30 March 2010

This week’s Tombstone Tuesday is my husband’s great-uncle.

Walter C. Kline

The stone reads:

Walter C.
KLINE
1885 – 1959

I have to confess that besides being three days late to finish posting my Tombstone Tuesday, this is a family member that I’ve done little research on.

I know that he is buried near family in the Milan Cemetery, Milan, Kansas.  This nice little well-kept cemetery is located  about one mile west of Milan on the North side of the road, about 15 miles west of Wellington, Kansas on Highway 160.  (You can’t miss it unless you’re driving too fast, or looking for a much bigger cemetery.)

When I first began researching, my only focus was on our direct lines.  If they weren’t ancestors, I documented their names, and passed right on by them.

I know better now.  I know that researching our ancestors’ siblings may do all kinds of wonderful things.  In particular, it may help us connect the dots between our ancestors.  But we’ve also been fortunate enough to find photographs of our direct ancestors among their siblings’ lines, a treasure well worth searching for indeed!

I do know that Walter, or “Uncle Walt” as I heard him referred to (he had passed on before I was part of the family) was the son of James and Elizabeth Kline.  If I remember right I believe that he did not marry.

But there are many other things I don’t know about Uncle Walt.  Will he be on all the census in Kansas?  What did he do for a living?  Did he leave a will?  What does his obituary say about him?

So maybe it’s time I took a new look at our ancestor’s siblings, and maybe they can help shed some light on the direct line of our own family tree.

(And please, if you stumble across this site and you are ‘family’, stop, take a minute, and say ‘hello’.  We’d love to meet you, and I have much more info that just isn’t posted yet!)

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 23, 2010

On the Stone:

ROSE

FATHER
WASHINGTON C.
1838 – 1922

MOTHER
ZIBIA H.
1839 – 1926

This tombstone is located near the entrance of the Osborn Cemetery near Mayfield, Kansas.  It is visible from the lane as you go in, and is on the east side of the lane.  The Osborn Cemetery is located about 1/2 mile east of the small town of Mayfield, Kansas, and one mile south of Highway 160.

Because one of my family names is Rose, and because some of them did come from Nebraska and live in the area for a time, I had half-hoped that Washington and Zibia would turn out to be “our” Roses. But, according to the 1900 Federal census roll T623_502, Sumner County, Kansas, Washington was born in Illinois, his father in Pennsylvania, and his mother in Alabama.  Zibia was also born in Illinois, and her father was born in Kentucky, and her mother was born in Scotland.

So, so far it doesn’t appear that they are related to “our” Roses, unless it is many generations back.  But,  I’ll keep Washington’s and Zibia’s  info just in case I find a link down the road!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 16th, 2010

Today’s Tombstone Tuesday is my great-uncle and great-aunt, Otto C. and Nancy V. Breneman’s tombstone.

Otto C. and Nancy V. Breneman

Otto and Nancy are buried in the Milan Cemetery, Milan, Sumner County, Kansas, about 15 miles west of Wellington on highway 160. For a complete listing of burials and maps of the Milan Cemetery, click here to go to the Milan Cemetery website maintained by the Sumner County Historical and Genealogical Society.

On the stone:

BRENEMAN

Nancy V.
1886 – 1975

Otto C.
1880 – 1930

When I sat down to write this I realized that I did not have Nancy Breneman’s parents’ name written down.  Goodness!  I will certainly need to ‘fix’ this soon!

And how is it that Nancy V. died after I was married and I don’t believe that I ever met her?  That’s another good question to ask my mom and perhaps her grandson by e-mail.

I believe that Nancy V. must have spent her remaining years in the state that her daughter Berniece Breneman Thomas, resided, and near Berniece’s family.

Otto, or Ott as he was known by friends and family, was the son of Constantine “Tom” Breneman and Salinda Breneman. Ott and his father Constantine were blacksmiths in Mayfield, Kansas, and Nancy taught piano lessons to the area’s children.  I have copies of photographs of this blacksmith shop, and I look forward to sharing those photographs in future posts.

Other Related Family Posts:

Constantine Breneman and His Buggy Horse Photograph of Ott’s father, Constantine driving a buggy with his beautiful buggy horse.

Constantine Breneman’s Buggy Horse – Photograph of Constantine’s Buggy Horse

My Poem to My Ancestors

Salinda E. (Rose) Breneman – Photograph of Ott’s mother,  Salinda, and her tombstone. Ott’s parent’s, Salinda and Constantine, divorced in later life.

Too Young to Die – Photo of  Ott Breneman and his siblings, and a photograph of Albert’s tombstone. Albert was killed in a Motorcycle Accident.

Photograph of May Breneman Jones Willey – Sister of Ott Breneman.

Photograph of Kenneth Jones – Nephew of Ott and Nancy Breneman.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
March 13, 2010

Walter C. Kline

Walter is buried in the Milan Cemetery near Milan, Sumner County, Kansas. The cemetery is about 15 miles west of Wellington on Highway 160.

The Stone reads:

Walter C. Kline

1885 – 1959

Walt’s parents were James and Elizabeth (Conver) Kline. James and Elizabeth are buried in the Milan Cemetery as well, and you can see their stone and read more about their family here. And here, also.

by Sherry Stocking Kline
February 16th, 2010

William Arthur Smith - Smith Cemetery, Temple Hill area, Barren Co, KY

I photographed this child’s stone in a small Smith Family Cemetery in the Temple Hill area in Barren County, KY. (the same cemetery as this Tombstone Tuesday post).

William Arthur Smith photograph - Barren County, KY

On the Stone:

William Arthur
son of
M. H. & B. C.
SMITH
July 27, 1910
Nov 2, 1915

Taking the photograph, and looking at the stone, I had to wonder, who was this handsome little five-year-old boy so obviously loved by his parents?

How did he die?  Was it one of the many illnesses that were fatal in that era, and are so treatable now?   Did he fall from a horse?  Was he a “blue baby” a  heart defect that is so treatable now, but eventually killed it’s victims even in the 1940’s?

I did do a little quick research to try to learn who his parent’s were, and if they were related to ‘my’ Smith’s, but that question wasn’t easily answered.

So, on another day when I have more time I will set out and hope to solve at least some of these mysteries.

RELATED POSTS:

Tombstone Tuesday: Lute and Sabina Smith Ruby’s parents.

J. Thomas and Nancy A. (Smith) Harrison down the road a few miles in the Caney Fork Baptist Church cemetery. They may (or may not) be related.

Warner LaRue Jones Tombstone. Warner was born in Kentucky to Willis and Martha Ellen Smith Jones.

George W. Smith & wife Lucy’s Tombstone

The Day the Serendipity Genealogy Angels Smiled