Hello again. Contrary to common belief, I am still among the living and not peering at the soles of the feet of passers-by. Hopefully I will find myself to be a little better disciplined when it comes to posting to this blog
A few weeks ago my wife and I made a day trip across Kentucky to Ohio County where most of her ancestors are from. To keep peace in the household, one must work on the spouse’s family lines from time to time.
We started by traveling to Beaver Dam, KY to scour the Sunnyside Cemetery for her direct and collateral line ancestors. This cemetery is owned and maintained by the city of Beaver Dam. This cemetery is located about one half mile east of town on US Hwy 62. The latitude and longitude for this cemetery are: 37.415792 N and –86.871924 W.
Here we found several of her aunts and uncles along with many cousins that were previously unknown to her. We did, however, find the grave marker for her father’s parents, Burden Powell Lee and Nettie Crabtree Lee. Burden, or “Bird” as he was known, was born 23 May 1882 and died 4 Jan 1939. Nettie was born 29 Jan 1883 and she died 4 Dec 1955. The coordinates of their grave marker are 37.41494 N and –86.87295 W.
From Sunnyside we headed a little north and east a smidge to a small cemetery out in the hills and boonies called the McCord Cemetery. We went here to find the location of the first wife of my wife’s uncle on her mother’s side. This little cemetery is located at 37.482202 N and –86.721363 W. it is east off Hwy 1544 on the south side of McCord Road (imagine that). We found her right where she was placed in 1923. I recommend using the western most entrance. The entrance on the east end of the cemetery is kind of treacherous as a result of the rain-washed gullies across it.
The last cemetery we visited that day was located east and south of McCord Cemetery. Here we traveled to the Wilson Family Cemetery again located on US Hwy 62 about 400 yards west of Hwy 1583 near the town of Horse Branch, KY. This cemetery is located across the highway from the most confused roosters in the country. At five o’clock in the afternoon they wouldn’t shut up. The cemetery is located at 37.461780 N and –86.673707 W on the north side of the highway on the side of a hill. Just about everyone buried here is related to my wife.
The easiest grave site to find was that of great grandparents Daniel and Sarah Arnold Wilson. They are buried within a fenced lot next to the access road. Daniel Thornberry Wilson was born 25 Feb 1841 and died 2 June 1924. His wife, Sarah Elizabeth Arnold Wilson was born 18 Jan 1851 and died 23 Oct 1923. Their grave is located at 37.46240 N and –86.67374 W.
We also found the grave of the wife’s mother’s parents, Isam Farris and Cansadia Wilson Farris. Isam was born 9 Jun 1869 and died 22 Feb 1932. Cansadia was born 26 Jun 1876 and died 2 May 1966 and was very special to my wife as Cansadia stayed with them off and on while the wife was growing up. Their site is located at 37.46230 N and –86.67350 W.
By the time we finished it was starting to get late in the evening so we headed back toward our home about 1.5 hours away. It was a successful trip. I have since located the sites for some more of her ancestors and we’ll be taking another trip soon..
Until next time, remember that chasing dead relatives is cool.
