Sad Day on Cemetery Hill

 

Sad Day on the Cemetery Hill

Hubba and I went gravin' over the weekend.

It was a beautiful spring day. The grass in the cemetery was full of wild violets and phlox subulata. The air was fresh and the wind was sutble. What a great day to be gravin'.

We picked several graves, that people had requested, because they had what lot in this hugh cemetery the requests were located.

If you have read past blogs we fill photo requests for Find A Grave in local cemeteries. We had found at least two or three and drove up the hill to the next lot that follows a hill going down toward the old part of the cemetery. My husband started down the out side of the lot and I started at the very top in a small section walking slowly down the hill backwards where the stones started facing down the hill rather than toward the road. I noticed I had just stepped on to the edge of a recent burial. I stopped and stepped to the side. I looked up and read the name.

Oh, my I knew this lady. She had an influence in my life while I had cared for her. She had moved and I didn't see her again.

She was a vibrant personality.

She smiled most of the time. And she just oozed with the love of life. You couldn't help but get caught up in her youthful exuberance. I thought a lot about her and tried to be positive in my daily life. When I was down I always thought of her, said a little prayer for her and remembered if she could be positive in the face of her physical limitations anyone could!

She was the same age as my mom and so I often wondered if she was doing okay or had she passed.

I was riveted in my place when I saw her name.

The date of her death was not carved into the stone yet.

I became very sad for I knew how much she loved life. As I stood there for quite awhile my husband called to see where I was.

From shear shock to stepping on her very burial place to sadness at her and her families loss I began to realize she had lived a very full and vibrant life. Everyday was an adventure to her. She had raised 5 devoted and very active children who were all very active in her life.

We took a picture of her stone vowing to return to get a new picture when the date has been transcrided on her stone.

At home we added the new pictures to Find A Grave requests that we had fulfilled. Then looked to see if she was listed in the FAG memorials. Yes, she was added so we added her picture.

I was numbed for a few days by her being gone from the face of the earth but vowed to continue to celebrate her life as she loved it, happy and looking at everyday as an adventure!

Thanks for visiting our blog. Enjoy this beautiful spring.

Over the fall and winter we've been concentrating on our multiple business ventures on the web and here at home! We haven't been back to blog for a while but talk about and think about it as we fall asleep. 

Today on the way out to the compost we spotted the daffodils, muscari and even some of Julie's 'Flags" sticking out of the crust of leaves!

We'll be back to graven' and hunting info related to our finds, thus hopefully blogging with more info and developments! 

Think Spring!

Military Monday: Jacob R.Zuck

Jacob R. Zuck  1843-1915

"Jacob R. Zuck was a leading book and stationer of Mt.Pleasant and one who fought under the "Stars and Stripes" in the dark days of the rebellion. Jacob was born in Mt.Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Pa., Christmas 1843 and is a son of Samuel and Susan (Keister) Zuck."

At eighteen years of age he left the schoolroom for the tented field, having enlisted Oct. 5, 1861 in Co. B.28th Regt. Pa. Vol. He served in the army of northern Virginia and was later transfered to the army of the Potomac. Jacob was severely wounded at the battle of Antietam and honorably discharged Jan. 1863 on account of disability.

"On May 1, 1867, he was united in marriage to Emma Smitley and to their union have born two sons: Edwin born March 8, 1871, and Orray, born july 29, 1875."

In 1871 he became a member of the National Guards of Pennsylvania and was elected captain of the Mt.Pleasant rifles or Independent  company, seventeenth division. He was a member of  Robert Worden Post, No. 163, Grand Army of the Republic and was its commander in 1888.

Jacob is buried in Mt.Pleasant Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant, Pa.

Sources: Biographical And Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County Pennsylvania. Printed 1890

Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65, Harrisburg, 1868-1871

Military Monday: George Washabaugh, a wounded warrior!

George Washabaugh
1839-1908
Co. G.,100th "Roundhead" Regiment, PA. Volunteers.
Mr. Washabaugh is buried in West Newton Cemetery, Westmoreland County, PA.



George W. Washabaugh enlisted August 28, 1861.

"During his service he took part in an engagement of Hilton Head, S.C."
From there "he sailed board the Ocean Queen via Port Royal, Portal  entrance and Legareville, a journey of about three weeks, and from there he sailed to James Island, S.C., a journey of twenty miles, during which time the steamer was under almost continual fire from the enemy."
"At the battle of James Island, S.C., June 16,1862, Mr. Washabaugh was wounded by a portion of a shell which struck his head, and his regiment retreating , he was left lying on the field for dead,
and lay there unconscious for seven hours."
The wound caused left sided partial paralysis and "partial loss of the use of the use of his left arm.."
Being unable to return to service "he was mustered out October 16, 1862."
He was then appointed assistant provost marshal and later postmaster in Jackson Centre, Mercer County, PA. He resigned from that post to run a hotel in Grove City, PA. for 16 years. "While there he built a hotel known as "Washabaugh Hotel" "and later "known as the "Filer House"."
When he left Grove City he moved to Suterville, Pa in 1883 and bought a grist mill , sold later to Taylor and Boggs. "In 1885 he was elected burgess of West Newton, PA" and then elected justice of the peace.
He served as the commander of J.C. Markle Post, No. 57, G.A.R., at West Newton for two years. He, also, taught Sabbath school at his local church.
He was the son of David and Sarah (Huey) Washabaugh.

A very inspirational story. Mr. Washabsaugh  was mustered out in October of 1862. On June 22, 1863 married Marie E. Arnold, daughter Aaron Arnold, a local preacher, and had two children. He continued working and improving his and his families life even with a partially paralyzed left side.
A "Wounded Warrior" from the Civil War.

Don't forget to thank a soldier for their service to our country and it's people.

Information taken from: Biographical And Historical Cyclopedia of Westmoreland County Pennsylvania. Printed 1890

Tombstone Tuesday: George Rinsel

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In memory of 

George Rinsel

Died

March 6, 1845 in 

the 54th year of his life

It took over 165 years for Georges stone to deteriorate but thanks to digital photographs he may be remembered for much longer.

George Rinsel is buried in St. Vincents Cemetery, Latrobe Pa.

Whiskey Wars!

      I don't know if I've mentioned it before but early in our married life my spouse and I started a decades long ritual of reading to each other at bedtime. Lately we've been focusing on two old books about Pennsylvania we found going through 'stuff' at my mother's house.
     Just last night we read about the cantankerous Pennsylvanians demonstrating against the act of 1791 tax levy on distilled liquors. The Whiskey Insurrection was quite large here in old PA. Pennsylvania had recently ended long years of boundary wars with multiple countries and states. They had their "dander up".
     "A horse could carry only four bushels of grain across the Alleghenies from western Pennsylvania to eastern Pennsylvania, but could carry the product of 24 bushels in the form of whiskey. And on the return trip bring salt, sugar and iron. Distilling whiskey was a major industry. Western Pennsylvania contained more stills than any other area in the United States and therefore heavily taxed."
     This was the new government's first real test. The book tells "For three years Washington temporized with four Pennsylvania counties, because he feared that a call upon the militia to uphold the government would be repudiated, and that the Constitution, thus shown to have no hold upon the people's affections, would perish in mockery and derision.". George Washington and his Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton didn't intend to ignore any defiance against laws enacted by this new congress.
     A group of people calling themselves "Tom the Tinkers" went through the countryside intimidating people who paid the tax. They would smash or "mend" stills and leave intimidating notes posted on trees and posts. It was called "mending the still".
One law abiding citizen had  the Pittsburgh Gazette print the long, wordy diatribe the 'Tinkers' left him. Large numbers of people against the tax boycotted services of even clergy and physicians who were for obeying the law. Some houses were burned and militia sent to protect some of the officials.  I,also, read somewhere that a good 25% of the distilleries in the US were actually in western Pennsylvania..
     On August 1, 1794 a mass meeting of 7,000 armed insurgents was held at Braddock's Field. The president "himself led an army of 15,000 men as far as Bedford ...to suppress the disorder. Secretary Hamilton accompanied the troops to the scene of the disorder." People refusing to comply were arrested. Conferences between state and federal representatives restored law and order.  Men from both sides went on to be appointed and/or elected to political positions.
     There are 26 historical markers throughout southwestern Pennsylvania memorializing this Insurrection and the meetings and confrontations that occurred here. See this site for more information.
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pennsylvania_historical_marker_program/2539/search_for_historical_markers/300886
quotes from: C.M. Bomberger; Twelfth Colony Plus. Jeannette Publishing Company, copyright 1934.

Matrilineal line

In response to Randy at Genea-musing my mother's line:
(My mitocondrial DNA line:)
1) Neva Waltonbaugh 1929
2) Neva Davis (Davies) 1909
3) Neva Cochenour 1880
4) Catherine Frew 1862
5) Eliza Duff (McElduff) 1831-34? *(see our RIP blog on finally finding her headstone!)
6) Margaret Myers ?
And here this line ends.
It is a different perspective doing it this way.
I have not had a DNA test done but plan to do so.
(Hint: we found many of my female ancestors looking for and finding the males.)
On my mom's side many lines go back to the 1600's 'domestically'!
We're working on finding and verifying.
Right now we're concentrating on verifying back to Revolutionary War Patriots.
Thanks for the challenge though, it opened up my genealogy in a different light and , also, renewed my desire to find Margaret Myers and verify her and find her family history.
JLK/NK56