Journey to the Past: Walnut Grove Cemetery


I was feeling a sense of accomplishment in photographing the grave stones for my family members. I had one more cemetery to visit and then I would call it a day.

I was hoping to find things easily at Walnut Grove Cemetery. Walnut Grove is managed by the City of Worthington and all of the burial lot information is easily found on their website. When I arrived at the cemetery, I found a nice man named Tom outside the office. He said he was willing to help me find the places as no maps were available for the cemetery. When he unlocked the office to grab a burial map book, I realized the office was actually closed and he was headed off for the day. Tom, I can't thank you enough for helping this crazy Iowan.

Without Tom's help I wouldn't have found the two stones I sought.... Jane Fickle GORDON and Ollie Smith GILBERT. Jane is my 3rd Great-Grandmother on my mother's side of the family. (me -> Mom -> Lewis Brown -> Sherman Lewis Brown -> Martha Gordon -> Jane Fickle). Ollie Mae is my mother's cousin twice removed (granddaughter through Philip Smith's second wife Mary and their son Orlando).

Jane Gordon wife of Charles
Walnut Grove Cemetery

Ollie Mae Gilbert
Walnut Grove Cemetery


I didn't take many photos as Tom was personally guiding me to each section. Additionally, I needed to return home to meet with my aunt and her cousin. So I only took 6 photos in this cemetery.

A fawn in Walnut Grove Cemetery
But as I was packing up my stuff from the final photos, Tom found a cute sight that he had to show me. A baby deer. I snapped the cute sight and learned that although they're really cute, they're a pain to Tom and fellow workers at the cemetery. The deer come and eat all the flowers and plants people place around relative’s stones. Tom and his crew have the joy of 'dealing' with the deer. 

That's so cool that the deer are such a cute pest and Tom had to show me this sight. So, this cute baby was the last cemetery photo I had anticipated taking on my journey to Ohio. 

After this cemetery stop, I hadn't planned on visiting any further cemeteries. The one thing that was great about today was that it was overcast and fairly chilly. It was great weather to be driving around taking pictures in. I didn't have nearly as many volunteer photos as I had from Green Lawn Cemetery. However, I had made a dent in my personal quest. Plus, I had some volunteer photos that hopefully others might enjoy.  It was time to leave the cemeteries and visit with the living.

This is another installment in a lengthy mutli-series post about the fantastic research trip I took to Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. If you're just joining the this series, you'll be able to see every post under the label Research Trip.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Mother's Day Lura Long

Image
When I think of mothers on my family tree, Lura Smith tops the list of those I look forward to meeting in the afterlife. She is the adopted mother of my Grannie,  Louise Eleanor Long .  Grannie adored Lura. Lura was married to Harry Howard Long (1883-1937). The couple married in Columbus, Ohio on Jun 19, 1907. They were unable to have children and finally adopted their first child in 1916. In May 1920, a baby girl was born in Columbus, Ohio to an unwed mother. The mother died of preeclampsia. This baby girl would become my grandmother. Upon her mother's death, Baby Anderson became a ward of the State of Ohio Welfare Department. She had a caseworker, Ethel Huffman Ackerman, who wanted to place Baby Anderson in the home of Harry Long. The caseworker was a friend and classmate (at Ohio State) of Harry's sister Elizabeth Long. As Elizabeth retells the story, Ethel received Baby Anderson's birth mother's history and felt that Harry and Lura were just the parent
Read more

Mystery Monday: Which Karlsberger married Charles Stahl?

Image
Genealogy is kind of addicting. Sometimes, I get rather lost in the branches. As such, I run into mysteries that I can't seem to solve from the top down. I figured the genealogy community is awesome and may have ways to help me solve a mystery. Otherwise, perhaps a Karlsberger from Franklin County, Ohio might stumble upon my blog and help me solve this problem. My potential 3rd great-grand uncle George Paul Karlsberger was born on 10 August 1825 in Bavaria. Another researcher suggested his connection to my 3rd great-grandmother Anna Magaretha Karlsberger who married Christian or Christopher Hoppe. Margaretha was born 29 February 1824. There are no definitive records linking George and Margaretha. And Margaretha's parents were not recorded, though parents for George were suggested. As you can see, I am about to head down a twig on the tree that might be gnarled, or legitimate. George Karlsberger had six children born in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio to his wife Maria Elizabeth
Read more

Geiszler Family History: Map of Baden

Image
Joseph Geißler is my fraternal great+ grandfather and my brick wall. He lived in America long enough to wed, father four children,  purchase property, and then die. His naturalization record gave me a clue as to his homeland. Here are the notes from his naturalization record: According to the Franklin County Clerk of Superior Court (in Ohio), Joseph Keizler was admitted to Citizenship of the United States of America in 1858. Joseph was a native of Baden, Germany. The record was certified on 11 Oct 1858. (Keizler would be the phonetic spelling of the name Geißler.) I wanted to know where Baden would be found. Hopefully, I could find clues as to where to look next. Map of German divisions of land Something that stood out to me as I've always wondered where Pfalz was (for my fraternal Grandmother's line), and now I know. But, this map doesn't help me much. There are so many possibilities. How on earth will I figure this out? Additionally, notice where Stuttgart i
Read more