On Memorial Day, May 30, 2022, I visited the cemetery where most of my relatives were buried. It was a beautiful day. I posted some of the following on my other social media sites. However, I added a lot more to this blog.
I visited the cemetery where most of my family connections were laid to rest. My parents, David / Lula, my two siblings, Paul and Lula, some of my parents’ siblings / their spouse, Mary Virginia / Milton Vernon, and Leola / William and, Sarah Belle / Rev Aile, and Addison, and Leo Jr. / Lois, and Betty/ James, and Fred, and Josephine, ~ Mary Jane / Gene,, and Paul and Rev O. Pearson.
My mother’s parents Leo Sr. / Mary Anna, three of my mother's grandparents, Robert / Charlotta and Anna Laura. some of my parents’ aunts and uncles George / Juanita, and Lula Mae, James / Sallie, and Charles, and lots of my cousins and other people connected to the family.
When I’m at the cemetery: in person, I always looking around and in the direction of my relatives’ resting places. I see this land as resurrection ground. And it’s the place where some of my relatives, friends and I will be laid to rest.
A story about “visiting” a special relative:
In the early 1990’s, I was walking and looking around where some of my relatives were buried. I was trying to find other relatives. I came across a tombstone that surprised me. The family surname was spelled differently.
This information gave me something to work with. I have come across that LANKARD spelling in other records. I don’t know the reason behind the two spelling. The family surname was spelled Lankford. I honor both spellings.
The cemeteries should be important place for our family search. At one point we will have to go there for funerals. In other times we will go to place our respect. And on special occasion search for loved ones who have pass. And when we go, may we find who we are looking for.
And through the decades, there is one cemetery has changed. There are some of my relatives tombstones that are missing and or sunk into the ground. It’s sad to see. I pray the the place will be kept up.
The virtual Memorials on Find A Grave.
It’s a place to visit online. There are a lot more information added to the memorials that I created or saved to my Find A Grave : Project. I see that searcher are connecting the dots to find loved ones.
This virtual cemetery is a place to discover where our loved ones were laid to rest. The locations, where they were buried are clues. And we may be able to make more discoveries about their lives.
Where are some of my relatives buried?
In my early searching, I wonder. There are a lot who don’t have tombstones. As I continue to search online memorial, I see that searchers have marked the spot where some were buried. That’s a good idea.
Which cemetery is special in my family’s history?
I notice that most of my relatives were buried in the old section of Ashland Cemetery / Oakland Cemetery. The earliest known family member recorded was burial in November of 1919.
The earliest and oldest known member, Delilah Lewis was buried on April 21, 1887 in Mount Mora Cemetery. Delilah was listed as 113 on a newspaper. The article traced her roots from Tennessee to Missouri by her former slave owners.
The City Cemetery: Sunbridge Cemetery is where other family members are buried. There are many without tombstones. But, they have memorials on Find A Grave. They are not forgotten.
Thanks for reading.
At The Cemetery: In Person And Online #52Ancestors Week 21
S.A. Blakley
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