Cemetery

It's been awhile since I have written.  A couple of the prompts for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompts didn't work for me.  But week 17's prompt is Cemetery and I can write about that.

A couple of years ago my husband and I took our girls to Fort Snelling over Memorial Day weekend.  We did the tour, but more importantly, I wanted to visit my grandfather and great-grandfather's graves.  It had been many years since I had been to the cemetery.  I just felt this sadness standing by my grandfather's headstone.  It's not fair that he died when I was only two years old.  It's not fair I didn't get to know him.  It's not fair he never met my brother or my cousins.  But I also felt very proud to see his name, his service to our county.  What a beautiful cemetery Fort Snelling National Cemetery is. We also visited my great grandparents grave, Walter and Dora.  My grandma only had wonderful things to say about them.  She was especially close with her mother.  It made me happy seeing their headstone.

I need to go back.  Since starting my family search I have found that my grandpa's father is also buried at Fort Snelling.  My great uncle and his wife are buried there. 

My mom's dad also died when I was two years old.  When I started looking into our families I didn't have a lot of information on the Dorf family.  Imagine my surprise when I found out that my grandfather was born and raised just one town over from the town I have lived in for the last 17 years!!  I found my great grandparents were buried in that town and set off to find the cemetery last summer, only 12 minutes from my house.  They are buried in a very small cemetery, mostly family.  There is no longer a church and the cemetery is just fenced off kind of in the middle of nowhere but it is fairly well maintained.  I'd like to go back with my camera, not just my cell phone, to take some photos.

Unmarked graves at the Speak Cemetery

I have received photos of some of my Bartley ancestors from some distant cousins who are fortunate enough to live nearby. Some of the old family cemeteries look amazing to me. Stones to mark the burial spots but no names or dates. 

This summer I plan on making a few trips to different cemeteries to find family.  I guess I'm becoming a real genealogist, right?  I need to get up to Taylors Falls to find my Vogt and Peterson family.  I need to get up to RedTop/Aitkin to find my Mickelson/Ree family and down to the Granite Falls are to find even more Mickelson/Ree family.  And I will be attending the Bartley family reunion in Kansas this summer so I plan on visiting my Bartley and Catuska family plots while there. 

Just one more way of getting to know and honor those who came before me.

The Old Homestead

Homestead of James & Sarah Bartley, photo late 1910's

Week 13's prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is "The Old Homestead".  When I started communicating with a distant cousin, Dolores Ramsey Ham, she shared with me many photos, including photos of my 4x great grandparents homestead.

James Bartley and Sarah Faries Speak were married in 1829 in Lee County, Virginia.  They raised 10 children together in the home above:  Eliza, Nicholas, Eleanor, John, Francis, William, Nancy, Emmeline, Frances (Fannie) and Samuel.   James was a farmer, Sarah kept the home.

When the children grew and started their own families, Eliza and Nancy stayed in Lee County.  John eventually moved to Hancock County, Tennesssee.  Nicholas, Eleanor, Francis, Emmeline, Fanny and Samuel moved on to Brown County, Kansas.  In 1883, James and Sarah traveled to Brown County to visit their children.  It is said they found themselves physically unable to return to their home in Virginia.  They built a home on son, Nicholas', land and lived there until Sarah passed in 1889 and James in 1891.

Homestead of James & Sarah Bartley, about 2009 or so

James and Sarah's home still stands to this day, although it is no longer inhabited.  Dolores has told me it is in pretty rough shape at this time.  I will make it to Lee County eventually and can only hope it is still standing when I get there.

I am so appreciative for the photos and stories my distant cousins have shared with me.  To see the home my 4x great grandparents raised their family is amazing.  It helps to make James and Sarah so much more than just names on my family tree.