From My Family Album. Samuel and Jannie Shockey

OBITUARY OF JANNIE (ALLEN) SHOCKEY (Taken from the Onaga (Kansas) Herald, Sept. 19, 1940.) Jannie Shockey, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Allen, was born March 1, 1869 in Winnebago Co., Ill. and passed away at her home in Onaga, Kansas, September 9, 1940, at the age of 71 years, 6 months and 8 days. On May 23, 1883, she united in marriage to Samuel T. Shockey, who passed away October 19, 1935. To this union eleven children were born. Surviving are: Allen Shockey, Mrs. Margaret Perrussel, and Mrs. Philena Holmgren of Onaga, KS; Mrs. Elsie Shaw of Irving, KS ; Hattie Perrussel of Fraser, CO; Mrs. Winnie Baughman of Riverdale, CA; and Samuel Shockey, Jr. of Pacific Beach, CA, also those proceeding her in death: George, Mose and John Shockey and Bessie Ramsey. - Since her marriage, Mrs. Shockey lived on a farm near Wheaton, KS for 34 years and then in Winifred, KS for 20 years and spent her last 4 years in Onaga, KS. after her husband's death. - S!he joined the Baptist church in Wheaton, KS at the age of 9 and changed her letter to the Baptist church in Onaga, KS in March 1940. - She leaves to mourn her passing seven children; one brother, Mose Allen of Winner, SD, who has now reached the age of 97 years; two sisters, Mrs. Sarah Brown of Hamilton, KS and Mrs. Charity Connway of Fostoria, KS; 55 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and a number of other relatives and a host of friends, all of whom have loved her dearly. - Mrs. Shockey lived a good Christian life, and before her death, she wrote the testimony that she was ready to leave her home on earth to met her Master. - Funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon at the Baptist Church, conducted by Miss Ruth Campbell. Interment was in the Onaga (KS) Cemetery next to her husband, Samuel Shockey.

Tombstone Tuesday, Lucy and Me

Lucy, the Belguim Shepard to the left, always has to have her nose in everything!! LOL!

This morning we went out on a Find A Grave hunt. We didn't have alot of luck. I have 14 requests and found only 3.

This picture is sending me on another hunt. The grave is for Thomas W. Cook. He died at 30 years old in 1899. I don't know a thing about him. I checked on the regular sites but I guess I need a trip to the library. Lucy won't understand why she can't come with me. After all she found him!

From My Family Album, Fred and Grace Boller

Buried at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in San Diego are my maternal grandparents. Fred and Grace Boller lived a quiet life. They never spoke to me about their life before they came to California in 1947.

A couple of years ago I went to their hometowns in New York. It was a wonderful experience. I went to the homes that they had lived in. I visited the libraries and researched the newspapers. I was even able to speak to a old timer that remembered my grandfather, although the man, now an old man himself, was a little boy at the time. I visited my grandfather's hardware store in Corning, New York.

They raised four children, had 11 grandchildren, with greats and greatgreats coming along at regular intervals. I hope they are looking down and are proud of us.

Before it was History, it was News

This picture was taken at the Corning Public Library in Corning, New York. It was taped near the microfilm reader.

Newspapers are my favorite research source. You may not be able to find the information you want anywhere else. It is most valuable for cemetery search. I have found the obvious: obituaries and information about the people that died, but there are always many stories about the local cemeteries in town. You can piece the information together to create a great cemetery history.

Jesse Hill, Baseball Coach OBIT. DAY

JESS HILL, LEGENDARY TROJAN PLAYER, COACH, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR, DIES AT 86
09/27/93
Jesse T. Hill, whose career as a player, coach and athletic director at USCspanned six decades, died Aug. 31 in Pasadena. He was 86.Hill was USC's head football coach from 1951 through 1956. His 1952 team providedthe Pacific Coast Conference with its first victory over a Big Ten team in theRose Bowl by beating Wisconsin, 7-0.He became athletic director in 1957 and served until 1972. He then became thefirst commissioner of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association, serving until hisretirement in 1978.During Hill's tenure as athletic director, USC won 29 national championships.As a student athlete, he starred in three sports, earning letters in football(1928-29), track (1927-29) and baseball (1930). He played on Trojan footballteams that won the 1928 national championship and the 1930 Rose Bowl. He was areserve USC fullback in 1928 and 1929 on Howard Jones' famed Thundering Herdteams. He was exceptionally fast and, in 1929, led the conference with an averageof 8.2 yards in his 54 carries.Hill was a long jumper on the track team. He ended his track career in 1929 bywinning the long jump at the IC 4- A meet with a meet-record distance of 25 feetand seven- eighths of an inch.He played on the USC baseball team in 1930 and was the leading batter in theCalifornia Intercollegiate Baseball Association with an average of .389.Graduating cum laude in 1930, he signed a professional baseball contract with theHollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. In his first at-bat at Wrigley Fieldagainst the Los Angeles Angels, Hill hit a home run.Purchased by the New York Yankees, Hill played for Newark in 1932, St. Paul in1933 and Newark again in 1934 before being called up by the Yankees in 1935.An outfielder, he played in 107 games and batted .293. He was with the WashingtonSenators in 1936, batting .305. Hill played for the Senators and the PhiladelphiaAthletics in 1937. He finished his baseball career with the Oakland Oaks of thePCL in 1938 and 1939.In his off-seasons during his baseball career, Hill began his coaching careerwith stops at Corona High, Riverside Junior College and Long Beach City College.He enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and served until 1946, earning the rank of lieutenant commander.Hill returned to USC in 1946 as freshman football coach and assistant trackcoach. He succeeded the legendary Dean Cromwell as track coach in 1948, guidingthe Trojans to a pair of undefeated seasons and NCAA crowns. He also was USC'strack coach in 1962, following the sudden death of Jess Mortensen, and led theTrojans to a third-place NCAA finish.Hill is survived by a daughter, Mary Bett Carter, and a son, Jess Hill Jr. He had five grandchildren and one great- grandchild.

My note: His death date is left blank, look closely at the picture. It took a while to make sure that he was really under the stone. He was cremated.

Isaac Denton Stockton

Isaac Denton Stockton is buried in Sunnyslope Cemetery in Corona, CA. If he has any relatives nearby I can’t identify them. On the cemetery records the manner of death is “crushed by a sliding wall of clay” at Filmore, California.
As I researched him I wondered why he was buried in Corona. He didn’t appear in any Corona census. I checked the family trees at all the popular web sites and none of his family names appeared in the Corona cemetery or on the Corona City Federal census. I was very puzzled.
FamilySearch shows him married to Bernice Leola in 1914. His draft registration shows him single, not widowed, in 1917. However, the draft registration gave me the information I wanted: he did live in Corona. He worked for his father on the farm north of Corona center on Harrison Street.
I love to see the description on the draft registrations. Denton, as he was called, was short, had blue eyes, brown hair and was hard of hearing.
I’ll bring you a flower now and again, Denton.

Veteran List and Missing Soldier

Photo is of missing veteran, Kenneth L. Kimes.

Kathleen, my cemetery friend, and I have identified 366 veterans buried at Sunnyslope. One for each day of the year plus one more. We typed their names into Excel including the war (Civil War to the current war) that they were identified with, the birth and death dates and any special notes. We have checked and rechecked to make sure we got them all. The list was emailed to the local American Legion Post who is named after one of the veterans on the list, Joe Dominquez.

Of course just when you think you have it perfect, another soldier is identified.

I was telling another good friend about the project. She said “You have my dad, of course?” I must have turned a hundred shades of red. I was at her dad’s funeral, I know about him. I saw the flag that draped his coffin. I see it proudly displayed in his daughter’s home. But he wasn’t on any of the other “official” sources we bashed together to compile the list.

Now I keep wondering who else have we missed. I am keeping my ear close to the ground (pun intended) in case I hear of any more missing men or women.

The 15th annual Sunnyslope Cemetery Stroll is underway. Last year our theme was Civil War soldiers. It was such a success we thought that the soldiers theme should be continued. The soldiers we have selected are:

Henry Cunningham, Civil War

Captian Cuthbert Gully, Spanish American and WWI

Elmer Fern Gleason, Spanish American War

Chester Husted, WWI

Hugh Whitcomb, Spanish American War

Willa Mae Capen, WWII

Willard Capen, WWI

I am so anxious to share the information on these people but their stories will be held close to the vest until the date of the Stroll.