Cemeteries and Me!

..............And a note from my genie society..............

Greetings members and friends of the Corona Genealogical Society. Hard to believe that July is almost over! The first Monday of August is just a few days away, meaning that we are about to join together, again, to learn about researching our ancestors and discovering more about our family history. This coming Monday, 3 August, we will be hearing from our own Diane S. Wright, who has a rather extreme love of cemeteries, as you may well know. She has walked across cemeteries from one side of this country to the other! Her appreciation and respect for the graveyards is something I am very impressed with. Her program for us this time is titled "The Armchair Tombstone." I know that she will be giving us some valuable information about researching in graveyards, but I quite suspect we will have a few laughs along the way! Bring your friends to share in this unique "cemetery visit"!

Lucy and the Ghost

The mailman delivered the military records for Joshua Countryman the other day. I was so excited that I got Lucy in the car and off we went to Sunnyslope Cemetery. She always goes with me on short rides. We went to Sunnyslope so I could talk with Joshua. I hoped maybe he would give me some inspiration on what to write about him for the upcoming Stroll.

Hank, my beloved boxer, use to go with me but after he passed away the torch went to Lucy. As she jumped out of my blue Volkswagen Beetle she ran right pass Joshua and went to the grave of Andrew Wheaton. She sat down, looking very alert and would NOT leave. Of course I could not get her to tell me what was going on. She looked at me like I was the one that didn’t understand. The dog can’t talk to me and the dead won’t talk to me. What is a girl to do?

After we got home I did some more research on Andrew Wheaton. He is a soldier that needs his story told! He was wounded in the second day of the battle at Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Since he was hospitalized in one of the many makeshift hospitals around Gettysburg, it is possible that he was there for Lincoln’s Gettysburg address.

Oh! what Andrew could tell us.

Thanks Lucy.

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Fort Leavenworth is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery was established in 1827 due to the deaths of the soldiers who died of maleria and other deseases while assigned to Cantonment Leavenworth. It was declared a National Cemetery by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.
Buried there are seven Confederate prisoners, the Fort’s namesake Henry Leavenworth, thousands of soldiers, many civilians and my grandfather-in-law Luther Wright.
Luther Wright fought in the Spanish American War in the Phillipines under Teddy Roosevelt.There are two cemeteries. One is the National Cemetery and one is Fort Leavenworth. Luther is at Fort Leavenworth on the base. My husband, who is the one that went there for me, said he passed through gates that MPs guarded. It made the cemetery feel more like a military base than the other Veteran Cemeteries that are just opened. If it had been a stage set it would give the feeling of military ambiance.
Luther is buried among thousands of other veterans. Rows upon rows. Just looking at the pictures all the stones look alike, except Luther stands out to me because I know Luther’s story. Each veteran has a story to tell. Will we ever be able to tell all the stories??

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas

Fort Leavenworth is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cemetery was established in 1827 due to the deaths of the soldiers who died of maleria and other deseases while assigned to Cantonment Leavenworth. It was declared a National Cemetery by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.
Buried there are seven Confederate prisoners, the Fort’s namesake Henry Leavenworth, thousands of soldiers, many civilians and my grandfather-in-law Luther Wright.
Luther Wright fought in the Spanish American War in the Phillipines under Teddy Roosevelt.There are two cemeteries. One is the National Cemetery and one is Fort Leavenworth. Luther is at Fort Leavenworth on the base. My husband, who is the one that went there for me, said he passed through gates that MPs guarded. It made the cemetery feel more like a military base than the other Veteran Cemeteries that are just opened. If it had been a stage set it would give the feeling of military ambiance.
Luther is buried among thousands of other veterans. Rows upon rows. Just looking at the pictures all the stones look alike, except Luther stands out to me because I know Luther’s story. Each veteran has a story to tell. Will we ever be able to tell all the stories??

William Wright, Kerrville, Texas-- Carnival for August

The August Carival is themed "Favorite Cemetery Photo." My favorite picture is a favorite because it is so personal.

This is my husband, David, cleaning the grave of his great grandfather William Christopher Wright. Every year he rides his Harley across the country. He never fails to stop in Kerrville, Texas to say "Hello" to GGrandpa and put flowers on the grave. Until he started visiting I am pretty sure that William hadn't had a visit in a hundred years.

I have spent at least 20 years researching this Grandpa. He was living in Missouri when he became very sick with TB. At the time it was thought that Kerrville, Texas had the right combinations to improve TB. So he went with his wife to live there. There was a street called Cottage Street where most TB patients lived. Cottages lined the street. Each cottage had a outside sleeping porch where it was thought that sleeping outside would improve your health. In this case it didn't help and he passed away. Annie, his wife, buried him here then returned to Missouri.

It is so touching to me that my big, rough, tough, Harley husband is so sensitive to his family and ancestors.

Wooden Headboard

This is a old wooden headboard from the Sacramento Cemetery. It is circa 1876. At one time wood headboards were plentiful in this cemetery.

This is the first time I have seen a real one. There were some in the Salt Lake Cemetery but they looked like reproductions. This is REAL.

It belongs to Sophie K. Meiss. Her death date is listed as June 30, 1876.

Sacramento City Cemetery, General George Wright

Here I am with General George Wright. I was so hoping that we were related. We are not. He graduated from West Point and is from a weathly family in Vermont. He was the Military Commander of the Pacific Coast during the Civil War. He was drowned at sea in 1865 and his body was recovered 6 weeks later.