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Hi All, I will be in West Virginia in a few wks~mostly Kanawha and Nicholas Cos. It will be the first time for me. I hope to do some research at the Archives in Charleston and library and court house at Summersville. I have 2nd and third Great Grandparents buried there and hope to find their graves. My 2nd Great Grandmother~Margaret Jane Hart Bailes is buried at the Bailes Cem. She is the one who my Grandpa told me was Indian. Her parents, Samuel and Margaret Temple Hart are buried at Kesslers Cross Lanes Cem. Both Hart & Bailes have Indian blood. I wonder if their stones will reveal any sign of it? Wish me luck?! Have a great wkend!! :)Greydove
Greydove;33986 wrote: Hi All, I will be in West Virginia in a few wks~mostly Kanawha and Nicholas Cos. It will be the first time for me. I hope to do some research at the Archives in Charleston and library and court house at Summersville. I have 2nd and third Great Grandparents buried there and hope to find their graves. My 2nd Great Grandmother~Margaret Jane Hart Bailes is buried at the Bailes Cem. She is the one who my Grandpa told me was Indian. Her parents, Samuel and Margaret Temple Hart are buried at Kesslers Cross Lanes Cem. Both Hart & Bailes have Indian blood. I wonder if their stones will reveal any sign of it? Wish me luck?! Have a great wkend!! :)Greydove
Oh, I am too jealous!…:) My dad lives in Summersville and aunts, cousins etc in the surrounding area:) Hope you can enjoy some of the scenery while there…the New River Gorge, Gauley…are just awesome! Good luck in your search!
BTW if you are looking for cemetery info…ask Ken and Becky, they can tell you what to look for:) Blessings,
Shirley
Hi Shirley, Thank you for wishing luck & blessings. I wish the same for you. Yes, I hope to take in the scenery while I’m there. Carnifex Ferry Battle Ground State Park~trails~ Summersville Lake~ Gauley River & Bridge~ the Gourge, etc. It will be awesome to walk the land that my ancestors once walked. I will be there 1 wk. Wish you were there then, too. Also, Becky & Ken, if you see this, would you mind sharing some of the “things” to look for at the cems? Thank you, Donna (Greydove):)
I guess it depends on whether you are looking for a cemetery or already know where they are located. In the South where we live, most homeplaces were required to have one or two cemeteries on their property. So finding those cemeteries now after the folks have moved on is the problem. We look for magnolias, ivy, periwinkle, planted flowers(irises, roses, and buttercups), boxwoods, and any other non-native plants to determine where the homestead and cemeteries are located. Most of the older ones here used fieldstones for markers, so determining who is there is sometimes difficult. Also, we look for depressions in the ground to determine where a burial spot is located.
As far as markings on tombstones, I can give you several websites where you can look for the meanings…Kira Leigh had one that has us all stumped on her ancestors. And lastly, when you find the tombstones, don’t do rubbings…it damages the stones. Take a good digital camera and take photos…you can get more information that way. If the writing is not very legible, I have found that taking some of the dirt that the stone is in and using it to highlight the words works just as well, without the damage of chalk and other materials. If you need to clean the stone, use water and a toothbrush, not any chemicals. We keep a bag with all these materials in it for when we go gravefinding. We also use a GPS unit so we can easily find the location again. Wish you luck in your search…….
Aho
Becky
Thank You Becky, The information is valuable and I will be more prepared because of it. Also, thanks for wishes of good luck. Hey Cousin Bee, Good to hear from you. Thanks for the good wishes. Greydove:)
Ed Yancey reminded me of another sign of a cemetery….red cedars. I had let it slip my mind…they were the guardian trees. Here’s some websites that have some very interesting information on it.
http://connections.smsd.org/csi/history.htm
and
Good luck
Becky
http://www.saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3279&highlight=cedar+trees
This is a thread where all this was discussed that might be helpful to you, too.
Becky
Thank you. The links are very informative and I appreciate you taking time to post them. Blessings to you Becky~ Greydove
Hi Shirley, Becky, Bee and All, Well I made the trip to WV and Shirley, you’re right, it is beautiful. Started out in Charleston, then to Nicholas Co & Summersville. I found the Kesslers Cross Lanes Cemetery and the graves of my 3rd Greatgrandparents Samuel & Margaret Hart. Well, Becky they had periwinkle growing round their stones. Thanks to you, or I would not have known their significance. Went to find the Bailes Cemetery, but it was in the middle of no where and overgrown in wooded area with no road access. I pin pointed it by Google Earth and saved it to my pc so I will be able to find it next time. I met some family, made some new friends, met some Indians, like me, mixed. Went to Summersville Lake, New River Gourge and saw the bridge. I found Sparks at the KCL cem too, Shirley. So I had a great trip and Creator shined on us going, while we were there, and safely back to Indiana. I feel blessed so I wish for you all~ Blessings~ Greydove:) Oh, btw, like the song~WV~”Almost Heaven” seemed true enough to me~ now, if I can ever get used to driving on those curvy mountain roads~lol!!;)
Glad to hear you had such a wonderful trip. Finding the old cemeteries is very rewarding…something that is useful when we locate them is to use a GPS to document the location so you can get back to them when the roads are no longer there.
Oh, and thought I would also wish you a very happy birthday today….hope you are blessed to have many, many more.
Aho
Becky
Happy Birthday, Greydove! And many more!
My family cemetery is easier to get to (and find) in the fall, when the undergrowth has died back and the snakes are hibernating, and before the snow falls. The periwinkle would still show up as it’s evergreen…
Thank you for birthday wishes. When I went to find the Bailes Cemetery, I met a nice older couple who said their son had gone back there on his 4~wheeler. Thought maybe next yr I could get him to take me back there. I asked if they had any bear around and they said sometimes, but they hadn’t seen one in a few months. Well, I don’t know bout you guys but I doubt if it would’ve been too smart to go traipsing around in the woods unprepared for a chance meeting with a bear and or possible hostile property owners~lol!! However, I’m not easily discouraged, either, but not quite ready to join my Great Great Grandma Margaret Jane Hart Bailes yet~lol!! Have a great wk~end. BTW, Becky, once again, thank you. Also Barbara, thank you. My husband took me out Mon eve for an early bday dinner~ I had a crab cake, steamed brocilli, garlic smashed potatoes (with the skins) Iced tea and we shared a piece of NY cheesecake with blackberry sauce~it really couldn’t get better than that, for me~ Bless you all~ :)~greydove
Greydove;34143 wrote: Hi Shirley, Becky, Bee and All, Well I made the trip to WV and Shirley, you’re right, it is beautiful. Started out in Charleston, then to Nicholas Co & Summersville. I found the Kesslers Cross Lanes Cemetery and the graves of my 3rd Greatgrandparents Samuel & Margaret Hart. Well, Becky they had periwinkle growing round their stones. Thanks to you, or I would not have known their significance. Went to find the Bailes Cemetery, but it was in the middle of no where and overgrown in wooded area with no road access. I pin pointed it by Google Earth and saved it to my pc so I will be able to find it next time. I met some family, made some new friends, met some Indians, like me, mixed. Went to Summersville Lake, New River Gourge and saw the bridge. I found Sparks at the KCL cem too, Shirley. So I had a great trip and Creator shined on us going, while we were there, and safely back to Indiana. I feel blessed so I wish for you all~ Blessings~ Greydove:) Oh, btw, like the song~WV~”Almost Heaven” seemed true enough to me~ now, if I can ever get used to driving on those curvy mountain roads~lol!!;)
Hi Greydove,
Happy Birthday! Glad to hear your trip to WV was rewarding:) I never lived there, but sure feel at home when there:) Especially Nicholas County:)
I just returned from Montana, we laid my mom to rest and it was very nice…and a very nice time with family as well:)
Gets a little tricky down in some hollers…very curvy and easy for one to lose direction:) Glad you had a safe trip! Blessings,
Shirley
Thank you Shirley, I had the same feeling when I was in Nicholas Co~almost like being home. My heart goes out to you for the loss of your Mother~her spirit will live on thru you and her grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and future offspring forever. Take care and may Creator help you thru this difficult time~Blessings~:) greydove
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