Linda’s Headstone of the Week; Week #4

My selection for headstone of the week is Joseph Britton Carvell, my great-great-great grandfather.  He is buried in cemetery at Otterbein United Methodist Church in East Salem, Juniata County,  Pennsylvania, next to his 2nd wife, Mary Hile Carvell. Born on 1 February 1821 in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, he was the first son out of 14 children born to William Carvell and Mary Britton. He was named for his grandfather, Joseph Britton, a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

When Joseph was 20 years old, he married Rebecca Mark who bore him at least 5 children, my great-great grandfather, Jeremiah Mark Carvell, being one of them. In November of 1847, Rebecca passed on to glory, leaving Joseph with 3 children under 5 years of age. It is of no surprise that he had remarried by the following September. The marriage to Mary Hyle lasted 44 years until Mary died in 1887. She had borne him at least 12 children.The picture is a copy of a copy, and therefore not a good one, but it shows the couple and shows Joseph as who he was – a hardworking man, doing his best to support his family. The work boots on his feet show he was just a working man.

Joseph and Mary Carvell lived in Thompsontown, Delaware Township in Juniata County. Delaware Township is just 29 square miles with under 2,000 residents today. During their life time the population was probably a lot less. Another researcher tells of two of his granddaughters who remember their grandfather living in a house directly off the square in Thompsontown. He made his living by making brooms and peddling them throughout the countryside. Although several things point to the couple owning property, nothing conclusive can be found, and it is doubtful the couple ever did.

My selection for Headstone of the Week is for a man I know little about. What I do know however makes me respect his values. The process of making a broom from growing, harvesting, and drying the broom straw thru the assembly on specially cut and finished wood handles and then peddling them yourself would make anyone worthy of being my choice for

Linda’s Headstone of the Week; Week #4.

Linda’s Headstone of the Week: Week #3

In keeping with the theme (and it wasn’t really a theme, it just kinda happened) my headstone of the week belongs to one of my great-great-grandfathers. Picking just one was the hard thing this week! I had a couple of great candidates to pick from! Which one should I pick? My great grandmother’s father? He has a great story and and had an obituary a column and a half long and accomplished a lot in his short 51 year life, or would I pick her father-in-law who was a common working man, just getting by in life? Well, after a lot of thought, I picked her father-in-law, Ephraim H. Niess, and for a very good reason, as you will soon see.

Ephraim, the oldest son of John and Elizabeth Hauenstein Niess, was born October 21, 1841 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. He  died on November 25, 1915 and is buried in Harrisburg Cemetery along with his wife and 5 of his children. His very devout wife’s diary had four short words to mark his passing: “He took my husband.”

During the Civil War, Ephraim enlisted in Pennsylvania Volunteers, 122nd Regiment, Company E in August of 1862. He was 21 years old. When he mustered out in May of 1863, as a Private, he had just seen the action in Chancellorsville and experienced the horrors of war. A year later he married Catharine L. Auxer, a marriage that lasted over 50 years and produced 10 children, 4 of which lived to adulthood.

Ephraim H. and Catharine L. Auxer Niess

Harrisburg City Directory lists his occupation as Laborer, Bricklayer, Furnace Maker, Furnace Builder, Fireman and finally, Foreman. Want to know what he really did for a living?

Each day he walked to his job at Bailey Iron Works, just across the tracks from his home. Since the huge brick furnaces were essential to their operation, letting a furnace cool down to change bricks that needed replacement was not an option.  Somebody had to put on 6 layers of clothing and go into that furnace to change the bricks, and that somebody was my great-great grandfather. Yet he kept going to work, day in and day out. He had a job, a commitment and an obligation.

Life was not easy for the family. Catharine’s diary tells of past due bills, family deaths, illnesses, and depression.

He had no fancy education, just the bare minimum to get by, but his children were all educated. His daughter got piano lessons along with her schooling and his son got a University education before furthering himself with a law degree.

A man’s position in life, be it owner of a business or the lowest paid worker is not the total of his worth. His experiences, his values, principles and stick-to-itness speak more of who he is than piles of money and/or degrees attached to his name.

My great-great grandfather went thru Hell and back, from Chancellorsville to the furnaces at Bailey Iron Works, but he didn’t give up. He raised a successful family, celebrated his 50th anniversary with the bride of his youth, and kept going into that furnace, changing those bricks, day after day after day.

. . . and that is why I selected his headstone for

Linda’s Headstone of the Week for Week #3

Linda’s Headstone of the Week #2

Finding a candidate for my “Headstone of the Week” isn’t hard for me. I have literally thousands of headstone pictures in my database. Narrowing it down to just one is what is hard! This week, I decided on another Grandfather ~ a Great-Grandfather, this time!William Adolphus George von Breyman was born in Harburg, Hanover, Germany in 1835 and died in Cortina, Colusa County, California in 1901. He is buried in a cemetery in the small town of Arbuckle, California.

Headstones tell a part of the story, a very small part! By the time my great-grandfather was 15 years old, he was in California. Family legend has it that his older sisters got him employed on a ship that was sailing to California where he jumped ship in San Francisco. For a short while he panned for gold, as many did, and then decided the real way to make money was to pack in supplies and sell them to the gold seekers. He became a naturalized citizen in 1859. References have been found to him being a packer, farmer, vet surgeon, postmaster and at one time even co-owned a Fence Company in Sacramento. He spoke his native German in addition to English and Spanish and could write in each language, as well.

In 1854 when he was in this country for about 4 years, Wilhemine Sophia ”Minnie” Goda was born in New York. Their paths crossed in California and in 1877 they would marry and become the parents of 10 children, with the 9th one being my grandmother, Bertha Emma. She was six years old when her father died at the young age of 66.

With many thanks to his children and their children, his story has been preserved. His eldest son was a prolific letter writer. Copies of his letters with tales of W.A.G. von Breyman’s values, work ethic and exploits have been shared with me. My great-grandfather’s diary, written in English and at times, Spanish, has also been shared. Life offered him many opportunites and he grabbed them as he passed thru.

That is why his headstone is my choice for Headstone of the Week #2.

Headstone of the Week, Week #1

Since we visited Arlington National Cemetery for Christmas, my first headstone of the week is one I specifically went to first ~ that of my grandfather. Interestingly enough, I knew exactly where it was, even though it had been a number of years since I’d been there. (over 10 to be exact!)William Francis Sherman, II (according to him) is buried in Section 12, Site #1415, within view of the Tomb for the Unknown Soldier.When I got to the grave, I wondered about the dip in the ground and what appeared to be dead grass around it, until it dawned on me about all the recent news stories about errors in burials in that cemetery. If the grave falls behind the headstone, the one reinterred was not my grandfather, but the veteran who’s headstone is in front of his. It was hard to photograph what the naked eye saw, but I tried.

As I stood at my Grandfather’s final resting place, I asked him “Who are you??” He had told my father that he had lied about his age to join the service because he was too young to enlist but doubtful that was the reason. I think he also lied about his name. He has entered several different dates of birth on documents I have found, different birthplaces and now my brother’s DNA does NOT match any other Sherman on record! The closest match we can find is to the Ziegler family and that is within 5 generations!

He is my very own grandfather, and my very own block wall!  Since my grandparents got a divorce the family never spoke of him. His death certificate information was not factual since it was completed with information he had furnished his family. And you would think that the Veterans Department would have a great file on this man and they probably did . . . until that dreaded fire in St. Louis.

This man took his secrets to the grave with him and I wish he’d tell me just a couple of them . . .

The Wreaths of Arlington National Cemetery

It was something we had wanted to see for a number of years – beautiful green wreaths, each with a large red bow, decorating row after row of headstones turned white with the passing of time. Christmas Day, 2011 was the perfect time to do it!From the General of the Armies of the United States, John J. “Black Jack” Pershing to a Chief Warrant Officer, Thomas W. O’Connor, they had wreaths.Now, that is not to say that all 300,000 + headstones had wreaths, because they didn’t. The section that my grandfather is in didn’t get them this year, but I’m sure it did in years past.The sections with recent burials were covered with wreaths and flowers. Out of respect for the families of these heroes, I did not take pictures or even go into the areas. There were too many grieving family members and this was not the time to intrude upon their privacy. Our hearts ached for them, fathers comforting mothers and young widows sitting silently at the graveside of their lost love.
Of course the Unknown soldiers from each war (World War I, World War II, and Korea) had a wreath. There was also a wreath placed on the Vietnam space, now empty because the unknown who had been interred there had been identified.

In 1998 when 1Lt Michael Joseph Blassie had been identified by that new science, DNA testing, his remains had been claimed by his family to be reinterred in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. The spot reserved for an Unknown from the Vietnam era is now marked with a marble slab and the words “Honoring and Keeping the Faith with America’s Missing Servicemen, 1958-1975.” If you are making a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, you must, and I repeat, you must, see the Changing of the Guards! These men are disciplined and are dedicated to their mission. Before you see the ceremony, however, you should read what these men do to prepare for their duty shift. They each take their job seriously and have gone through rigorous training just to qualify for a place in the Honor Guard. The picture shows the Relief Commander inspecting the Honor Guard’s weapon. At this point he has already inspected his dress uniform, looking him up and down, front and back. He is now inspecting the weapon, running his white glove over the whole thing. This is an impressive thing to watch.

Each Honor Guard serves a one hour shift, walking 21 paces each way, turning on the 21st step to face the Tomb for 21 seconds, then turns to face the other way, changes his weapon to the right shoulder, waits for another 21 seconds and then repeats the process. The 21 steps is the same as the 21 gun salute, the highest honor given in the military. The Guard does this without changing his expression for the entire hour!

The man on the inside is the new guard, the man in the middle the man he is replacing and the only man with his rank showing is the Relief Commander. At the end of the ceremony, the replacement starts his 21 step walk and the Relief Comander and the man he is replacing step off with him. What you see above is the point where the two leave him and he takes over his duties.
As we were getting ready to leave the Relief Commander appeared and announced there would be a Wreath Laying Ceremony and there would be silence. At that the Honor Guard marched out of the Memorial Amphitheater and lined up for the ceremony. To conclude the short ceremony a Bugler played the traditional Taps and the Honor Guard left in the same perfect, rigid order in which they had entered. The additional wreath was placed directly in front of the other wreaths.This was not the end of our day, but was probably the highlight of our day. Seeing not only one, but two ceremonies honoring those who have sacrificed so much was definitely moving and something we were glad we had the opportunity to witness.

It was our Christmas Blessing.

Let’s See if I Can Keep this Resolution . . .

Making New Year’s resolution seems to be a tradition many of us follow. Breaking New Year’s resolutions seems to be another tradition! Will this year be different? I hope so since I have several I’d like to make. My first resolution involves my blogging.

Several years ago I had a “Headstone of the Week” blog, and I had fun doing it. I made it all the way to week #46 before something happened and I did not complete the year. I disappointed myself, and hopefully a few followers. This year I resolve to make it through the end of the year and post all 52 blogs!

Perhaps putting it in print will help me follow through with this resolution! 

Visits to Three US Presidents in One Day!

Yes, we did. We visited three different United States Presidents’ Grave sites for Christmas, 2011!  First stop was to our 16th President, James Buchanan’s grave in Woodward Hill Cemetery, right here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Woodward Hill was once a beautiful cemetery, but as the city grew, the area it is in became surrounded by “less than desirable” housing and the cemetery fell into disrepair. We were disappointed that there wasn’t even a Christmas Wreath honoring this former President. His home is decorated beautifully, his final resting place isn’t. (To be fair, James Buchanan’s home is maintained by a completely different organization than the cemetery is, and they aren’t responsible for what happens in the cemetery!)The second President we visited was our 27th President, William Howard Taft. He was so admired by Theodore Roosevelt that he had been “hand picked” to be his successor as President, and it’s easy to see why since he wasn’t only our President, but he was also, United States Secretary of War, Governor of the Philippines and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

. . . and of course if you’re visiting Presidents and you’re visiting Arlington National Cemetery, you must visit the Eternal Flame and JFK’s Memorial. Since we had not been there for years, we stopped by to pay our respect to our 35th President and his family.This was probably one of the most popular sites in the cemetery, with people ignoring “Authorized Vehicles Only” signs to drive right to it. They also ignored this sign, and any others they could find.The site for this President sits right under the Arlington House, former residence of Robert E. Lee. The Kennedy site sits land managed by the Army, which at the time of Kennedy’s death, controlled Arlington Cemetery and close to the land the Arlington House sits on, which was controlled by the National Park Service.
This was just part of our Christmas journey to Washington D.C., but a part that will be forever etched in our hearts and mind.

A New Use for an Old Marble Quarry

Headstones have been crafted from various elements over the years. Bronze, wood, marble, granite, slate, sandstone and even cement ones with sea shells imbedded in them. If it comes from the heart and fits the person it is honoring, it is good.  Those of wealth, fame or distinction were often entombed in elaborate crypts, usually made from marble, in order to keep their memory alive. Slate was popular in Early America and many are still as beautiful today as the day they were carved. Wooden markers were often the only thing available to suggest an unexpected death, and a simple pile of stones could mark somebody’s final resting place. Granite has become a favorite for over 100 years due to it’s beauty and longevity. It is naturally a hard stone that can polish beautifully and will last eternally. but for centuries, one of the favorite ways to mark a grave has always been marble!  On a recent trip to Vermont we happened to drive through East Dorset and saw a historical marker along the road and decided to stop ~ Thus this blog!  Since it was time to stretch our legs we took a walk to see what this was all about and found this rock with a beautiful depiction of what the quarry was like in it’s heyday. The workers at the bottom of the quarry were using various wenches and other devises to lift the marble out of what is now, a lake bed. It looks like they climbed up and down that long ladder each day to work. All to mine that marble for headstones, monuments, sidewalks (yes, sidewalks!) building blocks, window sills, door sills . . .  you get the picture.Taking a walk on a narrow path that skirts the lake, I found this piece of cable that must have been about 3″ around. To get an idea of how big the cable was that was used to hoist the marble out of the bottom of the quarry, I photographed a piece that is still intact. On the opposite of the “lake” was a little waterfall that was so peaceful sounding. You can see it in this picture if you look straight across, to the left of the ladder, at what appears to be a grey step with white at the top. It looks like a blue ribbon coming down against the grey. People throughout the centuries have always felt the need to let others know they have been there, and this was no exception. The only exception was they did not deface it with spray paint or pen, but rather they carved their names and date into the marble for time and eternity! We know we were there, because we always take a picture of one or the other of us to document our visit. It was Jim’s turn. Is this the quintessential Vermont picture? Fall colors, marble slabs and the red farm house in the back ground?Although the quarry is no longer in use today, it is enjoyed by tourist and residents alike. The tourist enjoy it with their camera around their neck (who else, but me?) and the residents as a summer lake! In fact we found evidence of picnicing, since people are people, no matter where they are. Men will drink beer and leave the beer can and women will throw kleenex rather than put it in their pocket.

The next time I visit an old cemetery and see those marble headstones and monuments, I will think of what work it must have been to get it from the bottom of a pit, up to the stone carver, and out to fulfill an order. It makes you appreciate the beauty of the headstones even more.

One of our regrets on this trip? That I didn’t do my homework and find this postcard in my collection before we left! This is the Rock of Ages Granite Quarry! They have tours! Since we have agreed to go back to Vermont . . . within a year or two . . . this will be on the “must do” list for that trip!

An Ongoing Funeral in Lancaster

Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-at?   Yes, I attended an ongoing Funeral on Friday evening in the heart of Lancaster! There was a Hearse (one of those old fancy ones!) with a casket in it . . . that makes it a funeral, doesn’t it? Of course, I don’t know who (or what) was in that casket . . .I think this was just a small “Family Cemetery” since I couldn’t find a name anywhere and I did check Find A Grave, to no avail!. . . and right in the middle of the preparations, a train went whizzing by. Stopped those gravediggers and their backhoe momentarily, but the people didn’t seem to mind. It was as though they were just standing there in shock.

I bet I didn’t fool you, though! I bet you figured me out!

Last Friday night was “First Friday” in Lancaster. Amanda and I went out to see a couple of sights and have a bite to eat and were going to finish up the evening at LancasterHistory.Org for their first appearance “on the circuit,” so to speak. We, however, got side-tracked by a Model Railroad exhibit on the 2nd floor of the Citizens Bank building, right next door to the Historical Society, and we weren’t disappointed! Neither were a lot of little children, who just couldn’t move and stood there with their mouths wide open! It was wonderful – the display and the reaction of the children!

I know it’s been there several years and find it surprising that there is very little mention of it on the internet. It is free to the public and operates on donations. I was delighted to have a chance to donate so children (and adults like me!) can enjoy what these men and women seem to enjoy sharing with the community!

If you happen to be in the Penn Square area of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, be sure to stop by and see it! It is truly a work of art . . . and love!

But I still don’t know if there is anybody or anything in that casket!

The Date Can Now Go On That Stone

In 2002 we have the pleasure of watching Minnie Esther Carvell celebrate her 90th birthday with a hall full of friends and family. We were looking forward to her 100th and had about six months to go.

The celebration was not to be. The date can now be filled in on that headstone since it has been waiting at least since her brother had died. Minnie wasn’t ready. She had life to live and joy to bring into the lives of others. I was one of those “others.”

I had been doing my research long distance, letter writing and yearly trips to the East Coast to visit Archives and Historical Societies in Pennsylvania. This was the way I operated before information was readily available on the internet. I would copy all the information that was applicable to my family lines and then study and digest it when I got home. The next step was writing letters, following up on any lead I could find.

That’s where I met Minnie. She was the “common denominator” in many obituaries, so a letter was sent with an answer received ~ but not from Minnie. She had passed it on to her nephew’s daughter who was putting the family line together. I’m skipping over a lot of detail, but suffice it to say we all met, and then met again and again. We went to Minnie’s place and heard her play her organ and sing her favorite hymns. By this time we had moved to Pennsylvania. We listened to stories (including one about my great-great grandfather) and she gave me several pictures of family including one of him, as well.

These two pictures were taken the first time we all met. That’s Minnie between Julene on the right and me on the left. Minnie spent her final few years in a Senior Care Facility as the quality of her life slowly deteriorated.

As certain as I am that she never forgot her favorite hymns is as certain as I am that we will never forget Minnie!

Rest in Peace, Minnie Esther Carvell. You were truly Unforgettable!