We got a late start to our Cemetery Loop Trip yesterday because it was so cold in the morning. We finally set out at about noon and modified the map to only include the Kinkade-Maynes and I’ll get over to Grayville another time. It was both fruitful and disappointing.

We went first to Lick Prairie Cemetery where my 3x great-grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Mayne, is buried alongside his last wife, Phoebe. (my actual 3x great-grandmother is buried near Springfield, Ohio). This pretty little cemetery even has a full list of “residents” with a code to help you find their spot.

As we drove up the road towards Parkersburg, we drove through West Salem, a village where my great-grandmother’s family lived. I’d gotten the address where Grandmother lived with her Aunt Hattie in 1900 and I hoped to find something there, but what could be old enough is certainly falling down, or the house may have been where a large church parking lot now covers a block. We did see this, though:

Next stop was Oak Hill Cemetery in Parkersburg, IL where I hoped to find my 2xgreat-grandmother, Analiza McWilliams Kinkade, and 2x great grandfather, Alexander Kinkade. I did find my 3x great-grandparents, Joseph and Mary Ann (Walker) Kinkade…

The last time I visited Oak Hill cemetery was with my great-grandmother Mayne when I was a kid and I can picture her standing in front of her mother’s tombstone crying. My memories turned out to be useless. Whilst searching around (I love cemeteries) there was another couple and two kids running around and we struck up a conversation. Turns out the fella is a Kinkade! They are retired military, living up the road in a town called Oreo, out decorating graves with their two grand-daughters. He’s from the line of Albert Kinkade, though, and I’ve never been able to make a connection to that family, though I’m sure we all go back to the Scottish Clan Kinkade. We never did find Analiza…

We moved along the road to Marion Church Cemetery, one where I feel right at home; my 2x great grandmother, Emma Eliza Mayne, donated the land for it (and the church). You have to traverse three miles of gravel road to get to this cemetery, but the church is still in use and they take excellent care of it. Emma and her husband, Leander Mayne, are there, as well as my grandfather, Robert A. Mayne, Sr. There’s also Uncles Chester and Herbert, both of whom died in 1880s, and their stones are in bad need of cleaning. I need to do that some day.

Guess who was also visiting the Marion Church cemetery? The Kincade couple that we met up at Parkersburg. The gentleman is also related to the Blood Family who are buried there; (great) Grandad’s sister, Nellie Mayne, had married Frank Blood back in the 1890s and they had two children that my 2x great-grandmother Emma helped raise. We are all truly connected, eh?

I told the lady that I hadn’t found Analiza and she called her sister, who works at the County Clerk’s office and she checked some records and said that Analiza (who died in 1877, age 31) was back in the Oldest Section alongside her parents, my 3x greats, George and Catherine McWilliams. I wasn’t even thinking to look for them and had focused on the Kinkades. I didn’t do my homework well, either, as I should have known that Alexander Kinkade is buried in Bethel Cemetery alongside his second wife, Josephine. Definitely another trip is in order, and I’ll bring some tombstone cleaner with me.

I was not happy with the temperatures falling back into the 40s this week. Spring is such a tease. It’s nice to turn the page of the calendar to June and start the final stretch of the Vernal Season.

Here’s what’s happening in the Gardens…

I hope you’re having a great holiday week-end!

Peace

The Sun is Shining! This last week has been intermittently gloomy and gray and I’ve counted the days until the predicted return of warmth. We did set a record for the 1.5inches of snow we got on Wednesday/Thursday, but no one I know celebrated. We covered our perennials for two nights as the temps plummeted, and Now they look as relieved as I feel. As I’ve mentioned, in this neck of the woods we’ve had freezes well into May, but my trusty forecaster seems certain that we’ve seen our last frost. The peas and potatoes don’t care, of course, and are just growing like champs.

It was a busy week Inside, though, as I caught up with some family members and friends. I took advantage of the indoor-time to write up the Irish Ancestors, but it will be a wee bit before I publish it. My friend, Kathy, is visiting her sisters in Carmi and I drove over there for some luncheon on Friday. After a delicious meal, we drove out to the Big Prairie Cemetery to find the gravesite of my great-grandmother “Gainsey” and her #2 husband, Jack. It was a mite breezy, but the sun was out and it was a pleasant stroll. I like the Peace of a cemetery.

Today I’m going to put the perennials in the Peace/Bird Garden: coreopsis, liatris, and pineapple sage. The birds are still keeping the feeders busy and we spotted our first hummingbird yesterday! He/she was here and gone, but what an awesome harbinger of Spring.

My wish right now is to be able to sleep with the windows open, so that the Dawn Chorus of Birds wakes me every morning. I’m looking out for the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks that visit each Spring; my birder-friend, Sharon Sorensen, wrote about them in the local paper today. I didn’t realize that they fly by night and navigate by the stars. There’s a sermon there…

Today is the First Day of Derby Week! Have you picked your horse? I’ll give you my picks in a Special Edition this week. I have my eye on a couple of not-favorites, but those favorites look strong, too… You can count on me to Overthink it to oblivion…

Get your hat ready! It looks like it’s going to be a pretty day for a horse race on Saturday…

Peace