About The River

Monday, February 22, 2016

A Peaceful Stroll


 When ever I have the opportunity to stroll in my hometown cemetery, I do.
I grew up in Phillips, Wisconsin. I have family buried at the St. Patrick's Cemetery and the Lakeside Cemetery. My father's side of the family is buried at the St. Patrick's Cemetery.


 I enjoy reading the names of my family, some I never met. 
I enjoy looking at other family plots that I know and grew up with.


 Taking time to remember, and think about family and friends.

After my boys leave the nest (which is getting closer than I like) I would like to dig into researching our ancestry. 
Have you studied your ancestry or had a family member?
How did you go about it?
Did you use Ancestry.com?

I would love any tips that you learned while digging into your ancestry.


Do you have a memory of walking in a cemetery?


 Touring Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.



Touring Concord, Massachusetts.

And many more historical places in the United States. Taking time to remember is important.
 

19 comments:

  1. I agree, remembering is important. I don't go nearly enough to visit my dad. I guess I feel that he is with me all the time. My grandparents, aunts and uncles are all in different locations, different states. It's sad. It must be nice to have family areas to visit.

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  2. I absolutely agree that it's important to her and research family genealogy. I feel like it's a dying art but we should do more to bring attention to how important it is to know your history and where you're from, and where your ancestors were from. Grandfather passed away three years ago but did incredible job of researching his ancestors during the last portion of his life. He went all the way back to find and aquire tin photos! It's amazing to see!

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  3. Pretty statues. I understand this sentiment, because my father does this, so I visit cemeteries when I visit him. A sister and a brother did. I know for sure my brother used ancestry, and my sister probably did too, because I don't know of another. It was interesting, and answered some questions about one side of the family. xoxo Su

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  4. Nice post, Carla. I love to walk through cemeteries and read the stones of family and others from the area. One good site is ellisisland.org. It was there that I was able to track down the ship manifest from 1901 that brought my grandpa here from Denmark. At that time, immigrants had to be sponsored by someone here, to make sure they were not a drain on the economy. My grandpa was sponsored by his brother-in-law who had moved to the States earlier. Those things are fascinating - and your pictures are beautiful.

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  5. I do enjoy looking at old graves and walking through cemeteries. My Mom and Dad are buried in different towns and are over two hours away, so I don't visit their graves as much as I would like to. My oldest daughter (Lynn at Sidetracked) has done a lot of research on our family history, but I'm not sure how she went about it.

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  6. Strange how graveyards can be so peaceful.

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  7. I like to walk through cemeteries as well. There was a really awesome one in Savannah. I've been wanting to a moody photo shoot in one.

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  8. So much history lying quiet in cemeteries isn't there! I always wonder about the dash between the person's date of birth and death... what hopes, dreams, joys sadness did they experience? I have not done much personal history research on our family, although other family members have, and it is amazing what you can learn! :)

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  9. I was just at the cemetery today - collecting the Christmas wreaths. Too muddy to walk around today. -- I got lucky. I just did a Google search one day on a great-great relative on my dad's side and found someone had researched that side very well. All the way to the 1600's to Scotland.

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  10. I grew up in Alpharetta Georgia in the 60's - it was a small town then. My great grandfather had donated the land for the city cemetery. 3 generations of my family are buried there, including my aunt whom I was named for. The cemetery was in walking distance of our home, my grandparents' home, our church and high school. I have precious memories of visiting family graves with grandma and daddy to place flowers etc. My older brother has used Ancestry and it is interesting to see what he has discovered. Also, I found a Find A Grave site for many cemeteries where family members are buried and I was able to add family photos.

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  11. Fist things first... I loved your mom's words of wisdom... the snow fort was really really cool!.... and I'm glad your son is feeling better :)

    About this post... I researched my family on my mom's side and my dad's for 15 years, back when Family Tree wasn't owned by Ancestry and it was free. I think they're a rip off now. I use https://familysearch.org now when I get the chance to find ancestors that I couldn't trace before. You never know when someone finds information and puts it in. I will warn you.... it's ADDICTIVE LOL

    I've been in quite a few cemeteries. The most interesting was Forest Lawn. I'm weird and enjoy walking in them, but only during the day and not alone ;)

    xo,
    rue

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  12. Have you ever visited Ft. Snelling? It's in the southern metro of Twin Cities? I think you would enjoy it. I do enjoy walking through most cemeteries. Just looking at the names and dates interests me, even if I have no relation.

    I did use ancestry.com to help my grandmother find some of her lost family, and I succeeded. I found the site friendly and useful, although that was some years ago that I did my research.

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  13. Some of my family lines are well-documented; others are not. Ancestry.com is a good place to start. You might be surprised how much is already known and documented about your ancestors--especially as you move back a couple of generations. I find cemeteries fascinating, too. We used to live a couple of blocks from one, and we kids would spend time there--guessing at the stories of the families from long ago. Good luck with your search!

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  14. I worked with my grandmother for two years on creating an album of our family with photos and tons of stories. She is gone now and I'm so glad I did it.
    Amalia
    xo

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  15. I used ancestry.com during one of their free trial periods and discovered a lot about my Belgium grandfather's family. But even more about my late husband's maternal grandmother's heritage. I discovered ancestors all the way back to the 1300's in France. I've collected this for my grandchildren.

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  16. I was lucky that one of my uncle did some research in our ancestry but now he is deceased. I have not tried Ancestry .com, so I can't comment. Your cemetery looks like a catholic cemetery.

    I go visit the cemeteries mostly when we go to a funeral. I haven't visited the cemetery where my mom and dad are buried as it's quite a distance away. I'll have to make a point of it next time I go for a visit.
    Have a great week.
    Hugs,
    JB

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  17. Carla, I go to the cemetery to see my mom and dad often, as it is in my town. Think about them, feel close to them, and remember them. These statues are beautiful. Yes, I'm very interested in my ancestors. They are a part of who we are. Good luck finding out all about yours, my friend.

    ~Sheri

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  18. There is such a peaceful and calming feeling when you visit a church and / or cemetery.
    It is good to remember and reflect I think ...

    All the best Jan

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High Fives from Wisconsin!