“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu
Day 1: We’re visiting the ancestors!
I leaned over the bed. “Jack, it’s time to get moving. What’s the time?” “It’s 6:30, and we’ve got to get on the road.” “Coffee down the road?” Good plan! We were up and out of the house by 7. We set an early start so we could arrive in Guernsey County, Ohio, by midday and then tromp around a cemetery or two before checking into the hotel.
For years, I’ve wanted to visit the cemeteries where my father’s Scotch-Irish immigrant ancestors are buried. Like Jacki and me, their journey of leaving Ireland for America began with their first step.
William Stranathan, his wife Martha Parker, and their toddler son, also named William, left Ireland around 1801. From there, they arrived in Canada and entered the United States via Erie, Pennsylvania. Tragedy struck in 1802 when young William was accidentally killed by a falling tree. We know that William and Martha remained in Erie County, PA, as reported in the 1810 census, and had added two daughters and three sons to their family by that time. By the 1820 census, they were living in Richland, Guernsey County, Ohio.
Our first stop is Senecaville Cemetery, where William and Martha Parker Stranathan are buried. We had no idea where they were interred, and the cemetery is huge and still accepting new residents–so at least it’s well maintained. Searching and finally honing in on graves with your surname is a bit surreal (especially if yours is unusual like mine). I recognize many names that appear on my genealogical charts (Laughlin, Secrest, Finley, Danford) scattered throughout the cemetery, which makes me reflect that I have a lot of cousins surrounding me.
We finally find our Stranathans. The first was my second great-grandfather’s wife, N. Angelina, and her son Austin’s grave. Jack finds James Stranathan in the far corner and then finds William and Martha. Names appear on gravestones, where readable, and dates detail the length of their lives. I really don’t know much about them or the conditions they left behind.
I said a quiet prayer for these folks. William and Martha were probably Presbyterians, and in the 1800s, they faced religious challenges in Ireland. But I don’t know if they were particularly religious. They did face political challenges and probably economic challenges as well. They were relatively young, and while I don’t know if they knew exactly where they would settle or the people who would be pushed out of the land they would come to purchase and own as an agreement from the U.S. Government to clear and farm. I don’t even know what they farmed, and finding the actual parcel of land and its location is tough. So, I circle around and look at this place where they once lived, raised families, died, and repeated the cycle from one generation to the next.
We attempted to clean up a few markers with a brush, took a photo, and then got coordinates of the marker’s location, which should make it easier for the next generation of curiosity seekers to find their marker. Sort of like geocaching for ancestors.
My third great-grandfather is Hamilton Stranathan. We went looking for his grave, but it turned out that he’s buried in a different cemetery, Nicholson Cemetery in Buffalo Township. Special thanks to Ron Pfieffer, whom we interrupted while we were driving over a gravel road, lost and looking for the cemetery. He called four neighbors trying to help us. I expressed my thanks, chatted about where we come from, what’s it like coming back here. Didn’t know this guy from Adam and he sure was a nice guy to help us out. Even internet searches don’t quite work so well. It’s not easy to find. That’s tomorrow morning’s task. I’ve got an idea. I’ll.let you know if it pans out.
Our series of blogs here is called So(ul)journ and it’s going to be a bunch of stories of Jack’s and mine journey all around. (BTW, Jack and Jacki are the same, she’s not confused, and is only Jacquelyn when I’m exasperated.) Visiting our adult kids who seemed to have pick up the Stranathan gene to go as far from home to seek out new adventures. We’ll be traveling well over a thousand miles as we travel around these beautiful United States and Europe in these coming months. For today, It seemed right to come and see the ancestors first, maybe seek a blessing on our travels from them. Maybe just let them know they aren’t forgotten.
(This is the second step to show that I have the same pair of shoes on!)
So(ul)journ! 