Category: Cemeteries

Cemeteries, Photography

Buddie

Shelly

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Buddie 1934-1948
Grave Marker, Dunn Cemetery, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Sometimes, the full names, dates, etc. were placed on a central family monument, then simple head or foot stones with initials or just the first names marked the actual graves. I need to go back over to the cemetery and take another look, but I’m pretty sure that there weren’t any family monuments nearby that looked connected to this one. The other side of the stone bears an inscription for Erma Defur, who died in 1902, just after she turned a year old.

So who the heck was Buddie, then? A child? A beloved family dog? Was he a brother of someone in the Defur family?

And who was Erma Defur? There is another monument with her name and dates on it, in the Stewartsville Cemetery. I wonder which grave she’s actually buried in.

Cemeteries, Genealogy, Photography

Sarah and William and Nell and Louis

Shelly

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Graver Marker of Sarah and William Frost
Dunn Cemetery, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

And on the subject of people’s dead relations… I’ve been running into genealogical road blocks because my great grandmother’s surname is not at all common. I’ve found a lot of Basquills, and they are surely all related in some way, but I can’t get farther back than my great-great-great grandfather, Michael.

I’ve had the opposite problem with my great grandfather’s name. Do y’all know how many Louis Thompsons there are and/or were? Lordy! I finally managed to grab at a thread that lead me to a 1910 census record for his family, though.

1910 US Federal Census
Louis Thompson b. 1904
Fulton County, Georgia
William B. Thompson age 34
Estelle Thompson age 34
Douglas Thompson age 11
Russell Thompson age 11
Beulah Thompson age 8
Louis Thompson age 6
Miller Thompson age 4
Estelle Thompson age 2
Warren Thompson 6/12 (6 months)

Each of those names is another thread that might lead to more information and yet more threads. Most importantly, I now have the names of his parents, along with approximate birth years. If those don’t pan out, I can look for information on his siblings, and see if someone else has traced them backwards.

It’s dry stuff, I know, but it totally made my day.

Cemeteries, Crankypantsing, Genealogy, Photography

Fragments

Shelly

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Fragment of Grave Marker
Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana

This was taken last weekend. It’s cheating, but since I didn’t post a photo yesterday and didn’t even touch my camera today, I’m not going to feel guilty about it. Heck, I very nearly didn’t post at all today. Damned DST[1]. It’s past my bedtime already!

Where did this day go, anyway? It seems like I didn’t get a thing done, because I wasted it chasing my tail trying to solve a couple of genealogical puzzles. A fragment here and a fragment there. I did manage to figure out that I could merge two individuals–yay! I also found my great-great aunt Margaret’s husband in the US census records for 1910 and 1920. I guess that’s progress of a sort, right?

And now I have to go figure out what to make for lunch tomorrow. I have a feeling it’s going to involve broccoli and rice and maybe some granny smith apples. But not all together. That would be disgusting.

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1. Every day during DST, when my alarm goes off at the unholy hour of 3:30 am Indiana time, I’m going to be reminded of what a sadistic fucking bastard Mitch Daniels is. Note to Mitch: You are henceforth and forevermore stricken from my Christmas Holiday card list!

Cemeteries, Photography

Moss

Shelly

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Moss on Grave Marker, Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana

These were taken with a Lensbaby macro filter (+4 and +10 lenses stacked), manually held in front of my camera lens. They’re supposed to be attached to the front of a Lensbaby selective focus lens, but I still haven’t gotten one. (I ordered it, received the wrong one, sent it back for an exchange, and was given a refund instead. WTF?! At least they did give me my money back, and very promptly, too, but still, that’s not what I asked them to do. NOTE: I ordered it via a reseller, so this is not a negative comment on Lensbaby’s customer service, which I understand is quite good.)

Anyway, it occurs to me that this might have other fun applications. I’m going to test it on my silly little Vivitar toy digital.

Cemeteries, Photography

Covenanter Cemetery

Shelly

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Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana

I said it was small? This is the older half. The newer half is the same size, and I’d guess it’s only about 1/3 full.

There’s an even littler cemetery on campus (Dunn Cemetery–there’s a link to some photos at the top left corner of that page). I plan on taking photos of it over spring break. It’s adorable, with just a few graves, a chapel, and, again, a dry stone wall surrounding everything.

Cemeteries, Ladybusiness, Photography

Isabella, Wife of George

Shelly

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Grave Marker
Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana

Isabella, Wife of Geo. Hartin.
Died Dec. 28, 1869 Aged 81 ys. 6 ms. 6 ds.

I hate that so many women’s identities are completely subsumed by their husbands. Isabella had a name and a life of her own. I try to figure out what these women’s maiden names were, when possible. In this case the only reference I can find for Isabella at Ancestry.com is a link to the Findagrave record I created. (Someone else has helpfully created a Findagrave record for an Isabella Martin, but I think it’s clear from the angle of my photo that the first letter is an H, not an M.)

Cemeteries, Photography

Hosea 13:14 & Psalm 23

Shelly

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Grave Marker Inscribed with Text from Hosea 13:14 and Psalm 23
Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana

I will ransom them from the power
of the grave; I will redeem them
from death; O death I will be thy
plagues; O grave I will be thy
destruction. Hos. 13 & 14

Yea though I walk Death’s dark vale
Yet is it I fear no evil
for thou art with me and thy rod
and staff me comfort

Cemeteries, Photography

F

Shelly

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Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana

This is presumably a fragment from one of the headstones. It was just lying in the grass. I don’t think it’s a section marker, because this is a really tiny cemetery.

I think this might be my favorite photo from yesterday’s set. It reminds me of The Silver Chair, when Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum stumble into the words “UNDER ME.” I started to crop it square, but decided that I preferred it like this. I also think that it looks better viewed at full size.