Favorite Name....Week 6

This week's post is for the 2018 challenge called , 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks, by Amy Johnson Crow.  Theme for this week: Favorite Name

Well, to be honest, the Wood/Woods family seem to be very traditional and reserved people who did not venture too crazy with names.  As a genealogist, we adore unique names.  It makes them easier to find in records.  Our direct family line was "blessed" with not-so- unique names and this makes the research a little harder at times.  For instance, I believe there were two John Wood men arriving in Owen County, Indiana around the same time in 1838.  It takes a lot more research surrounding each family to figure out who is who and make sure you have the right guy.    

Let's talk a little more about the John Wood family.  They do have one person whose name is a little unique.  We saw the John Wood family 1850 census when they arrived in Indiana in last week's blog post.  John and Martha had three children listed in the census: Nathan, Hardin T. and Hiram. 

John Wood Family, 1850 US Census, Owen County, Indiana

Nathan was our Civil War veteran and his two brothers, Hardin and Hiram, were elusive for the longest time. I tried many times to figure out what happened to Hardin and Hiram as they grew into adults and kept hitting dead ends.  

The key to finding out more about them was when John Wood died at a fairly early age of 46 in 1857.  John Wood died without a will.  According to FindLaw.com, "Dying without a will leaves an estate intestate, and a probate court must step in to divide up the estate using legal defaults in order to give property to surviving relatives."  What does this means for us? Lots of records filed at the county courthouse.  (WOOT! WOOT!)  

When I found his probate records, I discovered more information about the children---including the fact that John and Martha had TWO MORE CHILDREN!  The first screen shot is for the May 1, 1858 filing for the John Wood estate.  It lists Nathan B, Thomas H., King H., Martha E. and Henry H. Woods.  The second screen shot is for the Jan 23, 1860 filing and lists a little more information:  Nathan (age 19), Thomas H. (age 16), King H. (age 12), Martha E. (age 6) and Henry H. Woods (age 2).  I believe this is referencing the ages of when their father died.  And very sadly, this latter record is for Martha, not John. She dies also at a young age of 46 in 1859 and leaves all these children.  

John Wood Estate Petition to Sell Land, May 1, 1858

      

Martha Wood Complete Record, January 23, 1860

The two probate files for this couple are like a GIANT puzzle, and I will talk more about that in LOTS of future blog posts.  Let's get back to our names.  Does anyone else think that King is a unique name?  It appears his name was Hiram on the census when he was 2 years old, but now his name is listed as King H.  I am wondering if King could be a last name of a relative.  I will just keep that in mind as I keep researching.    

I also did some research and maybe the name wasn't that unique at the time.  According to ohbabynames.com, "King was actually quasi-popular back in the late 1800s. The name appeared on the U.S. male naming charts since 1880 (the first year the government began tracking naming trends in the country)."

I also know that Hiram was the name of his uncle, Martha's brother.  Hiram Bray was appointed as Guardian over the children when John died.  This means he was financially responsible for the children.  When Martha dies, I am wondering if King went to live with Hiram Bray and his wife and having 2 Hiram's in the house was too confusing.  

In closing, as a genealogist, I am always trying to find every record to add to the puzzle.  This is a great example of two children being listed with two different names at different points in their lives.  Notice, Hardin is now listed as Thomas H.  I think this was the reason why I couldn't find out anything else about these two siblings as adults.  They were going by first --or-- middle names.    Now that I think about it, I personally did this sort of thing too.  I was born as Deidre, but for some reason, early in elementary school, everyone called me Dee Dee.  I distinctly remember one day saying to my mom, "Can I please go by Deidre?  My name is Deidre. "  Maybe King sounded more like royalty, and he just liked the sound of it!  We may never know why our ancestors were named certain things, but it is fun to dig up their lives and wonder. 



Sources
Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432,), Year: 1850; Census Place: Clay, Owen, Indiana; Roll: M432_164; Page: 71B; Image: 147.

http://estate.findlaw.com/estate-administration/estate-administration-the-will-after-death.html 

Owen County, Indiana, Court of Common Pleas, Vol 2, 1856-1862: Page 203-204, John Wood Estate Petition to Sell Land; Ancestry.com. Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Owen County, Indiana, Complete Record, Court of Common Pleas, Vol 3, 1857-1863: Page 252-257, Martha Wood; Ancestry.com. Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

http://www.ohbabynames.com/meaning/name/king/1648#.Wn78ZainFnI

In the Census...Week 5

This week's post is for the 2018 challenge called , 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks, by Amy Johnson Crow.  Theme for this week: In the Census.  

A United States Population Census is taken every ten years in this country.  The first census occurred in 1790, and they have continued every ten years since this time.  Before 1850, the census data displayed the name of the head of household and showed only the number of other people living in the household.  In 1850, however, every name in the household was recorded, as well as some other information that is vital in learning about our family history.  

I thought I'd write about the first time John Wood shows up in the census in Indiana.  The year is 1850 and the date is November 9th. The census enumerator, Sam Dunning, went around to rural Owen County, Indiana and surveyed all the people living in Clay Township around this time.  

John Wood Family - 1850 US Census, Owen County, Indiana

John Wood is listed as 37 years old and born in North Carolina.  It also states that he is a farmer by trade and the value of real estate owned is $400.  His family is listed as well.  Martha Wood, born in North Carolina as well, and age 27.  (I am going to interject here and say that I think this is a mistake and she was actually 37, but that's for another blog post.)  Lastly, three sons are listed as Nathan, age 13, Hardin T, age 12, and Hiram, age 2.  All born in North Carolina, except the baby, is listed as being born here in Indiana.  

There is also an entry in the Agricultural Census of 1850 for John Wood as well.  I love reading these!  Recorded on the same day as the population census, we get a glimpse of what the John Wood family farm was like.  

John Wood Family - 1850 US Agriculture Census, Owen County, Indiana

Acres of Land
Improved – 15 
Unimproved – 65

Cash Value of Farm – 400
Value of Farming Implements and Machinery – 12

Live Stock as of June 1, 1850 
Horses – 1
Asses and Mules – 0
Milch Cows – 2
Working Oxen – 2
Other Cattle – 1
Sheep – 12
Swine – 14
Value of Live Stock – 76

Produce during the year ending June 1, 1850
Wheat, bushels of – 0
Rye, bushels of – 0
Indian Corn, bushels of – 150
Oats, bushels of – 0
Rice, lbs. of – 0
Tobacco, lbs. of – 1,000
Ginned Cotton, bales of 400 lbs. each – 0
Wool, lbs. of – 20
Peas and Beans, bushels of  – 1
Irish Potatoes, bushels of – 10 
Sweet Potatoes, bushels of – 0
Barley, bushels of – 0
Buckwheat, bushels of – 0
Value of Orchard Produce in dollars – 0
Wine, gallons of – 0
Value of Market Gardens – 0
Butter, lbs. of – 104
Cheese, lbs. of  – 0
Hay, tons of  – 0
Clover Seed, bushels of  – 0
Other Grass Seeds, bushels of  – 0
Hops, lbs. of  – 0
Hemp, Dew Rotted, tons of  – 0
Hemp, Water rotted, tons of   – 0
Flax, lbs. of  – 0
Flaxseed, bushels of   – 0
Silk Cocoons, lbs. of  – 0
Maple Sugar, lbs. of – 20
Cane Sugar, hhds. Of 1,000 lbs. – 0
Molasses, gallons of – 3
Beeswax and Honey, lbs. of – 0
Value of Homemade Manufactures – 15
Value of Animals Slaughtered – 25


Being that he was from North Carolina, I am not surprised he raised tobacco.  One thousand pounds of tobacco all grown by the sweat of his brow.  Not something you see in Indiana today.  I decided to dig up some old photos of farming tobacco and found these at the Library of Congress.  

Tobacco Farm circa 1916

Tobacco drying on a farm

The chart below shows where tobacco was being grown in the United States in 1859.  There are just a couple dots around the Spencer, Owen County, Indiana area.  Our ancestors worked to make up that little dot on the map!  

The other item I found interesting was the 104 pounds of butter.  So how many times a year does Martha have to turn cream to butter in a butter churn to get 100 pounds?  Now I realize when we buy four sticks of butter, this is a pound.  But 100 pounds? Again, all by the sweat of their brow.  Not like us going to the local Kroger and buying our four sticks in a box.  

He also had quite a few cows, pigs and sheep and one horse!  

In closing, the land he worked to grow his crops was south of Spencer, Indiana.  According to land records, I believe John secured land in Owen County around 1846-1848.  I will write more about this in a later post.  



Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census

Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432,), Year: 1850; Census Place: Clay, Owen, Indiana; Roll: M432_164; Page: 71B; Image: 147.

1850, Owen County Indiana Agriculture Census, Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana, USA, Agriculture Schedule, Clay Township, Owen County, Indiana, USA, pg. 246, entry for John Woods.

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/nclc.00531/

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017757214/

http://etc.usf.edu/maps/pages/200/227/227.htm 

Invite to Dinner...Week 4

This week's post is for the 2018 challenge called , 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks, by Amy Johnson Crow.  Theme for this week: Invite to Dinner.

When I asked my husband about which ancestor he'd invite for dinner, he said, "That's easy. I'd ask my great grandfather to dinner so we could talk about the 's' added to the end of our name."    I thought about what he said and agreed.  Knowing the full story of how your name was changed and morphed into something different would make me feel more complete. I would love to tell you we know the full story, but alas, we do not. Here's what I do know. 

You may have seen my previous posts about our Civil War Veteran, Nathan WOOD, and his dad, John WOOD.  One of Nathan's sons was, William Estil WOOD, and one of his sons was Cecil Dale WOOD.  No "s".  No plural form.  The single form.  Just the material that forms the trunk of a tree or bush.  The matter you use to burn a fire. The substance a woodworker uses to create furniture.  However, I have always felt that adding an "s" gives you a different meaning.  I picture a vast forest or a piece of land full of trees of all kinds---elm, walnut, tulip tree, maple, oak and pine---and a stream running through the middle.  I love our name, by the way, but I digress....

The name change was initiated with Cecil Dale Wood, born December 7, 1904 in Owen County, Indiana.  Below you can see his birth record I retrieved from the Owen County Health Department.  

Cecil Dale Wood entry, Owen County, Indiana, Birth Records

He was born with the name Wood, but somewhere around 1926, he simply added the "s" at the end of his name.  He didn't do this legally (or at least I don't think he did.)

Cecil Dale's family moved to Bloomington, Monroe County, Indiana somewhere around 1916 when Cecil Dale would have been about 12 years old.  Cecil Dale appears in the 1920-1922 Bloomington City Directory for the first time and listed with his father and his brother, Dewey.  All with the last name of WOOD.  Cecil Dale stops appearing in the Bloomington City Directories around 1939.  

Wood Entries for Caron's Directory of the City
Bloomington, Indiana for 1920-1921-1922

When Cecil Dale marries Julia Antionette Richardson on May 1, 1926, his name is listed as Woods and he signs his name with an "s". He is 21 years old at the time of his marriage.  This is the first time we see his name with an "s" at the end.  

Cecil Dale Dale and Julia Richardson, Monroe County Indiana Marriage Record

Signature as Dale Woods, signed twice on the Marriage Record

However, there are some inconsistencies with the "s" at the end of the name. In the next census of 1930, he is listed as Dale Wood and living with Julia's parents.  

1930 US Census - Listing for Dale Wood

Up until the 1936-1937, he is listed as Cecil D Wood, no "s", in the Bloomington, Indiana City Directories; however, in the 1938-1939 directory, he is listed with the "s" at the end.  

Wood Entries for Caron's Directory of the City
Bloomington, Indiana for 1938-1939

This is a few years prior to the family moving to Indianapolis, Indiana.  And, it seems after they move to Indianapolis, the name is consistently, Woods.  

Wood Entries for Polk's Indianapolis City Directory - Vol. 1942

I feel like I have to write about this topic so generations after ours know that the name change occurred.  We know some bits and pieces, and I have gathered some facts surrounding the name change.  There is also family lore that suggests that Cecil Dale and his brother did not get along or had a squabble, and Cecil Dale added the "s" so he would not be associated with his brother.  I had heard that he did this when he moved to Indianapolis, but given the facts I found, I don't think this is necessarily the case.  Below you see a picture of Cecil Dale and his brother.  They don't really look like they hate each other, but who knows?  This is just one photograph and one glimmer in time. 

So, back to the original intent of the blog post. If you could invite someone to dinner and have a conversation about your family history, Brian and I would love to know more about why someone would choose to change their name.  Back then, I guess you just decided to do it, and then just start writing your name differently and tell people your name has an "s" on the end of it. We couldn't imagine doing this today!  I guess we may never know the full reason why Cecil Dale Wood wanted to be Cecil Dale Woods. But, we do know he changed his name, and it still lives on today in our names.  

Cecil Dale Woods and his brother, Dewey Wood

Cecil Dale Woods

Sources
(No First Name Listed) Wood entry, Owen County, Indiana, Birth Records, H-6, Book H-6, 1904-1907: Page 9, Entry No. 6, Owen County Health Department, 86 East Market Street, Spencer, Indiana.

Caron's Directory of the City of Bloomington, Indiana for 1916-1917-1918: And Taxpayers of Monroe County (Louisville, Kentucky, Indiana: Caron Directory Co., 1918), 314 & 356, entry for Wood Estil W. (Martha); digital image, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://interactive.ancestry.com/2469/11569542/637300787?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/5907916/person/-1373818511/facts/citation/323805103860/edit/record : Downloaded 26 November 2016), lab r 726 S Rogers.

Caron's Directory of the City Bloomington, Indiana for 1920-1921-1922: And Taxpayers of Monroe County (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Caron Directory Co., 1922), 284 & 307, entry for Wood W Estil (Martha); digital image, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (http://interactive.ancestry.com/2469/10520751/528929146?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/5907916/person/-1373825559/facts/citation/660119774871/edit/record#?imageId=11621166 : Downloaded 29 November 2016), farmer r 1003 Howe.

Woods, Dale and Julia Richardson, (1 May 1926), Monroe County Indiana Marriage Records: Book 20, Page 231; Monroe County History Center, Bloomington, Indiana.

Ancestry.com, 1930 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626), Year: 1930; Census Place: Bloomington, Monroe, Indiana; Roll: 619; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 4; Image: 9.0.

Caron's Bloomington, Indiana City Directory 1936-1937 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Caron Directory Company, 1937), 399, entry for Wood C Dale (Julia); [Format:lower], [Creator], [WebsiteTitle] ([URL] : [AccessType] [AccessDate]), formn r 922 W. 7th.

Caron's Bloomington, Indiana City Directory 1938-1939 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: Caron Directory Company, 1939), page 405, entry for Woods Cecil D (Julia); [Format:lower], [Creator], [WebsiteTitle] ([URL] : [AccessType] [AccessDate]), r 1000 W 7th.

Polk's Indianapolis City Directory - Vol. 1942 (Indianapolis, Indiana: R.L. Polk & CO., Publishers, 1942), 1441, entry for Woods, Cecil D; digital image, Ancestry.com, Ancestry.com (Downloaded 29 November 2016), mach NYCSys r204 N Walcott.

Longevity....Week 3

This week's post is for the 2018 challenge called , 52 Ancestors In 52 Weeks, by Amy Johnson Crow.  Theme for this week: Longevity.  

Nathan Wood, Grave site, Adel Cemetery,
Owen County, Indiana

The life of Nathan Wood and his father, John Wood, were not destined to have longevity.  Both died too young.  John Wood died around the age of 46 in about 1857 (still haven't proved the exact date on him yet), and Nathan died at the age of 47 on July 1st, 1886.  Both had children and left young mothers to raise babies and teens.  The cruelty of the homesteader life was a reality in these times.  

John Wood was Brian's 4x's great grandfather making his son, Nathan, Brian's 3x's  great grandfather.  This post will focus on Nathan Wood and his death.  When I went to the National Archives in Washington DC, I took pictures of the Civil War pension file for Nathan Wood.  I had just started back into genealogy when my cousin asked if I would like to go on a week-long genealogy road trip with one destination being the National Archives. I was super excited and when I got his file, I didn't even really know the gold I had in my possession until I got home.  

The file itself is more than 40 pages and contains Nathan's discharge papers, a marriage certificate to his wife, Sarah Amanda May, and many pages of requests to be granted a pension because of his sickness contracted during the Civil War.    His file contains 2 attempts at applying for an Invalid Pension by himself.  The first time in February 1882 and again right before his death in January 1886.  

Nathan Wood, Original Invalid Claim - Feb 11, 1882

Nathan's claim is below as he reports under oath in his second attempt to secure the pension in January 1886.   

"He says on his oath that he contracted Camp Diarrhea in line of duty at Decatur Alabama about the 1st of May 1865 and about the same time he contracted Rheumatism which affected him all over to such an extent that he was unable to walk, and he was sent to the hospital at Decatur and from there to the hospital at Huntsville Alabama and remained there until discharged.  That piles and fistula resulted from said Camp Diarrhea and that said Diarrhea continued and became chronic and that he has constantly suffered from chronic diarrhea, alternating with constipation and resulting disease of stomach and digestive organs, and resulting piles and fistula in anus and Rheumatism and he says has been disabled for performance of manual labor each year since date of discharge at least one half by reason of said disease. In his original declaration his Attorney left out his disease Rheumatism and upon his insisting that it should be alleged, Atty said to prove up Diarrhea, piles and Fistula, and then put in claim for Rheumatism, he also put in declaration total disability when affidavit wanted to say one half disability as he now says, he does not claim for total disability, as he has not been totally disabled for manual labor, only at times."

Nathan Wood, Original Invalid Claim - Feb 11, 1882

OK, so when I read all about his chronic diarrhea, piles and fistula for YEARS, I was thinking, how awful would this be?  Lordy, Lordy!  Could you imagine dealing with this with no Imodium AD,  Preparation H, and no way to fix this?  I had to look up the fistula and find out more.  According to WebMD, "An anal fistula is a small channel that can develop between the end of the bowel and the skin near the anus. Possible symptoms include: pain, which is usually constant, throbbing and worse when sitting down, skin irritation around the anus, including swelling, redness and tenderness, discharge of pus or blood, constipation or pain associated with bowel movements, fever."  Eeeeeew!  Any one of these things would be awful for years, but all three!  Poor Nathan Wood.  

He was rejected for the claim the first time and then died before ruling on his second attempt.  His widow, Sarah, applies then six days after his death.  I think about how sad she must have been at her husband's death and surely felt destitute.  Nathan explains that he is a farmer and how is she going to make it by herself without some help?  She is 47 years old at the time of his death and they had three children under the age of 18.  

Stay tuned for future blog posts about his Civil War Pension file.  There are so many juicy things in there!  Oh, Lord, I can't believe I just wrote that!


Sources
"Civil War Pension Application File,'" Discharge Certificate, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Soldiers Who Served in Both the Mexican War and the Civil War, ca. 1847 - ca. 1888, Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs,National Archives,Washington, D.C., United States.Certificate Included with Original Invalid Claim,15 May 1865,Application No. 439.771,Certificate No. 345.827.

https://www.webmd.boots.com/digestive-disorders/anal-fistula

Favorite Photo...Week 2

Nathan Wood, circa 1865

Since I am a scrapbooker, I LOVE PHOTOS!  I love studying them. I love the feelings they bring. I love the memories they conjure.  I love the history captured in an instant.  The oldest picture I have in my picture collection is one of Nathan Wood, and the picture fascinates me.  The picture is in his Civil War uniform circa 1865. 

Interestingly enough, I received the picture from a long lost relative half way across the country! I had been searching Google for any information about the Wood family from Surry County, North Carolina in the late 1800’s and saw a post on a message board from 2001. I did some sleuthing and found the cousin through Facebook and started conversing about the Wood family. Through our conversation she sent me this most treasured photo in my collection for the Woods family! 

Let me tell you a little bit of history on Nathan Wood. You may first notice his name does not contain an “s” at the end like our name. Rest assured we are directly related to him, and this will be another blog post altogether!  Also, in today's post I will tell you some basic facts about his life and will later dig into a lot of these facts in future blog posts. 

Nathan Wood is Brian’s great-great-great grandfather. He was born in North Carolina in 1839 to John and Martha (Bray) Wood. I believe John and Martha and their family moved to the Owen County, Indiana area around 1846. Nathan was the oldest son of the couple who had four other children. The other siblings were: Thomas Hardin, Hiram King, Martha E. and Henry F. Wood. 

Nathan married Sarah Amanda May in July of 1860.  In addition, according to his Civil War pension file I secured from the National Archives in Washington D.C., he was enlisted into the Civil War in February 1865 in Owen County, Indiana when he was 25 years of age. Nathan served in the Army of the 149th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D.  He only served in the war for a few months and was honorably discharged on May 15th, 1865.  He died on July 1st, 1886 when he was 47 years old.  

Nathan Wood, Civil War Pension File, Discharge Certificate, May 1865 

If you look at the Discharge Certificate picture towards the end of the document, you will notice it gives some physical characteristics for Nathan. It states he was five feet six inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, light hair, and by occupation when enrolled a farmer.  

I have stared into those light eyes of the photo a thousand times and wished he could speak to me.  I dearly cherish this photo and hope to share more of his history in future blog posts.  

Sources:

Owen County, Indiana, United States, Owen County Deed Records, Bk. 8, 1843-1846, Page 484, Microfilm No. IND 1-060A4, 16 January 1846; Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.

Owen County, Indiana, Court of Common Pleas, Vol 2, 1856-1862: Page 203-204, John Wood Estate Petition to Sell Land; Ancestry.com. Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1798-1999 [database on-line], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Federal Census (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data - United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Seventh Census of the United States, 1850. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1850. M432,), Year: 1850; Census Place: Clay, Owen, Indiana; Roll: M432_164; Page: 71B; Image: 147.

"Civil War Pension Application File,'" Discharge Certificate, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Soldiers Who Served in Both the Mexican War and the Civil War, ca. 1847 - ca. 1888, Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs,National Archives,Washington, D.C., United States.Certificate Included with Original Invalid Claim,15 May 1865,Application No. 439.771,Certificate No. 345.827.

Nathan Wood and Sarah Amanda May, (19 July 1860), Owen County, Indiana, Marriage Record, Book D, 1854-1863: 450; Owen County Courthouse, 60 S Main St, Spencer, Indiana.

Rub Some Water On It!

I can't believe I did it!  I got my husband to get up on a Saturday and head to a county an hour and a half away to see what we could see about his ancestors.  You see, he doesn't like to have things sprung on him at the last minute, and I figured there was no way he would go.  However, to my happiness, he went without a fight, and we had a great day! 

Let me give you a little background.  My husband and I just discovered that we like genealogy. After almost 18 years of marriage, it's so neat to find something new that we can do together and enjoy!  We have been working on his Wood/Woods family for a month or so, and it was time to head to the nearest county where his relatives had settled.  We had done tons of Ancestry and internet searches and had some questions that just couldn't be answered without actually going there and seeing things with our own eyes.  We want to go to the Owen County, Indiana courthouse as well, but they aren't open on weekends.  Our goal today was to 1) visit the Owen County Library in Spencer, IN and check out the Genealogy section, 2) Visit the known graves of some relatives in this area: Nathan and Sarah Wood, 3) View the property of John Wood (Nathan's dad) in which he obtained a land patent in 1848. 

The library was very nice and we poked around some books and, to our enjoyment, they had a Wood Family File chocked full of papers.  Of course not all the pieces pertained to our family, but it was so nice to see a hefty file to look through and enjoy.  We didn't find anything earth-shattering at the library, but it's nice to know where it is and what it has to offer. 

We next headed to the cemetery.  Adel Cemetery is south of Spencer and it was very close to the land owned by John Wood.  In fact, it was directly across the road from the cemetery.  The cemetery sits nicely up a large hill overlooking the road and woods across the road.  We immediately found our Nathan and Sarah Wood.  We had seen the graves online, but it so much better to see the place your loved ones were laid to rest with your own eyes and heart.  Realizing this grave holds my husband's great-great-great grandfather is amazing.  He was a Civil War veteran and his grave is marked as such. 

We began to walk around near the grave and take notice of other graves and other names.  Near Nathan's grave (ten feet or so to the right) was a tilted grave and barely legible.  We brushed it with our hands but just couldn't make it out.  Brian said, "If we had some water, we could pour some on it to see if that helped."  I said, "I do have water in the car on the driver's side door for just these types of emergencies."  We retrieved the water and returned to the tilted limestone grave.  We poured the water on the grave and a name started to appear....Martha Wood.  Now while this seems like a very ordinary name, we both looked at each other and realized we had found something good---  Something that made our trip worth the drive!!  You see, we had been trying to locate Nathan's mother and father's death dates for quite a while and were hitting some brick walls.  And guess what? Her name was Martha Wood.  We had thought she died before 1860, and with some head tilting and some good ole deciphering, we think we can make out the date.  It appears to say, DIED JULY 11 1859.  Eureka!

While on an "Ancestry High", we began to look around at the other graves.  If Martha is here, could John be here too?  We starting noticing just small stones in the same line as the Wood area but no writing on the stones.  All the other graves seemed eligible or another name besides Wood.  We walked around a few minutes and just concluded that John must be buried here but his grave is not able to be seen. Darn it!  Seeing that would have made our day even more meaningful.  Seeing the grave of your fourth great grandfather would be so much cooler than seeing the third, right?  We started walking about the cemetery in the same general area but ventured out.  I came back to Martha's graver and kept walking in a straight line directly to the right of her.  I found a stone buried in the ground about six by eight inches or so. No writing and buried almost completely.  We looked it over pretty well, but decided it was just a footer stone.  We continued perusing the ground and found a limestone marker lying face up but only showing about a six by six square.  This one had fallen over and was almost completely covered with moss and dirt. I used my shoe to move some moss and some letters started to appear.  Brian and I both removed the moss and dirt with our hands and, low and behold, the word WOOD started to show itself to us. 

Now let me interject here that I think our ancestors still talk to us.  Not in the weird ghostly way, but in something we carry with us.  I believe that God is a God who wants us to remember our history, after all, He gave us his Bible which is His history.  I think it's important to learn about the history of our families and preserve that for generations to come.  Sometimes I think the the scrapbooker in me documents too much of our family history, but then I go to the local public library and open a picture file with one picture for the Wood family for the entire county.  Imagine generations from now someone walks into the local library and there is an entire shelf dedicated to the Brian, Deidre and Griffin Woods family and their entire life story is documented with journaling and pictures! Someday the future Woods genealogist in the family will leap with joy when they find all those scrapbooks. 

OK.....now back to the story......we continue to clear the stone with water and rub away dirt and moss.  Imagine our shock when the name, JOHN, started to show itself.  It's very weathered, but it's definitely there in the stone.  We believe that the stone says, 1857 JOHN WOOD DIED SEPT.  It appears there are other letters under this, but we couldn't make them out.  We couldn't do much but just shake our heads.  This was very unexpected and did not count on finding this today!  We had thought that John died before 1860 as well, and was fairly sure he would be buried here, but Find-A-Grave and other cemetery listings for Adel Cemetery never listed him here.  He was one of our stumpers. 

When we were heading out of the area, we took some time to look around the area where John Wood's land was located and see what was on the land.  We could see a church right on the corner, Adel Church of Christ, and a house tucked back down a lane.  We noticed the mailboxes say, "WOOD".  Wouldn't that be amazing if our family still lives on the original land purchased by John???  Now we have another reason to return to Owen County to research the land records in detail. 

What a great day!  We had beautiful weather to be out walking around a graveyard and finding some old relatives.  Thank you, John and Martha, for talking to us today!  Just when you are ready to give up on finding additional facts, one of them shows up! Then, you get the ancestry bug again to keep searching.  Now if Thomas and Elizabeth (John's parents) would do the same, we would be greatly appreciative!  They lived in Surry County, North Carolina, so I think we will have to do a little planning for that trip. No last minute jaunt for that!