9/11 Ten Years Later

I don't think anyone in the United States of America is not thinking about what happened a decade ago today.  A decade, I can't believe it's been that long, seems like only yesterday; when I was watching Matt Lauer on the Today Show, and he ended a interview with some breaking news.  Life changed that day not only for everyone in America, but for the world also.  Today, memorials will be dedicated to all those who lost their lives on that tragic day. More than 1100 individuals were never found, their families had nothing to bury. These memorials are the finale resting place of their loved ones, a place to be visited and for them to be remembered.  Those lives are what we need to remember, we as a world will never forget how they all perished. The families of those who died have taught us how they lived, and how they lived is so very important.  The families showed us how they were able to go on after such a tragedy.  It is hard enough to mourn a mother, father, child, husband, wife, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, cousin, or friend; but to do it with the entire world watching, gave the nation strength in knowing who they were, who they loved! That is why we Never Forgot!
On those memorials are craved the names of all those who died on that day in New York, Washington D.C. and in Pennsylvania.  Someday grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren and even great great great grandchildren will visit the sites, and time will pass like it does on every historic event.  Today though it is still fresh in our minds; and we give honor to those who died on this day.  May you never be forgotten!

Back to Work

Wow it seems like forever since we have been out to Howard Cemetery to work.  But we are planning to work this weekend getting some stones reset.  Yeah.  I know it's not everybody's idea of fun, but we are looking forward to a peaceful weekend among the stones.

Iphone Apps for Cemeteries

Well I downloaded three iphone apps for cemeteries and gravestones, those being tombfinder, restingpot and billiongraves all are free and can be found in the app store.  Billiongraves does have a 2.99 feature to view records, but I have not paid that yet!   Now that our family crisis has passed and I have time today I will be trying these apps out, to see what kind of results I get.  When it comes to GPS their can be tons of variables, and unless you have a very expensive survey unit the location can vary greatly, but going to see how each compares.  I will keep you posted.

As for our family crisis my husband had to have surgery to release pressure on his brain from a bleed.  He came off a horse on the 7th of Aug and hurt his tailbone and back.  For a very experienced horseman it was his pride that seemed to be more hurt,  he shook it off and I slathered Tiger Balm on the aches.  He did mentioned he bumped his head, but that did not really bother my cowboy.   Well over a week and a half later he starts getting headaches and they kept increasing in pain.  Like any touch guy he took ibuprofen and kept on working, thought it was job stress.  Well he did finally tell me and I made a Doctors Appt.  well he had no neurological problems, so the Doctor thought it could be job stress or not sleeping right.  But, he ordered a CT scan just in case.  Well next day at the CT scan they admitted him to the ER and transferred him to the premiere trauma hospital in our area.  Turns out he had a bleed that had clotted, started to bleed again and had caused a mid line shift.  The doctors were amazed that he only presented with headaches and had no neurological problems; which would have been an obvious sign something was seriously wrong.  My husband could tell I was worried as I got very calm and "matter of fact" in my speech.  You can always tell when I am in a crisis as I am not a crier, I get deadly serious.  So we spent time in Methodist Hospital, him having surgery and recovering, me being calm.  It wasn't until I knew he was going to be alright and going home that I got emotional.  He was never so happy to leave a place as the food was lousy!  Which was good, as my son would have said, "Dad had been off his feed" since the 7th, so we should have known something was wrong.  Family joke as we have livestock, and them going off feed is a good sign something is wrong with an animal. 
The entire way as I drove myself to Methodist Hospital, I kept thinking, yes I love cemeteries and am having a blast restoring Howard; but I do not want to be visiting my husband in one.   I kept imagining all the other people in the ER wanting the same thing and those of us who would be granted our hopes and those who would be having to visit a cemetery.  It brought what I do front and center; as we all at some point in our lives don't get that hope and have to visit or find our final resting spot.  But not today or hopefully for a long time to come.        

Aaron and Frances Smith parents of Caleb Smith

Father of Caleb Smith Mr. Aaron Smith

The Early Life and Times of Boone County

Author: Harden, Samuel, b. 1831 comp; Spahr, --, comp
Publisher: [Indianapolis, Ind. : Printed by Carlon & Hollenbeck]
Language: English
Call number: 31833023221820
Digitizing sponsor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Book contributor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Collection: allen_county; americana

Homer Black

Homer Black was the spouse of Nora B. Smith, who has had a sketch previously on this blog.  Homer was the son of John Black 1849-1920 and Elizabeth Ellen Brumfield b.1855  They were united in marriage on 28 Dec 1871in Indiana.  Elizabeth Ellen Brumfield was the daughter of Nathan Brumfield b.1815 and Lucy Ann Hightshue b.1822 d 26 Feb 1892  Why this is interesting to the Howard Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Project is that Lucy Ann Hightshue is the Great Gr. Gr. Gr. Gr. Aunt of Ray Keith Everett, the guy who does a lot of the labor for the project. 

Partner Information U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918

Partner Information	U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918

Perry Township 1878 Boone County Indiana

Conner Prairie - Indiana History - 1880s Economy

http://www.connerprairie.org/Learn-And-Do/Indiana-History/America-1860-1900/1880s-Economy.aspx
This is a great in depth article about the economy that the people of Indiana faced during the height of burial at Howard cemetery.

Plotting possible unmarked graves

How to Clean a Marble Tombstone

Cleaning a Marble Tombstone. 

First always remember to keep the tombstone that you are working on constantly wet with clean water.  We prefer to use a brand new weed sprayer to apply the water. 
The cleaning solution we also apply with a weed sprayer;  it is an easy effective way to apply the cleaner. 
First wet the area with clean water that you are going to clean.  The apply the cleaning mixture and scrub with a nylon brush, never metal; preferably white bristle, with small circular motions.  Rinse, Scrub, Rinse, Scrub. Rinse Rinse; leave no residue.
 
Cleaning mixture is Ammonia and Water,  which is a 1 to 4 mixture;  one part ammonia to four parts water.
We clean the base from bottom to top, again keeping it always wet and well rinsed.  Do not let the stone dry as you work.   

If this first scrubbing does not give the desired results, then we use a mixture of Orvus and water scrubbing; this is not applied in a weed sprayer, but from a bucket. As with all cleaning, you need to rinse and rinse and leave not residue.   

To restore the marble to it's polished glory; Nylox brushes on a drill with the Ammonia mixture can be used.  These should only be used by skilled workers that know what they are doing, as damaging the stone by unskilled workers could result. 

Ground Radar 4-H Group

Michelle, Alexander and Victoria Granat

A portrait and biographical record of Boone, Clinton and Hendricks Counties, Ind. : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all of the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Indiana (1895)

Amanda Doyal Frazee

Subject: Presidents; Governors
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Bowen & Co.
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 31833017727279
Digitizing sponsor: Internet Archive
Book contributor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

Early life and times in Boone County, Indiana, giving an account of the early settlement of each locality, church histories, county and township officers from the first down to 1886 ... Biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and women .. (1887)

Perry Township Boone County Indiana

Author: Harden, Samuel, b. 1831, comp; Spahr, comp
Publisher: [Indianapolis, Ind., Printed by Carlon & Hollenbeck
Possible copyright status: NOT_IN_COPYRIGHT
Language: English
Call number: 10099861
Digitizing sponsor: Sloan Foundation
Book contributor: The Library of Congress

Early life and times in Boone County, Indiana, giving an account of the early settlement of each locality, church histories, county and township officers from the first down to 1886 ... Biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and women ... (1887)

Author: Harden, Samuel, b. 1831 comp; Spahr, --, comp
Publisher: [Indianapolis, Ind. : Printed by Carlon & Hollenbeck]
Language: English
Call number: 31833023221820
Digitizing sponsor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Book contributor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

The Lineage of Rachel Francis Turpin the wife of Reed Funkhouser 

A portrait and biographical record of Boone and Clinton Counties, Indiana : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens ... and biographies of the Governors of Indiana (1895)

Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Bowen & Co.
Language: English
Call number: 31833017865582
Digitizing sponsor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Book contributor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center

David D. Doyal

http://www.archive.org/

A portrait and biographical record of Boone and Clinton Counties, Indiana : containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens ... and biographies of the Governors of Indiana (1895

David D. Doyal

Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Bowen & Co.
Language: English
Call number: 31833017865582
Digitizing sponsor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
Book contributor: Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/

Dewey A. Funkhouser Obituary

Zionsville Times Aug 3, 1905

Miss Emma Smith returned from Advance Wednesday of last week, where she had been the past three weeks nursing a sick nephew.  She was called by telephone Friday morning, the boy having suddenly grown worse.  He died at 8:00 and was buried at Howard cemetery Sunday.  He was the youngest son of Iverson and Lula Funkhouser.

Obituary provided by Lavern Wing a Smith family researcher.

The Buck family April of 1901

It is hard to put into words that tragedy and the joy the Buck family experienced in 1901.  Clara B. Smith had married Frederick Buck and is living in Zionsville Indiana in the early spring of 1901.  The Buck family is expecting the birth of their fifth child.  Then tragedy strikes, two of the Buck children comedown with the measles, a very common childhood illness and most children 1901 recovered. But, 400-500 of the 48,000 cases of measles prior to vaccine died of the disease. The Buck children Paul and Eldon did not recover, as most children did.  The first to pass away was Paul Milton Buck on Apr. 5. 1901  His obituary follows

Zionsvile Times  Apr. 11, 1901

Paul M., son of Fred Buck, aged two years, died April 5, from complications resulting from measles.  The funeral occurred Sunday with interment at Mt. Tabor cemetery.  At the time this child lay dead another son was born to the parents.  Another son, one of the twins, was at the same time not expected to live, but was improving a the time of writing this notice.

The son that lay dying was Eldon E. Buck he passed away on Apr. 10, 1901  The son that was born to the family was Mayo Buck b. Apr. 5, 1901.

The obituary was provided by Lavern Wing a Smith family researcher.  Mr. Wing also believes that the reporting on the burial place of being Mt. Tabor Cemetery; is in error, as all the Smith family is buried in Howard Cemetery and he knows of no reason why Mt. Tabor would be used for two burial away from the family.

Clara B. Smith Obituary

The Billings Gazette  Oct. 9, 1936

An illness of six months' duration due to complications caused the death of Mrs. Clara McDonnell, 60 in her home at 205 South Thirty-seventh street.  Thursday at 4:45 a.m.  Born in Indiana, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Smith.  She spent most of her early life in that state and came to Montana 30 years ago.  She had lived in and near Ingomar until coming to Billings five years ago.  On July 26, 1922, she married Ed. F. McDonnell at Forsyth.  Mrs. McDonnell was a member of the Church of the Little Flower here.  Besides her widower, she is survived by three sons of a former marriage,  Eugene Buck of Billings, V.S. McDonnell of Warrington, Org., and Emmett Buck of Olympia, Wash.;  three sisters in Indiana and eight grandchildren.  Mass for the deceased has been tentatively set for Saturday morning at the Church of the Little Flower with interment in Calvary Cemetery.

Obituary provided by Lavern Wing a Smith family researcher

Nora Black Obituary

Zionsville Times  Dec. 23, 1943

Mrs. Nora Black, age 75 years passed away Thursday at the Long Hospital.  Mrs. Black had been in poor health for the last two years, but has been seriously ill for the past two weeks.  Mrs. Black leaves one sister,  Mrs. Lula Funkhouser of Jamestown and several nieces and nephews.  She was the sister of the late Miss Emma Smith, who taught school here for several years, and is also an aunt to Gilvie and Cecil Smith of the this place.  Funeral services were held Saturday at the Phillippi funeral home with the Rev. G.J. Daniel officiating. Burial was held at the Howard cemetery near Fayette.

Obituary provided by Lavern Wing a Smith family researcher.

Ground Penetrating Radar 101

The use of ground penetrating radar to detect graves is not an exact science.  Unlike an x ray machine you are not going to see bones or anything under the ground of that nature.  What you do see is cut marks from the excavation of the ground from the digging of the grave.  So an unmarked grave would be identified by it edges, to show where the burial site would have been.  The radar could also see when a burial area had a  vault or concrete cover;  this was identified as upside down U on the radar display.  I had a great time helping Mr. Swift as his plot marker.  Now more work comes, all the red flags that I placed need to be measured and plotted. I am so glad next week is supposed to be cooler; as I know my Mom will have us at the cemetery as soon as my grandfather's surgery is completed. 

Monsanto Corporation A BIG THANK YOU!

We know we have mentioned on this blog and in on our social media sites that the project was started by a grant provided by the Monsanto Corporation.  If it would not have been for the Monsanto's contribution, we could have not had such a successful project.  It is their commitment in providing funding for youth community service that has benefited both our 4-H Club Perry Future Farmers and the community of Boone County.

Jim Swift Thank You

We want to Thank Jim Swift and the Boone County Surveyor for donated their time and technology to the Howard Cemetery Restoration and Preservation Project.  The radar picked up a number of areas that look like graves that have not marker.  All the areas have been marked and will be measured, plotted and cataloged. 
Jim gave the group a detailed overview of how the radar system works and what he is looking for when he read the screen.  Rayke learned a lot about the radar unit and Jim even let him push it, but mostly Rayke was the flag placer; which I tried to do; but Jim and Rayke had a system, and Moms sometimes just get in the way.  Yes. I am the Mom so I get to say that.
Jim had given his time yesterday to tweak the machine so we would hit the ground running, but the rain the night before meant he needed to tweak a little more; Indiana weather never does want to cooperate. 
We are so truly Thankful for all the work. 
I was so happy that we had a nice turnout from both our 4-H Club and Boone County Genealogical Society.  I could have talked about the cemetery all day and was grateful to have a group enthused about the day.

Ground Penetrating Radar

Ray Keith Everett, Jim Swift and Michelle and Alexander Granat Victoria Granat is being blocked by her Mom

Audrey Lamar

John and Joey Plunkett Audrey Lamar Nanette Everett and Erius Saito

Mrs. Wood and Mr. Wood

The group listening to Jim Swift

Erius Saito and Nanette Everett

Sandy Isenhour

Mr. Wing and Jim Swift

Lavern Wing a descendent of the Caleb Smith Family

Female Smith NAMED

Wow what a good early morning this has been;  we have found the name of the daughter of Aaron M. Smith and Littie Lee Scott;  drum roll please she is Vern Smith and she died 16 Nov 1895.  May she Rest in Peace.   She was born 9 Nov 1890.    Both her birth and death record can be found on Ancestry.com

Ground Penetrating Radar

Aug 3rd starting at 9:30 am we are having the cemetery surveyed with ground penetrating radar to find any unknown and lost burial sites and markers.

Emma J Larsh

In Howard Cemetery there is a red granite slanted stone in Howard Cemetery with only a name Emma J. Miller.  Well after lots of research and more research, Emma has been identified as Emma Larsh the daughter of Elias Larsh and Susanna Cave.  She married Albert Thomas Miller the 13 Apr 1893.  They made their residence in Indianapolis Marion County.  They had the following children Albert A. Miller born 1893, Merriel Miller 1896 and Clara Gladys Miller born in 1904.  I have located the family living in Indianapolis until the 1920 Census, in the 1930 Census they are living in Clinton county Indiana.

National Center for Preservation Technology and Training

Stone Cleaning Practices

http://ncptt.nps.gov/2011/best-practice-recommendations-for-cleaning-government-issued-marble-headstones/

Location

Howard Cemetery is located in Indiana in southern Boone County in Perry Township.  It is located on 750 South; east of Fayette.   We have plotted and mapped the cemetery as follows.

The Rows are numbered West to East; with row one being the first row on the east side of the cemetery.  The plots are numbered North to South.  The way the interned were buried in Howard means that Row One  Plot One Stone does not necessarily line up with Row Two Plot Two Stone.  The burial were not done in a grid pattern.  Please understand that this project is a work in progress and we will add plots and burials as they are uncovered.  Any changes will be updated immediately, and will be posted on this blog.  

Beyond Just Records

I Love Genealogy and all that goes along with being a genealogist.  I also am very enthusiastic about our cemetery project.  I have run into many genealogist that just want the bare minimum in there research.  Paper and Facts; maybe a few pictures;  wow history minimalist.  To say the least I was taken aback, why would I want to research someone and not really get to know who that person was.  I think people like the one I mention are sad, why bother even researching a family line if all you want is a few documents and maybe a photo or two.  Genealogy should be the fleshing out of our ancestors, not just the names and dates,  it is that dash on the tombstone between the birth and death date that I want to research.

1883 List of Pensioners on the Roll Boone County, Indiana January 1, 1883

201,605 Seay, Abraham  white Lick par. deafness
      both ears 2.00 Jan., 1882
147,486 Thompson, James A. White Lick chr. diarr 8.00 -
213,788 Smith, Jacob F.  White Lick chr. diarr 2.00 June, 1882
129,427 Albert, John B.  White Lick ---------- 6.00 Aug., 1874
14,472 Long, Rebecca  White Lick widow 1812 8.00 Jan., 1879
12,036 Smith, Nancy  White Lick widow 1812 8.00 Nov., 1878

Where have we been?????

The Boone County 4-H Fair starts on Friday, and Ray, Bud(husband/father) and I have been busy getting ready for fair; plus I have been judging county fair projects around the state.  So Howard Cemetery except for planning has be on the back burner.  Ray has eleven 4-H projects that he has completed. He is receiving the Farm Bureau Tenure Award for Outstanding 4-H member and he will be receiving his Ten Year Completion award the last night of fair. It is a very bitter sweet ending to his 4-H career, I remember the excitement of his first year, and soon it will be all over.  Where did the time go, our little boy has grown into a young man; in a blink of an eye.  Time has been so swift and fleeting, it runs through our fingers no matter how hard we want to stop and enjoy it. 
This year he did a project about the work that he has put into the cemetery.  He was figuring up his hours that he has physically worked in the cemetery; and he has put in 50 hours of work at the cemetery.  This does not count the hours researching the interned. Wow, that's a lot of work for one young man to have volunteered to do.  Yesterday, was Nelson Mandela's Birthday and he wanted everyone to donate 67 hours of community service to their community, as a birthday present.  I thought that would be easy, then I look at our project and realize getting 67 minutes is hard; and maybe that is not so easy for so many busy families.   
Rayke (Ray) has been riding daily, which means rising very early; as Indiana is in the middle of a horrid heat wave, the heart index is supposed to be 115 by Friday, the day he shows his horse.  This is not typical Indiana weather, and yes I am a believer of global warming!  My mother in law you is in her mid 80's and has lived here her entire life, and she never remembers the heat being this bad!    We keep a close eye on the farm animals and our dogs.  The dogs have the "Life of Riley" as all four are inside dogs.  But for dogs who normally like to play outside they are not even wanting to go out in the heat.  
So after the end of fair, back to Howard Cemetery and cleaning and repairing the stones.  It is such rewarding work!!!  Then in early August we go to another Cemetery Restoration Workshop.

Busy Morning

Had a nice morning meeting up with Pat Buedel one of Boone County Master Gardeners that will be helping with the landscaping for phase one of our project.  Ray got to stay home and put his pages back into his genealogy book for fair.  I hope I did not overwhelm her with my cemetery tour, I know way more about Howard Cemetery, than most people would like to hear.  She was very gracious and listened to me prattle on as we toured the cemetery.  We discussed the need to keep the plantings native to Indiana, and what we want to achieve in this first planting phase. 
I have to give the birds of Boone County a good talking too, as they are mucking up the stones.  So if any one in Boone County sees a crazy lady talking to birds in a cemetery, stop by and say Hi.  We need a good hard rain to get rid of their mess. 
Bill Coan of the Howard School Project stopped by with the deed for the cemetery and the deed to the purchase by John A. Everett of the Howard School Property.  Both are greatly appreciated, and will add to the documentation for the cemetery. 

Ground Penetrating Radar

On August 3rd we are having the cemetery surveyed with ground penetrating radar. This is being done in a effort to locate the positions of any missing burial sites. This should be a very interesting expedition.

Sent from my iPhone

Find us on the Internet and on Social Media

Howards Cemetery Restortion and Preservation Project has it's own Facebook Page, and we have posted many names for the cemetery on Find A Grave under the cemetery name, that the site did not have previously listed and linked family members. 

The stone of the Reed Funkhouser Family

First I need to thank Rebecca L. Armstrong Merritt for tracking down who set the stone for the family of Reed Funkhouser.  In an earlier post I had surmised that the stone was not a period piece  as the cuts in the granite were far to deep for the time period for some of the deaths.  Becky and I had been having email correspondence about the stone and the death date of Tennis Funkhouser, as his stone date differs from a period book written by PT Lambert about the Turpin Family, as Rachel, Reed's wife was a Turpin by birth.  Becky confirmed that the stone was not period, and confirmed with the descendants of the Funkhouser family the stone placement. Bill Funkhouser the son of Paul Turpin Funkhouser is the source for this information.  The stone was bought and set by Paul and his sister Bernice Funkhouser Tackett, after the death of Reed.  It was done some years after the death of Reed.  Tennis as far as anyone can tell never had a stone prior to this, neither did Rachel.   The date on the stone according to the family is the correct date, and the death date in PT Lambert's book is a typo.  One hunt solved, more to do.

Karen Everett

Ellen Smith nee Howard stone 5-9

Ellen Smith age 42 years 1month 11 days. Wife of Anderson J. Smith

Bessie Blanche Funkhouser Obiturary

Death:  Mrs. Bessie Blanche Funkhouser Everett, age 58, passed away at her home in Fayette Saturday, November 27, 1948, following a week illness. She was born March 10, 1890 the daughter of Reed and Rachel Frances Turpin Funkhouser.  She was a native of Hendricks county but lived in Fayette for 55 years.  She married William Sanford Everett, on June 9, 1907 in Fayette.  She belonged to the Mount Tabor Baptist Church and the Perry Township Homemaker Club. Funeral services were held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon in the Mount Tabor chruch and burial made in the church cemetery.  Surviving with her husband are three daughters, Mrs. Helen Bymaster, Mrs. Fern Armstrong, and Mrs. Doris Hopkins all of Lebanon rural route; a sister, Bernice Tackett, Lebanon and two brothers, Paul and Gideon Funkhouser, both of Brownsburg; one grandson, William E. Armstrong, and two granddaughters, Nina S. and Rebecca L. Armstrong, several nieces and nephews, as well as a host of other relatives and friends.  She was preceded in death by her parents, two sisters and a brother.  To her memory, compiled by a son-in-law entitled:
A WONDERFUL MOTHER
Oh! Mother your're gone; Yes gone away,
And left us with naught, but memories today;
A dear one has passed to her heavenly goal,
We shall n'er forget; Dear mother of thee,
Kind and gentle, with a heart full of gen-er-osity,
Even in illness, till life ebbed slow,
You suffered within so no one could know.
We are sure our Lord had called thee to rest.
And today thour'rt happy, with the Heavenly blest.
In that glorious land and city of gold
Safe with the Shepherd, and within his fold.
So let not a tear be shed this day,
As we struggle on in our earthly way,
For thou are safe in that haven of rest,
Thy heavenly heart hoping; We to pas the test. 

Death:  One of the larges congregations ever assembled at Mt. Tabor Church, gathered for the funeral services.  Services were conducted by Elders Arthur Harmon of Lafayette, Indiana and W.E. Essex

Death: Copied from the Regular Baptist Messenger, dated January 1949

Source Rebecca L. Armstrong Merritt

Reed Funkhouser Obituary

Death:  The Lebanon Reporter
February 4, 1939
Reed Funkhouser Dies Last Night
Rites Monday at Home of Son near Fayette
Reed Funkhouser. age 72 years a lifelong resident and well known farmer of Boone county, passed away Friday night at ten o'clock at the home of his daughter Mrs. Bernice Tackett in Perry township.  His death was caused by heart trouble and followed an illness and six weeks duration.
Mr. Funkhouser was born in Perry township, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Gideon Funkhouser pioneer residents of that community.  He was married November 9, 1887 to Rachel Turpin who died several years ago.  Survivors are four children, Paul Funkhouser, south of Lebanon, Gideon Funkhouser and Mrs. Bernice Tackett of Perry township and Mrs. Bessie Everett of Fayette; four sisters Mrs. Mary Dickerson, Mrs. Jennie Dickson, Mrs. Cleo Layton, and Mrs. Josephine Mitchell and eight grandchildren.  Two daughters, Zella Funkhouser and Mrs. Gertrude Claus, a son Kenneth, and a sister Mrs. India Walker, are deceased.  Funeral service will be held Monday morning at 10:30 o'clock at the home of a son, Gideon Funkhouser, east of Fayette with the Rev F.A. Williams officiating.  Burial will be in Howard cemetery east of Fayette.

Document was provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Homer Turpin

Picture provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Permelia Turpin

Picture provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Harvey Turpin

Picture provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Flora Turpin

Picture provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Viola Turpin

Viola was the wife of John Francis Everett and the mother of Geoffrey and William Everett
Photo supplied by Rebecca L. Armstrong Merritt

Mary Ellen Turpin

Picture provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Rachel Turpin Funkhouser

Picture provided by Rebecca Armstrong Merritt

Tamura Jones' Tweet

Saw a retweet on twitter from Find A Grave,  the original tweet was from Tamura Jones "#genealogy Genealogy without proof is Mythology: attributing an aphorism on source http://www.tamurajones.net/GenealogyWithoutProofIsMythology.xhtml  Which led me to a very interesting article and inspired me to blog about the mythology some use as Genealogy.  The article written by Tamura Jones deals with the hunt to find who first coined the term "Genealogy without proof is Mythology" and it's various forms used in our popular culture. Trying to find the source of a well used and preached phrase must have been a fun hunt for Mr. Jones.  His article was fascinating to say the least, and I encourage all to read the article at http://www.tamurajones.net.  We as a group love to use phrases, to make some one remember to source or to check a source.   Mr. Jones writes a very detailed article on how this phrase and it's variation have developed in our popular culture, and there origin. Thanks to the internet a phrase or a term can spread like wildfire, in our modern world. In reading his article I started thinking, if a phrase can grow so quickly in our popular culture, and be used so readily, without being attributed to anyone; how does this effect genealogy.   Would we add a ancestor to our tree so easily as we pick up and use a phrase without a known  source.  No!!  But, we do all the time, because that is the nature of our society, we like quick answers to our research. I like to call it ADHD or fast food mentality; we jump from one idea or source to the next, and most could careless if the source is cited or has any documentation to back it up. They want to fill up that virtual tree as fast as they possible can.  The instant fix can be seen in our news, in our child rearing and even in our collective attention spans.  We are so used to instant results; old fashion research , has given way to those little leaves on Ancestry.com, which has become the nature of the beast. Mr. Jones in his research took the time to research the originator of the phrase, which led him to his best suspect Mary L. Henke.  One may wonder why knowing who coined a term is so important and it evolution in popular society.  I see it as important in that if a phrase can spread so quickly and the originator forgotten so readily; does this mean that someday soon all those genealogy trees without sources, will crowd out the little sourced and researched trees of the world. Just because something is written of paper or stored on a thumb drive does not make it genealogy.  Genealogy does take proof, and documentation.    Thank you Mr. Jones for a most interesting article, and inspiring me to think!




I  also learned another valuable lesson to watch what you are clicking on and make sure you are ready to post or tweet, and not just posting thoughts for a later post, and idea for a later post.

Tennis Funkhouser

The short life of Tennis Funkhouser, a conflict of dates.  Little Tennis Funkhouser shares a gravestone with his parents Reed and Rachel. The monument is grey granite and it is deeply carved, which puts it as suspect as being the original stone for Tennis.  Tennis dies in 1893, but his sister who dies in 1891 has a period marble tombstone.  It appears that the names on the stone were carved at the same time.  Reed dieing in 1939. Rachel in 1919 and Tennis in 1893 make one believe that the stone was set after Reed's death or maybe Rachel's.  My comment is that we have found another problem in that P.T. Lambert in his  book on the Jacob Turpin Family places the birth of Tennis 12 Aug 1892 and his death 3 Sep 1903; so maybe this is why we have not been able to find the death certificate for Tennis in 1893.  New hunt.  Yeah

Samuel Howard, Matilda Howard and Rebecca Howard Brother and Sister

According to a History of Hendricks county under the sketch of Lucian Funkhouser the mother of Rebecca Howard is identified as Ellen Ford ie Fort.  Matilda Howard's parents are also identified as Samuel Howard and Ellen Fort.  So are the parents of Samuel Howard.  I have not verified that John B. Howard is their brother, but odds are good that he will turn out to be a brother. 

SullivanMunce Cultural Center

We would like to thank Janet Baker the Executive Director of the SullivanMunce Cultural Center for providing us with a picture of  Miss. Emma R. Smith portrait; which was commissioned by her former classmates.  You can view the portrait details on a previous sketch of Emma.  For more information on the SullivanMunce Cultural Center can be found at
http://www.sullivanmunce.org/index.html.  This is a site worth checking out.

Emma R. Smith

Portrait provided by the SullivanMunce Cultural Center

Where Deers had been sleeping in the thicket at Dickerson Cemetery

Hugh M. Funkhouser

Walking in Howard Cemetery you will come across a dark grey tombstone a very unremarkable and unadorned marker.  The Inscription reads Son of L.G. and M. E. Funkhouser born 14 Aug 1907 died 4 Aug 1909.  Nothing else identifies this little guy.  He did not live long enough to be counted on a census record, and to most genealogist or even cemetery preservationist he would have been lost to time.  But, we at the Howard Project are not most, and we are like a dog with a bone; we don't give up and care deeply for those in Howard's.   These are not stones, they are the LAST monument, or in some cases the only monument to a persons life;  especially those little ones.  We take it for granted now that there are picture of our kids throughout every stage of their precious lives.  That was not the case, prior to the invention of the portable affordable camera.  So pictures usually did not exist until a child became school aged.  So the only marker left to prove that they lived on this earth is their cemetery marker, and unfortunately many have identified the child as son or daughter of whomever.  Their stone does not give them their proper name, and with time who they were has been lost.  I honestly don't believe that this was done maliciously, people thought their would be family around to always pass down the knowledge.  But, in researching Lucian Funkhouser's line nothing is mentioned, about the two children that passed.  In a History of Hendricks county it is mentioned that there were two children that passed, but does not name them.  So after coming home from the cemetery, Ray and I were both tired, but I was proud about the amount of walking I have been doing and being able to withstand the pain longer.  We put in five hours and Luke Everett, Ray's cousin and fellow 4-Her came to help for an hour and a half.  He wanted to make sure that we would not get mad at him when he left,  mad we were just thrilled for the help. So Ray and I quit at three, he packed all our junk up and we were off. I had planned to attend the Boone County Genealogical Society in a few hours, but my husband is working a different shift and it was nice to have the entire family all together for some quality time.  But my plans were made as I wanted to met Kim Hancock another preservationist who would be giving the program on graveyard restoration.  After spending sometime together, the guys started to do outside stuff, and I started to check the blog and do some genealogy work.  Wanted to get the day's tombstone pictures up loaded. 
It bothers me to know end not to have a person identified with a family.  Every one in Howard, I believe is connected in someway, and having a small little boy nameless in Howard Cemetery bothered me.  I knew by the L.G. and M.E. Funkhouser, who's son he is supposed to be, but I of coarse had done the Funkhouser tree and contacted other genealogist who researched the Funkhouser, but no one mentioned the son's name.  From the 1910 Census I knew that two children were passed, but I needed a name.  So as my guys tended horses and did yard work, I started hunting for a name.  I kept hunting and hunting, and I was able to find, that a son was born to Lucian Funkhouser and his wife on 14 Aug 1907, and I even remember finding that record earlier  and saving it.  I should have looked in my saved material before I started hunting again, but oh well.  The only information was that he was male.  So the birth record did not help.  So then I hunted up death records and their he was Hugh M. Funkhouser, passing away on 4 Apr 1909.  So now I know who he was, and have named him.   But just after my joy of finding him, my husband comes in dragging a saddle and asked "Didn't you have a genealogy meeting you really wanted to go to".  Despite my laptop having a clock in the corner I had totally lost track of time.  The few times I did look, it was too early to give up the hunt.  So the moral of the story is first never schedule a cemetery workday on the same day you have a workshop you want to attend; check you fancy gadget calendars; and don't start researching if you have somewhere you want to be.   Because my one hour, turned into three, and I missed out on meeting Kim. 
On a side line, I hate daylight saving time.  I used to be able to tell the time by the amount of light outside.  Maybe someday I will get used to daylight savings time but I doubt it.  I have lived predominatley in two states in the Union, Arizona and Indiana, and NO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME, until Mr. Daniels.  I could have sworn I voted to not go with Daylight Savings, but of coarse what we the people want does not go over with big business.  Okay done with my rant, and the sun really did not play a role; as I would have had to look up from the screen as I was hunting.   I hate I missed Kim as she is related to the Carter's in Howard Cemetery. 

Funkhouser grave 7-6

James Funkhouser

Son of Lucian Funkhouser

After hours of research, and missing a Boone County Genealogy Meeting, I really wanted to attend, but I could not give up this trail.  I was afraid I might not get back to it if a left off to attend the meeting. 
So Drum Roll Please, his name is Hugh M. Funkhouser

Lydia McDaniels

Cleaned by Luke Everett and Ray Everett

Elias and Susana Larsh stone

Cleaned by Luke Everett

H.E. Larsh

Luke Everett and the stone of Elias and Susanna Larah

Bertie Larsh

Leota J. Funkhouser

Luke Everett cleaning Bertie Larsh's stone

Samuel Howard

John W. Doyal

Matilda Doyal stone before cleaning

Ray cleaning Joseph D. Todd stone

Sarah J. Riner

We have a Sarah J. Riner buried in Howard Cemetery she was born in 1888 and dies in 1930.  Her stone is grey granite and has dogwood flowers that are carved on the four corners.  Her stone is set just north of that of David Doyal and Margaret Rader.  Now to who Sarah J. Riner could have been. 

In the 1920 Census in Indiana a S. Riner Female born in 1888 is a patient in the Central Indiana Hospital for the Insane.

In Florida in 1930 a Sarah Smith Riner dies in Jackson Florida.  

There are Riner families in Boone in Census records for the time period.  Also Riner infants in Birth Index for Hendricks county.  I anyone out in cyberspace knows who Sarah J. Riner is we would greatly appreciate your help.   

I think that she may be the daughter of David Doyal because they did have a daughter born in in 1888 who disappears after the 1900 Census.  Do not know if she died or got married as so far we can not find any documentation.

Boone County Master Gardener's

We have contacted the Boone County Master Gardener's to help with the landscape at the cemetery.  We need to preserve the Yucca, Lillies and Peony in the planned landscaping, they are going to have to be moved as they are impacting the stones;  these families did not foresee their plantings toppling their loved ones markers.  All three of these plants mentioned are not native to Indiana, neither is the state flower Peony; but in doing research even in the 1800' non native plants were already being used in garden and cemetery settings in central Indiana.  Just like a pioneer would bring items with them that reminded them of home, they also wanted plants that were familiar to them in this new untamed wilderness.  It is our need to settle and civilize an area that changes it and mold it to it's new inhabitants.

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How to Clean a Cemetery Stone 101

The first step in cleaning a cemetery stone is to identify what type of stone you are about to clean.  Granite is a stone that is almost indestructible, and only really needs a scrub brush and water, as biological's do not readily like to live on it. Do research and never never use dishsoap, bleach, or phosphate cleaners, on any stone even if a monument company tells you to. 

When cleaning both Limestone and Marble stone we again recommend just water.  Most grave yards do not have a water source, so you will need to bring plenty of water with you.  We like to use a brand new never used weed sprayer to apply our water.  We usually start from the bottom of the base and work up.  We use  nylon bristle scrub brushes.  We never use metal!!! We prefer white bristles,  which are getting harder and harder to find.  Wet the area to be scrubbed with water, scrub the area and rinse,  rinse and scrub.  Do Not walk away in the middle of a scrubbing without rinsing, the lichen can leave a green residue if not rinsed straight away.  Clean a small area, then more on to the next area.  We recommend using a plastic butter knife to remove any large or heavy lichen areas.  Because in the pressure that is used in scrubbing you don't want to damage the stone.    For stubborn stains we recommend Ammonia in a one to four mixture.  One part Ammonia four part water.  If you can smell strong ammonia in your spray bottle, it is too strong.   Wet stone with plan water, spray ammonia mixture, scrub and rinse, rinse and rinse, with plain water.    We also have had luck will Orvus paste in a five gallon bucket on the final cleaning. With Orvus you only need a little on a bucket, a little Orvus goes along way.   Rinse and Rinse and Rinse some more.  Do you see a trend, water is the stone cleaners friend.   

Mabel Funkhouser stone 3-12

Daughter of Iverson and Lula Funkhouser   Mabel was only 3months and 23day old when she passed