http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=4316350785635987648 Cave Dwellings: Genealogy..What Does It Mean?
Cave Dwellings

Buckhorn Creek, Lake O' The Pines, Jefferson, TX

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Genealogy..What Does It Mean?

  OK, this is quite a stretch for me, to be serious about a topic for any length of time…I am quite taken with our family Genealogy and it occurs to me to wonder …WHY?..These people are the past..not the future.., many of them long gone, their time has passed.  Why, then, do we want to know MORE about our families?? We have our own families now, what does it matter who, when or where we came from?  I have a feeling there aren’t many of you out there who do not sit and wonder about  your ancestry…and the older we get , the more we find it important to leave a legacy to our current families about our lives.  I also think that the access to records being so available at our fingertips on the computer has created a new interest in Genealogy…it sure has for me….

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Crystal Lake, IL HS Class of 1898, left. (My Grandma is back row standing left. Her waist is smaller than my leg.) Middle photo is Uncle Jr. with his Dad,(Den’s Grandpa), Clarence Bark…and right, is McGyver’s Mom and Dad’s wedding pic..Ben Campbell Cave and Katherine Bark..

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My Dad, Don Ross, left. (why didn’t I inherit that musical talent?) My mom, Cora and my Dad, middle. Right is my Uncle Walt and Aunt Edie, ALCAN HWY 1948.

So…..When I found that we were only 40 miles from one of my elusive relatives, McGyver and I made it a point to drive the 40 miles and find his resting place…

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I cannot begin to tell you my feelings here…I soooo want to know this man, Eyles Sylvester Harnish.  He was my grandmother’s brother’s son…(her nephew).  For some reason, I cannot find out very much about him. Fortunately, I do have many family pictures of him…Kudos to Grandma (Harnish) Ross for writing on the back of nearly every photo I have of her family!!

Eyle’s Grandfather (my Grandma Ross’s father) is another elusive soul..and how did Eyles and his wife end up buried here in Texas anyway?  Oh, don’t worry..now that I have gotten this far, his life will slowly unfold before me, and it is becoming my new “part time job”….Please! Everyone!  Remember to document, on the backs of photos, the dates and names, so your kids and grandkids know WHO the Heck, WHEN the Heck and WHERE the Heck!!…OK, enough said already, I’m getting waaaay too loud.

The rains have finally quit here and we have been reintroduced to the sun.  Hi Dude.   Long time, no see.  Wednesday evening we had our first campfire in 3 days…We were on “cozy cocktail hour” withdrawal..

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I took my walk separate from Dennis today.  I take 2 steps to his one step and I swear I walk twice as far!! Plus, I take my camera and we wouldn’t want to compromise his walk time …Is he running in the Chicago Marathon this year??? ….Whatever.

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Do you see how green it is here?  This means the mosquitos are quietly plotting.  They are sitting in their little green puddles of standing water as I write, just waiting for nightfall ….and a full frontal attack..And we, the evening campfire Cave Dwellers act like a Trojan Horse, unknowingly bringing the little varmints into the Hiker on our hair, body and clothing..even riding on the edge of our cocktail glasses…Deep Woods Off, you say?  That stuff is nasty and smells like a surgical unit at a hospital…Skin So Soft??? ..tried it…I smelled like a cheap Laundromat and still got bitten….No, McGyver and “moi” choose to sit close to the smoky fire, hoping they cough up a lung,  leaving us aloneFingers crossed.

I know they needed the rain down here though….Just look at these poor dead trees…  

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This big tree was totally horizontal, and when the winds and rain came, it just got pulled out of the ground, roots and all…

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This sign is posted in many places around the park.  In other words, “Do NOT hurt yourself trying to drag whole dead trees into your campsites for firewood.  We are not responsible for hauling your sorry asses out of the woods,  and do not even MENTION the word lawsuit!!!..”

We are slowly winding down to our last day here.  I took the Hummer feeder down, and also the hanging feeder…The Hummers are late arrivals to our party this year…(actually they were a “no show”)…and I also got tired of fighting the squirrel over sunflower seeds.  He’s not pushing me around any longer..so there!!

Thanks to all who read my blogs to the bottom…I understand that some of you are also getting tired of riding in the crowded back seat of the GMC….And to Kenny, who thinks something smells bad back there…NO MORE BEANS FOR YOU!!….

“My ancestors wandered lost in the wilderness for forty years because even in biblical times, men would not stop to ask for directions.”  ~Elayne Boosler

13 comments:

  1. I think the sign is a warning that a tree might fall on you or your camper
    -once it is down it isn't likely to harm you

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  2. One of my most moving (???) moments was when I stopped to use an outhouse in a church cemetery in Pennsylvania and real close to the entrance of the privy was the gravesite of my great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents. He had fought in the Revolutionary War. Bill has dragged me through more cemeteries, libraries, historical centers etc etc etc in the USA and in England finding his ancestors, I really appreciate any information anyone is able to find.

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  3. It is just fascinating to see from whence u come..and how u got there, by whom and why. They were some intrepid people. I have a great grandmother who came thru Prince Edward Island from Ireland in a covered wagon to Oregon, now what a trip that must have been!!

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  4. Ha, ha, that reads weird, well not in the covered wagon from Ireland, that would have a trick :)

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  5. With digital photos, we need to go into the files and type in the names and places, etc. or the photos will just have a number on them. Makes it easier to find a photo also because you can search for a name.

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  6. heading home already?..geesh the fun was just beginning!!

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  7. HIPHIP HOORAY on writing on photos. I have 2 boxes full of family photos, problem is I dont have a clue who these people are.Some of these photos are very very old and anyone who would have known who they are have passed. Figured out one was a cousin who rode w/ Teddy Roosevelt. Giveaway was horse and uniform.
    Love that you slow down to take pics, they are lovely.
    I always tell Sam if I move fast enough maybe my age wont catch up with me, maybe Den is living by that philosophy

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  8. When I was in college, I took all of my mother's old photos and put them into an album..all labeled and everything. In her last years, my mom, suffering from Alzheimer's, took that album all apart, and now I have no idea what happened to all of the pictures. :(

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  9. Oh... poor Judy!

    I love learning about the past of our families! And reading about your findings too! How exciting for you to have those old photos! We don't have many like that.

    I changed Dr.'s a couple of years ago and turned out the new one I went to is my second cousin... we share a great Grandfather!!! Who knew!

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  10. When I would ask my dad about his ancestors, he would just tell me it was a waste of time, he didn't care, they were dead anyway. Luckily my mom and aunt were helpful and kept some photos. Ancestry.com helps me keep track of all of it. It's a fun hobby and you can forget about it for months or years, but later come back and work on another "branch" again.

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  11. Interesting blog and a great read. You sure do love them Cemetery's!

    Have a safe and fun trip home!

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  12. butterbean carpenterMarch 23, 2012 at 8:06 PM

    Howdy D&D,
    Can you believe a business doing what that Moon Dogs did to the Crusin2somes.. That company has 4-5
    stores in that area;Corpus Christi,
    Rockport, Fulton, Aransas Pass.. How do they stay in business? With over 87,000 readers plus all of their friends it shouldn't be long before they won't have ANY CUSTOMERS!!! RVrs vote with their pocketbooks and don't like to be
    TREATED BADLY!!!

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  13. I share your aversion to commercial insect repellants. Rubbing alcohol works okay for a little while, I've also used a homemade catnip tea spray in the past. I'm always on the lookout for a safe product that doesn't smell too strongly, so if you ever run across one make sure to post about it!

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