Saturday, November 3, 2007

Who Is Buried Next To My Great Aunt ?



A trip to the cemetery is always helpful in tracing your tree. My Great Aunt Katie was buried in Crane Cemetery in Palmyra Twp. We found out that a William Butler was buried next to her


I believe my sister Helen did some digging on this little mystery. It turned out to be quite a story that is still unraveling.


By going by the date on the tombstone, we were able to go to the local library and look up the story on the death in the paper. It turned out that he was a Sergt. William Butler, and he was killed in the Indian uprising in Minnesota.


He was also the son of my Great Grandmother. The jury is still out if she was married before, and who was her first husband. According to his stone he was born in 1868. Her first child was with Owen Clark was born in 1871.


The point of this story is to make sure you not only pay attention to the ancestor you go to find at the cemetery, but also look at the graves around them. You never know who you are going to find!
By the way, Happy Anniversary Carolyn and Jim!!