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January 2, 2011

2010 in review

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From the Headstoners: Thanks for making 2010 a successful year for us! We’re working on getting started on some of the old places we’ve visited in the last 8 years, as well as finding even more places to visit in our new home. I promise an update about our findings in the saga of Andrew Hellman (aka, Hatchetman) is still being worked on as well!

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,400 times in 2010. That’s about 8 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 15 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 49 posts. There were 72 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 125mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was January 6th with 172 views. The most popular post that day was Meet the living.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were graveaddiction.com, forgottenoh.com, k8nd.com, facebook.com, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for tico cemetery, andrew hellman, tico ohio, hell house urbana ohio, and piatt castles.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Meet the living December 2008

2

The View from Donn Piatt’s Tomb October 2009
2 comments

3

The Greatest Criminal Ever to Perpretrate Murder January 2009
3 comments

4

Son of Hatchetman October 2009

5

Knock-Knock-Knocking on Hayden’s Door December 2008
1 comment

 

July 24, 2010

The Young Headstoner Chronicles

Posted by Megan-Marie under Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Tomorrow is my birthday! (Happy birthday!) Why, thank you! This has actually nothing to do with anything I am about to post, but a birthday seems like a good excuse to get nostalgic. So I offer yet another flashback post, this one from 1994, when my early headstoning days brought me to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.

Sleepy Hollow is Concord’s biggest. Not only does it already claim some 10,000 burials, but it is still active. It was designed in 1855 by Cleveland and Copeland, and Ralph Waldo Emerson actually gave the dedication speech on September 29 of that year. He would eventually be buried there himself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's Grave

Sleepy Hollow is notable also as the resting place of nearly 30 famous individuals, among them some of the US’s most noted writers and thinkers. Their congregation is referred to as “Author’s Ridge.” Apart from Ralph Waldo Emerson, some other especially notable figures whose graves we saw there were . . . (more…)

 

July 10, 2010

A Piatt Adventure

Posted by Megan-Marie under Logan, Piatt Family Cemetery, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , |
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Exciting developments here with the Headstoners this month. We’re up to eight fans on Facebook–thanks guys! I’m trying to take a little more interest in both the FB page and the Shutterfly account, which is where our main pictures are going to be posted just in the interest of viewability, which is officially a word now. Everything is a slow process, especially when you take into account the fact that the two of us are in fact knee-deep in trying to move to Indiana, so I hope everyone will bear with us until things get back to normal.

Actually what I would like to draw attention to this week is something that came to my attention in the last week of June and I ended up having to put it off for the Fourth of July post. In October, I posted about the Piatt Cemetery in Logan Co., which as I mentioned then, I visit all the time. This post attracted the attention of Jeff, who is engaged in a really fascinating quest that, as a Headstoner, I was pleased to get in on, and felt it was my duty to share with everybody.

Jeff has in his possession a headstone, a homeless headstone, if you will, and rather than simply dropping it off at the local graveyard or hanging onto it, he has been trying to figure out where it came from so he can return it. The headstone is a sort of tapering shape and matches others already in the cemetery (although to be fair, it’s a common enough shape for the time) . . . Click here for a slideshow of Piatt cemetery shots from the last three years.

Anyway, the stone lists the names of six Piatt(e) children; their parents are identified as “R.J. and Anna.” Abram–the builder of Mac-A-Cheek, if you weren’t paying attention–had a son named Riveroak John, and the names on the stone line up with records identifying their children. Jeff got into contact with me, and I put him in touch with Margaret Piatt, and I hope that pretty soon, the mystery can come to its desired conclusion and the stone returned to its rightful home.

I don’t want to post other people’s pictures here, or tell you too much of his story, because he can tell you himself. Check out this forum at GraveAddiction, and read all about Jeff’s fascinating headstoning investigation!

 

June 26, 2010

Flashback

Posted by Megan-Marie under Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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Okay, right after swearing we weren’t going to let the site slide, another month goes by sans posts. I’ll remedy that. Seriously. Going to grad school is hard! You can appreciate that, right? But let’s find something to post on, just to fill the time.

My Headstoning actually started quite early. My dad, an avid birdwatcher, had us down to Green Lawn Cemetery on a regular basis, and I always enjoyed that. Another fun thing was visiting various famous interments on family trips. In 1991, we took a couple of trips to the East Coast, including this one to Old Graveyard in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania–the gravesite of legendary Molly Pitcher.

Mom, Sister, Me

Checking out Molly Pitcher

Running through Headstones

That is one of my favorite pictures because it just sums things up so well. There I am, wandering around through a maze of toppled, crowded headstones. I’m not looking for anything, I’m just hanging out, exploring, seeing what I see. Really that’s the reason to get into cemeteries in the first place, isn’t it? Anyway, moving onwardly!

Arguably one of the most important burial sites (or sights?) to see, for an American, is the tomb of George Washington located at Mount Vernon. We visited there while on our D.C. trip in 1991. To make things easier for you, I’m the white glowy thing directly in front of the flag on the left. My sister is in blue standing next to me. Admittedly, I am way more enthralled by the fencing than in the tomb itself, but give me a break! I’m six! Actually, I am probably not six yet. In any event, you’ve got to admit that the seeds are there, definitely there.

Father of the Country!

The same year–and possibly even earlier in the year because I look ridiculously young in this picture as opposed to the others–we went to Boston, Massachusetts (not Austen). Boston and Philadelphia always stick out when I remember the places I’ve been, probably because we (1) did a lot of walking both places (2) stayed there for awhile. This is a picture of me at the grave of John Winthrop–either the Massachusetts  Bay Colony Governor or the Colonial Royal Governor, I’m not sure which one. But this is at Kings Chapel Burial Ground in Boston, MA.

Young Headstoner in Pink

And pretty much that’s all there is to say about early headstoning. As you can no doubt see, my love of cemeteries started early–I love to point to the picture of me hugging a tombstone in the earlier post (see The Littlest Headstoner of Them All)–although my interest in history and genealogy didn’t come on board until much later.

 

April 9, 2010

Things & Stuff

Posted by Megan-Marie under Uncategorized
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Okay, for anyone who has been really broken up about no updates for all of March, I deeply apologize. Things have been busy and just crazy, but our last post sounded so dire, I felt I had to come in and say something. I do have some stuff to post, a couple bitsy cemeteries and things, but can’t get to it today. So, on a less dire note, let me leave you with . . .

Headstoners: Kentucky?

Headstoners: Iowa?

Illinois is out ;) Sorry Illinois.

 

February 27, 2010

Something, is coming…

Posted by Kristine under Uncategorized
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We do promise that an update is in the works, but a sudden change in life has temporarily postponed our usual Friday updates. Let’s just say, Headstoners: Illinois might be coming to a blog near you soon-ish…

 

January 15, 2010

Ur doin’ it wrong!

Posted by Megan-Marie under Uncategorized | Tags: , , |
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Cemetery restoration is hard. You might remember we’ve posted about it a couple of times, sometimes with criticism where it has been done badly, and sometimes with lavish praise where it has impressed us, but now–courtesy of the “There, I Fixed It” blog–I have an example that may make me never again be quite so hard on those restoration artists who choose to do their noble work in . . . well, materials other than duck tape. (Enjoy!)

http://thereifixedit.com/2010/01/01/someone-made-a-grave-mistake/

 

July 25, 2009

Good intentions?

Posted by Kristine under Uncategorized
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While I know that cemeteries across the country are restored daily, and I am a big fan of such efforts, I also have to confess not being intimately acquainted with the process. From what I had understood and seen on occasion, I believed it usually meant relaying foundations and helping crumbled upright stones to stand.  So when I stumbled across McGraw Chapel in March while killing time before an interview for my job, the restoration in progress was not exactly the picture I had come to understand.

A restored headstone with information covered

A restored headstone with information covered

As you can see from this photo, the information at the bottom of the headstone has been covered by the new base that was laid. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose? I mean, it’s not even just a saying or other type of inscription, it’s how old this girl was.

Restorations

Restorations

The restoration was actually still in progress at that time, though it has since been finished. Most of the work has been good and rebuilt bases to stones with out information at the bottom, but the few that do are frustrating. I applaud whoever was taking the time (not sure if it was a group or the township), but maybe a little more care could have been taken. Otherwise, the cemetery was fairly average and mostly older stones from the late 1800′s and very early 1900′s. There were only a handful of trees on the property located on State Route 117, which is a major road out of the county.

View of McGraw Chapel

View of McGraw Chapel

It’s not hard to locate, though it would be easy to drive by it and have to turn around. From U.S. Route 33, take the S.R. 117 exit and head north/west toward Huntsville. After going through the village, you will pass a quarry on your right and several houses followed by a farm on the left. The cemetery will be on your left on the corner with County Road 96. If you turn south on the county road, there’s a small driveway to park in.

 

July 3, 2009

Veterans of the War for Independence

Posted by Megan-Marie under Belmont, Champaign, Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Cemetery, Myrtle Tree Baptist, Ross, Salem, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Naturally now that I’m perusing the C-Files (Cemetery Files) for shots of Revolutionary War veterans, I’m only finding War of 1812ers, etc. But I thought for the Fourth of July, I’d post a couple of our Revolutionary War heroes whose graves we’ve happened upon. I figured there must be at least a few of these because we tend to make it a habit to snap off pictures of them whenever we find them.

The Fourth of July is a nice, low-maintenence holiday I can really get behind. I’m not a big fan of holidays, as many people might know, which is strange given my absolute delight whenever I don’t have to work. However, the problem with holidays is that most encompass a variety of activities that might as well be work. The Fourth is nice. All it requires is that my parents and I settle down at some point during the day and watch Independence Day. I seem to recall watching ESB one time on the Fourth, but if you think about it, Return of the Jedi is the more appropriate film . . . Okay! Back to focus! The point is, I like the Fourth, and so the Headstoners Present for you a special collection of Revolutionary War heroes for your enjoyment.

First up is my personal favorite, Mr. Matthew Ferguson.

The grave of Matthew Ferguson

The grave of Matthew Ferguson

 Matthew Ferguson was born in County Antrim, Ireland (now Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland) in October 1748, the son of Irishman James Ferguson (1721-1771) and Englishwoman Rachel Walker (1720-1791). He was the younger brother of William (1746-1833), the twin of James (1748-1806), and the older brother of Margaret (1750-1835). The family relocated themselves to the state of Pennsylvania. (more…)

 

June 11, 2009

The Littlest Headstoner of them All

Posted by Megan-Marie under Uncategorized | Tags: , , , |
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It’s not quite Friday yet, but I wanted to d osomething a little special today. Mostly because I was scanning in old photo albums for another project–the, uh, scan in all my oold photo albums project–I stumbled across a few of these pictures and thought I would share one of my earliest headstoning moments.

Headstoning, 1991

Headstoning, 1991

In 1991, my family took a trip to Philadelphia and while we were there, we went to visit Christ Church Burial Ground (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church_Burial_Ground), which is the interrment location of Benjamin Franklin, among other people. As you can see from the picture, I was even then comfortable and on intimate terms with ye old boneyards.

Ben and Me

Ben and Me

Benjamin Franklin was buried in 1790 . I love my little “Yeah, I’m a headstoner” expression on my face. I don’t remember a whole lot about the cemetery apart from these pictures, unfortunately, other than my typical childhood fascination with and enjoyment of time spent in cemeteries. Well, come on, this was a long time ago . . . and I’m a tiny bit rushed right now. So enjoy the flashback.

 

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