St. Mary's Cemetery in Marion, Ohio

Look at this beautiful sculpture of Jesus on the Cross.  It's taken in St. Mary's Cemetery in Marion, Ohio.  When I was a child we lived in Marion and would cut through this beautiful cemetery to get to The Park and to Harding's Memorial.  I don't think as a child I paid much attention to the beauty there.  Now, I enjoy traveling to cemeteries and find them interesting both for the artistic older stones, the history you can learn while there.  Sometimes the names you see will match those you see on street signs, sometimes other things jump out at me.

 Look at the dates here, born in 1844, Domenico Sansotta.  This jumped out at me for two reasons, the date and the name reminded me of what I thought I heard a woman I work with say was her maiden name.

 This jumped out, as it was nearby and is the same name, but look carefully...this is a Bronze Star Medal World War II Veteran.  I always love to honor our Veterans.  And certainly with the name of Dominic and the above Domenico there are related.

 Goodness this family truly served our country.  Joseph here was in The Navy, while above Dominic was in The Army; both in World War II.

And another beautiful Sansotta stone.  As it turns out, this is indeed family to my co=worker, so I was so pleased I had photographed these stones.  Makes me feel closer to her, honoring her family.  I was visiting this cemetery with a childhood friend who also remarked about how beautiful the cemetery was and how differently we feel about it now as adults vs a cut through when we were children.

When hubby and I travel, I almost always visit an interesting cemetery.  You learn so much about differently areas of the country, or other cultures if not in the U.S.

Did a little research and found Domenico immigrated here in September of 1921 on the San Giorgio ship from Naples Italy to the port in New York before settling in Marion, Ohio.  His parents were Diego and Pellonia (Pisane) Sansotta.  He was born in Cimina, Italy.  He lived to be 86.  I have his last address noted and hope to be able to photograph the house this interesting Italian Immigrant lived in.  He was an American Citizen.  I think I would like to have known this interesting man.

Related some of this to people who live in Marion, I also learned that Marion had a very strong and rich Italian history...I didn't know that before I took these photographs in St. Mary's Cemetery.

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Beaufort National Cemetery

(A-Z Challenge G post)
Graveyards.  Yes, I almost always find a graveyard to visit when we travel.  Why?  I find them fascinating.  The history you see with dates, the beautiful artwork on stones, particularly the older stones, and because most graveyards are pretty, and so serene.

This was a quicker then normal visit, as it was getting late in the day, the sun was setting and it being January, even in South Carolina it gets nippy.  We still had to drive back to our condo in Hilton Head.  Look how perfect each row is.  I'm always impressed with the precision in National Cemeteries.

Precision, even with curves.  The wreaths are left from the National program Wreaths Across America. 
By mid January when we visited, most had been removed, as per protocol.  But laying the wreaths and removing them in a big job.  You pay your respect to those there and I believe you can learn a bit about the area while spending time in a graveyard.

A traditional stone, this one for Daniel Miller, United States Navy #334.    He was someone's son, someone's friend, perhaps someone's father or brother.

Many of The Natl. Cemeteries have a book where you look up your name or other family names.  The last 2 listed are Holladay's, spelled the same as my husband's family.

Carrying across the page, I need 2 photo's but have the plot info 17-0-30 and birth and death dates of Captain Frederick Owen Holladay and his wife who is listed as a Dependant June Hoban Holladay.  Since taking the photo, I've done minimal research and found Capt. Holladay served in both WWII and The Korean War.  He was born in Newton, Mississippi the son of Owen A. Holladay and Kate Hayes Holladay.  He was a ham operator, graduated from Milsaps College and attended George Washington University and Temple University.  We spotted the book and got the info on our way out so we didn't actually find his grave.  Next trip though we'll be ready.

This stone though really got my attention.  It's not the standard military issue.  It reads, Sacred to the memory of Lorenzo S. Snow, Ordinary Seaman of the US Steammer....and I can't make out the ship (will need to research to see if I can find it), who fell in action on Stone River, Dec 25, 1863.  Gallantly battling for his flag and his country.  Love is Eternal.  How sad, died on Christmas Day.  I will be doing some follow up to learn more of this man's story.

Yes, I almost always take time to tour a graveyard when I travel.

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(#9, start with 529)

Favorite Places

A few posts ago, I asked you to pack and be ready to travel with me to one of my favorite places. Packing...well, you don't need much. This time of year-- sunscreen, good walking shoes, camera, and water. I'll bring along "the kit".

I traveled with my SIL to the barn last week to photograph Tango Tricks, and on the way there we spotted a cemetery. Not a new cemetery; but what appeared to be an historic graveyard. We stopped on the way back and I got some photographs. No, I'm not a goth and no I'm not obsessed with death or morbid things. Cemeteries to me are stories waiting to be told. Everyone buried there is a wife, a mother, a sister, a brother, a husband, a cousin, a grandfather, or a grandmother. Everyone! They all have a story they'd like us to know, to share; even if you're not family.

Randomly I snapped photo's, pointing to a few I thought were particularly interesting to Jan. She remarked about the peacefulness, serenity and beauty of the cemetery. We were high on a hill, overlooking a bountiful cornfield and it was truly beautiful.

I did minimal research here to prove a point. The point, look what one can learn; what story one can tell with just a little bit of curiosity.

James Garlinghouse (rather unusual name I thought, and so I photographed the stone, and wow, look at the dates). died in 1850. Died before the civil war, at the age of 85........that means James was born in 1765 Before we gained our Independence from England. Think about that for a moment. This stone marking the life of James Garlinghouse is 159 years old. If only it could talk to us. Well, in a way it can and does.

What I found without doing lots research is the following:
James was born in 1765 in Sussex, NJ. He died at the age of 85 years and 8 months in the county of Delaware, Ohio. His military records, indicate burial is unknown; with a side note that says buried in Fancher Maple Grove Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio. The cemetery is in Harlem Township in Delaware County, and while there we speculated that it was probably a church cemetery in the beginning.............Maple Grove, perhaps is the name of the church?

The official Roster for the state of Ohio for soldiers of The American Revoluntion list him with a matching date of death. Our quick little stop, and we're looking at a stone for someone who fought for this country's independence.......and we did this 1 week before this country's celebration on the 4th of July! That too me is awesome.

Futher speculative information says this James and his brother John built a cabin along side a Mill, and Mary Garlinghouse, daughter of James is listed as the first white woman born in the area of Springwater. Springwater is in Pennsylvania. So........why did a man born in NJ, end up buried in Ohio, if he had a daughter born in Pennsylvania? This was, after all before frequent flyer miles. The research does go onto say, the connection of the Springhill Garlinghouse clan hasn't been proven by way of documentation; but it's listed as highly probable.

Math....math is alway in play when telling stories of those that came before us. Math tells me that If this James was born in 1765 he would have been 11 in 1776. Hum.......yes it happened. Then too the date could be wrong, after all records were not infallible, and people didn't read and write...so...........we do have a story; but, surely there's more

If indeed this is a Revolutionary War Veteran, let's doth our hats. If not, well let's honor him anyway. After all he was someone's son, perhaps a brother, a husband and more. If only that stone could talk and tell us more.
***
I like cemeteries, they are filled with history, with stories of people like you and me, of families who paved the way for us, who gave so much of themselves to the country and the land. Visiting cemeteries, photographing and documenting the stones and the stories they hold are to me ways to honor them. The kit I referred to above is my gravin box. In it I keep a pair of gloves, spray bottle of water, soft brush, American Flags, and trimmers. Sometimes one needs to do a little clean up around these old stones. The water can help cox the story from a hard to read stone.

Next we'll be traveling to sun, sand, and surf. Bring your bathing suits and journals.

The Presidio

The Spanish arrived in 1776, post fell to Mexian rule in 1822, became a US Army Base in 1846. Really, The Presidio is sooooooooo much more than a movie. The US Army closed it's base in 1989.

1,491 acres, with many miles of both hiking and biking trails. Of the 870 structures 470 have historic signficance. It's a refuge for endangered species, home to a National Cemetery (in a National Park), and operated by The US Park Service.

Listen.....through the fog you can hear the sounds of the bay, look up and down the meticulously maintained rows of graves and touch history. Enter here with reverence.



Buried here in military straight rows are men and their families from World War I and II, The Spanish American War, The Civil War, The Indian Wars, and Vietnam.


Unusual and interesting stones memoralizing those that rest here under the blanket of the fog.

This was home to many families, barracks and officers homes, some in need of restoration, some restored.



2nd Lt. William Allen one of the Medal of Honor Receipants I spotted while touring this facinating place.

I would have enjoyed spending more time here exploring, but many parts of the base/park were off limits the day we were there. There was construction going on, there was a ceremony taking place as well.

Seems fitting I think, we saw The Spanish Riders as they made their way from the field.


Highly recommend touring and taking ones time here.
Wear a jacket, even on warm days this location is chilly.