Road trip to Bunnell Cemetery

Friday evening I was working on my family history when I realized that quite a number of my Bunnell ancestors were buried in Reynolds, IN. After using Google Maps, I found out that Reynolds, IN was about 60 miles from my sister's home in Valparaiso. Not only that, but thanks to searching "cemeteries +Reynolds, IN" in Google, I discovered that there is a "Bunnell Cemetery" in Reynolds. Wow, there was a cemetery named after some of my relatives...now I really had to see this! So, the very next day my sister Carole, my niece Hannah and I went on a little road trip to Bunnell Cemetery!


It was a beautiful day for a road trip too. The mandatory stop for ice cream made the time in the car fly by. For once, I didn't need to stop and ask for directions to the cemetery! We found it with no trouble at all. I remembered to bring the camera but forgot to wear shoes, and the ground was covered in cactus! The discoveries were so worth a number of stickers on the toes!

Nathaniel Bunnell, the son of my 4th G grandfather, Nathaniel Bunnell.
This Nathaniel Bunnell was born in Ross County, OH and
married Susannah

Susannah and her husband Nathaniel share a headstone.
Susannah's inscription faces the north
and Nathaniel's inscription faces the south.

This was the first Bunnell headstone I found. You

could easily see it from where we parked.

All in all, I found about ten Bunnell graves and a few other names I recognized from my family history. Many, many more of my ancestors, including my 3rd great grandparents are buried in the Monticello cemetery which is less than eight miles from this cemetery. My Bunnell and Hanaway ancestors came to White County around 1832 so there is a lot of family history to be found in this area!

Wordless Wednesday....

Margaret Anderson Hanaway
1921-2003

Enjoying the sun, sand, and of course

A GREAT BOOK!

Wordless Wednesday....the Mother-In-Laws!

The Mother-in-Laws...

Alma Guinee & Eva Hanaway

8-31-1930

Digital Photo owned by P. Taylor

Tombstone Tuesday

My Grandmother Lucy Hanaway Guinee's tombstone

Wheatfield Cemetery, Wheatfield, IN

Photo privately owned by P. Taylor

My Great Grandparents Eva and Albert (Bert) Hanaway's tombstone

Wheatfield Cemetery, Wheatfield, IN

Photo privately owned by P. Taylor

My Great Great Grandfather Jacob A. Hanaway's tombstone

Wheatfield Cemetery, Wheatfield, IN

Photo privately owned by P. Taylor

Drive Route 49, about 25 - 30 miles south of Valparaiso, Indiana and you will find the Wheatfield cemetery. It really is a nice drive from Valparaiso to Wheatfield. On the way you pass through Kouts, Indiana where one of my favorite country stores is located. The Willow Tree Garden. Of course I make a point of stopping by and saying hello to one of the owners- Carrie who has become a wonderful friend. Drive a little further south and you will come to Wheatfield. The cemetery is along both sides of Rt. 49. The land where the cemetery is located now used to be farm land, which is evident by the surrounding corn fields on the east. The community of Wheatfield is small but quite a number of my living Hanaway relatives still reside there. I usually make the trip to the cemetery each season and decorate the tombstones of my grandparents and my mother too. I try to decorate the tombstones with plants and small decorations, and the best part is they are always there when I return. Nothing is ever stolen!

It is comforting to know that so many of my grandparents are laid to rest in the same cemetery.

Laughter really is the best medicine!

Bert & Eva Hanaway

circa. 1930's

Although they were already gone by the time I was born, I feel like I have a real connection to my gg grandparents Bert and Eva. Not because of the family research I have been involved in for so long. Bert and Eva had eight children and their children had MANY children.

The first Hanaway reunion was organized in 1956 after Bert and Eva had both passed away. I believe these reunions- where I was exposed to all of Bert and Eva's descendants, my relatives, were where I learned how much my gg grandparents were not only respected but deeply loved by all who knew them. Stories continue to be told and retold to this day about my gg grandfather's sense of humor and my gg grandmother's patience.

This picture always makes me smile, Bert and Eva had to be in their 50's when it was taken. Looking at their faces, I don't see the wrinkles or worry lines. I see two people who loved to share a smile and a laugh. My mother had a sense of humor and I too love to laugh! I think it might be in our genes.

Submitted for 6th edition of Carnival of Genealogy, Funny Bone.

Hanaway cottage in Michigan

Source: L. Guinee, Stevensville, Michigan,

original photograph owned by P. Taylor

My beloved grandmother "Lucy Baby"

Hanaway cottage

June, 1972

Last Friday I took the day off from work and my cousin Terry and I went to our cousin's cottage in Michigan. I have been going to this cottage since I was a very little girl (which I admit was awhile ago!). I love the little cottage itself, but more than that I love the company that is always there. There is always someone to talk to, take pictures of, collect rocks with, go fishing with, walk the beach with, holy cow, there is always something to do!

Terry and I really lucked out with super weather, low 80's, plenty of sunshine, and very little humidity! My cousins Vicki, Susan, and Karla were there and we enjoyed a leisurely walk along the beach. We have been walking those same steps for over forty years and it never gets boring. The lake was smooth but the water was cold, as it is so very often. How we ever swam in it when we were younger is beyond me! I know, I know....you get used to the cold water.....right. We went out for a wonderful Mexican lunch. Afterwards, we went back to the cottage where we talked and laughed and giggled and talked so much about our family and the memories this special little cottage holds for all of us. We didn't run out of conversation, we just ran out of time.

The cottage was built about 1940 and has been in my cousin's family since 1941. It's really two rooms, one bedroom (with three big beds!) and one kitchen/living room area. It doesn't matter that there is not much room, we had the outside--campfires on the beach and bar-b-queing on the little cement porch in front of the cottage. Oh and who could forget those terrific spaghetti dinners we had! (Spaghetti dinners can ALWAYS feed a crowd!) Many times there would be over twenty five people spending the day and sometimes overnight....you just made do...after all we were family-the more the merrier!

The "neighborhood" is changing now. There are no longer little cottages in the area, having lakefront property on Lake Michigan is primo! What you find are mansions. Mansions that have so much room people don't even have to see each other let alone talk to each other. Mansions with cable and direct satellite television, microwaves, six bedrooms, three bathrooms, pools (why do you need a pool when the lake is fifty feet in front of you?), spa's, etc.

What are they missing???

So many family and friends coming in and going out you can't be sure who you saw. Kids running around getting underfoot. Men discussing the right way to clean a fish, filet it, and cook it for dinner. Teenagers united in taking a "real hike" on the beach because they sure don't want to be around their parents. Boys struggling to get the row boat to the beach without a motorized trailer! Girls laying on the beach trying to get a suntan without getting a sunburn. Women catching up on all the family news; showing off their children's newest pictures, demonstrating the new yoga pose they've learned, talking about where they hope to go on vacation or sharing the newest "easy" recipe with the girls. Everyone coming and going and no one wanting to be left out of any of it.

What are the people in those lakefront mansions missing???

The chance to make memories like these!

Hanaway Reunion, 2008

Well, the reunion was another success story. We had about one hundred and fifty people attend. The weather cooperated with plenty of sunshine, the food was absolutely delicious (I requested at least three new recipes) and of course the company---wow!
My great aunt Berniece was able to attend and she looked super! One of my second cousins brought a book of photos which included my GG grandparents when they were quite young. Of course I couldn't figure out how to take pictures of the pictures with my camera. I have done it many times before, but for whatever reason I couldn't get any of them to focus this particular day, so no luck. My cousin indicated she will try to have her son scan a lot of them for me and email them to me...that will work!
I walked around and visited and asked many questions of course. My nature. I was particularly interested in knowing about my GG grandparents home. What happened to it? My cousins Ronnie and Jerry were very helpful for they grew up across the road from Bert and Eva Hanaway! Ronnie told me that the house was torn down many years ago when someone bought the property. He said all that remains from when my GG grandparents lived there are some huge boulders that marked the entrance to the root cellar. Unfortunately, the house that my great Uncle Jim, Aunt Marge and Ronnie and Jerry grew up in burned down a number of years ago. Jerry still lives on the same property though which is terrific.
I believe that average age of the people who attended had to be over thirty years old. There were a lot of children but not the number from when I was a kid and went to the reunions. My G Aunt Berniece was the oldest and we had two babies that were born in May! It's really an older crowd now gathering and celebrating. Most of the younger generation isn't able to make the time to attend for whatever reasons. Too bad, because I can really see the reunion going away. The traditions and history of our family will be shared only among a few. I was so happy that six of my eight children attended, helped with the set up, take down, and clean up and had a really good time!
The raffles were a success. A number of adults and almost all of the kids left with goodies to take home. Beach gear, toys, automotive supplies, gas cards (we all could use those now), games, coolers, a digital camera and much more were raffled off. Thanks to my cousins Vicki, Susan, and Karla who did a GREAT job again organizing this reunion. When it came time to discuss who will take over and run the next reunion, there were no hands that went up. Another sign of what may be going away. Someone suggested that one of the prizes of the raffle should have been taking over the next organization of the reunion. What a great idea, although it came at the end of the day. Of course, I told my cousin if no one else steps up to the plate I will certainly do it. I can't image no Hanaway reunion!
I left the reunion very tired (it takes a lot of work to talk to people you know....especially when you have so many questions and so little time!). What did I take home? Smiles, and oh so many more wonderful memories....it just doesn't get any better than that!

Hanaway Family Reunion

Bert and Eva Hanaway
January 15, 1901

Wedding photo

I always look forward to the month of July. Not only to celebrate the 4th of July, which is always a fun time to bar-b-que and watch fireworks, but a month to remember and honor our ancestors who fought for our freedom. Like so very many other people, I have quite a number of relatives who fought not only in the Civil War but also the Revolutionary War.

Since 1956 my Hanaway relatives have held a family reunion in the month of July. My G Grandfather Marion Albert "Bert" Hanaway died July 19, 1955 and shortly thereafter, April 26, 1956 his beloved wife, my G Grandmother Eva passed away. Their eight children started the family reunion as a way of gathering together and celebrating their parents lives. Bert and Eva had 42 grandchildren, 141 great grandchildren, and at this point in time over 269 great great grandchildren. I'm not sure how many ggg grandchildren they have.

We are bound together by family roots. Hanaway family roots, Deneau, Boudreau, Senesac, Bowsher, Hockenberry, Donavan, Yarnell, Bunnell, Castner, and oh so many more fruitful family roots. We gather together to celebrate where we came from, to renew family ties, to meet and greet new additions to our family tree, to reminisce, to eat together, to laugh, take family pictures and catch up with long lost cousins. This year we are once again blessed to celebrate with Bert and Eva's youngest daughter and only living child, my beloved Great Aunt Bernice! How lucky we are!

Our numbers may not always be many. Some of our younger generations have yet to develop an interest in family members they are related to but may not know. They may not make a point of attending for one reason or another. Although I have always loved going to this event, I too remember when I was younger being a bit uncomfortable meeting a lot of relatives who looked familiar but I really didn't know. I would always gravitate to my many cousins who I knew very well. They were and still are a fun group to be with! There are never enough of those times so when a reunion comes around, you bet I'll be there. I'm also going to be involved! I'm really lucky that all of my children actually like going too!

As I have discovered in the last ten years of doing family research, I am not alone in my quest for knowledge of where I came from. Several other family members have taken to shaking our tree. I love to share discoveries and learn about new connections. I really don't mind being called the genealogy addict in our family! Happy times, here I come!

Given names, middle names, and surnames, oh my!

In my quest to find out as much information as I can about my family history, I usually search by surnames. It is just an easier and much faster method to identify my ancestors. However, there are quite a number of times after hitting a few brickwalls, that I've just used the given name and a birth date and bingo! there they are! Of course it doesn't happen all that often, but enough for me to almost automatically search that way when I hit a brickwall. Middle names are often unknown, or your ancestor just used an initial. I have ancestors who named their children; Marie Isabelle Boudreau, Marie Mary Boudreau, Marie Elizabeth Boudreau-all in the same family, the same parents. It can create a few struggles (and headaches) searching and connecting ancestors.
After receiving all of the Sommer information from Oakwoods Cemetery, I started a little research into this new "branch" of my family tree. What I found out pretty quickly was that several of my ancestors used their middle names instead of their given names. Upon receiving the marriage certificates and death certificates of several of my Sommer ancestors and reviewing federal census records, I quickly discovered that Jacob Sommer was Frederick Jacob Sommer and that James Sommer was Philip James Sommer.
Some people just prefer to be called by their middle name or a nick name instead of their given name. Such is the case with a couple of my first cousins who are known by their middle names. If I was to mention my cousin "Arlene," very few people, if any, would know who I was referring to. She uses the name Terry, short for Therese. My cousin was named after my beloved mother Arlene, but prefers to use a nick name for her middle name. Are you following me here? Imagine trying to find her on a census record one hundred years from now!
My GG Grandfather Marion Albert Hanaway was known by "Bert," short for Albert. He is listed as Marion Hanaway on some census records, and as Bert Hanaway on other census records. You just have to keep plugging away in your research.
Lesson learned: when you can't connect a family member with their surname try their given name and when you can't find them by their given name, well then try their middle name or even a nick name. It can certainly get a little complicated trying to find our ancestors!

Mother's Day, 2008

Lucille Hanaway Guinee

1912-1998

Yesterday would have been my grandmother Lucy's 96th birthday! I am very fortunate to have MANY wonderful memories of my grandmother. My mother, sisters and I grew up less than five miles away from her home. After church on some Sunday's we went to her home where we enjoyed a fried chicken dinner, homemade mashed potatos, sweet corn, salad-with her own homemade oil and vinegar dressing and of course dessert--homemade chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I can still see the blue metal cake saver sitting on top of the cart in her small breezeway kitchen. My mother and grandmother would chat with each other while my sisters and I went to the park or played outside.

On most Sundays though, we went out to visit our relatives in Indiana. My grandmother Lucy was born and raised in Indiana and that is where even to this day, most of my relatives live. We would travel to Gary, Crown Point, and Hebron visiting my Aunt Mabel, Aunt Toots, Aunt Berniece, Uncle Homer, Uncle Jim, and my grandmothers other siblings and all their families. There are a lot of relatives in Indiana! Many of my relatives were farmers so this "city girl" loved the "country". I loved playing in the barn, swinging on the truck tire swing, running in the crops, getting close (but not too close!) to the farm animals. Little did I know how much those visits would mean to me someday!

So, to my grandmother, my beloved mother, my many aunts, my sister, thank you for the memories! Thank you for being terrific role models of mothers! Happy Mother's Day!

Talking about cemeteries

Although I am always interested in learning more about my Hanaway relatives (and believe me, it is by far the largest family tree I have!)and where my Hanaway ancestors are buried, I have been lucky to find some of my other great grandparents graves as well. On the far south side of Chicago, many of my Polish relatives raised their families. MANY of my Wozniak, Sawicki, Ziolkowski, and Wieczorek ancestors are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Calumet City, Illinois, which is located just on the border of Illinois and Indiana. In fact, after visiting their office, I walked away with a huge listing of Wozniak and Sawicki burials in all the Catholic, Cook County, Illinois cemeteries. All I had asked for was if I could find out if any of these specific relatives had been buried in Holy Cross and much to my delight they gave me that listing! What a listing it is too. The people in the office are extremely helpful! Of course, this list doesn't by any means indicate that all these particular Wozniak and Sawicki people are my relatives, but just the same it is a great resource! It lists the name, date of burial and the cemetery where the individual is interred. I discovered that my GGGG Grandmother Regina Polus is buried in an unmarked grave at Holy Cross Cemetery. That's right, Regina was born in 1811 and immigrated here to the United States in the late 1800's with her son. According to the 1900 Federal Census, she lived with my Great Grandparents Ludwig and Stella Sawicki in the Hyde Park area for a while. I believe that my GGGG Grandmother Regina Polus died in 1911 shortly before her 100th birthday. Although I am unable to locate Regina's grave, I was successful in finding her granddaughter (my Great Grandmother) Stella Sawicki and my Great Grandfather Ludwig Sawicki's graves, and my Great Grandparents Joseph and Mary Wozniak graves as well.
Check out that cemetery office and don't be afraid to ask them about burial records and who may be buried in that particular cemetery. You never know who may be there!

Old Monticello Cemetery, Monticello, Indiana

Last Saturday, I finally found an opportunity to visit the Old Monticello Cemetery in Monticello, Indiana. Established in 1836, I have wanted to visit this particular cemetery for a number of years but never seemed to find the time. I had been in contact with the White County Historical Society and Museum and discovered that my GGG Grandparents Jacob and Eliza Hanaway lived in the area after their marriage in the 1830's. In fact, Jacob's will is on display in the museum! Eliza is buried in the Old Monticello Cemetery and I was lucky enough to find her grave marker. Correction, my children found it first and called me over to verify their discovery. Eliza's marker is about four feet tall, appears to be made out of limestone for much of the engraving is worn down. I was still able to read her name Eliza A. wife of Jacob Hanaway, died March 30, 1875. The engraving with her exact age is no longer legible. There is a strong possibility that three of Jacob and Eliza's children; John, Stephen and Ephraim are also buried in this cemetery, although even with the help of my children, we were unable to locate their headstones. Time and weather have certainly not been kind to this place. Unfortunately, the historical society and museum was not open so I guess I will simply have to make another trip to the area. Having never been to Monticello before it was hard to imagine what the area was like 150 years ago. There is certainly a great deal of farming in the area and of course Shafer Lake is a big tourist attraction in the summer months. I look forward to visiting the area again, but this time I will certainly visit White County Historical Society and Museum !