My husband - local distillery
My daughter - something outdoorsy (hiking, bird watching, etc.)
Me - genealogical quest
The first two requirements are usually fairly easily fulfilled. Mine is slightly less so, but I still accomplish it more often than not.
It all started, though, with a road trip with my mother and sister to Pulaski County, Illinois, in August 2014. We didn't have much of a plan other than trying to find some relatives' resting places and then possibly rifling through some documents at the courthouse. I believe Cuzzin Heather is writing about her stay in a hotel in Ullin (I think it might be the only hotel in Pulaski County), but we opted to stay in Metropolis - the home of Superman - which is just east of Pulaski County in Massac County. We didn't know it when we booked the hotel, but it was still a relevant place to stay when it came to our family. The hotel sat right on the Ohio River which our ancestors had to cross when they made their way from Kentucky.
Railroad bridge across the Ohio River - both the river and the railroad were a part of our family for generations
George and Emma's headstone in August 2014
You'll notice that George's date of death is missing. We assume that's because Emma Kate pre-deceased him by 10 years, so there was no one to remind the children to take care of his headstone. 😂 My mother and I eventually contacted Bell Monument Company (which services the tristate area of Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri), and after 85+ years, George finally has his date of death on his headstone.
We next attempted to locate my great great great grandparents in Pearson Cemetery. Being a family cemetery on land that used to belong to the Pearsons, it was not not marked. We stopped at the courthouse to get an exact location, and they suggested we call a local woman who specializes in the genealogy of the area. Lucky for us, she also happened to live on the land my 3x great grandparents once owned! We met up with her 'by the dead tree near the old church' (I love how locals navigate), and she took us around the property. Unfortunately, what's left of Pearson Cemetery now circles an old tree in a cornfield. The corn was high, so we couldn't get to the headstones, but she did eventually send me pictures of the stones that remained. I’ve written about some of those stones here.
The tree and cornfield in question
It was a successful trip, and I had plans for returning to Pulaski County in the not-too-distant future. The next year, though, my daughter was born, and that put a wrench in any leisurely traveling plans for a while.
Fast forward to the summer of 2022. Having lost 3 of our pets in the course of 5 months (January-May), we decided to honor them by taking various road trips over the course of the summer. In late July, we took a trip to Carbondale, Illinois. My husband went to school there, but it also happens to be within 'spitting distance' of Anna, Illinois, and that is where Emma Kate Pearson's father (another great great great grandfather) is buried. My husband stopped at a local distillery, my daughter got to go hiking at Giant City, and then they humored my 'dead people' obsession, and we went looking for Thomas Green. Once again, thanks to the magic of FindaGrave, we located our objective quickly (which is very fortunate. Have you ever been to southern Illinois mid-July?!).
Thomas Green - Civil War soldier, 11th Illinois Infantry
We've been back a time or two, and, the last time, my husband entered the satellite location on Google Maps. We also left Thomas some local lavender. I'd like to think he enjoyed it.
On this same trip, we went to Fort Massac State Park in Metropolis. We mostly went because it was free and right on the river, but it may be that it was also genealogically related.
"George Rogers Clark arrived at Fort Massac on July 30, 1778, with about 175 men..."
Cuzzin Heather and I have been working on this on and off, and we believe we are related to George Rogers Clark through our Field line. There is quite a bit of conflicting information on this, so we are not yet confident enough to make the claim.
My little family took another trip a few weeks later, and our destination was primarily Paducah, Kentucky. We found two distilleries for my husband and a nature center for my daughter. My genealogical quest was related to Wilmington Cemetery. I've already written about that, so follow the link if you're interested (PLEASE BE INTERESTED).
This past summer (2023), one of my genealogical adventures included meeting Cuzzin Heather in the flesh! (Don't worry - distilleries and nature preserves were also visited.)
Genealogy isn't for everyone, but I am lucky that my family indulges what they find to be a strange hobby. Of course, my husband is always much more amenable after we've stopped at a distillery or two! My daughter groans about Mom looking for "dead people" and sarcastically asks if we're going to stop at every cemetery we pass. *whispers* Sometimes...it's tempting.
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