Got a little ink in the Sentinel yesterday

In case ye socks missed it, yours truly was quoted in an article about the infamous Jane Green.

Check it out: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-09-12/news/os-osceola-jane-green-cemetery-2-20100910_1_family-history-new-e-mail-new-sign

A break in the case of the missing Macys

Thanks go out today to Sharon Wilson for forwarding this old deed record, dated 1906.

It reserved a half-acre piece of land in the Pine Castle area for my great great grandfather Paul Macy, part of a larger tract that Deacon J.W. Matchett (his brother-in-law) had acquired for the local Baptist church.

So, why is this so interesting?

Well, for many years, yours truly has been trying to figure out where the patriarch and matriarch of the extended Macy clan are buried.

William H. Macy purchased 8 spaces at Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando in the late 1800s. But, the sexton records clearly show that neither he nor his wife were buried there.

On the other hand, I have the original receipt from undertaker E.A. Richards for the funeral of Mrs. Martha Dean Macy that proves at least she died locally and should have been buried near the funeral home in Orlando.

Said receipt was dated 1906, just like the deed.

I'm beginning to think that Mrs. Macy was buried on the land detailed in this 1/2 acre deed. Maybe, her husband was, too . . . .

Any thoughts or suggestions are, as always, appreciated.

Oldest surviving tombstone in Central Florida?

Consider this post a challenge to ye local socks to find a tombstone in this little corner of heaven that predates the one I found outside the Marsh Museum in Tomoka State Park (Volusia County).

Evidently, the stone was vandalized during the Second Seminole War and removed from the grave site (just a mile or so away from its current location). By the time the State of Florida acquired it (how, I do not know), it was broken in two pieces.

I've done a lot of cemetery surveys around here, but have never seen a stone this old (1825) south of St. Augustine. Anyone up for the challenge of beating that date?

Kinda hard to read, so here's a transcript:

Sacred to the memory

of

John Addison

who died at his plantation on the Tomoka River,

East Florida,

on the 29th day of June, 1825,

after a sickness of four days,

aged 61 years and 6 months.

He was born in Carrickfergus, County

Antrim, Ireland.

Early in life, he visited the United States

and the West Indies, but for many years

[crack in stone]

he died, and by his industry acquired a

very handsome property.

He was indeed a humane master,

a benevolent friend, and a most

affectionate brother.

This stone is erected as a small token

of respect to his memory by his brother

Thomas Addison

and his other relatives.

Yep, stumbled across another kinnection

Following-up on yesterday's post . . .

So, I was eating lunch with a realtor friend last week, and somehow the conversation turned to the little town of Montverde west of Lake Apopka.

He mentioned that his wife had relatives buried in the town cemetery, and I jokingly remarked that probably meant we were related since half that cemetery is full of my Cox and Lowry kin.

Well . . . turns out the kinnection is no joke!

My dad's matrilineage

Continuing with the genealogical theme begun with yesterday's post . . .

It was on this date back in 1868 that my dad's great grandmother Hilda Bonner Arnett was born up in Randolph County, Alabama.

I spent quite some time tracing her maternal line as part of an mtDNA project, back when we were trying to get a handle on the genetic aspects of Dad's case of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease.

Anyway, here's the line as far back as I've traced it to date:

1. Skip Morgan (1948-2007), his mother was
2. (still living), her mother was
3. Ella Arnett (1901-1988), her mother was
4. Hilda Bonner (1868-1954), the lady whose birthday inspired this post, her mother was
5. Flora Rushton (1836-1905), her mother was
6. Martha Lorance (1821-1894), her mother was
7. Flora Cameron (1790-1840s), her mother was
8. Sarah Brown (1768-1850), who married James Cameron.

More complete details may be found at my online ahnentafel: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~oldpinecastle/ahnentafel.html

I did recently discover Sarah Brown Cameron's tombstone at the old Long Cane Baptist Church in Troup County, Georgia. I'll include a photo with this post. Here's a transcript in case your eyes fail ye:

Sacred

to the memory of

Sarah Cameron

consort of

James Cameron Sen.

was born

Feb 24th 1768

& died

Dec 16th 1850

Any help tracing back from Sarah and extending this matrilineage would be greatly appreciated!

Offbeat opportunity to get some exercise

Ye local socks who haven't done this before should definitely check it out next Friday.

Once again, venerable Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando will be hosting a moonlight tour. So, mark your calendars:

December 12th - 9pm - 1603 Greenwood Street

A couple of suggestions from past personal experience:

1. Wear comfortable walking shoes. The tour is about 2 miles long.

2. Bring a flashlight.

For more info and tips, please feel free to call the sexton's office: 407-325-6269.

The Graveyard Rabbit

Well, in case ye socks can't get enough of my ruminations, I have recently joined forces with a group of other bloggers to form the Graveyard Rabbits Association. To learn more, click on the association logo below:

I know some of you loyal readers get a little annoyed by the volume of genealogical posts that end up in the dryer. (You know who you are, Darrell!) Well, while they're never going to disappear completely, at least I can promise future musings on local cemeteries will be posted at my new graveyard rabbit blog:

http://cflagraveyardrabbit.blogspot.com/