and then on up toward Conway, past Pekarski's Sausage and through the "pretty place" on Route 116, where Grandma remembered the names of people who lived years ago in some of the the lovely old farm houses tucked in along the creek. Then we passed her own house, changed -- but not all that much -- with the beauty of Boyden's farm behind it, and then on up to the cemetery in the village of Conway, where we found Grandpa's grave. Grandma was really happy to be there.
Just a few steps away are more family memories.
It was still wet from rain that had fallen earlier, so it's hard to read, but the inscriptions are for Edward R. Koeber, 1894--1974, and his wife Clara M. Twining, 1897--1949. Here's more info about Edward, and here is a little more about Clara.
On the other side of the picture of Dad and Grandma is the stone for Clara's parents, Grandma's grandparents, Frederick L. Keyes 1860-1946, and his wife Lucia Twining, 1878-1947. It's a little odd that the gravestone uses "Twining" as Lucia's surname. Her maiden name was Weeks, and Twining was the surname of her first husband. He went off to Washington State without her, for reasons we don't know -- though it seems to me I once saw a photograph of a dilapidated house that somebody had discovered him living in out there. By the time Lucia died, she'd left that marriage behind and remarried, so her last name should have been Keyes. We don't know why that isn't on the stone. Maybe she kept the name "Twining" so she'd have the same last name as her daughter?
Lucia is the great-grandparent you've heard about with Native American ancestry, traced back through her mother, Mary Ann Ford from Clarence, New York, who was the "granddaughter of Yellow Jacket, a famous Indian Chief of western New York" . Scroll down to page 399 at the link and read the full entry for #19, Henry Augustus Weeks, Lucia's father. He led quite a life! As I've mentioned before, I think it's possible that Yellow Jacket was actually Red Jacket, a genuinely famous Seneca Indian orator and chief who, among other things, traveled to Philadelphia to meet with John Adams and George Washington while negotiating with the new United States for the future of his tribe. Here are some others who think so, too.
We left the cemetery and drove on up to Ashfield, past the farm by Poland Road that used to be Grandpa Koeber's and later became the base for Caleb's bicycle adventures, to have lunch with Mary Link and William. Grandma was so fascinated and delighted with every pretty little thing in Mary Link's flowery kitchen, from pussy willows to sesame seed treats to napkin rings, that she could barely eat her lunch. Enlarge the second picture, you'll see that she's inspecting her sandwich with visible pleasure. To have fun in life, aspire to be like Grandma -- like both Grandmas, for that matter -- eager to be thrilled with everything you see.
From there, we went on the woodsy home of cousin Bill and Carrie on Bug Hill Road -- but it's getting late, and they deserve a whole post of their own, and I'll put that up tomorrow.
2 comments:
Looks like Great Murphy is having a good time.
Good times!
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