Several days ago I went for a "butterfly hike" in a rural part of south-central Wisconsin. Nearby was a very old but well-tended graveyard, where my attention was drawn to several of the monuments.
The one at top, Henry Teel, was born in 1787. Prescott T. Brigham, in the bottom photo, was born in 1780.
They died in 1856 and 1862, respectively. Wisconsin had only become a state in 1848.
I returned to my butterflying, but while hiking did a lot of thinking about what their lives must have been like.
Did you omit mentioning the wives (Elizabeth and Hannah) who were buried there with them for some reason?
ReplyDeleteDid you omit mentioning the wives (Elizabeth and Hannah) who were buried there with them for some reason?
ReplyDeleteThey were born later.
DeleteThanks, I've had somewhat similar experiences when traipsing through the back country of eastern Kansas and western Missouri, coming across old cemeteries and markers. I wonder what may have happened to the descendants of the deceased--are any still alive in the vicinity, do they visit the graves of their ancestors? I have several great-great-great-etc grandparents buried in VA, MD, and OH, yet I've never visited the actual site (Thanks, Find-a-grave).
ReplyDelete:-) seeing as how my town celebrated its 375th a couple of years ago, those don't seem 'very old' at all. :-)
ReplyDeletebut, i am tremendously intrigued by the results of your butterfly hike and i look forward to a follow up!
p.s. monarch migration starting!
I-)
When I was on the faculty at the University of Kentucky many years ago we had a new faculty member arrive from Switzerland. He was looking for a house, and we inquired whether he wanted a new house or an old one. He asked what we meant by an "old house" and we said from the 1940s or 50s. He laughed and said in Switzerland an "old house" was from the 1700s...
DeleteFascinating. Here's a little something about Brigham:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.saukcountyhistory.org/brighamprescott.html
Thank you, anon. Note the mention in the obit of "his friend, John Quincy Adams..."
DeleteI'm SURE (if someone hasn't already put these photos up) that there are people who would be immensely grateful if you could put them on findagrave.com -- thanks to that site, I have photos of more than 100 direct line ancestors (and innumerable more of their siblings.)
ReplyDeleteIf anyone wants to copy the photos and post them at that site (or elsewhere), please feel free to do so. I'll certainly relinquish all "ownership." But I don't know if the resolution is high enough for researchers to extract all the relevant info from the inscriptions.
Delete