All My Ancestors

About a month ago I visited the cemetery in the Texas panhandle where so many of my family are buried. It was a lovely morning–cool and a breeze and a clear sky.  The end of August in that part of the country can be scorching, so it was a nice way to spend the morning.

I went out to photo some gravestones for FindAGrave and to try out my new camera.  I was surprised to find a new directory installed with some new landscaping as well.

The pages on the display boards have a listing of the burials, the year of death, and the location.  This posting is updated monthly.  It’s a great addition that I know the local genealogy society has provided.  Here’s one of the pages:

I noticed that the printout had come from the County Clerk’s office, and I wanted to know if I could get a copy.  I wanted a copy for a couple of reasons–I thought it would make a wonderful addition to the library where I work.  Even though I work and live in Oklahoma, I know that out in the panhandle, the state lines don’t really matter.  Many of the folks who are buried in the Ochiltree County Cemetery in Ochiltree County, Texas, are from adjoining Beaver County, Oklahoma.  My mother, for example, and her parents, are all buried in Ochiltree though their roots are in Beaver County, Oklahoma.

I have also begun a project that could take me the rest of my life to complete.    I’ve begun entering the family data from the Ochiltree County history books into a database and will also enter the same info from the Beaver County book.  So many of the families are intermarried and related through the generations.  Having the cemetery records would help me know when and where many of those folks died and are buried.

And, I suppose, a third reason is that I feel like I know so many of those folks, I just like having the information.  As I drive through or walk through the cemetery, I recognize most of the names–I know the people or I know their descendants.  I’ve said before–I graduated from a school that my parents graduated from.  That same weekend I attended my 40th high school reunion, and as I looked around, I saw folks that I’d gone to school with for all 12 grades.  In many instances, their parents and my parents had also gone to school together.  So having the cemetery book is just another way to know more about my life and that of my place.

I took photos of some of the folks I’ve entered into that database–some of whom were my neighbors as I was growing up.  But here’s the tombstone that I found most interesting on this trip.

and here’s a photo of the requisite graveyard rabbit under one of the tough cedar trees in that windswept place:

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