Woods and Weeds

Friday, July 29,2011

We’ve gotten a little behind on our posting.  Our geneology search got a little more difficult the further east we went.  We learned in South Dakota that we could get plat maps from the library and go from there.  Some of  the libraries in New York didn’t have any idea what a plat map was.  (For those of you who don’t know, a plat map shows how the land was surveyed and who owns each piece.  If you get the old maps, you can find where people lived.  They did have one plat map in Richfield Springs;  someone had cut out pages on the other ones, so they were sent out.)

We were looking for land and cemeteries and not having much luck, so we pulled into a driveway out in the country and I knocked on the door and told them what we were looking for.  It turned out the man, Mr. Purcell, had a grandmother who was a Tunnicliffe.  He had done geneology search himself and shared a lot of information with us, He even copied it for us.  He told us where to find a marker for John Tunnicliffe’s estate.  We found the marker, but it is now woods with   a lot of underbrush. There were some wild strawberries.  We found a cemetery map in Cooperstown, but couldn’t locate the cemetery.  Frustrating.  We checked out some other old cemeteries, but no Tunnicliffes. 

Okay, we spent two days trying to find Tunnicliffes.  Found out the counties changed borders and names.  The towns had the most beautiful Victorian homes.  The views were fantastic.  It was rather like stepping back in time. 

We decided to spend Thursday looking for 1^st Samuel Hickinbotham in Utica.  We had to wait for the volunteer in the geneology department at the library.   She was pretty useless.  Christy knew more about searching sites on the computer than she did.  We did find Samuel with three children in the 1840 census.  That was about it.  We were pretty bummed that we couldn’t find any more.  Guess we’ll have to do more of it long distance. 

We kind of ran out of steam last night and decided to head out.  Had trouble deciding whether to head for Florida or  Missouri.  Missouri won out.  Christy will fly home to Orlando from St. Peters.  We checked out this morning  and are staying overnite in the middle of Ohio.  We’ll do a little sight seeing before getting on the road tomorrow. 

Blessings,  Ruth

Old Towns on Curly Roads

Wednesday July 27, 2011

Yesterday we started out going to New Hartford, NY.  Which is a suburb of Utica.  Our great, great, great, grandfather and GGGGmother were married and possibly buried there.  That’s what we’re trying to find out.  We started at the library but it didn’t have many records, we moved on to the Historical Society but decided we needed more basic material before researching there, (besides, it was $5 apiece and we wanted to make sure it was worth our while.)  It was a huge old building.  We had been told the main Utica Library would have what we needed so we went there.  It looked like this was housed in a huge, old mansion.  A lot of smaller rooms with ornate, black iron staircases going up and down.  We were told the genealogist wouldn’t be in until 3:00, so we headed out for lunch. 

We decided to skip Utica for now and head to Richfield Springs.  Another 20 miles away.  This is where the Tunnicliffe’s were from (our forebears before the Hickenbothams.  We have a biography which tells their story, we just want to find the places.  We started at the library (of course), and found a book on Tunnicliffe geneology.  Christy started typing information into her computer (Family Tree Maker) and made a proclamation, “No baby in this family will be named John or Elizabeth”. After I read through some of the geneology I added “or George”. 

Richfield Springs, NY library and Foof

 This library was also in an old, old building:  Think used book store.  Little bitty rooms with bookshelves everywhere.  Local records office was in the basement.  They had no cemetery records or birth certificates, and you could have grown mushrooms down there.  I was told to go to Cooperstown for county records.  Off we went.

Christy in garden outside the Richfield Springs NY library

It was 4:30 when we got there so decided to get a hotel for the night and go the next day.  Hotels were $220 to $275 per night.  Uh uh.  We headed back to our $80 Microtel.  It was 60 miles away, but $200 an hour ain’t bad.  We had roast beef au jus at a hot dog place for supper. We put our destination into the Garmin GPS and headed back.  This is where the curly roads comes in.  I think we hit every back road we could: beautiful views, lovely houses, quaint old towns, but Christy (who gets carsick) said she would be in trouble if she wasn’t doing the driving.  I think we’ll just follow the maps today.  We will stay here at our Microtel again tonight. 

Shower time.   Ruth

Keep On Truckin'

July 25, 2011
Yesterday morning I started looking at some of our information before we left Sheboygan. It turns out Grandpa Samuel H. had acquired another 80 acres of land and we had a picture of the house so it was off to Oostburg again. We found the house and farm. No one was home, but we got some pictures. It looked like the old house but beautifully restored.

The old barn was still there and holding up nicely. Christy took some pictures and I left a note for the Rauwerdink family. Mission accomplished.
We headed across country from there to Toledo, Ohio. I think half the trip was through Chicago. We had reservations at a Holiday Inn Express with a pretty good rate. We put the address in the GPS and away we went. That GPS took us all over the place. As Christy says “We’re driving through the Hood”. We were a little worried about where that hotel was going to be. The place turned out to be in a neighborhood that was being revitalized. Most everything was nice except for a few remnants. Those remnants were next to our hotel; a biker bar next door and a liquor store across the way. Glad it was Sunday night and they were closed. The hotel was lovely. We realized the next morning that we were right next to a 4 lane highway that took us to the turnpike. Wish the GPS had known that.
Today we drove. And drove. And drove. Tonight we are staying at a very nice Microtel near Utica, New York. Tomorrow we head to the library and historical society to figure out where to go next.
Ruth

La Crescent Memories

Sunday, July 24,2011
I was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin in 1944, which is just across the Mississippi River from La Crescent, Minnesota where my family was living at the time. I was number five out of seven. I have flashes of memories from that time, and yesterday we stopped to bring those memories into focus.
At first we lived in an old house behind the church. I remember the screen door slamming when going into the kitchen: My sisters discussing gum on the headboard and whether there was any flavor left when you chewed it again the next morning; The swing hanging from the tree; Kitty falling out of the loft in the old barn; and that’s about all from my 4 year old memory. We then moved to a basement house my father had built (probably promised to build the house on top when there was money.) The only room enclosed with walls was the bathroom. Curtains and bookcases divided up the other rooms. My brother Raoul, being the only boy shared the corner room with Mom’s sewing machine. The five girls got the other corner. Mom and Dad’s room between us and the living room. An old pot belley stove in the hall had one chair in front of it. The first one up got the chair to get dressed in. (The only time in my life I wanted to be first up.) It was all quite efficient and practical, just not much privacy.
We had all gravel roads at the time and walked the three blocks to Crucifixion Catholic school. Jeany thought she wanted to be a Nun at the time and made herself a Nun’s habit. I thought that was wonderful. I would walk home past Bob’s grocery and call my mom and ask if I could charge 5 cents for penny candy. She always said yes. I don’t remember having toys at the time, we just used our imaginations and played in the neighborhood. It seems quite wonderful when I think back on it.
My Dad and neighbors rigged up a ski tow on the hill one year. I was too small to ski, but I think Kitty and Raoul got to ski. We got to go watch. Dad also flooded an empty lot nearby for a skating rink. He got in trouble with the fire department for using all the water they might need for a fire. We moved away when I was in 3rd grade. I was happy, my Mother cried.

We traveled from there to Sheboygan, Wisc., stopping in Fond du Lac to get some plat maps from the library. We couldn’t make it in time for the Sheboygan library. We checked in at our hotel and headed out to find the homestead and cemetery in Oostburg. The homestead is now a cornfield. We walked all over the cemetery, and found Great Great Grandpa Samuel Hickinbotham’s stone in the front corner. His was the first one. Teaches you to start at the beginning doesn’t it. Grandpa Samuel had twelve children, but I don’t see any sign of any other Hickenbothams. Did they all leave?

Our work was done, so we headed down to the waterfront. We were dazed and amazed: Beautiful beaches, red lighthouse, wonderful hotels, marinas, gorgeous houses and an inland sea; Why have we not heard about this great little city before? We ate a good dinner and wandered back. Christy worked out, and I fell asleep. Today we head for New York State.
Foof

Maps, Plats, and Door Knocking

July 20^th, 2011 Wednesday

Today we started on the Milbank clan.  My maternal greatgrandmother was Regina Steffgen.  She was born in Dreis, Germany in Rhineland.  Her husband was Henri Wagner born in Berlin.  They homesteaded near Milbank in 1881.  By this time, we got a little smarter.  We had her obituary and it said she was in the Catholic cemetery, so we went to the information center to find out how to get a cemetery plot map.  She sent us to the Catholic Church who found it for us.  After hunting a bit we found her, Henri, Second husband Florian Roth, and her sister Rose Campbell.  Success!!!!!

Next we headed for the library and found more Atlases and Plat maps and figured out where the homestead was.  Our Garmin GPS didn’t get it quite right, but I met some nice people who sent us in the right direction.  We found the homestead almost by accident. 

House Heinrich Wagner Homestead

No one was home, but the house that was there had been transformed.  It was beautiful. 

The barn looked very old and had been sided with corrugated tin. There was another old house that looked like it had been converted into a grain bin.  

House and Shed Heinrich Wagner Homestead

Homestead Barn of Henry Wagner

We stopped at a house up the road and it turned out to belong to Dale Dornbush,  a grandson of Henri and Regina.  He wasn’t there, but his friend who lived with him said we had been at the right place.  Hurrah!!  More success. 

We left Milbank and headed for Sioux Falls and stopped along the way to see our old house in Brookings, SD. 

1808 Santee Trail ,Brookings

Cindy fixed us supper when we got here.  We will hit the cemetery here tomorrow and some of our old houses then head for Wisconsin on Friday.  

Foof 

Homesteads and Headstones

 July 19, 2011 Tuesday

On Tuesday we departed Ellsworth AFB and headed to Aberdeen,SD.  Nice to have a windshield without a big crack running across it.    We headed east on I-90 and then North on 83 to Pierre.  The countryside is beautiful with all the rain; green grass, ripe golden wheat fields running for miles.  We see very few trees.  When we get to Ft. Pierre, the flooding starts.

Sandbagged McDonalds

 Water is coming up to the side of the road and the McDonalds we stop at is surrounded by  sandbags.  We keep going North and go through a town with hundreds of round shiny grain bins.  It’s a town of 83 people and we wonder if it’s been a really good year for grain or if they’re manufacturing them.

 As we turn east again on hwy 12 we come to Roscoe.  A sign says there is one lane a mile away.  We are behind a semi truck and can’t see the road ahead  but are waiting for the cars to come from the other direction.  From where we sit, all we can see is a huge lake in front of us.  When it’s our turn, we realize gravel has been piled up on the highway to keep the road open and the lake is fields.  Don’t know how the semi stayed on because it was pretty scary for us.

Joe Engelhart and Ruth Lundin -Cousins

My cousin, Joe Engelhart, met us when we got to Aberdeen and loaded us and all our paraphanelia into his truck and headed for his home 15 miles away.  Everywhere we went there were roads closed because of water.  Whole fields covered with water were a common sight, as were parks and cattle yards.  Those poor farmers.  When we finally got to Joe’s house it felt like we were on an island. The James River runs right through his property.  He served us a wonderful dinner of smoked chicken, baked potatoes, corn from his garden, bread he had baked, and cucumber and asparagus pickles.  And cookies for dessert.  He is a great cook. 

Joe Engelhart's House

Shelter belt at James E. Hickenbotham Homestead

We talked until midnight about families and geneology and asked him to take us to Great Grandpa Jimmy Hickenbotham’s homestead which he thought he could find.  The next day after a breakfast of home made pecan cinnamon rolls,  we set out.  Joe had some plat maps and we figured out where to go from those.  After  running into more closed roads, we finally went the long way around and found the property.  A different family owns it now, but they said yes this was the place. 

Christy took some pictures of the old house we think was the original. We were pretty excited with our first find.

Original house on Hickinbotham Homestead

Summer Kitchen

 Then we went looking for the houses in town we had addresses for.  We found a couple but didn’t have house numbers for some others. 

Grandma Mary and Grandpa Walter's Home

Sacred Heart across the street

324 Jackson St. (picture to right)

We stopped at the Sacred Heart cemetery and found Joe’s parents grave, Aunt Edith and Uncle Joe Engelhart, and Grandpa Walter and Grandma Mary Hickenbotham. 

Crazy picture that refuses to cooperate.  Use your imagination
Mary and Walter Hickenbotham

After that, we did our good bye hugs and Joe left and we got in our truck.  We stopped for lunch and then hit the library.  That’s when we found out we were in the wrong cemetery for GrGramps.  So we headed over to Riverside cemetery.  We never did find him.   Finally we got in the truck and headed for Milbank.  Checked into the Super 8 and had microwave dinners in our jammies so we didn’t have to go out again.  We worked on geneology stuff until our brains were fried, about midnight.  We were tired.

Foof

Stavkirke

Good Morning Friends and Family,
This morning I am writing from Rapid City SD. We packed up at the farm and left at 9:00am. We even surprised ourselves to get out that quick. Of course it took all day the day before to put away all the tools, deep water the gardens, etc. I finished sealing up the bees in the siding the night before at 9:30. They all go back to the hive when it gets dark. I put up black plastic all around that corner of the house after spraying Wasp and Hornet spray. I held the plastic on with lath and nails. I don’t think they liked it much when I started hammering, but I didn’t get stung.

We stopped at Wall Drug , thought we would get lunch but the line was long and we weren’t that hungry. We had been snacking. Wall drug is amazing. It just keeps getting bigger and better. I think it probably adds a lot to the South Dakota economy. I read in the brochure that in the summer, they can expect 20,000 people a day. Think of the tax revenue. They have a lot of free fun stuff, good prices, good food. Donuts to die for. And a lot of upscale stuff plus tons to just look at. And, of course, free ice water.

Benjamin's house in Rapid City

We got toEllsworth AFB base about 3:00 and checked in. We unloaded everything since we were switching vehicles with Ben, then we headed into Rapid City. We found Ben’s house, met his roommates, and headed to Mongolian Grill for lunch/dinner. It was fun to watch them cooking our meals on a huge, flat, round table/grill. Three guys working at the same time, one on his cell phone. MMMMMM Good.
We headed back to Ben’s to switch vehicles. Christy explained all the idiosyncrasies on the Cherokee, then Ben had to head back into the field, so we left with the pickup. We headed up to the StaveKirke to do some sightseeing. Beautiful.

Norwegian prospectors cabin

Entrance to the Stavkirke

We have a huge crack in the windshield so called John to see about getting it replaced before we headed out again. Then realized we would have to wash it before the new glass went in because you can’t wash it for 24 hours afterward. We got a lot of the crud off, but the bugs are like concrete. Will try to find a good car wash in Aberdeen. Safe Lite Repair will be here between 8 and 12, then we will continue our journey.
Foof