James Bethel Gresham

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James Bethel Gresham...

On 03 Nov 1917, he became the first American fatality for World War I. This Memorial Day weekend we should all remember all of our family that have gone before us, but we need to remember the soldiers who served our country and the many that gave their lives for the United States of America!

I apologize for the quality of these photos that I took at the Evansville Museum, but I hope it is good enough to show how a community can remember a fallen soldier.

Below is the Gresham home that is in Evansville Garvin Park. He is buried in Locust Hill Cemetery.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

"The Mystery of the Crystal Chandeliers"

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This mystery of the missing crystal chandeliers...

might be like any mystery that would catch the fancy of any historian or genealogist. Researching the past starts as a great mystery or a story to be solved. Some time back on this blog I reported on the fabulous Crystal Room of the Acme Hotel and its beautiful crystal chandeliers. I photographed the two chandeliers that are in the C. K. Newsome Community Center. During my research I learned that there were four chandeliers, but I had only found two. So, the mystery was: where were the other two? What happened to them? Asking around about the other two, most said that they only knew of the two (that I photographed). I was simply amazed when one day at the Community Center as I was going downstairs to the Evansville City Parks & Recreation Department offices, right in front of my eyes above the midway landing hung chandelier #3. I had seen it many more times than I had looked at the others! I decided to look all through the Community Center... looking in every room.

But, alas, that fourth chandelier was not to be found anywhere. I gave up assuming that it might have been broken or, as people often say, "it sprouted wings and flew off." This past weekend, Becky & I spent some time visiting zoos and museums. At the Evansville Museum, I found that chandelier #4. I recognized it immediately, excitedly telling Becky that it was the "missing" chandelier from the Acme Hotel! There was a little sign indicating that it was indeed the fourth chandelier from the Hotel with the other three at the Community Center. Finally, the little mystery of the crystal chandeliers was resolved and this historian/genealogist can relax until the next mystery case evolves!

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest. Blog written by JGWest.

Tombstone Thursday - Kasper

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Oak Hill Cemetery Mausoleum

Evansville, Indiana

Hal Hon Kasper

19 Feb 1926 - 01 May 2010

RH sct 1B, Crypt 131R

Hal Kasper was a member of the Tri-State Genealogical Society and was a Past President of the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. During World War II, Hal was presented the Purple Heart.

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

ROWING ALONG THE INTERNET

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Don Counts has sent us two great sites...
for us to use in our genealogical research.

This link takes you to the complete text of the Vanderburgh County history book, "History of the City of Evansville and Vanderburg County, Indiana" TSGS has this book available for purchase to have in your personal research library, for details go to our regular TSGS web site: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~intsgs/tsgspubl.html Check out our other research books and CD's for sale.

What happened the year that your great grandparents got married in 1902? Here is a little about 1902: Bureau of the Census is established; it later becomes part of the Department of Commerce. Approximately 150 thousand United Mine Workers strike in Pennsylvania for a wage increase and more suitable hours. A postal stamp cost 2 cents and the President was Theodore Roosevelt. Besides my first child being born in 1971 [Phillip West], postage was 6 cents, but leaped to 8 cents by May 16th. Richard Nixon was President and Jim Morrison of The Doors would die on July 3rd. in Paris. The TV show All in the Family would debut on CBS. You can add these and other information to your history of your family or just learn what happened from 1900-2010, the site is Year by Year 1900-2010 from Infoplease!

- Submitted by Don Counts

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

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Evansville Museum Transportation Center

Have you been to the Evansville Museum lately? Have you walked over to the Transportation Center? I tend to think of it as the Train Museum, but it is a lot more than that. It has river travel & roadway vehicles, including the Charles Covert bright red fire truck (about 1902)!
Today's plaque is featuring the Train Committee's "Circle of Remembrance" for a dream that came true... 1967-1999! [Please click on photos for enlarged view.]

This nice sign is on the outside of the building.

This is outside in back of the building. Very nicely similar to a passenger railroad depot.

Becky West is listening to a recording about the train's caboose.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

This is a First for Me!

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Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Jesse Todd Boles

1981-2004

Section A, Lot 66, Grave 3

Notice the framed door in the middle. First time I ever saw one of these! I hesitated to open it, but finally decided that it would be ok for me to look (see below).

The little door protected his photo from the sun and other weather elements... I have not seen this feature on a tombstone before. Do not worry, I safely snapped the door in place. What a great idea, for more reasons than I have stated.

- Photos taken by JGWest

"Memorial Markers"

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I was talking with some employees of a local cemetery a few days ago and the conversation turned to people saying that they know that a person is buried in the cemetery because there is a tombstone on their grave... yet there is no burial record available for this person! This may be a "memorial marker" to remember the person at this cemetery, even though, they may be buried elsewhere. Many times this occurs because a spouse dies and a marker is erected for both the deceased and the surviving spouse, but the surviving spouse ends up marrying another time and is buried with the 2nd. spouse somewhere else. Other times a grave and marker are bought early in life and the individual moves away and forgets about the grave & marker. Other times the family will have a marker made to be put in the cemetery with the rest of the family, but the person died elsewhere and is lost or buried far away. Many drownings or soldiers who die in wartime are often not found, but the family will place a marker in the local cemetery to remember them. One other possibility is cremations of the deceased that are not buried in the existing lot that happens to have a marker or one is erected to remember them and the cremains are not buried there.

Perhaps there are many other situations that a person will not be buried where there marker exists. Can anyone suggest other possibilities?

- Written by JGWest