Veterans Day

Veterans Day started as Armistice Day after World War I. This is my grandfather's letter home written the next day.

In 1954, November 11 became the day to honor all veterans. Here are my veterans:

Vietnam my cousin

Korea my Dad

World War II my Dad and Uncle, my Father-in-law and his brother. A cousin who was taken prisoner and received Combat Infantry Badge

World War I my grandfather, and my grandmother's brother (who possibly served his tour in Africa)

Civil War
Benjamin Griffith 140 Reg’t Indiana Infantry enlisted September 15, 1864
John Leachman 54th Kentucky
Charles Brooks 155 Illinois Infantry enlisted February 15, 1865
John H. Cate 3rd Tennessee Infantry enlisted February 1862, captured London, Kentucky August 1862
Elijah Cate (John’s son) 3rd Tennessee Infantry enlisted January 1863 died May 1863
Andrew DeShields 2 Reg’t Missouri Infantry enlisted August 7, 1862

Revolutionary War

Richard Lewis
Joseph Spangler

Seems like William Rodman Benson and Henry Arney should have served in the Civil War based on their ages and locations. They were both in Arkansas, although Henry went to Illinois and then came back after the war. There are also lots of Shamblin from Tennesse that served in the Civil War so probably some of those are related somehow.

I love quilts

I love quilts. Love the colors, the patterns, the fabric, the creative / artistic part, the social part that was a quilting bee ... did I mention I love quilts?

This double wedding ring quilt is hanging in my den now. It was made by Almira Griffith, my great great grandmother, for my Dad. I also have the one she made for my uncle. She had six grand kids so I guess she made one for each.

I sew but I don't like to hand sew so I can't image
all those tiny stitches.

Some Sigmon Family History

I found an article on http://www.myindianahome.net/ entitled "Some Sigmon Family History"
written by Olive Clements Cotton for the Vevay newspaper in 1944.

John Sigmon b. Viriginia June 6, 1784 married Rachel Richards b. November 26, 1793. They have seven kids.
1. Mary "Polly" married William Griffith (her first cousin)
William Griffith dies, Polly marries William Gray. It probably is convenient to have both your husbands with the same first name. :)
2. Thomas married Rachel Lewis (his cousin)
3. Larkin married Mary "Polly" Gray
4. Julia Ann married Jacob Lewis on May 5, 1841 (grandparents of lady who wrote the article)
5. Catherine "Cassie" youngest by quite a bit born September 8, 1840 married John Protsman, Jr.
6. John R. married Louise Ogle
7. Jesse never married


John Sigmon's sister was Katie she married Jackson Griffith. Katie and Jackson have two sons. William, who marries his cousin Mary "Polly" Sigmon and Joshua. Joshua marries Caroline Vernon and becomes the pastor of Long Run Baptist Church.

Mary "Polly" Sigmon and William Griffith have two sons, Benjamin and William, Jr.
Benjamin married Adeline Huckleberry, they are my great great grandparents. Benjamin and Adeline have 5 kids: Ann Mariah, who went blind from scarlet fever, John, Albert, Mary, Almira (my great grandmother) and Gertrude "Gertie. " My cousin said Gertie worked at the orphanage in Sand Spring, Oklahoma. She did not know if she ever married or had children.

Mary "Polly" Sigmon and her second husband, William Gray have John, Mary Ann and Isaac.

I think this is correct. Parts of the article are hard to follow and some of it mentions people I cannot match up with anyone. The Indiana marriage records, http://208.119.135.17/db/in_marriages_1850/marriages_search.asp
show a Polly Sigman married to a John Griffith not William, but maybe John is his middle name. And there is a Polly Griffith who marries William Gray a few years later. I'm still not sure who William Griffith, Jr. (Benjamin's brother) married.

Joshua Griffith and Long Run Baptist Church

It's been about a month since I posted. My life in the present often gets in the way of my researching the past.

I have found a few things ....

Don't you just love the internet?!?!? What did we do before?????
I saw a "post-em" on rootsweb.com about an article in the Indiana Magazine of History. I was able to find the magazine website http://www.indiana.edu/~imaghist/index.html with a searchable index. And then my library had the two articles on microfilm.

In Volume #31 in 1935 "The Long Run Baptist Church" by Ella Porter Griffith. Ella's father, Joshua Griffith was the pastor for 45 years. A few facts from the article:
The family is of Welsh descent.
The church started in 1818 on land given by William J. Griffith (Joshua's father) in Craig Township seven miles from Vevay. In 1843, it moved across the road and the old church ground became a cemetery.
My great great aunt, Ann Marie Griffith, sometimes led the singing.


Volume #36 in 1940 "Joshua Griffith: Pioneer Preacher" by Ella Porter Griffith
Relevant stuff from the article:
Family left Virginia for Kentucky around 1800.
Uncle John Sigmon in Parks Ridge in Switzerland County, Indiana.
Joshua Griffith born December 11, 1823 to William J. and Catherine Griffith.
Big brothers Tom and John.
Older married sister Mary who dies when Joshua was young.
Joshua is 18 years old when he is ordained at Milton Baptist Church in Jefferson County, Indiana.
Marries Caroline M. Vernon in October 1848.
Caroline has a sister Liza.

The article ends with a quote from a letter written to Ella's oldest sister. "Your father and I have been neighbors for more than sixty years and I know of no one that I would rather have for a neighbor in the great hereafter than him."

William Huckleberry

Adeline Huckleberry is my great great grandmother. She married Benjamin Griffith in 1850 so she is on the Census with her husband not her parents. She died between 1870 and 1880 so there is no death certificate. I have not found where she is buried.

I found this article
http://myindianahome.net/gen/switz/records/history/Sigmon.html which gives the name of Adeline's sister as Lucinda. (However, I think it is Laurinda.) She died in 1902. I just got Laurinda's death certificate and it gives the name of her Father as William Huckleberry and her Mother's maiden name as Butchdnenon born in Indiana. So the last name can't possibly be right. By looking at rootsweb and myindianahome.net, I believe the last name is Buchanan.

William has either two or three wives. Not sure if Adeline and Laurinda have the same Mother as they are nine years apart in age. But at least I have the Father's name.

Random info from my last two library visits

Sometimes you find something really cool at the library and sometimes you just don't. I think these are "don't" visits.

I have ordered 3 microfilms from Family Search. I am waiting and not very patiently (Patient doesn't go with my red hair. And btw, never pray for patience, I did that I few times and then wound up in the grocery lines from hell!)
The 3 microfilms I ordered:
Cemeteries of Carroll County, Kentucky
Marriage and death notices from Switzerland County, Indiana newspaper
Marriage records of Switzerland County

This started out as looking for Griffith and Huckleberry however the Lewis and Leachman families were in Carroll County, Kentucky and I just figured out my husband's Brooks family was in or near Carroll County.

Meanwhile I found a few things ....

Switzerland County Will Records
Lavina J. Griffith will dated 12/28/1893 received 5/21/1895
sons Nelson Griffith and Thomas Griffith both deceased

Thomas Sigmon will dated 10/31/1882 Received 2/5/1883
wife Rachel Sigmon, daughters Elizabeth Sigmon, Ann Eliza Protsman and Antoinette Protsman

Mount Zion Cemetery, Craig Township
William (1824 - 1888) and Lorinda (1823-1902) Brindley
(So let's assume if it says Lorinda on the headstone that is her name and not Lucinda.)
Same cemetery
Mary Malissa Madary wife of George D and only daughter of Wm and L. Brindley d 8/1/1887 aged 22 y 10 m 27 d

Eight Huckleberry (various spellings) marriages in Clark County, Indiana from 1891 to 1901. So then are the Clark County ones related to my Switzerland County Huckleberrys? Which at the moment consists of 2 people, Adeline, my great great grandmother and her sister Lorinda (not Lucinda.)

Sevier County Tennessee cemeteries
Evans Chapel ( Locust Ridge) Mary Shamblin Valentine 1827 - 1885
Aaron Profitt Cemetery Judy Shamblin May June no years listed

Hillcrest Cemetery Bradley County, Tenn
Shamblin , Ida Lee Duggan
Shamblin, Arthur N.
Shamblin, James C.
Shamblin, Vivia Ruth Goins
Shamblin, Chassie

from Carroll County, KY Vital Statistics
8 Lewis babies between 1852 and 1859. Proud parents Stephen and Matilda Lewis, John and Sarah Lewis, Merit and Sarah Lewis, TL and Malinda Lewis

Swiss Settlement of Switzerland County Indiana
In 1870 Joshua Griffith was elected County Treasurer for 2 years from 9/1/1871.
In 1874 Francis M. Griffith was elected County Treasurer for 2 years from 9/1/1875
Wonder if this is the same person as the Hon. F. M. Griffith pictured in Pauline's scrapbook?

Marriage of Lewis Leachman and Almira Griffith

From Pauline's scrapbook, the marriage of my great grandparents:

Married- At the residence of Wm. Griffith, near Vevay, August 25, Mr. Lewis V. Leachman and Miss Almira Griffith by Rev. W. E. Morris; Both parties from Carroll County, Ky. May many flowers of happiness be strewn along their pathway - Vevay Times.
Yes, but what's the use of doing things up that way; why did'nt you let us know beforehand, and have a real good old fashioned wedding, and invite all your friends, including the Democrat? These post nuptial congratulations are not as satisfactory to us, but they none the less sincere.

I believe William is Almira's Uncle. They married in 1887. By this time, Almira's mother had passed away.

Pauline Leachman's scrapbook

For some unknow reason, I have my Great Aunt, Pauline Leachman's scrapbook. The book itself is her brother's Atlas Science Tablet and she pasted newspaper clippings over the pages.
Scanning the whole book was my first thought, but it would take a while and some of the paper is so discolored I'm not sure it would scan. Here is a list of what I have, if you are interested an article, let me know.

Lewis Leachman and Shawnee, Oklahoma Masonic Lodge
Leechman brother in Falls City, Nebraska
Mrs. J. R. Stout or Fannie Belle Leachman obit
Robert T. Leachman obit
Mrs Sarah (Parker) Leachman obit
Letter written by George W. Scott to the newpaper in memory of Leonard Leachman
Dr. W. T. Leachman "no hope for recovery"
John T. Blackburn and Lula Craigmyle marriage
Mrs Mattie Leachman and Frank Lewis marriage
Mr Congdon and Cora Leachman marriage
Leonard Leachman and wife Pauline celebrate 63rd anniversary
Robert Blake obit
Mary Louise (Griffith) McCreary obit
Leonard Leachman obit
Pauline (Lewis) Leachman obit
Mrs W. T. Leachman not missing
Leonard and Pauline Leachman Golden Anniversary
Masonic Lodge #107 and 523 Dec 1940
Drawing cut from the newspaper of Hon. F. M Griffith
Grace Mankey and Mr. H. Leachman marriage
Helen Viola (Leachman) Welsh obit
Mary (Montgomery) Searcy obit
Gertrude Lacey and William Clark marriage
Asbury Ames obit
Judge Robert Leachman obit

And so it begins

I began researching my Family Tree around 2003. I heard the best way to start was by getting your grandparents birth, death and marriage records. So, I did that and that got me started. I then found I could get a login from my local library and go on Heritage Quest and look at the Census records. So far, I have found a few cousins through Rootsweb.com that were also researching.

I also come from pretty descent line of pack rats so I have my Great Aunt's scrapbook full of mostly Leachman obits and a few news stories. My Aunt had a trunk with two old albums of pictures labeled mostly Bensons and Arneys. And then several boxes of unlabeled pictures. I have an album my Great Grandfather had. Most of the pictures are unlabeled but have the photographer's city state. I believe most of these are Leachmans and Griffiths maybe a few Lewis' and Huckleberrys thrown in for good measure.

After I started finding a few things, I had too much paper floating around so I put everything in notebooks. Then I decided I needed a "title" for my genealogy. I have red hair and green eyes and am very fair. ( I take offense to the term pale; that implies you are sick and I am not.) So I settled on "But ... you look Irish." Trust me, I get that alot. So far I have come back to Switzerland on a few lines so maybe I am predominately Swiss. Or maybe I am just Heinz 57 with red hair and green eyes. The Barbie pictured is Princess of Ireland that I bought a Target for $20.00 (Don't you just love Target?) She is the first Barbie I ever saw with green eyes and red hair, and not red like a crayon.

I will try to post a few of the more interesting ( well, to me anyway) finds. Thanks for dropping by. And as my great aunt used to say, "Don't wait til I'm dead to come see me again!"

Amy