Puzzling Leroy

I think of genealogy research sometimes as really complicated jigsaw puzzle – a bit like someone gave my grandmother for Christmas a few months ago.  I made the joke that someone with a sick mind gave that to her…and my grandmother agreed that she didn’t want to try it.  I think it was 1000 pieces with a picture on the front and the back.  So you not only had to match the front but that back as well –seemingly infinite possibilities.  Some of these puzzle pieces spark a little more curiosity.  One of these puzzle pieces for me was my great grandfather’s older brother, Leroy James Gage.

Granddad Gage (my great grandfather) was the oldest surviving child in his branch of his father’s family.  His father, Orlando, had been married to Charity Hotaling before Edith Gallup and Orlando and Charity had had four children.  They were: 

• Burton Latta Gage b. 8 Oct 1876 d. 27 Sep 1949 m. Bessie Young
• Edwin Welsh Gage b. 7 Jun 1879 d. 1960 m. Flora Sidney
• Leroy James Gage b. 22 Dec 1880 d. 14 Oct 1910 m. Effie Butts
• Nellie Mabel Gage b. 10 Sep 1885 d. 11 Sep 1972

Orlando and Edith Gallup had the following:

• Allen G. Gage b. 10 Dec 1888 d. 12 Oct 1890
• Ora Silas Gage b. 5 Apr 1892 d. 30 Dec 1990 m. Florence Christine Shawver
• Peter Z. Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 21 Nov 1983 m. Elizabeth Mathieson
• Phebe Margaret Gage b. 23 Oct 1894 d. 28 Jul 1976 m. August Peterson
• Alice Irene Gage b. 29 Mar 1896 d. 11 Sep 1976 m. Howard E. Frey

Charity died about a month after Nellie’s birth.  About 9 months later, Orlando married Edith Gallup who was by that time probably considered an “old maid schoolteacher.”  I’m sure he had thoughts that she would take care of the rowdy boys…but they proved to be quite a handful.  Nellie stayed with her grandmother for her first few years.  By the time 10 years had passed, Edith had had 5 children, 4 of who were still living. 

Growing up, I had heard a lot about Granddad’s younger siblings and had met most of them – but I had never really heard much about his older siblings.  I know that he had a lot of contact with Burt and Nellie but I heard little about the others.  The one that I really puzzled about was Leroy James Gage.  My great uncles said that their Dad talked about his brother “Roy”, but all they knew was that he died young.  Leroy James Gage was not quite 30 years old when he died.  He was married and had four children by the time of his death – and for a long time, I didn’t know what happened to him.  After my great - grandparents had passed; my Grandmother and I went through a lot of the old photo albums.  We found a photo album that had a lot of old vintage post cards.  Most were notes from his siblings but there was one that was mailed to his sister, Phebe that finally cleared up the mystery of Leroy’s death.  Nellie had written to Phebe that “Leroy was very sick with Plural Pneumonia and was taken a week ago.”  She concluded that she would write more later.  I don’t know what happened to that letter, but what a said message for them to receive.  Granddad Gage and his younger siblings had moved out to Nebraska to live with their maternal grandmother after Orlando and Edith’s deaths in 1908.  It seemed such a short time later, that they lost their older brother.

Front of Postcard - Informing family of Leroy's death

Back of Postcard - Informing family of Leroy's death

 Also in my great grandparents things was a letter.  It was from a Margaret who was a great granddaughter of Leroy James Gage and Effie Butts.  In the letter, she mentioned finding my great grandparent’s names in her great grandmother’s address book.  Effie, Leroy’s widow, had lived 67 years as widow after her husband’s death…after being married a short 8 years.  My great uncle gave me the task to finding this cousin who was descended from Leroy.  This wasn’t an easy task as she mentioned in her letter that she was getting married in a few weeks, and I realized that it would be pretty hard to track her.  I spent some time at the task…and one day I received an email from a Peggy asking me if I knew anything about Leroy James Gage.  I replied that yes…I did and what did she want to know?  She replied almost instantly and told me who she was.  I then asked her if her real name was Margaret and if she was, did she write Ora Gage in 1987.  Peggy replied back very quickly that yes she was Margaret and that she had a copy of that letter sitting right in front her.  Ironically…so did I…and Peggy and I began a relationship through emails and phone calls that has lasted ever since.  She lives in NY and I live in Idaho…but someday, we will get a chance to meet.  Sometimes it is months or perhaps a year or two between contacts – but when we do get a chance to visit, it takes a long phone call to catch up.  I have shared what I know about the Gage family and she and her daughter have spent hours taking pictures of gravestones back in New York.  I feel like she has given me far more than I have given her.  I have to wonder though if my Great Granddad didn’t arrange our connection from up above!

Tracing William Henry Dollar

My 4^th great grandfather, William Henry Dollar, began his live near the Eno River, Orange Co., NC.  He was the son of William Dollar b. 1762-1764 Orange Co., NC d. aft 10/11/1850 and Mary Wilson b. abt 1771 d. bet 1840-1850.  I am fairly sure that I don’t have a complete list of his siblings nor do I have as is apparent exact dates of his parent’s births or deaths.  The only exact date I have on them is their marriage on 25 Aug 1789 in Orange Co., NC.

The Dollar family had probably only been in North Carolina for one generation probably following the Revolutionary War where William served as a Blacksmith.  He was drafted in 1780 and probably served with his brother Elijah.  I believe that William Henry Dollar must have been he and Mary Wilson’s youngest son as she would have been around 40 when he was born.  The next record occurs when he marries Mary Jane “Jennie” Sparks on 22 May 1838 in Orange Co., NC.  I have no exact date on the birth of their oldest child, Alexander Monroe Dollar, but his death record says that he was born in Aug 1838.  It isn’t quite clear if he was born in Orange Co., NC or Ashe Co., NC but I would estimate that he was probably born in Orange Co., NC.  As a much younger son, William Henry Dollar probably had no choice but to move on to somewhere else to find a better opportunity.  I’ve heard the story related that William Henry Dollar and his small family traveled by wagon looking for a new place to live and ended up in Ashe Co., NC. 

The William Henry Dollar homestead - later owned by his son James Madison Dollar.  (Picture from Loretta Gentry)

Copy of Marriage Record between William Henry Dollar and Jane Sparks.  (Copy from Richard Tucker)

I have often wondered about the ancestry of Jennie Sparks…I’ve also wondered what her name is exactly.  I have seen it has Jennie, Mary Jane or Jane…most commonly as Jennie Sparks.  Sometimes the individuals listed on the marriage bond have something to do with the couple…but I’ve never found anything on W. McCauley or George Browning or the witness J Taylor.  I have also been asked many times if I thought she might have been Native American.  I actually suspect that she might have been Melungeon;  this could have meant that she had African blood or was Portuguese or Spanish.  I know there was a large population of Melungeon’s who went to the New River area in North Carolina and Virginia which is where Ashe Co., NC is located.  I have heard Melungeons described as Indian, Arab, Spanish, Turkish or Jewish descent.  I don’t think anyone really knows and I haven’t heard of any real DNA study that really pins the ancestry down.  I have never found any trace of Jennie before her marriage to William Henry Dollar…and all that I have just said is speculation and so therefore a theory.

William Henry Dollar is hard to trace through the volumes of data that has been published online.  You will find him in the LDS Ancestral File as William Columbus Dollar.  I spent a few years searching on that name and another Dollar cousin pointed out to me that he is never listed as William Columbus…sometimes as William, Billy, or Henry and his son William Henry Dolllar, Jr must be called that for a reason.  After a little more looking, I discovered the source of the “Columbus” – my great great aunt Cassie who had done a lot of the early research on the family had put that name into the LDS Ancestral file.  In fact a William Columbus Dollar does show up in the line…but he is the grandson of William Henry Dollar through his son James Madison Dollar.

William Henry Dollar spent the majority of his life after his marriage in Ashe Co., NC living near what is now called Cabbage Creek in the Laurel Twp. in Ashe Co., NC.  We know from a letter written to the Emeline Dollar Tucker in UT in 1893 that Jennie Sparks Dollar passed away on 21 Jun 1893 in Solitude, Ashe Co., NC.  It must have been soon after her death that William Henry Dollar left his home to his youngest son, James Madison Dollar, and traveled west to Cleveland, Emery Co., UT to live with his daughter, Emeline.  Some of the Tucker family have told me that he converted to Mormonism (which Emeline and her husband were church members).  William Henry Dollar died on 31 Aug 1895 in Cleveland, Emery Co., UT and his buried at the local cemetery there.

William Henry Dollar's grave at Cleveland Town Cemetery, Emery Co., UT.

I have traced William Henry Dollar and his family through every census record and tax record that I have had access to.  I have always been curious as to the reasons why our ancestors moved from their homes to a new place.  Did William Henry move to Ashe Co., NC because it was a new opportunity…was his wife Melungeon and knew that she would be accepted there…or was it simply the place they stopped because a blacksmith was needed?  Did he maintain contact with his family in Orange Co., NC or was it really even possible?  So…I continue to trace William Henry Dollar and his family in hopes that someday I might get a few of my questions answered!

Finder's Delight

Imagine the delight of the researcher who one day decided to get a copy of the John Barton Revolutionary pension file.  You must imagine how it might have happened.  They have been vainly searching for more information on John Barton and Elizabeth Pennington.  Perhaps they didn’t even know Elizabeth’s last name or the names of her parents and siblings.  Can you imagine the frustration?  Then one day after waiting for several weeks, you get a package in the mail from the US Archives – and there it is – spelled out in black and white – a list of their children and Elizabeth’s family!

The early Pennington researchers spent a great deal of time trying to piece together families with sometimes limited resources.  It isn’t like now when there is a wealth of information available for sometimes for little money or for free.  I can download a copy of the entire John Barton pension on my library’s website through Heritage Quest.  I know that when I ordered two Civil War pensions that they cost me about $40 a piece.  You never quite know what you are going to get when you order a military pension.  Sometimes it is a bonanza of information and other times it can be merely a curiosity.  However, this particular pension has a wealth of information in the first two pages alone.  It lists the complete list of children for John and Elizabeth Pennington Barton and then on the second page it lists her entire family. 

This second page was particularly important to a lot of Pennington researchers.  It isn’t very often that you have exact birth dates or a complete listing of family members from a family who were all born in the 1700’s.  If it wasn’t for this record – we might never know about Rachel Pennington b.25 Dec 1771 because I know of no descendants for her.  Yet Elijah, Levi, & Benajah remain enigmas.  For many years it was assumed that my ancestor Levi Pennington b. 1794 was a son of Levi b. 1767 – but other evidence has suggested otherwise.  Levi b. 1767 disappears from records after 1815 – he may have gone elsewhere or passed away.  Elijah supposedly married a Susannah Kelley and went to TN. I’ve never found trace of him after 1800 or so and I have never been sure where the marriage record came from.  We have listings of descendants of the rest of the children, but only one stayed in Ashe Co., NC.  Benajah pretty much disappears from history after a power of attorney document was found in 1812 concerning his father.  After that, there is no further trace that has yet been found.

Micajah, Jr went to Lee Co., VA and Harlan Co., KY – we don’t know the name of his wife, but we do have several children who are attributed to him.  He died sometime after the 1850 census probably in Harlan Co., KY.  Mary Pennington married Jesse Bowling and ended up in Breathitt Co., KY and died in 1842.  Edward “Neddy” Pennington married Martha “Patsy”Flanary and moved to Lee Co., VA.  Elizabeth married John Barton, Jr and lived in Grayson Co., VA.  Sarah “Sarey” Pennington married Samuel Johnston, Sr and moved to Buckhorn, Perry Co., KY and died in 1817.  Johanna married Douglas Dickson and died sometime after 1860 in Ashe Co., NC

There are a lot more details that I can include on these families…and probably will sometime in the future – but imagine the delight of discovering the proof of the kinship of these brothers and sisters with their parents.  Much of this information was first spelled out by Bee Holmes who was one of the founding members of the Pennington Research Association.  I could easily put myself in her shoes and imagine the “genealogy high” she must have experienced when she saw that document for the first time.  I think that “high” is one of the reasons that so many of us out there spend so much time in genealogy research…that kind of experience can spur you on to even more devoted research in hopes of finding another great piece of documentation.

List of Micajah Pennington Family - Pg 1

List of Micajah Pennington Family - Pg 2

Grandma's Diaries

At home I have metal box that contains a lifetime of memories…that of my grandmother.  Capitola Friddle Tannahill Shearer was a writer.  She wrote for her the local paper reporting on news from Elk City, ID as well as editorials about local issues.  She also kept a diary for most of her life.  These diaries are a precious window into my grandmother’s mind.  I knew her as a child and young adult…but when she died when I was 18 years old – the opportunity to get to know her better was lost.

When we cleaned out my grandparents’ house after their deaths, we brought the diaries home and left them down in storage I the basement.  I don’t think that my mother was ready to look at them.  I didn’t really understand her attitude at the time – I didn’t understand how difficult it was to lose one’s mother…I now understand that feeling all too well.  I can remember my brother and I thumbing through the diaries looking at the entries when we were born.  It was neat to read about her excitement at a new grandchild, but the diary that was probably the saddest to read was kept upstairs in my mother’s keeping.

My grandmother lost her first husband in 1947.  Richard had gone out hunting with a friend and when the friend’s gun had jammed he had sat down to work on it.  It went off and killed Richard who was half way up the hill.  My mother remember going to the movies the night before he died….that was in Grandma’s diary.  On the day of his death…my grandmother wrote simply “My darling Richard!”  The next day she wrote about making the plans for his funeral and choosing his coffin.  The ennui of the difficult plans of a funeral for a loved one.  Then there was nothing for three months in the diary. 

In another diary she wrote about my mother’s health problems but also another significant event in the area.  The Mt. St Helens volcano erupted on May 18, 1980 – but that was actually the end of a long process.  We had almost daily reports of the dome of the crater building and of Harry Truman on the news refusing to leave his home.  Grandma reported all of this in her diary.  It was fun to read the events that led up to the eruption as well as the small family details like an Easter dinner or visit with her brother.  I was about 13 years old when Mt St Helen’s erupted and vividly remember what happened like anyone else who was in the path of the eruption’s ash cloud.  Somehow I had forgotten how we watched the evening news every night to see what had happened that day.  Grandma also wrote about the difficulties that my mother had gone through when she had to have an emergency hysterectomy.  Although she didn’t write about her worry…it was there.  In a way, it made me look at the events through someone else’s eyes.

Grandma Cappy at her table with her cat "Putty Cat"

In my mind, I can still see my grandmother sitting at the table in her home at Elk City writing in her diary or working on her articles for the newspaper.  The small table sat at the window so she could look outside.  In my mind’s eye, I can remember the view of the Elk City township spread out before her.  I wish I had grabbed that table when I had the chance.  

Silas Gallup & Sarah Gallup in NY

The name Ebenezer brings up thoughts of “Bah Humbug!”, but it was actually a fairly common name in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  I’m sure the name lost much of it’s allure thanks to Dicken’s timeless tale!  My 4^th Great grandfather was named Ebenzer Gallup and was born on 25 Sep 1795 and was  my first Gallup ancestor born in New York state.

Ebenezer was the son of Silas Gallup and Sarah Gallup.  Silas and Sarah were 2^nd cousins who married 13 Jan 1774 in Stonington, New London Co., CT.  Ebenezer was the youngest of their 11 children.  Silas and his brothers Levi, Samuel & Ezra and their cousin John Gallup moved into Albany Co., NY and helped establish the towns of Knox and Berne, NY in the late 1700’s.  Based on the birthdates of Silas & Sarah’s youngest two sons, they emigrated from Connecticut to New York between 1791 and 1795.  When Ebenezer was a bit over a year old, his father died.  Silas Gallup was 47 years old and I would guess that he probably died due to some disease.   Sarah Gallup died a few years later in 1799 at the age of 48 years old.  So, at the age of 4 years old, Ebenezer was left as an orphan.  From what I know – only the oldest daughter was married and out of the household.  Silas and Sarah’s children are as following:

• 
  
• Sally b. 9/30 1774 d. 11/27/1852 m.  Robert Babcock
• Margaret  b. 7/21/1776 d. bef 1860 m. Joseph Crary
• Silence b. 6/7/1778 d. 8/14/1834 m. Silas Brewster
• Fanny b. 3/24/1780 d. 12/28/1862 m. Frederick Babcock
• Silas, Jr. b. 6/4/1782 d. 4/17/1783
• Lois b. 4/11/1784 d. 4/28/1784
• Hannah b. 6/8/1785 d. 9/13/1785
• Nathan b. 1/5/1787 d. 4/23/1844 m. Nancy Morgan
• Silas, Jr. b. 7/25/1789 d. 6/14/1790
• Eli b. 2/11/1791 d. 4/1882 m. Sarah Crary
• Ebenezer b. 9/25/1795 d. 10/8/1865 m. Susan Harden

I found out from one of my cousins that Ebenezer was mostly raised by his sister, Silence and her husband Silas Brewster.  I suspect that the other younger children must have been placed with different family members.  I am limited as to what I have been able to discover about their lives.  I still wonder why Silas and Sarah Gallup died so young…and what happened to all of their children after their deaths.  Judging by the time period – I suspect that they probably died of something like small pox.  It must have been difficult for the older children to take care of their younger siblings.  I suspect that Margaret didn’t marry until later in life (she was 33 years old) that she might have been the one to take of her younger siblings in their homestead.  In the early 1800’s, it must have been very difficult for a young woman to take of her younger siblings without some sort of assistance. 

Ebenezer's gravestone at Middleburg Cemetery.

My 4^th great grandfather Ebenezer married Susan Harden on 19 Nov 1826 in Middleburg, Schenectady Co., NY.  Not too long after his marriage, his sister, Silence died in 1830.  Seems quite sad that the sister who raised him died so soon his marriage.  Unlike his parents, Ebenezer lived to be a good age – 70 years old…and his wife Susan lived it to be 78 years old.  They had 10 children together and 8 of them lived to adulthood.  Just one generation after his father’s family moved to New York, my 3^rd great grandfather moved to Nebraska – probably trying to find a better life just like his grandfather. 

Walloon's to New Amsterdam

As far as I can tell, almost all of my ancestors definitely came from Europe…some came on the Mayflower or shortly thereafter…others during the mid  1700’s and few other lines came during the early 1880’s.  I have no ancestral lines that I know of who arrived after 1825.  So…my ancestral history almost showcases some of the early immigrants who came to America.  One of those early lines is the Truax family.

My 5^th great grandmother probably has one of the more unusual names that I have come across…her name was Annatje Truax.   From what I was able to discover, it is a Dutch name.  I assume that is probably a version of Anna and Annatje was named for her mother, Anna Elizabeth Zeybel.  The only Dutch influence that was close was through Annatje’s paternal grandmother, Lysbeth De La Grange.  Annatje was born in 1769 to Willem Truax and Anna Elizabeth Zeybel.  She married Peter Jost Zeh on 4 Dec 1790.  Her great great grandson, Ora Gage was my beloved great grandfather.  Granddad Gage moved from New York in 1915 and I found out very early on that his mother’s Gallup family arrived in New York from Connecticut in the late 1780’s.  I was surprised to discover that his grandmother, Phebe Allen’s line arrived in the New York area much earlier.

Annatje’s great great grandfather, Philippe Du Trieux arrived in New Amsterdam in 1624.  He was born about 1588 in Rubaix, France.  The Du Trieux family were Walloons who were probably from what is known today as Belgium.  According to what I have read , they were primarily Celtic stock who fled their native area during the time of the Reformation.  This area of Europe was still under Spanish rule and there was a great deal of persecution for those who became Protestants.  The Du Trieux family fled to Leiden and Amsterdam, Holland.  Philippe Du Trieux was a dyer  - which was considered a very importat skill for the day.  By the time, 1624 had arrived – Philippe had been widowed and left with three small children and had remarried and started a new family.  During this same time, the West India Company had developed  a good fur trade and wanted to settle the land.  Philippe and many other Walloon families left the Netherlands in April 1624 on the “New Netherland” and arrived in New York about 6 weeks later.   Philippe ended up settling in what is present day Manhattan and owned several different pieces of land.  Philippe ended up dying in New Amsterdam, present day New York City with his eldest son, Philippe, Jr. in what I presume was an Indian attack.

Philippe’s son, Isaac married Maria Williamse Brouwver and soon after his marriage, they moved to Schenectady, Schenectady Co., NY where their son, Jacob Truax was born.  By this time the name Du Trieux had changed – perhaps so people could spell it phonetically or perhaps it was a Dutch spelling – I’m not really sure.  Jacob married Lysbeth De La Grange and their son Willem married Anna Elizabeth Zeybel…and now I am back to Annatje.  I found it very interesting to find out that my great grandfather’s family was in the same area in New York not the 100 years I suspected but actually well over 200 years before his birth. 

The rest of the line goes like this:

• Annatje Truax m. Peter Jost Zeh
• Elizabeth Zeh m. John Allen
• Phoebe Ann Allen m. Gilbert Gage
• Orlando Gage m. Edith Gallup
• Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
• Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson

Marian and Frank were my grandparents.  I suspect that the Truax family is one that I will revisit often as they seem to have something interesting being uncovered.  Walloons from Belgium seem pretty exotic to someone who thought they were almost all English, Irish and German!

Leander Franklin Kelley

Since I started researching my family lines, I have always recognized the importance of the peripheral lines as well.  Just as I have spent a lot of time on my direct line, I have also spent a great deal of time on the siblings and families of my direct ancestors.I have always thought that Leander almost seemed like a feminine name to me, but I know it to be a male name.  My great grandmother was one of 14 children.   All but two of them lived to be adults.  Most of the children were born in Clay Co., KY until 1885, when John Ward Kelly and Melvina Robertson moved west to Chautauqua Co., KS.  Melvina died in 1890 after having three more children; the youngest and Melvina dying during childbirth.

Leander Franklin Kelly - abt 1909

  Leander Franklin Kelly was almost 10 years when his mother died.  I’m sure it had to be difficult for John Ward Kelley to take care of such a large family on his own, so within a short time after his wife’s death to a Laura or perhaps Sarona Spivey.  I’ve never found proof of either marriage.  Lee (as Leander was called) had problems with this step mother and he took off at the age of 13 to make his own way.  He started out working through northwestern Oklahoma (which was known as the Cherokee strip) and then within three years he ended up near the Arkansas line.  He stated there until 1902, when got the chance to ride a train to Seattle, WA.  That fall he headed down to Lewiston, ID.  Lee met and married Lucinda Ella Powell in 1906 and married her in Orofino, ID.  Lee and Lucinda quickly added children to their family.  By 1930, they had 5 living children – including 4 daughters and one son.  Lee worked ranch work around Idaho Co., ID and near Teakean, Clearwater Co., ID.  Lee died on 23 Jun 1936 after committing suicide.  Earl, his son, told me that he was in terrible pain from stomach cancer and took his own life to stop the agonizing pain.  His wife, Lucinda married a widower and died in 1961 in Lewiston, ID.

Leander & Lucinda Kelley

Several years ago I had the opportunity to meet Lee’s son, Earl.  I had wondered why Lee had committed suicide and wanted to know if he knew that he had family that had also moved to Lewiston.  Lee’s brother –in-law, John Lyons Tannahill moved to Idaho in the 1920’s.  He had followed his brothers up north from Oklahoma.  I found it interesting that they ended up the in the same area.  Earl told me that his father was aware of the family that had moved to Idaho.  He came home one day from work and told his family that he had helped his niece when she had car problems and had fixed the car.  That niece was my grandfather’s twin sister, Rachel.  I also learned later that John Ward Kelley had actually traveled up to Idaho to visit Lee before he died in 1910.  I’ve often wondered if he made the long trip to mend fences with his son.  Learning about Lee Kelley reminded me of the importance of researching these siblings.  I learned a lot about the Kelley family that I never would have known.

Teakean Cemetery - Teakean, ID

 

Lee Kelley's grave

Lee's baby's grave

One of the other significant things about Lee Kelley for me personally is that it was one of my first cemetery trips.  I had no idea where Tekean, ID was…and had never heard of it until I found out that Lee Kelley was buried there.  So, one stormy fall afternoon, my father and I took off to find Teakean, ID.  We traveled out through Juliaetta, ID and up through Southwick and further on through to the top of the high plain.  There - seemingly in the middle of nowhere – was Teakean, ID.  All that remained of the town were a few houses and a cemetery.   Dad and I got our coats on and started walking the cemetery, and found Lee’s grave quite easily…and 

buried next to him was their young baby that had died shortly after birth.

I have since located Lee’s wife’s grave in Normal Hill Cemetery in Lewiston, ID and all of his daughters and have learned recently that Lee’s son, Earl had passed away as well.  Leander Kelley was the first relative that I was able to research first hand.  I researched him through records, personal interview with his son, his obituary, and traveled a few hours to go and find his grave.  You might say that he helped me become addicted to genealogy.