Digging Up Your Family

Headstones: History in the Making

Several weeks ago my great-aunt Kat had mentioned to my mom that she had always wanted a headstone for her mother’s grave and was never able to get one, whether due to monetary issues or distance from the cemetery itself. It was something that I had thought about a few times before, getting a headstone for my great-grandmother, so I started looking around. And I found that headstones are far, far more expensive than I thought they were. A basic small headstone was hundreds of dollars. That wasn’t going to do, so I started looking around again. Then my mom sent me a link to a website that tells how to make the stones. It looked easy enough, so we (my mom, my husband and I) started making the stones about three weeks ago. This past Sunday my mom and I drove up to Tennessee to set the stones. Aunt Kat got misty.

The following is the journey to make the headstones.

The headstones set in Double Springs Presbyterian Cemetery, Humboldt, Gibson County, Tennessee.

The website that my mom found was The Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project. Neal Du Shane of APCRP is so helpful. I am so grateful for him for being in contact with me and giving me tips and tricks along the way to make the stones successful.

Anyway, here’s how we made the stones.

Supplies

2x4s

Long screws

Flat sticks, like 1 1/2” wood trim

Press-in letters (I ordered from Magnetic Poetry, as suggested by APCRP)

Pencil

Very strong plywood boards

Garbage bags or other plastic

Newspaper

Wheelbarrow

Shovel

Quikrete Type S Mason (mortar) Mix 80lbs bag (make sure it’s MORTAR mix)

Water (about 5 liters)

Small hand cement tamper

Hand cement trowel

Rubber mallet

Small bucket of water

Cloth rag or paper towels

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Seal Krete Clear-Seal Gloss Concrete Sealer

Wrought iron accoutrements and nails, if so desired

Be sure to make just one stone at a time. Neal figured out that the time one has from when the mortar is mixed to work with it is roughly 30-45 minutes. He is not joking. It’s a short amount of time, so you have to work quickly, but efficiently. All supplies laid out and ready to go!

Building the Frames

Each stone was to measure 21”x16”. My husband Brett cut 2x4s into lengths so that the inside of the frames would measure correctly, then used long screws to put the frames together.

Setting the Letters

I started by taping paper together into 21”x16” rectangles. Then Brett cut the trim pieces of wood into lengths of 23” (which is the measurement of the outside of the frames). I then laid the ironwork on the paper in the place it would be on the stones and marked the stick. I then began setting the letters and marking them on the stick to get them as centered as possible.

Set Up

Once the letters were set we were ready to begin making the stones. We started by setting a strong piece of plywood on a dolly to make it easier to move around. Plastic was laid on the plywood, followed by several layers of newspaper (it was figured that the newspaper might help absorb some of the moisture from the mortar). The frame was then placed on top of the newspaper. Letters and numbers were set out along with a written copy of the exact lettering (just in case I messed it up on the sticks!)

Preparing the Mortar

Brett poured the bag of mortar in the wheelbarrow. When he had the shovel ready I started pouring in water. I started with about 3 liters, then added until it was, as Neal said, the consistency of peanut butter (for the record, we had a discussion on whether or not Neal meant homemade peanut butter once the oil was poured off or popular name brand like Jiff or Skippy. We decided that it was probably in between, but more Skippy than homemade…so smooth, but not something that was sloshy and pourable). Brett put a lot of back work into it to get it mixed. Once it was mixed up he started shoveling the mix into the frame, while I spread it into the corners to make sure it was distributed evenly. Once it was all in Brett went to rinse the wheelbarrow and shovel while my mom tamped it all down to break all of the bubbles out and bring the “cream” (as Neal called it) to the top. We then smacked all around the outside of the frame with the rubber mallet to make sure the mortar got into the corners well and then Brett smoothed the top with the trowel, which brought more “cream” to the top. Once the top was perfectly smooth we were ready for the ironwork and the lettering. The mortar we used.

My mom tamping out the mortar.

Placing the Decoration and Letters

Placing the ironwork was done by eyeballing. I then laid it in place and smooshed it down as far as I could into the mortar. I then used the mallet to lightly tap it in a little deeper. Nails were placed in spots to anchor in the ironwork. I then placed the stick across the frame in the correct spots and began using my marked guides to press in the letters. My mom sprayed each letter with the cooking spray to prevent the mortar from sticking. As each letter was removed from the mortar she would rinse it in the bucket of water and dry to prepare it for it’s next use. Me laying out the guide stick.

Curing the Mortar

When the ironwork and the lettering were in place it was time to let the mortar cure. Since the stones were on the plywood on the dolly we just had to roll the dolly to the drying location, then pick up the plywood and place it in a dry spot for a few days. After about 48 hours Brett unscrewed the frame and the stone was moved to set on it’s side leaning on the wall so that air could flow freely around it and finish curing it.

Sealing the Headstones

After a week of curing it was time to seal the headstones. We took them outside and began using a very hard rock to smooth the edges and corners of the stone. After they were dusted off I used a small roller brush to apply a very thin coat of sealer. I allowed it to dry for about an hour, then applied more. I made sure to get a lot of sealer around the ironwork (to prevent staining from rust) and I made sure to coat the inside of all of the lettering. Then I let the sealer cure in the sun for a while, moving it to a dry place (the garage) to finishing curing for a week. Sealer drying on the bottom of the stones.

Placing the Headstones

My mom and I drove the headstones up to Tennessee for placing. And the way the stones are placed all depends on the cemetery. Some want rebar and all to be used, some just want pea gravel. I was told pea gravel, but when we got there the Rust family said to place them in the spots and they would do the permanent placing with concrete for us.

And that’s how Kat’s family got their stones!

A few notes concerning the stones:

I can’t actually tell you how much water we used, but it was more than 5 liters. When I measured out the 5 liters it left a lot of dry mortar. So I would start with that, but add more if needed.
Neal said that he found an easier way to get the mortar in the corners and get the bubbles out (and bring the “cream” to the top): use bladeless saws on the sides to vibrate the frame!
The “cream” actually leaves a very shiny coat to the top of the stone. The reason we used a sealer was because the cemetery required us to do it, but you don’t actually have to do it (unless you want to, I suppose).
We actually did one stone, Porter’s, as a tester. And his came out very well. When we first did Katie’s stone I wasn’t happy with it at all, so we pried the ironwork off it and started over again.
They are very heavy. One 80lb bag of mortar makes one headstone. So the headstones are 80lbs each.

The approximate cost to make five headstones (assuming you already have basic tools such as screws, mallet, trowel, nails, wheelbarrow, shovel, garbage bags, newspaper, cooking spray and rags):

2x4s = about $16
1 1/2” flat trim = about $6
Press-in Letters = $12.95 plus shipping, so we will just say about $13
Plywood boards = about $10
5 bags of Quikrete = about $30
Sealer = a gallon can is about $24 and we used roughly 1/4 gallon, so about $6
Accoutrements = Hobby Lobby has a large selection of wrought iron pieces for about $5 each, so about $25
Total approximate cost to make five headstones is about $106. That may seem like a lot, but as you can see here one single basic granite marker has a starting cost of $147.

The five we made are not perfect. Letters are slightly wonky, some edges aren’t perfectly straight (from the smoothing process). But these stones will last for hundreds of years. And they were handmade with love. Each epitaph was carefully selected for the person on who’s stone they were placed.

I am really glad that we were able to do this. And knowing that my family is pleased makes it all the better.

Betty Rust (helps oversee the cemetery), JJ Rust (carried the stones from the car to the gravesites), Billy Rust (helps oversee the cemetery), my son in his stroller, my mom, my 2nd cousin Polly, my great-aunt Kat, Polly’s husband James.

HENRY C.C. CRAFT

MAY 4, 1895

DECEMBER 27, 1971

IN JESUS’ NAME,

AMEN

(note: I asked Kat about her father’s middle name and it is Corbit. I thought it was Corbett since I had seen it spelled that way on certain records, but it is for certain Corbit. He went by CC or Corb, so CC seemed appropriate for his headstone. Henry CC Craft is my great-grandfather)

KATIE CLADY CATHEY CRAFT

DEC. 18, 1897

NOV. 25, 1935

HER MEMORY IS

ENSHRINED IN OUR

HEARTS FOREVER

(note: Katie Clady Cathey Craft is my great-grandmother)

JESSE PORTER

CRAFT

MARCH 11, 1929

APRIL 27, 1941

SAY A PRAYER

WHEN PASSING

(note: Jesse Porter Craft, known as Porter in the family, is my great-uncle)

LOUIS CRAFT HARRIS

DEC 12 1919

JAN 2 1949

BLESSED ARE THE

PURE IN HEART

(note: Louise Craft Harris is my great-aunt)

WRETHA JANE HARRIS

JAN. 26 1939

MAR. 7 1939

IN LOVING MEMORY

(note: Wretha Jane Harris is Louise’s daughter. She is my first cousin once removed)

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday, Mommy!

So, this will not be wordless at all!

Happy 16th Birthday to my mom Virginia Marie Stalls! She was born on February 29, 1948 in Memphis, Shelby County Tennessee. And being the first Leap Year baby born that year, she got her photo in the paper!

WOW! – The first Leap Year baby born in Memphis is shown above with her mother, Mrs. James Stalls of West Memphis. And you can see the new baby girl doesn’t like it much. She gave a lusty howl when the photographer asked her to pose at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Mr. and Mrs. Stalls haven’t yet chosen a name for their Leap Year champion, born at 12:01 a.m. yesterday. Eighteen new members have joined the Leap Year Club in Memphis. Nine boys and nine girls were born at Baptist, Methodist St. Joseph’s and John Gaston Hospitals yesterday.

Also, according to my grandmother, my mom wasn’t howling, she was yawning!

Catheys in Bomar Hill Cemetery UPDATED

UPDATE at bottom of the page!

I am still searching for the grave of William Glenn Cathey. It’s driving me insane not knowing where he is buried. I really thought I was onto something when I left the house this morning, but I am now left with a headache and aggravation (and more determination to find his grave!).

Ok, so as I mentioned before there is a book out called Reflections From Our Past, A Pictorial History of Houston County, Tennessee (© 2001) that has the information in it that William Glenn Cathey passed away on July 4, 1906. It also says that he is buried in Nolan Cemetery in Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee. Two problems: 1) No one, and I mean no one as in funeral homes, courthouses, libraries, etc, have ever heard of Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee and 2) there are many Nolan Cemeteries in the area, two in Humphreys County (where Hurricane Mills is located and Hurricane Creek Road…you can see where this is headed). I called the Humphreys County Courthouse. I called two funeral homes. I called one gravedigger (yes, really…the guy digs graves for a living and apparently knows all of the cemeteries between Montgomery County and Gibson County). I called the Houston County Library (they have a copy of the book, and may have known who submitted the information for publication). I called the Humphreys County Library. The information I got:

there is a Nolan Cemetery in Waverly, Humphreys County, Tennessee about a half mile north of the courthouse.

according to Google Maps there is a Nolan Cemetery south of McEwen, Humphreys County, Tennessee off Hurricane Creek Road and Indian Creek Road. No one at any location I called ever heard of that Nolan Cemetery.

there is a Nolan Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee.

So pretty much I am waiting for someone to get back to me about this mysterious Hurricane Creek Mills, Tennessee location.

So today’s field trip. Well, before I get into that I have to backtrack. For a while now we have been seeing the name Will Cathey, year of death 1906, listed as having been interred in Bomar Hill Cemetery in Stewart County, Tennessee. But since there was no photo of the headstone, nor anything on how this information was found, we kinda sorta ignored it, but kept it in the back of our minds. Finally, I sent an email to the person who posted it (screen name Roe Lane at Find A Grave) and received an email back with a map of Bomar Hill Cemetery and information of its history.

Bomar Hill Cemetery is also known as Scarborough Cemetery, Gansner Cemetery and Cemetery 101 (by the Tennessee Valley Authority). Around 1940 plans were underway for the the filling of Kentucky Lake. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) set out to move graves if the families chose to do so. Gansner/Scarborough Cemetery became known as Cemetery 101, with each grave separately numbered. Family members were tracked down and given the opportunity to move their loved ones to other cemeteries, or just leave them be. About half of the interred from Cemetery 101 went to other cemeteries (oddly enough, right across the inlet…not far at all). But the other half stayed right where they were (are). There are six Catheys in the Bomar Hill Cemetery. They were not moved at all. HOWEVER, when I called TVA I was told that each grave had paperwork with it with the next-of-kin information! The TVA then said that they had sent all of the paperwork to the National Archives. Boo. Then I was given a phone number for the National Archives, with a contact name, and it’s the National Archives here in Georgia, just one county over from me! Yay! So today’s field trip was the drive to the National Archives in Morrow, Georgia.

I had sent an email yesterday, so when I arrived they already had the box pulled with the TVA cemetery files. So I set to work going through the folders, reading the paperwork involved. It was kind of heartbreaking. Page after page of graves that were unknown persons that the courts had decided to move to other cemeteries. Those that were moved had a disinterment page with the information on what shape the coffins were in, what shape the bodies were in, if new “containers” were used. The worst were the children. Each would have something like: coffin rotten, body badly decomposed, skull intact, infant, placed in 3’ container. I was actually very happy when I got to the Cathey pages so I didn’t have to read those anymore, though I wish I had made a copy of one to show on here.

Anyway, I get to the Catheys, specifically Will Cathey, and find out that he is not William Glenn Cathey. Unless he had a whole ‘nother family, that is. I’m just going to list the Catheys in Bomar Hill Cemetery, along with the paperwork, and the next-of-kin listed. I have looked up these names and I cannot place them anywhere for some reason! I haven’t been able to find them in the Cathey Family History and Genealogy (Boyt Henderson Cathey © 1993), but I also don’t know the maiden name of the Mattie Cathey on the list. I would love to find out how these Catheys tie into my line!

This is a map of Bomar Hill Cemetery, prior to moving graves.

The Catheys in question are highlighted

The individual records for each person:

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-1

Infant Cathey

Died 1902 (age Infant, presumed born in 1902)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – siblings of Infant Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-2

Sam Cathey

Died 1902 (age 5, presumed born in 1897)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – siblings of Sam Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-3

Ethel Cathey

Died 1910 (age 10 months, presumed born in 1909/10)

Next-of-kin: Lillian C Watkins (Dover, Tenn, R2) – mother of Ethel Cathey

* (this is the one I was most interested in seeing)

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-10

Will Cathey

Died 1906 (age 35 years, presumed born in 1871)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – children of Will Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-11

Mattie Cathey

Died 1910 (age 55 years, presumed born in 1855)

Next-of-kin: Glen Cathey (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lucy M Stavley (Stewart Co, Tenn), Lena C Watkins (Cottage grove, Tenn, R3), Ada Courtney (Dover, Tenn) – children of Mattie Cathey

Gansner Cemetery Number 101 G-12

Franklin Angelo Cathey

Died 1906 (age unknown)

Next-of-kin: Mrs Maud Cathey (1794 Livernois, Detroit, Mich) – mother of Franklin Angelo Cathey

UPDATE: Ok, I figured it out…it took a moment, though. Will Cathey is the second cousin of my William Glenn Cathey. It goes back to their great-grandfather George Cathey Sr (1765-1840) married Martha Wilson. Two of their children were John Cathey and George Cathey Jr. John married Winnie Bradley. One of their sons was John Cathey Jr who married Rebecca Vickers. John Jr and Rebecca had a son named William S Cathey. And that’s the Will Cathey in Bomar Hill Cemetery. Now, back to George Cathey Jr. He married Eliza Carter. One of their sons was named Archibald Cathey. Archibald married Isabella Lankford. Archibald and Isabella had a son named William Glenn Cathey who is my great-great-grandfather. And that makes Will and Will second cousins! Ta da!

Wordless Wednesday: Ruby Ophelia South 1939

Musterole 1942

There are two interesting stories in today’s advertisement: Musterole and the Dionne Quintuplets.

Musterole was first produced in 1905 by AL McLaren, a pharmacist from Cleveland, Ohio. It was an over-the-counter mass produced version of a mustard plaster, which was popular forever (and still is) for muscle aches, heart problems and congestion. Though Musterole is no longer available, instead Vicks VapoRub being the popular congestions ointment (my personal favorite is the Vicks VapoRub greaseless cream), you can still find recipes all over the internet for mustard plasters, and a few recipes if you want to try to make Musterole for yourself!

As for the Dionne Quintuplets, they are/were the first known quintuplets to live past infancy. Two of the five are still alive today. The facts of their lives are so extensive, and I am quite surprised that Wikipedia doesn’t have more information concerning them. Click here to go to their Wikipedia page.

HOW QUINTUPLETS

RELIEVE coughing of CHEST COLDS

At the first signs which warn of a cold – the Dionne Quintuplets’ chests, throats and backs are rubbed with Musterole – a product made especially to promptly relieve coughs due to colds, make breathing easier and break up local congestion in upper bronchial tract.

Musterole gives such wonderful results because it’s MORE than just an ordinary “salve”. It’s what so many Doctors and Nurses call a modern counter-irritant. Since Musterole is used on the Quints – you may be sure it’s just about the BEST cold-relief made.

IN 3 STRENGTHS: Children’s Mild Musterole, Regular and Extra Strength.

→ MUSTEROLE

What Happened to Riley Leonard Cathey?

My relationship to Riley Leonard Cathey:

Virginia Marie Stalls (my mom)

Ruth May Craft (grandmother)

Katie Clady Cathey (great-grandmother)

Riley Leonard Cathey (Katie’s brother, my great-grand-uncle?)

I am at a total loss as to what happened to Riley Leonard Cathey. There are exactly 3 records of him: a handwritten record of his birth (which my 3rd cousin found in an old photo album and emailed to me!) and two census records.

Riley Leonard Cathey was born on October 19, 1889 in Houston County, Tennessee to parents William Glenn Cathey (abt 1861-1906) and Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” Summers (1870-1952).

(note: halfway through the list of names and dates it mentioned that it was written by Mrs. Granville Baker of Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The bottom of the page says By: Mary Nell Derrington 10-22-74. I sent a copy to Donald Baker, the son of Maggie Smith – aka Mrs. Granville Baker – to see if it was her writing and he said no. he didn’t know who Mary Nell Derrington was, though)

In 1900 he was living in Indian Bayou, Lonoke County, Arkansas. He is listed as Riley Cathey, age 10 years. His occupation, adorably enough, is “Play Only”. He was able to read and write. His parent’s are listed as Will G Cathey (age 36 years) and Elizabeth Cathey (age 30 years). The siblings living in the household were: Archie (Acra, age 6 years), Georgie (Arlee, age 4 years) and Katie (age 2 years).

The final record I have for Riley is the 1910 census. He was living in Gibson County, Tennessee with the Morgan Family. He is listed as 20 years of age. He is listed as a “servant” in relation to the head of household, but he is apparently a farm hand for them.

And that’s it. That’s all I can find in the way of records for him.

The photo that was taken of the Cathey family just before William Glenn Cathey died in 1906 has all of the kids except Riley. He would have been about 16 or 17years of age. So I wonder if he left then?

In 1910 his mother was widowed and living in Hurricane Mills, Humphreys County, Tennessee, roughly 75 miles from where he was a farm laborer in Gibson County. I can’t imagine why he went out there, unless (perhaps) he was headed back to Arkansas? According to the 1910 census he had been out of work for 10 weeks in 1909, but I don’t know if that was consecutive weeks or not. That might have been 10 weeks of really slow travel time for all I know.

Tennessee didn’t start requiring death certificates until 1914, so if he died prior to then, and no headstone was erected and no record kept, then we may never know. There are no WWI draft registration cards for him, no military service records at all.

I had read on a forum a while back that the family story was that he left home very young and no one from the Cathey family ever saw or heard from him again, and I am beginning to think that is true. Most of the distant cousins that are direct descendants of Riley’s siblings have never heard of him. Honestly, with the census records and the copy of Lizzie’s family records, I never would have known about him either.

In some ways his disappearance paints him in very bad light. But then again, I don’t know when he left or what the circumstances were.

I would really like to find out what happened with Riley Leonard Cathey, as much as I would like to know how his father William Glenn Cathey died and where he is buried (where both are buried would be wonderful, actually).

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

This was painted in 1977 by my aunt Martha Lynn Hardwick (1941-2010).

Private Collection Photograph. Image MAY NOT be copied (reproduced), manipulated or redisplayed without written consent from Digging Up Your Family.

Palm Beach by Goodall 1945

One word about this advertisement: COOLth.

That is all.

22% more COOLth* actually built in!

Costly Angora mohair is the base of the famous Palm Beach “open window” weave-a s-m-o-o-t-h fiber with no fuzz to mat or close the 1,600 “open windows” per inch. Air circulates, dries the moisture on your skin…C-O-O-L-S your body Nature’s way, by evaporation. An this ideal summer fabric-woven by Goodall-is also smartly tailored by Goodall with NO “heat trap” pads or heavy inner linings to impair it’s marvelous coolth*. War conditions limit stocks, but Palm Beach is made in light or dark colors…stripes…business patterns. Single or double-breasted. Come see what we have!

*COOLth; opposite to warmth

Parks-Chambers

Little Joseph N Edge 1873-1874

Yesterday I went with my mother over to the New Hope United Methodist Church Cemetery in Locust Grove, Henry County, Georgia to help with a Find-A-Grave fulfillment. When she finished we walked around and look at the headstones and plots. One of the saddest, which became sadder once I got home, was the grave for little Joseph N Edge. It appears, due to lack of headstones in the area, that he is pretty much buried by himself, with the headstone for who I assume are his parents about 16 feet or so away. I’m not certain that there is no on else buried around him, but it looks very lonely. Once I got home I looked him up, to see if he was on anyone’s family tree, or if I could find a reason for death. I can find no records for him. I can find nothing. Not even a space on someone’s tree.

I don’t want him to be forgotten.

The headstone itself is wearing away, but it is still fairly readable. The top says JOSEPH N.

The front of the little stone is mostly legible, with a few letters that are not. I ran my fingers over the stone to make out the initials on the top line, but I still am not sure if the first initials are R.R., A.A., or a variation of them. My first thought was R.R., so I will transcribe it with that, and if someone knows otherwise I hope they let me know.