Daniel D. Doolin & Illinois State Memorial - Vicksburg, MS

On our trip back to San Diego, CA we made a point to stop at the Vicksburg National Military Park because it holds sentimental value to our family. My husband's 3rd Great Grandfather, Daniel D. Doolin, served in the 81st Illinois Infantry Company D for the Union Army during the Siege of Vicksburg. Daniel was 36 years old when he mustered into the Union Army on August 26, 1862. He left behind his young wife, Emeline, and their four small children. Daniel served in the Union Army until May 30, 1865 when he mustered out. Thankfully, Daniel's life was spared. He went on to have four more children and lived a long life with his beloved wife. 

(Love his ears. Delaney has almost the same ears.)

 (Daniel D. Doolin and Emeline Adams)

One of the crown jewels of the Vicksburg National Military Park is the Illinois State Memorial. This stunning state memorial was dedicated on October 26, 1906. It was absolutely amazing to behold!

We loved visiting the Illinois State Memorial. It is enormous! Look how small they are in comparison. These photos do not do it justice.

W. L. B. Jenney created the design of the Illinois State Memorial. At the top of the Illinois State Memorial is a golden eagle and underneath is a lovely frieze. In this frieze sits Clio, the Muse of History, with two handmaidens on either side of her. Those two handmaidens represent the North and South.

I loved all the details!

Braxton and Delaney laid on the ground to take these pictures of the interior of the dome for me. The photos actually turned out well. 

Braxton loves all things patriotic especially bald eagles. 

"The people of Illinois, free of malice, full of charity, dedicate this monument as a memorial temple to enduring harmony and peace; and as a shrine at which all may again and again renew their consecration to loyal citizenship, and gather inspiration to the most unselfish and exalted patriotism."

My sweet son taking the view of the Civil War battlefield his 4th Great Grandfather fought upon. This touches my heart ever so much!

The view from this glorious state memorial is truly magnificent.

One major regret I have is that I forgot to write down Daniel D. Doolin's regiment and it completely slipped my mind we arrived. We did not realize that all 36,325 Illinois soldiers that participated in the Vicksburg Campaign were etched in bronze along the interior walls of the Illinois State Memorial. We even went back to the Visitor Center to locate his regiment and, just our luck, their internet was down. I also didn't realize Hotch was looking through all of the names to find him. If I had then we probably could have found it together. Frustrating thing is his name should only be a few feet over on the wall pictured below. He was in the 81st Illinois Infantry.

These two loved the Illinois State Memorial!

Outside directly above the door are three sculptures with quotes from Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Richard Yates.

Charles Mulligan was the sculptor.

There are 47 steps on the Illinois State Memorial. One for each of the 47 days of the Siege of Vicksburg. Love the symbolism.

Here's my man on his way out after spending quality time reflecting on the sacrifice of these good men, especially that of Daniel D. Doolin.

These was wonderful experience I highly recommend!

Centennial Church Cemetery-Morgan County, Indiana

Centennial Church Cemetery was the last cemetery we visited on our short visit to Morgan County, Indiana. It is a much larger cemetery that has many of my husband's ancestors buried here. My goal was to photograph the entire cemetery and to complete the list of the interred on Find A Grave. 

It happened to be an unusually cold day in June and it sprinkled on me the whole time. The wind got really strong and after an hour my hands were so frozen. Unfortunately, I was only able to photograph about a third of the cemetery before I had to call it quits. My poor kids had to hang out in the caravan the whole time in order to stay warm and dry. Glad we had crayons and coloring pages about the state of Indiana.

I love this cemetery! You turn the corner and there it is in the distance.

Centennial Christian Church is so charming and beautiful!

Here are some of our ancestors buried in the Centennial Church Cemetery.

Denzel Eugene Denney is my husband's grandfather and my mother-in-law's father. He was born in Boone County, Indiana and served in the Navy from 1942 until 1945.
Bertha Louise Flake Denney is my husband's grandmother and my mother-in-law's beloved mother. She was born in Morgan County, Indiana and married Denzel Eugene Denney on Sept. 18, 1944. Louise bore three children: two daughters and one son. Unfortunately, she passed away before my husband was born.

Wyatt Denney is my husband's great grandfather and the father of Denzel Eugene Denney. He was born in Hancock County, Indiana and was a farmer. According to the 1930 census he also worked as a lineman for the telephone company in his later years. 

Hattie Williams is my husband's great grandmother and the mother of Denzel Eugene Denney. She was also born in Morgan County, Indiana. Hattie married Wyatt Denney on Mar. 23, 1907. Hattie bore six children: five sons and one daughter. 

Harry Leslie Flake is my husband's great grandfather and the father Bertha Louise Flake Denney. He was born in Morgan County, Indiana and was a farmer.
Sylvia Dicey Castner is my husband's great grandmother and the mother of Bertha Louise Flake Denney. She was born in Morgantown, Morgan, Indiana and married Harry Leslie Flake at the age of thirteen.  Sylvia bore three children: two daughters and one son. She enjoyed crocheting. How I wish I could sit and chat with her as she cooked or crocheted. She has a special place in my heart.

John Granderson Lester Sichting is my husband's 2nd Great Grand Uncle and the uncle of Harry Leslie Flake. He was born in Morgan County, Indiana. John was a farmer.

Nancy Ellen Ennis is my husband's 2nd Great Grand Aunt and the aunt of Harry Leslie Flake. She was born in Morgan County, Indiana and married John Granderson Lester Sichting on Aug. 21, 1884. Nancy bore four children: four sons.

These sweet babies are my husband's 3rd cousins. When I stumbled upon this headstone my heart broke for the parents Wilbur Sichting and Peggy A Hacker. Can't imagine the pain of losing four children in infancy. Wish I knew if they ever had any other children.

I am so grateful for the ancestors that paved the path for my mother-in-law and subsequently my dear husband. 

Scrogin Family Cemetery-Morgan County, Indiana

The Scrogin Family Cemetery was our second cemetery stop in Morgan County. It is seriously a real gem! My mother-in-law took us to see it back in July 2010 while we were in Indiana for family reunions on her side of the family. We would never have known it was there (right off IN State Rd 144) unless she was with us pointing it out because it was totally hidden from sight. On our recent trip to the Scrogin Family Cemetery in June 2012 we were grateful it was visible from the road since they had mowed.

It is a very small cemetery with only about 20 people buried there almost all of them are direct or distant relatives of my husband. I photographed it before, but thought it would be nice to see the state of the headstones. Last time we visited many of them were sinking into the ground and/or being worn down by the elements. Sadly, some of the headstones had greatly deteriorated. At least I have photos of them when they were much more legible, had not sunk so far or been broken so badly.

The appreciation my children are developing for their ancestors is such a precious thing. It's the reason why I teach them about their kindred dead and taken them to visit their graves.

Here are our ancestors located in the Scrogin Family Cemetery.

Joseph Scrogin is my husband's 5th Great Grandfather. He was born in Kentucky in 1788 and was enlisted in the War of 1812. Joseph moved to Indiana much later in his life.

Martha Campbell Scrogin is my husband's 5th Great Grandmother. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1785 and married Joseph Scrogin in Kentucky in 1809.  Martha bore nine children: three sons and six daughters. Wish I knew more about her life.

Cordelia and Julia Scrogin are my husband's 4th Great Grand Aunts and they are the daughters of Joseph Scrogin and Martha Campbell Scrogin. Makes me sad that Julia's name is almost completely buried. They were both born in Kentucky. Neither of them ever married and they were both house keepers. I love that these sisters share a headstone.

Grandison J Scrogin is my husband's 4th Great Grand Uncle and he is the son of Joseph Scrogin and Martha Campbell Scrogin. Grandison was a farmer who moved to Indiana around the late 1830s or early 1840s with his parents and siblings.

Martha Ann Choate Scrogin is my husband's 4th Great Grand Aunt by marriage when she married Grandison J Scrogin in 1855. She was born in Indiana and had two daughters.

Robert Hamilton Scrogin is my husband's 4th Great Grandfather. He was born in Kentcuky to Joseph Scrogin and Martha Campbell Scrogin. Robert moved to Indiana sometime shortly after he married Nancy Bryan Hays in 1837. He was a farmer in Morgan County, IN. Unfortunately, his gravestone has fallen with his name facing the ground. Here's all that remains showing. Robert might have another headstone at the cemetery, but either the weather wore his name away or it has broken apart.

Nancy Bryan Hays Scrogin is my husband's 4th Great Grandmother. She was born in Kentucky and moved to Indiana after marrying Robert. Nancy bore nine children: six sons and two daughters. Two of her children died tragically in infancy. I feel a strong connection to her ever since I started researching her and her family.

Jessie Cain Scrogin is my husband's 1st cousin 4 times removed. She is the daughter of Joseph Grandison Scrogin and Juraldine Tardee Cain Scrogin. Jessie is also the granddaughter of Robert Hamilton Scrogin and Nancy Bryan Hays Scrogin. Sadly, she died at the age of four. Her headstone is so beautiful and there is much grief felt at her grave.

The Scrogin Family Cemetery is beautiful and such a lovely place to be. Here's what it looked like two years ago when the headstones were in much better condition. Wish we could restore them to their former glory.

If you are ever driving the gorgeous IN State Road 144 try not to blink because you might just pass the Scrogin Family Cemetery without ever realizing. Here's what it looked like from the road in July 2010 and 2012.

Grateful that people care enough about these loved ones to try to keep the cemetery mowed so others, like myself, can enjoy its quiet charm.