Tombstone Tuesday - Hell + man = Hellman

I know - when you go to a cemetery you should bring a tool, right? Well I was so excited and shocked that my husband actually wanted to go with me (first time) to the cemetery to find his Gr Grandparents gravestones. It was a beautiful sunny day here in Portland, Oregon and the weather was nice. Not too hot.

After stopping at the cemetery office where the nice young man showed me the exact row and how many gravestones in to find the gravestones for Karl Ludvig Hellman and his wife Fanny we actually had a terrible time finding the gravestone. We quickly realized some are buried together so you need to count two stones. In other words graves. Then Mike, my husband said "there it is"! All you could see was the word "Hell". How weird. It was amazing he actually saw it. It was an unusual gravestone. Oh dear I did not have a tool. So craftily I thought of the ice scraper in my car. The hard shovel part of it might work to get away the dirt and grass covering the man. Mike worked diligently and excitedly to uncover the "man", thus the name Hellman appeared. It looked like maybe a family member got some cement and carved Hellman in it. It was really narrow and about 2 feet wide.

Mike was really excited. I thought - it does not even say his first name! That did not matter to Mike. He thought the stone was really primitive and cool. There was no separate headstone for Karl's wife Fanny. But there was room right next to him where hers should be. I went back to the office to verify the headstone was Karl's (it was) and if they would have any record of Fanny's headstone. They said no.

So here you go!

Karl Ludvig Hellman - Born January 23, 1875 in St. Karins, Finland, Died February 5, 1927 in Portland, Oregon.
Fanny Amanda (Saren) Hellman - Born September 18, 1875 in Finland, Died March 13, 1919 in Portland, Oregon. Both buried in the Rose City Cemetery in Portland, Oregon.

It was really neat that Mike went with me. Now he will probably go with me to see his other Gr Grandparents gravestones, in Vancouver, Washington. I also requested from the office any other records they had to be mailed to me. They said I should receive it within a week. They needed to open the vault. Cool!

Tombstone Tuesday - Quivey

For Tombstone Tuesday this week I decided to do another missing headstone. This is at the Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell, Iowa.

Here is the resting place of my Gr Gr Grandparents Amy (Drake) and David H Quivey. As you can see, Amy's headstone is on the left and the one on the right is just the base for David H Quivey with the headstone missing. I checked with the cemetery and yes - this is where David is buried. He died of typhoid fever at the age of 29, leaving Amy with five children. Amy never did remarry.

I've also included a marriage certificate for them.

David H Quivey B 1850 in New York, M September 2, 1873 in Montezuma, Iowa D August 1, 1880 in Grinnell, Poweshiek County, Iowa at the age of 29.

Amy (Drake) Quivey B January 16, 1849 in Barry Woodford, County, Illinois D March 13, 1900 in Grinnell, Poweshiek County, Iowa at the age of 51.

I have wondered for some time what their life was like.

Tombstone Tuesday - The Best

Here is the tombstone of Stuart and Laura (Nelson) Davis, my Grandparents. They lived in Ruthven, Iowa, just one of my favorite places in the world. They are resting in Crown Hill Cemetery. A nice shady resting place.

They are greatly missed and will always be remembered.

Tombstone Tuesday - Baby Great Aunt

Today for Tombstone Tuesday I chose to share a photo of my Great Aunt's tombstone. No one ever talked about her so when I came across her during the beginning of my research, some of us were shocked that Grandma had a baby sister who had died. Although Grandma was the youngest of her siblings, Betty had died before she was even born.

It really makes you wonder - here was a family that came from Sweden with one daughter, settled in the small town of Ruthven, Iowa, then had another little girl who died before she was even two years old. What happened to her? Was she ill? Did she get into an accident? How sad for my Gr Grandparents who lost a baby in a new land. They could not mourn with their parents or other siblings they had left behind in Sweden. The sorrow must have been unbearable. Years later they were laid to rest beside their baby Betty.

This post is dedicated to my Great Aunt Betty Nelson. She was the very first family member buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Ruthven, Iowa. Since then, many family members have joined her in this special cemetery. A couple of years ago I had the priviledge of visiting the gravestones of of Betty and many other ancestors there.

Tombstone Tuesday - Andrew S. Davis

Andrew S. Davis
B April 20, 1821
D November 24, 1898



Woodland Cemetery
Des Moines, Iowa

Woodland Cemetery chapel.

Des Moines Daily News, November 25, 1898

DAVIS- Andrew, aged 77 years at his home, 2108 Woodland avenue, November 24, at 3:30 p.m. Mr. Davis was a member of Crocker post, G.A.R. and the funeral services tomorrow at 3 p.m., will be under the direction of that post. They will be held at the Cemetery chapel, Dr. Eaton officiating. Mr. Davis leaves a wife and children as follows: Mrs. B. F. Gifford, of 1115 Locust street; Geo. Davis, a member of the Fiftieth Iowa; also step-sons, Frank Needham, of Lowell, Mass., and J. H. Needham, of Chicago. Crocker Post members will assemble at the Cemetery chapel, at the request of Commander H. B. Hedge.

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Note: The obituary above mentions he is survived by a wife and children. Andrew's wife was not noted there. Her name was Anna (Schafer) Needham Davis. This was a second marriage for Anna. Mrs. B. F. Gifford was their daughter Zena (Davis) Gifford.

Tombstone Tuesday - Nicholas Magnus Hanson

This is my first Tombstone Tuesday post. Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging theme used by many genealogy bloggers to help them post content on their sites.

I would say this is the most elaborate tombstone of any of my relatives. At least, so far that I have seen. This tombstone is of my Gr Gr Grandfather on my Paternal side. Nicholas Magnus Hanson is buried in the Oak Shade Cemetery in Marion, Lynn County, Iowa.

Here is the obituary of Nicholas Magnus Hanson. It looks as though he had a very painful death.

FUNERAL OF THE LATE NICHOLAS HANSEN (SP) HELD WEDNESDAY

Nicholas Magnus Hansen was born in Sweden March 11, 1848. He was married to Alma Holstenson April 24, 1875 in Sweden. With their three children they came to Ishgrining, Mich., in 1880 They lived there three years and then came to Linn county near Marion. His wife died Nov. 22, 1895. Eleven children were born of this marriage ten of whom survive. Mrs. Albert Fahl, Mrs. Charles Benedict, Mrs. Fred Putnum, Arthur, Maggie, Halgie, Edith, Emma, Clara and Hazel.
He was married to Bertha Westcott Augu 25, 1900. One child blessed this union. Lester five months old. Mr. Hansen was injured by a crowbar on Thursday last resulting in perhonitis, from which he suffered severely until Sunday last when he died at 6:20 a.m. He was a kind loving husband and a tender and affectionate father. He was impulsive in temperament, kind in spirit and generous in action. While he did not make an open profession of religion he said that he never retired without praying in his heart. He was an enthusiastic member of the four branches of Odd Felowship, he was also a member of the Knights and Ladies of the Golden Precept, and of the Mystic Toilers, and was in high esteem by them all. He will be missed by these and by a wide circle of appreciative friends.
Funeral services were held at the M. E. church at 3 p.m., Sept. 10th, by Rev. N. Pye, the Odd Fellows having charge of the service.