Wednesday Child: Finding the Family in a Child's Death

Uncovering new leads as one searches for the family tree can lead to times of high excitement as well as to times of sadness.  Take, for instance, the death of Helen S SIMMONS in 1904, in Washington, DC.

Who is she?  I am not quite sure.....yet.

Burial Card of Helen S Simmons, Glenwood Cemetery, Washington. DC

But I do know her family, because they are my blood as well.

I found little Helen resting at Glenwood Cemetery in Washington, DC, as I was browsing the online images of the burials at FamilySearch.

The dates are a little misleading at FamilySearch. The lists of the dearly departed start in 1878.  So for those of us who have so many deaths between the 1854-1877 time frame, it is much harder to dig for the information.  I am still digging in the Plat Books, although I suspect it will be over many cups of coffee!

What did surface just last Wednesday was the Burial Card of Helen S SIMMONS.  Little Helen died on July 23, 1904, at only 14 months old due to bronchial pneumonia.  She was interred in Section Q, Lot 116, Site 1.  There are two other tidbits on the card.  Her residence, which I haven't tried to follow yet, and wait for it--  The big tidbit is she in buried in the lot of William R SIMMONS.

Now, I do know him!  William R SIMMONS is the grandson of David SIMMONS of Philadelphia.  This may sound familiar as I have been looking at David, David's final resting spot in Hood Cemetery in Germantown, David's will, and David's descendants over the last two weeks or so.

I know William R SIMMONS had three living siblings in 1853 at the time of his grandfather's will.  I know that some of them are buried at Glenwood Cemetery.  I know his mother, Elizabeth FENWICK SIMMONS is also buried in the family plot at Glenwood Cemetery.

So far, I have identified the following SIMMONS blood buried in Section Q, Lot 116.

Site 1:  Helen S SIMMONS
            James SIMMONS
Site 2:  John B SIMMONS
Site 3:  Elizabeth FENWICK SIMMONS
            George Robert SIMMONS

How many sites were in Section Q, Lot 116?  Still researching that! It appears to be six burial spots.  I suspect William R SIMMONS rests there as well, although I have discovered no proof.

Plat Book C, Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, DC

Looking through the Plat Books and using yet another clue on little Helen's burial card, I bring to light the following:

William R SIMMONS purchased the the lots July 10, 1858.
Date of Interment:      Person:                      Age:           Site No.
June 9, 1861             James SIMMONS                               1
July 26, 1904           Helen S SIMMONS       14mo             1
April 8, 1858            Richard SHAW                                    2
Dec. 20, 1897           John B SIMMONS        73                  2
May 25, 1863           Elizabeth SIMMONS    75                  3
Sept. 23, 1920          George R SIMMONS    59                  3


Ahh genealogy.  Little Helen.  Rest sweetly little one.  You are not forgotten.

©2017  AS Eldredge

Sources:
"District of Columbia, Glenwood Cemetery Records, 1854-2013." FamilySearch. http:FamilySearch.org: 14 June 2016. The Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, DC.

Those Places Thursday: Dying in Old Philadelphia

Dig, dig, dig.  Don't you just love digging in old cemeteries?  Oh, wait.  Don't you just love to see what surfaces when you dig in old cemeteries?

While we genealogy buffs can't literally dig in old cemeteries, we can dig back to our roots by using cemeteries of old.  For instance, just this last week, I have been digging around in Philadelphia trying to find more evidence of the family.  While I have known of early family ties in the area, my new attempts at digging up more have resulted in both frustration and joy with the old cemeteries.

The two cemeteries of interest are the old Christ Church Burial Ground and the Lower Burial Ground.

The Christ Church Burial Ground in Philadelphia has been around for about 300 years.  Interred underground and in the above ground sections are many interesting and famous colonial families.  While its most famous resident is Benjamin FRANKLIN, there are also many other early Americans of interest.  There are five signers of our great Declaration of Independence who rest here, as well as other famous Americans, including John ROSS, Betsy's husband.  While my family does not have anyone considered "famous" residing here, I do have family.  I am related to the BRINGHURST, DALLY, and SIMMONS residents.  What is frustrating is I have identified the sections and the plot numbers.  Why is that frustrating?  Because there is no map showing where the sections are!  I know old Ben is in Section A, and I know my BRINGHUST kin are in section B.  How close are they?  Perhaps I need to take a pen to paper......

Entrance to Hood Cemetery.  Photo courtesy of Library of Congress

Imagine my delight after the disappointment of not finding section maps when I stumbled across the Hood Cemetery in Germantown!  This cemetery, originally known as the Lower Burial Ground, had its land set aside before 1700, thus making it also around 300 years old!  This cemetery is alive!  No, no.  It's not the walking corpses, it's the history!  Thanks to Brendon McTEAR for taking the time to thoroughly dig in to the lives of the residents and posting about them.  What a treat it is to read of the history of Germantown and its early residents.  Of course, I, too, have kin resting there as well.  Think BRINGHURST, SIMMONS, RAGUET and ASHMEAD.  See a common theme?

I have the roots in those early cemeteries and am always looking to learn more about the early folks, their lives, and how they shaped the history of our land.

Ahh, genealogy.  Gotta just dig the history!

©2017  AS Eldredge

Sources:
https://www.facebook.com/HoodCemetery/
http://www.ushistory.org/tour/christ-church-burial-ground.htm
http://www.ushistory.org/germantown/lower/lbury.htm
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/pa0825/
Ancestry.com. Philadelphia, Tombstone Inscriptions from Christ Church [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
Original data: Clark, Edward L. Record of the Inscriptions on the Tablets and Grave-stones in the Burial-Grounds of Christ Church, Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Colines, Printer, 1864.
http://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/ChristChurch/