Sunday, September 4, 2022

Cemetery Visit



We were headed out for supper but had a bit of difficulty finding something open. We wound up on a street we had never been on before and stumbled on a very well maintained cemetery. 

It was not especially old. Titusville came into prominence August 27th, 1859 when Col. Drake struck oil here, the world's first oil well. With the oil came many a "boom town". Titusville was one of them that managed to survive. There were many very wealthy residents.

The cemetery was donated to Titusville by Joseph Seep, a German immigrant who made his money by purchasing Standard's output and presumably getting it to market to resell.
So while the cemetery was not especially old, the names on the family plots were historically notable so that you could google as you walked among the stones.

Tim was howling at this one. The fellow had two wives named Mary. There was also one named Bridgette on the other side of the stone. He wasn't buried there. We tried to find him but could not. We think he was probably buried with his final wife somewhere.

It was a nice walk under old trees. Far off thunder rumbled.

We never did get to our planned destination, but neither of us minded. 

Earlier in the afternoon, I was leaving the house when one of my strays showed up. I stopped to feed 'Hairy'. While I was doing that, 'Car Cat' came strolling up, so I set out a dish for him too. He still will not be petted. I closed the door and walked past the cats only to see yet another cat, an orange and white tabby, wretchedly thin and acting very unwell. I set out another bowl for the poor thing. He hid under the dump truck as I set his bowl down, but he was eating ravenously before I was backed out of the driveway.

21 comments:

  1. A very nicely manicured cemetery. One of my hobbies is visiting old churches and graveyards, especially when in England.

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  2. It looks quite green and lush there. A peaceful spot.

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    1. It really is the nicest kept cemetery I have ever seen.

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  3. Not much meat on bones in a cemetery. You went hungry. They are such interesting places to wander. Sometimes reading child death inscriptions can be a little hard going.

    Just how my mother started, feeding a couple of strays. Then some strays got to like each other in a very special way and kittens were born under the house, and it snowballed from there. Cars and nature took most of them out, along with a little discreet intervention by a family member.

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    1. Ack. Aaaaaack! Don't ever talk to me about meat and bones in a cemetery again!!!

      You know, I was unhappy to see number 4 but what are you going to do? I couldn't ignore the miserable thing.

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    2. There was a touching display at the grave of a little boy who had died. His sisters had each painted a rock and left it for him.

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  4. As a genealogist, I have learned over the years that those that survive decide where we get buried and it isn't always where I might assume. My 2nd great grandfather wasn't buried with either of his wives. Instead he was buried in the empty grave next to his brother-in-law on the opposite side of the cemetery. I suspect there was animosity in the family.

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  5. Oh, boy. Another cat! Just what you need!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah. It's definitely not what I need at ALL.

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  6. Word is out in the cat community that Debby has good food. Can you trap the cats, have them neutered and then release them into the wild?

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  7. There is someone trying to get such a program off the ground here. To my knowledge we have never had one before.

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  8. Cemeteries can be so interesting. Gosh! That fellow had 4 wives?

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    1. Yes. 3 of them appear to have died within a 10 year span. Of course this was 1882-1893.

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  9. Even though I don't plan to be buried in one, I think cemeteries are lovely places.

    Another stray cat!! 🙀 I'm starting to see small signs of hope with my latest stray dogs. 🤞🙏🏼

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    1. Send me an e-mail please. I need to know more about your predicament.

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  10. I would be looking for the secret sign that says "Cat lady here - good food"

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  11. I once taught in a town called Petrolia. IIRC oil was found there a little before Titusville, but it wasn’t free-flowing for the most part and had to be pumped. Petroila also had its boom days. The city close to Petrolia right on the Great Lakes (St Clair River, where Lake Huron empties) became the petroleum capital of Canada although I don’t know if it would still own that title. Refineries and petrochemicals are still important there though. The city is called Sarnia and is where I lived for more than 3 decades.

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  12. Ok. Now this is incredible to me. I have always known Drake's well as the world's first oil well. We learned that in grade school. It isn't even true.china beat us all!

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I'm glad you're here!

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