Tag Archives: Indianapolis

New Year for New Adventures

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As this year comes to a close, I still have one little trip planned for next week.  My friend, C-Dogg B-Dizzle, showed some interest in visiting nearby Monroe and Greene counties to see the places where her B-Dizzle ancestors first came to Indiana.

Next year I have a short list of places I would like to visit to continue on my search:

1.) Darke County, OH – Again.  I have already been out there this past year, but there is SO much research to be done on my Dad’s side and Andrew’s Mom’s side.  I could do work there for an entire week.  Maybe I’ll get crazy and even find a cheap hotel and do an overnighter.

 

Garst Museum in Darke County (Greenville, OH) where researching ancestry is made easy by great help!

2.)  Keithsburg, IL – This is the farthest back I can get in the Nelson branch.  While I know that James A. Nelson was born in Kentucky, and spent some time in Indiana, he was last heard from in Keithsburg, IL, a town along the Mississippi River.  What worries me is that Keithsburg, and much of Mercer County, has a horrible habit of being flooded.  I am afraid that records will be scarce.  We shall see.  While taking a trip to Keithsburg I am determined to stop in Springfield on the way and visit the Lincoln attractions.  I am gonna nerd it up ALL the way.

3.)  Pennsylvania/New York – Pennsylvania has very poor online records, which is unfortunate for me because my Mom’s entire family came through Pennsylvania.  I would really like to have a Scranton, Lock Haven, Laceyville, Binghamton NY trip.  One thing I am really interested in seeing are some buildings in the Binghamton area that my ggg grandfather built, as he was a regionally known architect.  At one point I had a whole map created about the route to get there, where to stop, and where to stay.  I think it’s perfect for a summer trip.

4.)  Local libraries.  I still have not gotten to the Indiana State Library.  Shame.  Also, the Ft. Wayne library is KIND of calling my name.  It’s supposedly the biggest genealogy section outside of the Salt Lake City collection.

5.)  Union, SC – This is kind of the stretch.  I very highly doubt I’ll make it to South Carolina, but this is the absolute farthest I have been able to trace my Brown family online.  Some fellow named Alexander Brown left Union, SC and settled the family in Darke County, where many still remain today.  I would LOVE to get down there.  If not this year, maybe next.

Happy Holidays!  Here’s to a new year of research excitement and adventure!

Indianapolis Pioneers

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New Pioneers

As I have mentioned before, my family is not from Indianapolis.  My dad’s side comes from Western Ohio for generations.  My mother’s side was from Pennsylvania and nearby New York towns for generations.  My Grandfather Kinsley changed that for all of us.  He moved the family from Scranton to Alabama (where my mother attended school) and then he settled in the Indianapolis area.  During his short time in the city he certainly made his mark.  I would almost consider him a pioneer.  He was a developer, and had huge impacts on trying to improve the downtown Indianapolis area.  He was even one of the founding board members of the Near Northside Community Development Corporation.  He was an important part of bringing businesses to the area that still remain in the city today.

Charles W. Kinsley Office

My grandfather, Charles W. Kinsley in his office....with a cigar....and why not?

Now, when I was growing up I didn’t know any of this about my grandfather.  All I knew was that he was kind of scary.  My memories of him include him refusing to read me Cathy from the comics because, “Women shouldn’t be writing the funnies”.  Even at age six I thought that was a weird thing to say.  I mean, I think Cathy is horrible too.  I just don’t think that’s the type of thing to say to a kid.  Anyway, I didn’t know much about him growing up except the stories I would hear from my mom, aunt, and uncle.  They were often kind of scathing.  But as I began to research the family in my own search I found out that my grandfather was kind of a pioneer for the city of Indianapolis….or rather current Indianapolis.

Old (Timey) Pioneers

Now, as I have ALSO mentioned before, I am kind of jealous of Andrew’s family because they have been here for ages, so it’s much easier to research that branch.  But I hadn’t realized that they had been here for so long.  I had hit a brick wall for so long on his Nelson branch.  The farthest back that I could get was a James A. Nelson who was born in Kentucky in 1814 (who knows where…?) and died at some point before 1870, after living in Keithsburg, Illinois.  I also knew that James was married to a lady named Sarah Heaton.

So one day I was just messing about on the Internet trying to work my way through that wall.  I very rarely use Census information before 1850 because the information is so sparse it’s hard to match up with real people.  However, I typed in James A. Nelson in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois.  I found one living in Washington Township, Marion County (which was considered outside Indianapolis at that point).  Turns out this James Nelson lived next to a family of Heatons!  BINGO!  Based on this information I tracked the Heaton branch farther back.

The most interesting part was finding out that Andrew’s great great great great grandparents (Eli and Mary Heaton) are buried about a mile from where his parents live now.  No one in the family had any idea!  They are buried in Union Chapel Cemetery, and have been living in Indianapolis since the early 1800s; although, like I said, this was well-before this area was part of Indianapolis.

Eli Heaton's headstone in a cemetery just about a mile from Andrew's parents current home.

They are some serious ye olde Indianapolis pioneers.

The Girl Scouts stole my cemetery!

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I had a few hours to burn and had recently been trying to find some information on Andrew’s Indianapolis pioneer relatives.  There are a few cemeteries around town where I haven’t been able to find the best records and I think there MIGHT be a chance they’re buried there.  His branch of the Sparks Family were folks who lived up on the Northwest side of Indianapolis in and around Pike Township.  Just south of Pike Township is the Old Union Cemetery.  I actually think it might technically be in Speedway.  Anyway, I thought I would go check it out either way, Pike Township or not.  I like cemeteries.  So I checked it out on google maps and plotted my course.

I followed the directions.  I ended up in a cul-de-sac.  There was no cemetery here.  There were, however, suspicious residents.  I guess people don’t get lost there often.

I pulled up the map again on my phone and found another road that looked adjacent to this supposed cemetery.  As I turned into the only road on that street I realized where my cemetery was.  I was at Camp Dellwood, a Girl Scout Camp!  The camp ate my cemetery.

I wasn’t really sure what to do.  I thought about looking for someone to help me but I didn’t want to seem creepy (which could easily happen at a children’s campground) so I decided to try and call them to make an appointment or something.

I made sure to glare at everyone that I saw as to accurately reflect my disapproval.  I’m not sure they cared.  I’m pretty sure they didn’t.

**As a side note, there will be a lot more postings initially on this blog because I have to catch up on what has already happened.