Some of my research focus lately, has been on my PARKS/PARKE family, partially because it had to do with lineage for DAR. And fortunately, I’ve had two wonderful people do some legwork for me in Oakland County, Michigan.
A month or so ago, Granny Pam was kind enough to go to her genealogy library and send me copies of so resources, such as cemetery and marriage records collected in some books. This was a tremendous help in connecting some dots.
About the same time, David Weller took a trip to Beach Road Cemetery in Troy, Oakland, Michigan. With snow on the ground, it was difficult find much, but he did get a photo of the memorial that was erected that shows all the people buried there, along with their burial dates.
David went back to Beach about a week or so ago and sent me several photos. This cemetery is likely considered “abandoned” and is in really bad shape. David did manage to find two stones that belong to members of my family. I believe he said that the one is one of the only ones still standing.
Edward W. PARKS is my fourth great-granduncle. According to one source, he married a Marcia MARTIN, date unknown. The gravestone indicates that Fanny M. was his wife. One in the same? Probably, but more digging is necessary to confirm or disprove.
| Edward W. Parks Aug. 17, 1825 Jan. 21, 1866 [?] U.S. Navy in Civil War |
Fanny M. His Wife Nove. 12, 1828 Nov. 5, 1898 |
Now for the sad part. The photograph below has been in my possession for years, and it took some time to figure out how it connected to the family.
On the back of the photo, the following was written:
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The tall monument marks the resting place of our Great-grandfather Robert Parks the markers Grand father and Grand mother Webster. Some day I may get a better picture they are buried close to the front fence. Taken Dec. 5, 1921. |
Well, I don’t know who took the photo, although I imagine it was my second great-grandmother, Sarah Jane “Jeanie” MULLIGAN. The picture is the gravestone of Robert PARKS, and his first and second wives, Mary “Polly” SMITH and Elizabeth IRISH. I’m guessing that the two stones to the right of the obelisk are that of Calvin Price WEBSTER and Betsy PARKS, as they were also buried in Beach and would agree with the note on the back of the photo.
Calvin and Betsy are my fourth great-grandparents. Betsy is the daughter of Robert and Polly, sister of Edward mentioned earlier in this post. Robert and Polly are my fifth great-grandparents.
Assuming that Sarah took this photo, she would have had 26 years to come back and take “a better picture” before she died. I’m not sure if she did, but I’m betting she’d be disappointed to see the pictures I have now, nearly 88 years later.
What a shame. I wish I had the resources to go and reset the stone. Heck, I wish I had the resources to fix up the whole cemetery! But in a sad sense, I do have “better” pictures of the stone, thanks to David.
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Robert Parks Polly Elizabeth |
What Once Was, Is No More
| 1921 | 2009 |
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Note: All 2009 photos were taken by David Weller and used in this post with permission.
We say it all the time – to take advantage of opportunities NOW – whether it’s to talk to older relatives or take a picture. This is such a good, VISUAL, reminder of that! Thanks for posting it!!
Diana is absolutely correct. Go take that picture NOW. Thanks, Julie for this sad but touching post. How sad to find the monument in such a state.