Volume 16 , Issue 32

NW Okie's Journey

I recently connected to the person who bought the "Old Sam L. Lindsay place," 5 miles south of Monterey, Virginia. The reason this connection is important to me is because Sam Lindsay married my great grandmother's sister's daughter, Lucy Eckard. Let's see if I can make this family connection a bit clearer. My Great-Grandmother, Signora Belle Gwin, had an older sister, Rhuhama "Hami" Gwin, that married Jacob "Job" Eckard. Rhuhama and Job Eckard had a daughter Lucy (1883-1946) who married Sam L. Lindsay. Lucy was my first cousin twice removed.

I remember, slightly, visiting the Lindsay's on their farm at Monterey, Virginia area in the early 1960's. I especially remember the huge, staked tomatoes plants and vegetable garden that Sam had in his garden. The tomatoes were the biggest tomatoes that this young girl had ever seen. To big to fit in one hand. It took two hands to hold it.

Anyway, this week Perry Jones sent me some treasures that were found in the house by other owners. The best things Perry found are written proof that Sam and Lucy Lindsay lived in her house. Perry looked through some papers the previous owner left her and found some treasures for me, which she forward onto me, and I received the other day.

There were a couple of Capital Almanac's (1889 & 1890) that had belonged to Lucy Eckard when she was younger. Given to her by her father Jacob "Job" Eckard. There were also 5 penny postcards written to Miss Lucy Eckard. the postcard that stuck out and grabbed me was the one dated September 14, 1910, that my grandmother (Constance Warwick McGill, age 27 years) wrote to Lucy.

Grandmother wrote (parenthesis are my notes: "Dear Cousin, I am sending this card to warn you that mother Siggie (Signora Belle Gwin Wawrick) leaves here (Alva, OK) Sept 18 for old Va. Going to make her first stop with Aunt Hami. Love Connie."

[click image for larger view.] -- I know that Grandmother and Great Grandmother Siggie went to Virginia beach in 1910, because I have a photograph of them both with two other young girls standing at the edge of the ocean with a dog. Now I believe one of those girls was Lucy Eckard, Grandmother's cousin, and it was around the mid to last part of September 1910.

Besides the 1910 postcards, the old Capital Almanacs from 1889 and 1890 were in good condition for being 125-124 years old. I have put some bits and pieces of the 1890 almanac in this week's OkieLegacy Weekly Ezine/Tabloid that I though you might find interesting.

Perry Jones tells me that the Gwin-Eckard cemetery is located on the Old Sam Lindsay farm, but needs some TLC because the cemetery is in a terrible state of disarray as the cows have been allowed to tromp around the stones all these years. One of the stones belongs to Job Eckard, who was Lucy's father. One is for poor Samuel Eckard, Lucy's brother, who died young. The last is Ellen, born Eleanor Dever Gwin. John Gwin, Nancy Gwin and Samuel Gwin may also be buried in the Gwin-Eckard cemetery, on Old Sam Lindsay's property. (Samuel Gwin and Ellen Dever were Rhuhama's parents. Also, there may be a Pvt. Alexander Terry there.

The new owners of the "Old Sam Lindsay" place have named one of our hills after Rhuhama because any woman who has 10+ children deserves a hill named after her. perry did tell me that she found Rhuhama's grave in the family cemetery. Rhuhama and Job share a marker. I am told that some of the stones are so faded they look smooth. Perry did find Samuel Gwin's headstone and John Gwin's headstone. Here is a link to the cemetery at Findagrave.

Perry also mentioned, "The property is absolutely stunningly beautiful. The farmhouse was built in 1934, so I think someone other than the Gwins built it. I plan to ask an old timer what he remembers and see what else I can find out. Our long range plan is to move to Highland County, raise goats and make cheese. We have named it 'Yodeling Springs Farm.' We are in the process of naming all the features on the property. We named the middle hill in the back 'Rhuhama Hill' (anyone with that many children deserves a hill named after her) and the gap which leads from the front pasture (unnamed) to the back meadow is now 'Gwin's Gap.' Mountain Grove is still in Virginia, but it's in Bath County. It is south and slightly west of Monterey. My property is located 5-miles south of Monterey on state route 220. The area is called Vanderpool after Vanderpool Gap. A John Vanderpool rode through on a horse and discovered it."

The deed to the Old Sam Lindsay's place mentions Sam Lindsay and Pauline Lindsay. The owners prior to me were the Kittels, and before that it was Swanson Dowling. Everyone in Monterey knows it as the 'Swanson place.'

Perry passed along some information from one of the older farmers who remembered that Sam Lindsay owned her house prior to Swanson Dowling. The old farmer also remembered that Sam was short, about 5 feet and a wonderful carpenter. We have learned that Sam did not have a driving permit and would catch the school bus into Monterey. Sam did carpentry work for the school. He was "very meticulous" and didn't force anything. He carried a pocket knife with him and would whittle down the wood until it fit perfectly. They also tell me they wouldn't be surprised if Sam were the one responsible for a lot of the woodwork in their house. The farmer couldn't remember if Sam built their house or not, but Perry's best guess is that he did. Perry also found remnants of two foundations in the yard.

Good Night, Good Luck searching for your roots!   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---