Blood of My Ancestor Family Reunion!

Beautiful Martin County, Indiana

Blood of My Ancestor Family Reunion!
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by Carolyn Ann Howard

Last year, 2019, I cooked up an idea and didn't know where it would end up. I was looking for ways to connect with the family I had found through writing Blood of My Ancestor. Some of the family members I heard from after writing "Blood" were the step-grandson of Earl Howard, the Brown family, who live in Evansville and are descended from the Cannons, as well as several descendants of my 4x great grandfather, Godfrey Howard. Although its good to be on Facebook with them, I was hoping for more! So I put the idea out there about having a family reunion, meeting together in Martin County, Indiana. I made a Facebook event page and sat back with anticipation watching to see if anyone would join. Click on photos to enlarge

When it looked like the event had some interest, I began to plan. What in the world would we do for two days in Martin County? Fortunately, I have friends in Martin County to help! Soon my plans came together, and the family reunion was all set! I didn't know going in, however, that it was going to be one of the highlights of my entire life!

Thursday evening, we all met together at Stoll's Restaurant (pictured above). Stoll's is located on the banks of West Boggs Lake in Loogootee, Indiana. Not only is the view gorgeous, but its also the best place to have a party like the one above. There's plenty of space to spread out and be comfortable, and they have something for everyone on their buffet. We had such a good time talking together!

Kenny and I stayed the next two nights in my friend Marie's cabin, and I think we were the last to do so as she sold the cabin in 2020.  The cabin is special to me, because this is the area my ancestors first lived when they came to Martin County in or around 1850. Staying in the cabin held so much meaning for me and Marie went out of her way to make sure we were comfortable!

This is the view from the backyard of the cabin. The cabin is located on what's called The Overlook, because it looks over the East Fork of White River. Its my belief that my Howard ancestors came into Martin County from the East Fork of White River. When they saw how beautiful the countryside was, they stayed!

The next morning, Friday, Kenny and I ate at Velma's Diner in Shoals, Indiana. Velma's is a wonderful breakfast place, a fine diner. From biscuits and gravy to eggs over easy, they have anything you might want for breakfast, perfectly made to order!

Kenny and I then made our way to NSWC Crane Naval Base. Yep! Southern Indiana is home to a naval base! According to the Indianapolis Star, 21 Jun 2016, Crane employs around 5,000 civilians and adds around $800 million each year to our state economy. The base came into Martin County in or around 1941 and took the land of about three of Martin County's townships. They fenced off a lot of where my ancestors lived, including Goldsberry Hollow, where Joel Lyon lived with his wife, my grandaunt Adaline.

Fortunately, I had also learned because of Blood of My Ancestor, that the soldiers and staff at the naval base are gracious and kind. They had even reached out to me after I wrote "Blood" and threw a huge all-day event to celebrate the book! Because of this, I knew the odds were good that we'd be able to do cemetery visits as part of the reunion.

There are somewhere around 29 cemeteries behind the gates of the naval base. When I emailed them about a group of us taking a tour, the offer was made that we could tour three of the cemeteries.  I chose Boggs Creek, West Union and Williams. Seven of us gathered at the naval base. Two others joined later, just for the Boggs Creek Cemetery tour.

I was super nervous, just on edge. I had six people counting on me to make it worth their while for all they had put into being a part of this reunion. The couple from Evansville, Indiana, Laura and Bill, were staying at a hotel in Washington, Indiana. Ann, from Pennsylvania and Greg and Mary from Wisconsin were staying in Jasper. What if it turned out that they had wasted their time? What if it turned out they were bored to tears? My anxiety level was through the roof!

We made a caravan to follow the two soldiers who had been assigned to us. We were told we could take pictures in the cemeteries only. Kenny and I followed behind the soldier's truck. Bill and Laura rode with us. Ann, Greg and Mary rode together in behind us.

Crane Naval Base is HUGE!!! It took us forever to get from cemetery to cemetery, and my anxiety level was still great. Was everyone having a good time? Was anyone bored with all the driving?

When we got to Boggs Creek cemetery, the decision was made to only allow the two people who had joined only to go to this cemetery. To get to this cemetery, you must climb a very steep and long hill. The soldiers decided one would take the extra couple up in the truck and, warning us that the road wasn't very good to

the cemetery, we were told to wait behind with the other soldier. They told me I could join in going up to Boggs Creek, but I decided to stay behind with the others. It was a good decision. For August, it was a particularly pleasant morning, and it was so much fun talking with my extended family. The soldier talked a little about how he had asked to be assigned to Crane, but he gave very little away. Greg would laugh later, saying that he made a very good soldier indeed, being a man of few words.

I don't have any family members buried in Williams, but it is one of the larger cemeteries and so I thought it would be fun.

This is an interesting stone in Williams Cemetery.

After we were finished with our tour of the three cemeteries behind the gates of Crane Naval Base, we traveled by caravan back to Loogootee to enjoy lunch together. I knew by this time that the two-day reunion was going to be successful, although I still didn't realize how much it was going to mean to me in the end.

All pictures in this blog posting are from the Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection. The photos of the cemeteries in Crane Naval Base were taken with permission.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC

The Contrived "Sin" of My Great Grandmother, Eva Carroll Painter

Benjamin W. Carroll Family Line

Eva King Carroll Painter (1870-1934)

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by Carolyn Ann Howard

My great grandmother, Eva Painter, was what my Uncle Willis called "a very nice person."  She was born in 1870 most likely near Birdseye, Indiana. Her maiden name was King. Click on photos to enlarge

Eva King Carroll Painter
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

Eva was the second wife of Hickman Carroll. Hickman Carroll's sister was Sarah Carroll who married Jacob Painter. Hickman died. Sarah died. And so Eva married Jacob Painter, her brother-in-law. From what I understand, my grandmother Grace, Eva's daughter, was L-I-V-I-D!

But why?

My father, from my recollections, said it was because of the relationship, in that they were "related" as in-laws. My grandmother was strictly Pilgrim Holiness and for a while, this thought held up. But now, after having scanned through Holiness doctrine, I find nothing in it that states a member can't marry an in-law. There are some laws against what is called a consanguine marriage, which, according to Wikipedia, is a "marriage between two family members who are second cousins or closer." Although, according to National Institute of Health (NIH), this definition is a bit simple, we'll use the Wikimedia definition for our purposes here. 

The problems allegedly with this type of arrangement - marrying a cousin - is some evidence of birth defects in their offspring. It is illegal here in the United States in some states to marry a first cousin. It is perfectly legal, however, to marry an in-law.

My great grandmother, Eva, with her husband, Hickman, and their children
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

Next, I checked the family tree to see if somehow Jacob Painter was blood related to Eva Carroll. I could find no evidence of any blood relations. So what was really going on here with Eva's daughter, Grace - my grandmother - and her anger at her mother marrying Jacob Painter?

My father told me that he believed his grandmother, Eva, was sickly. He said that his mother, Grace, had to take care of her brothers and sisters, taking over the cooking and other household duties, at the age of 12. And I can believe it, as my grandmother Grace was a power house in running a household. A widow when her youngest of seven children was just three years old, my father told me they had no bills growing up. No electricity, water, or phone bills!

Grace reared her children in the rural community of Alfordsville, Indiana, which at the time was a bustling community with its own school and general store. Many of the men of that town worked at the nearby Crane Naval Base, and a bus picked them up every morning. My father sings of a happy childhood filled with friends and neighbors, pick-up basketball games, and one school that served the entire community. He also dimly speaks of being forbidden food between meals - even a cracker - and how he fell down one day and hit his head, drawing blood and seeing stars, and was too afraid to tell anyone. He hid for hours until the dizziness passed.

Not having an income, except for a small pension from the Methodist Church, Grace grew and canned all their vegetables. It wouldn't surprise me if she made her own butter. She kept chickens but not a cow. Grace was an excellent cook, and we all stuffed ourselves with her yeast rolls and dumplings whenever we visited her at her final residence in Loogootee, Indiana.

Eva in her last days
Carolyn Ann Howard Family Collection

Eva's first husband, Hickman, died in 1920. I'm pretty sure Eva got the house they lived in, because I remember my dad talking about how his mother got the house when Eva died. Apparently this was a source of contention within the family.  Eva received a small settlement from her husband's death, about $600. She waited six years before remarrying her brother-in-law, and she might have jumped at the chance to improve her situation. Jacob Painter offered her, at the least, stability and at best, which I believe he was, a companion.

After marrying Jacob Painter, she moved in with him in French Lick, Indiana. Did her house in Newton Stewart stay empty? I don't know. But there, in French Lick, in 1930, she watched as her 26-year-old daughter, Esther, died. Once shrouded in mystery, we now know she died from typhoid fever. Her obit states she was rejoicing and singing hymns as she died, which I doubt. I take little comfort that Esther was, at least, with her mom as she died.

Three years later, Jacob Painter died. My great grandmother Eva was then shuffled back to her daughter and son-in-law's home in Union, Indiana. My father, who was born in 1929, remembered Eva living with them. Eva died shortly after her husband, two days before Christmas Day, 1934. Her obit states, "She was sick a number of weeks but bore her suffering patiently till death relieved her and her spirit took its flight." That sounds like something my grandmother would have written.

My grandmother Grace perhaps had the last word. Using the weather as an excuse to keep Eva's body from being taken to the cemetery in Newton Stewart, to be buried with her first husband, Hickman, Grace had the body taken to Loogootee, IN, where she had a plot of six graves. Already buried in that plot were her sister, Esther, and a daughter who died as an infant. Newton Stewart would've been about a drive of 1 hour and 15 minutes today. Loogootee was not much better at an hour from Union, Indiana. Perhaps the roads were better? Perhaps, in the end, Grace wanted to keep her beloved family close?

Whatever the reason, my grandmother took total charge. Her mother is buried next to her and the name on the stone? It should've been Eva Painter. Instead, it says Amanda Carroll, using Eva's legal first name and the last name of her first husband. Such are the nightmares of a genealogist!

Jacob Painter is buried with his first wife, Hickman's sister, Sarah, in Wickliffe Cemetery, Crawford County, Indiana.

© 2022 by December Moonlight Publishing, LLC