Cemetery Serendipity!

CEMETERY SERENDIPITY! 

by 

Karen Utter Jennings 

My brother, Bill signed up to canvass the Rocky Comfort, Missouri cemetery that is located in the extreme SE corner of McDonald County at the Prosperity Baptist Church. The cemetery itself is actually in Newton County. When Bill told me of his huge endeavor, I volunteered to help him...for several reasons. 1. Time with my wonderful brother 2. Safety as he won't be alone 3. I enjoy cemetery headstone art & funerary symbols, so this was a good chance to find those headstones and symbols and photograph them to add to my collection 4. Many family members are buried there, so it is a chance to find their graves & photograph them.

On my first day with Bill, he told me about a headstone he found down in the southwest corner of the cemetery and said the stone had "colored" on it, so it must be an African-American buried there. Sure enough, the headstone read "to the sacred memory of Ike ~ colored" and his death date.

Bill and I talked about Ike and who he might have been, a slave possibly? We were happy that he was buried in the cemetery among other folks and not put away somewhere in a corner of the cemetery where no one would ever find his grave... I told Bill that I would try and find out about Ike and his life. Bill told me I should post some of my photographs of the headstones and symbols on the headstones on my Facebook page. 

When I got home, I immediately began research to find out about Ike. First, I put Ike's name and death date into a family tree on Ancestry.com. Then I posted to my Facebook page about my joining Bill to canvass the RC cemetery and posted several pictures. One was of Ike's headstone. 

I had several friends on Facebook comment on the photographs and in particular, Ike. One of my cousins asked if the word "COLORED" on the headstone might be "Coldred", Ike's last name and not "colored."  I hadn't thought of that, so while I searched on Ancestry.com, I also searched for that surname. A couple of my Facebook friends commented that they thought there was a Christian family in Rocky who at one time owned slaves. 

And so my research continued; my friends comments proved to be the hints that I needed. Within a couple of hours, I had solved the mystery! Ike's name was Isaac Haden, born in Arkansas and he was a negro who lived with the Nancy Christian family in Rocky Comfort, Missouri. I found Ike's obituary on the McDonald County Missouri site which gave information that he was a servant to the Christian family.

I was astounded because a couple of weeks before this, I had researched the Yonce sisters of McDonald County, Missouri, for a newsletter article. Lucy Jane Yonce had married W.C. Christian and they lived in Rocky Comfort. William Christian's mother was Nancy Christian! 

And so, my first day out on a cemetery excursion with my beloved brother, I found serendipity in that cemetery. Here's to your memory, Ike Haden!

A Baseball Story

A BASEBALL STORY

By Karen Utter Jennings

            What can you find when you research old family photos, old high school yearbooks and old newspapers?  You can find a great family history story.  Old photos may hold clues to where and how your family lived and what they did for recreation.  My dad, Ronald Utter, and his brother, Wayne Utter, played baseball or softball during their high school years at Rocky Comfort, Missouri.  I found many pictures of them in the old Rocky yearbooks.  After graduation, they played for local town teams in Rocky Comfort and Wheaton, Missouri.  I’m lucky to have their ball pictures in my photo collection.

            In one of the photos, Dad is wearing his ball uniform and holding his ball glove during the summer of 1953.  When I asked him about the photo, a smile spread across his face as he remembered that time long ago.  He said on the back of his jersey is “Nu Grape” and his ball glove was a Phil Rizzuto.  Rizzuto debuted in the major leagues in 1941 with the New York Yankees.  Rizzuto claimed the MVP in 1950 and won the Babe Ruth Award in 1951.  He was a five time All Star Selection, seven time World Series Champion and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994. 

            I researched the history of baseball and found that prior to the Civil War, baseball, known as town ball, was played in the New England States.   In the 1860s, baseball expanded into a national game and the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) formed.   By the end of the War, there were almost 100 baseball clubs in the NABBP.  That number grew to over 400 clubs by 1867 and that year the championship went to the Chicago White Stockings, which later became the Chicago White Sox.  Baseball was on its way to prominence in national sports.

            Through the years, baseball and softball has evolved into a mighty pastime with Americans.  From the National and American Leagues all the way down to the little summer teams, the game is one of America’s favorites.

             My brother Bill Utter, found newspaper articles from the old Wheaton Journal (now on DVD) about the ball teams in Rocky and Wheaton.  Dad said they won more games than they lost and the articles back up his stories.  My grandfather, Perry Utter, owned the Conoco Station in downtown Rocky Comfort, Missouri and managed the Rocky Comfort Conoco team in 1953.  Dad pitched for the team that summer with the team composed of Wheaton and Rocky boys.

            Another photo in the family collection is the 1957 Rocky Comfort town team.  With the help of my dad and Jerry Payne, a family friend, the team members are identified as Noble Flaxbeard, Carl Richmond, Wayne Utter, Donnie Richmond, J.W. “Dub” Johnson, John Howerton, Stanley Ford, Ronald Utter, Dale Lee Flaxbeard, Donnie Dyer, and Dale Richmond.  Max Ford and Jerry Kerr were just youngsters back in 1957, but they are proudly posing with the team.

            While you are researching your family history, remember those old photos may lead you to great stories that otherwise might never be found. And learning more about an interesting topic, can add wonderful detail to a single photograph. Such is the case of my family’s baseball photos. I wish you luck in finding your family history…