Visiting a Cemetery

[pipkim]

For me visiting Odiham will be a strange experience. Just to walk around the roads my ancestors lived in and conducted their lives. I still remember my surprise when reading a census page that Odiham was the place of birth of some of my ancestors.

The only one I hope to find is George Hooker (5xGreat Grandfather). He is the only one I have found who left a will, so he may of been able to afford a stone, assuming his family bought one and its not disappeared. If I find other names that slot into the family tree that would be fab, but George would be the icing on the cake, though his birth place still eludes me.

Many years ago I was drawn to Odiham Castle (just a ruin now) and based a college project on it. I still don't know why I chose it. I was Warwickshire born and always assumed my ancestors were too, as that was where my grandparents and wider family lived.

Just need to wait for a slightly warmer day than today!

Pipkim

[Sloe Gin]

Hi

Visiting cemeteries can really bring your ancestors to life. It did for me.

Oooer.  Tell us more! 

[Siamese Girl]

Hi

Visiting cemeteries can really bring your ancestors to life. It did for me.

Oooer.  Tell us more! 

My 4x gt grandparents John and Elizabeth Alford's gravestone ends with the lines

And when the last trumpet shall call
Christ will them raise who liv'd and died for all
 
I couldn't help wondering who'd be the more surprised - me if it did actually happen, or them to find out who I was. 

Carole

[Jebber]

For anyone with ancestors in Odiham, a worthwhile purchase would be a booklet entitled,
The Parish of Odiham,An Historical Guide by Sheila Millard. ISBN 0 9513201 1 4

 Also a treasure trove for anyone who had people living in the High Street,

Odiham   High Street,  An Itinerary ISBN 0 9513201 2 2. This has illustrations of all the properties in the High Street, along with the names of many of the occupants and their occupations  back over the centuries.

Jebber

[pipkim]

Hi Jebber,

Thanks for the book title, sounds very interesting.
I hope to visit when the Pest House is open and may be buy the book, the post office also sells the book. Sheila Millard helped me by arranging for a gedcom file with lots of the Hooker family line to be sent to me, in return I sent a donation.
Perhaps the first thing to do on my visit is to buy the book. She also has a new book about the public houses in Odiham.

Pipkim

[Jebber]

Hi Pipkim,

Sheila Millard MBE is a mine of information, she was also very helpful to me and provided me with masses of information on my lines, unfortunately I found many errors in it, but it certainly helped to point me in the right direction.

My family were tanners, butcher, bakers and  shopkeepers in the High Street, so it is highly likely our families pathes crossed at some time or other.

 I have another book on Odiham, now out of print I think, by the late Anne Pitcher MBE, unfortunately there is no  index of names, but I will try and skim through it this evening to see if the name HOOKER occurs.


Jebber

[Notinpastyet]

Hi Pipkim,I've enjoyed reading this thread as Ive enjoyed many a happy hour hunting out headstones many of them in Ireland ,where the cemetery is in the middle of no where, maybe in the middle of a field with no road to it(ah the fun of just trying to get to the cemetery!!)There is no joy  been in a cemetery on a cold damp day,so my tip to you would be perchase  the books Jebber recommended stay in read up on the place keep warm & cozy,then on a mild day camera,notebook in hand of you go headstone hunting take photo's of as many old headstones as you can,they may mean nothing to you at the moment but could do at a future date(also they maybe of interest to some one else doing family research in that area)It is surprising how much info you can get from a headstone,once you get home you can play with them on the PC,I find reading them so much easier on the PC,I like Justkia's idea sheet of paper & rub lightly with a crayon/chalk brilliant!+Aghadowey simply rub with wide rhubarb or water,what ever you do Pipkim enjoy your headstone hunting ,Good luck ,regards Nipy

[pipkim]

Hi Jebber,

Thanks for the offer of looking in you book, this is a bit of info on George.

George Hooker was a Corn Chandler and died in 1807 and owned land at his death but at sometime before this was a pauper. George's wife Sarah (d.1815), lived at sometime in The Bury as a lot of folk did, which address I don't know.
His sons worked in Odiham as wheelwrights, not sure if they were employees or employers.

There were quite a few people with the Hooker name in Odiham, so I am hoping George and his ancestors were from there, although it will be the first time my family have stayed put for a few decades.

Thanks everyone for your kind wishes and I loved hearing about peoples hit and miss affair with searching graveyards. I will have my camera on me, thank goodness for digital cameras, as it means I can take lots of pictures, as Nipy says, they might be of interest to someone else.

Pipkim

[Flojo]

I was given a tip by someone which really helped decipher a gravestone which was over 80 years old. When I found it, after checking with the local council for the position, the sun was shining and I couldn't read any of it. I went back at a different time of day and the sun was at a different angle, but it still didn't make sense.
My miraculous success was from lightly sprinkling the stone from above with talcum powder, so the face of the stone caught the powder but it didn't go into the carvings. It was quite an amazing thing to read it so clearly after that. No damage to the stone, no scraping, and it would all blow or wash away without trace after.
I could have been the first person in 80 years to have visited the grave and was very moved reading the words and name of my ancestor.