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Looking for graves

Looking for graves

Cindy Patterson (View posts)
Posted: 4 May 2000 12:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 10 Aug 2003 8:03AM GMT
I am so happy to see this board! I don't think the idea that we are "guided" many times by our ancestors on our search is at all that uncommon.
Mine is a simple story. My mom and I were at the cemetery at my hometown. It was terribly hot that day. I had already been up and down the whole cemetery looking for my g grandparents that my mom insisted were buried there. She doesn't get around easily and she had to go back and sit in the car for a while. But she insisted that I keep looking. It was so hot (south Louisiana in August). I finally stopped, closed my eyes, and said out loud "Look you guys, if you want me to find you, you'd better help now --- I'm about to give up!" -- Opened my eyes and there they were, right in my line of vision but about 3 rows ahead.
Yeah -- this is simple, but it makes me think that sometimes we are guided. I think they appreciate what we are doing.

Re: Looking for Headstones

Posted: 6 May 2000 12:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 23 Jun 2001 10:20AM GMT
I can certainly understand what it is like to just walk to a grave, as though I had been led there.

My Uncle and I spent one Sunday July afternoon in several couties West to South West of SanAntonio, Texas looking for our ancestors headstones. He had the route all maped out in his head so that we could make one big circle, stopping at about 8 cemeteries. I was suprised that he was so good at finding the town cemeteries without a map.

Anyway, it seemed that everytime I got out of the truck to start looking I just walked straight to the headstone. I am not talking about just going down rows, I would literally take off scanning headstones in no particular order and within about five minutes be standing in front of the one that I was looking for.

I remember a similar situation towards the end of the day, when I was hot, sweaty and just tired. I thought this is it, I am not looking anymore. I was standing looking at the rows up in front of the row that I was standing on, just standing so that I would not have to walk anymore than I had to in the heat. As it turned out I was standing within 1 foot, directly in front of a headstone that was situated out in the middle of this section of cemetery by itself. As I backed up so that I could read the headstone that I was standing in front of it said Dow Yarbrough. That was my great great grandfather. I had such a strange feeling come over me when I looked down and saw his headstone. It alsmost felt as though I had been there before or that his headstone was very familiar somehow and this was a man that I had never met. Most of the graves we visited that day were of ancestors that I had never met in my lifetime.

My Uncle had even made a remark several times during the day that it was like I was attracted to the headstones or in tune in someway. That whole day I really felt like I was being led to those headstones. There was only one cemetery that my uncle knew where the headstones were all located. All of the other cemeteries that we went to I just walked pretty much straight to the headstones.

I don't know if this was just a coincidence or not, maybe luck was on my side since we had so many cemeteries to do in such a short amount of time before I returned home. I certainly know that this was the only time that I have ever gone to any cemeteries since then that I felt as though I was being led to the headstones.

looking for headstones

Posted: 11 Sep 2000 12:00PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 10 Aug 2003 8:04AM GMT
It must have been one of those times when the Ancestors were calling out to us, because my Dad and I also went to the cemeteries in August(very hot in La) and found our family cemetery we had never known existed and there right in front of me as I got out of the car and walked was my grgrgrandfather and grgrgrandmothers grave. Only a couple of months before neither myself or my Dad even knew their names. Amazing!!! We were dripping with sweat and never had such a good time.We found several ancestors that I had the priviledge of introducing to my Dad.

Re: Looking for Headstones

Posted: 25 Oct 2006 5:31PM GMT
Classification: Query
I had a similar experience. We were told that my husbands great grandmother was buried in a certain cemetery here in Texas. We had to locate the cemetery as it was not used any more. When we finally arrived at the cemetery gate my husband said he would start on one side and work his way back. I got out of the car and said " No wait' She says she is over here". And I walked straight to her grave. The oddest thing was I did not realize I had said anything. And it gave me the tingling up my spine when I walked over there. I do believe she told me to come here.

Re: Looking for Headstones

Posted: 17 Nov 2009 8:25AM GMT
Classification: Query
I have had the same experiences many times over. Searching Central and Southern Wisconsin Cemeteries, some very large and some small, I have a unique quirk of stopping the car a few feet away, and walking right to a family plot. Even though I had never been there.

My first-cousins great-grand-daughter, 13 years old at the time, with an interest in genealogy, wanted to come with me for the annual pre-Memorial Day decorating the graves of ancestors. She had never been to these cemeteries. I tried a little experiment, I had parked about 50 yards away from the family plot. I told her I couldn't remember where the Family plot was. I asked to to look in every direction and pick which way we should look. She did... and simply stated they're over their and walked right to the family plot of my great-great grandparents.

The reason I'm wondering about this, Last Friday my brother, born 4 years after the end of the war, called from a Borders book store in Minnesota. He walked by a display of books on World War II, and glanced at the photo on the cover. He kept going to what he was originally looking for but said he was drawn back to the book on WWII.

He picked up the book and opened it to the middle, to his amazment, he was staring at a photograph of our Dad, and Dad was smiling... The same photo on the cover of the book but the cover had our Dad, and others cropped out. He thought something was familiar to him.

Are these examples of inherited cellular memories, like transplant patients sharing memories of their organ donors?

We visited six cemeteries that day and she nailed 5 of the six, I think she would have batted 1000 but she, and I were exhausted, cemeteries in Wisconsin in the 1850's didn't waste valuable farmland, the were on steep inclines that could never be farmed.





Re: Looking for Headstones

Posted: 6 Jan 2010 3:35AM GMT
Classification: Query
You reminded me once again about that day. One of those cemeteries where my gr grandparents were buried. It was sooo very hot and my uncle drove around the cemetery roads for several minutes while I think we were mustering up the courage to get out in the heat again. I said just stop here and let me out. He stoped several rows back from the row where my grandparents were buried. When I got out I just started scanning and found them in less than a minute.

Re: Looking for graves

Posted: 31 Mar 2011 8:37PM GMT
Classification: Query
yes my son had that experience he was lookig for his great grandma and there was something driven for him to look for her. He kept insisting in his mind and heart and finally found her resting place and the strange thing was there was no marking or stone to identufy her gravebut my son kept asking the grounds keeper or assistance and he found her. I am so proud of him to keep searching and it bought closure to my heart. I think that this was meant to be and my grandmother helped to find her. Thank God for angels.
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