The output here will be a little light this week as I scramble to finish scripts for the 16th annual Chariton Cemetery Heritage Tour, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 22, and sponsored by the Chariton Historic Preservation Commission.
Our location this year will be the Grand Army of the Republic section of the cemetery --- under the flag pole overlooking Highway 14 --- set aside during 1894 as a burial site for military veterans. Presentations will begin at 2 p.m. and seating will be provided.
We'll be introducing you to six women and men --- Lucas Countyans by choice or accident --- who are buried in the section or nearby.
In part because 2019 is the centennial year of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, assuring equal suffrage for women, Lucas County's leading suffragist --- Virginia Branner --- will be among those featured. Virginia's ashes are buried near the table tomb (top) just across the road from the G.A.R. section along with the remains of other family members. Virginia lived to see the amendment ratified in 1920, then died a year later.
In the G.A.R. section, we'll visit two men: Alexander Van Meter, one of a handful of Lucas County's Civil War fatalities actually buried in Lucas County soil (he died at 19 on May 4, 1863), and Fred B. Sanders, a World War II veteran and a stranger to Lucas County who had fallen upon hard times when he fell from a freight train in 1966 and died. Lucas County Legionnaires claimed his remains when his family wouldn't --- and buried him here.
John Kay, born into slavery in Mississippi and a U.S. Colored Troops Union veteran of the Civil War, is buried nearby with his son, Charles. John married into the fascinating Jeffers family, free people of color who settled on farms near the Lucas-Marion county line during 1848. He'll have much to share about his personal and the family's collective experiences.
We'll also visit with Ellen Berry Badger, who arrived in Chariton in a covered wagon with her extended family during the fall of 1853; and with Jeanette Cramer, a businesswoman in her own right who with her husband, Harry, built the Ritz Theater on the south side of the square.
This is the Preservation Commission's only fund-raising effort each year (we're a city commission, but receive no funding) so admission will be charged: $5 for adults; $2.50 for students K-12.
No comments:
Post a Comment