Another Day, Another Historical Cemetery

One of our family resolutions for 2009 is to seriously track down local history and Aaron's family history. Little did we know when moving back here to my hometown that he had very deep ancestral roots in the region. Not only did his great-great-great-granddad migrate west in 1850 (along with massive amounts of others seeking their fortunes in the gold mines) but we've discovered that his first stop was the very same small town where we now live!



As we sit downtown at our favorite cafe, surrounded by historical buildings, we think about young John Dabney Perkins pulling up on Main Street in his covered wagon (along with his Uncle David and about 1500lbs of tobacco) sometime in 1850, ready to set up shop and hopefully strike it rich in the gold mines of Calaveras County. Alas Murphys didn't yield the anticipated wealth and eventually (twenty odd years later) J.D. settled in Ione, over in neighboring Amador County. And now some 159 odd years later, his descendants have returned to their ancestral roots in the Gold Country once again.

What does all this have to do with that pretty picture above? Well...in a round about way it does relate...in my typically round-about-fashion. The picture is of a tombstone in an old cemetery in Stent (no longer exists as a town...just a cemetery), the birthplace of Aaron's maternal grandmother, who married J.D. Perkins great-grandson in the 1920s. They never lived anywhere near Murphys but did end up in Sonoma County, where Aaron was born and raised. Where he and I met, had a son and then moved back to my hometown...that really is more like his hometown. Hence the circle closes...eventually...

To see why I'm posting a picture of pretty little tombstone read about it over on my other blog. I'm toying with the idea of merging these two blogs...but for now... head over there if you're not yet thoroughly bored with all my ramblings! Right now I've got a date with a 5 year old and some bedtime stories.