Looking for Mrs. Gladys Agan

When Ralph Snook (son of Liberty Snook who was killed by his brother in law, Deak Gwinn)passed away, he was married to a Mrs. Gladys Agan.

I'd like to know who she was. What's here maiden name, who was 'Mr' Gladys Agan, and did she have any children.

Loose Stones in Gwinn Cemetery

I was out to the Gwinn Cemetery this week end to see how bad the storm damage had been from recent bad weather. The good news is that either we had little damage or someone beat me out there. The grass was very well cut and all this rain has finally got the grass growing over Dad's grave. We've laughed for years (Dad died in '94) that the reason grass wouldn't grow there is that the deer population has been coming by to urinate on it in revenged for all the deer Ray harvested over the years. I guess all this rain finally washed the urine out.

The bad news was that three US flags (leftover from Memorial Day or Flag Day, I assume) were damaged and on the ground. Two were salvageable and I will repair them and put them back out, probably in the spring. The 3rd was unrepairable. I will keep it until the opportunity arises to dispose of it properly, thru either the Boy Scouts or the American Legion.

There was also some damage to decorations arounds Uncle Jim's headstone. I repaired it as best I could, but some of the decorations weren't designed to stand the rigors of being left unattended in the 'wilderness'.

But that's not what I came to talk about today.

I was talking pictures, as I usually do. I know little or nothing has changed, but digital photography is free and I end up with different times of day, weather conditions, etc.

I came across the loose headstones stacked at the back (east end) of the cemetery. They're not new, we all know they're there. They've been there as long as I've been going to the Gwinn Cemetery.

Perhaps they caught my eye because there was one along the south fence that I hadn't seen before (see left side of photo, above). From the grass stains, I'd say it only recently became dislodged. Since I hadn't planned this cemetery trip, I had no tools nor did I have a listing to know where the headstone belongs. I set it back along the fence and will come prepared to look into it at a later date.

But I digress.

I am curious about the loose stones. According to the Wayne County Cemetery Book, dated 1978, supplemented in 1991, the loose stones belong to two families.

Mary J. CHERRYHOLMES, daug of J. & H.J. Cherryholmes Died June 15, 1874 age 10m 2d.

Asahel O. CULVER, son of O.V. & M.M. Culver Died Sept. 1, 1859 age 14m 15d

Lovina M. CULVER, daug of O.V. & M.M. Culver Died June 1, 1860 age 5m 28d.

Maria M. CULVER, wife of Orange Culver Died Jan 17, 1860. (the 1991 update shows this marker between rows 4 and 5 with the additional writing 'age 20 yr 2m 10d)

It is a pretty safe assumption that Maria and Orange Culver are the O.V. & M.M. parents of Asahel and Lovina. Can you imagine? Five or Six month pregnant Maria, looses her 14 month old son in September, gives birth to a daughter in December and passes away in January, then the daughter doesn't live to see summer.

I have not Culvers listed in the Gwinn family history and few others were buried in Wayne county. I wonder if this family was just passing through, close neighbors, who knows. Did Orange give up after this and leave, go defend Ft Sumpter, ...

Been A While

It's been a while since I posted. There've been two local family reunions: The Memorial Day reunion in Russell, IA and the 4th of July reunion in Williamson, IA.

Williamson is like our Christmas reunion in Lucas. For the older family members, it survives as a reenactment of what came natural in the "old days".

There used to be a 3-4 day celebration on the town square in Chariton, where my grandparents lived and most of the family, me included, grew up. The celebration is still there, but it is a shadow of its former self. Less the half the carneys show up and the equipment is old, unpainted, and worn out. The family atmosphere has been replaced by a bingo tent and a beer tent. Author Thomas Wolfe said it, "You can't go home, again." But I digress.

The family from near and far came the to fair. And when you got tired, or the kids got cranky, you'd end up out a Grandma's on the edge of town. Grandma always had a treat on the table for the kids and ice tea for the adults. She'd watch the grand-youngin's while the adults went back to the celebration. Actually, I think the older kids ended up watching the younger ones and reporting back to whatever adults were on hand in an unofficial supervisory hiearchy.

By the time the day was over, you've run into all the family that made to the fair, caught up on old news, and created some new. About dark, there was a fireworks display at East Park - They call it Yocum Park now - and most of the family went straight home from there. The out of towners might rack out on an in-towner's sofa and take off the next morning.

There was nothing formal about it in those days. Everybody just kind of showed up then they just trickled off and everything was back to normal.

It's not the same in Williamson. Williamson is close enough to Chariton to go see what is left of the fair, but it's too far away base out of it and come and go all day. We used to go to Red Haw or East/Yocum Park which are closer, but Williamson has the air conditioning!

Still, it's great to get together, albeit far more formal that before. Someone has to reserve the building and pay for it. I don't remember if anybody stuck around to help Grandma clean up after the festivities, but someone has to do it in Williamson. And the cooking is a shared function - pot luck, some times a theme, but not Grandma's cooking. It is great to watch as the younger family members grow and to listen to the older members.

We've lost four of the aunts and uncles, Betty, Rose, Ray and Jim, and one spouse, Evelyn. Of the other eight, you can count on six or seven to be able to make it. And there's 30 or so cousins (depending upon how you count us) ranging in age from 55 to 25 and who knows how many children and grandchildren we have. We now stretch across the continent. It's going to be things like our 4th of July tradition that keeps us together.

Sorry, this was meant to be a short note contrasting the Memorial Day and 4th of July reunions and I got to rattling on so much a the the latter that I forgot the former. Perhaps I'll discuss it in a short note, soon. This year's was particulary eventful.

Ray jr

Andrew Gwinn Obituary

Herald-Patriot, Chariton Ia, Thurs., Feb. 44, 1926

Andrew J. Gwinn

Andrew J. Gwinn was born in Greenbrier county, West Virginia on Aug 6, 1848 and departed this life at his home in Jackson township, Lucas County, Iowa, on February 8, 1926 at the advanced age of 77 years, 8 months and 1 day. In 18?? He came with his parents to Wayne county, Iowa, where he grew to manhood. On March 5, 1876, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Sayers, who preceded him in death in May, 1917. To their union nine children were born, all sons, two of whom passed away in infancy. The seven sons who remain were all present to pay tribute to their father in bearing him to his last resting place.
About the time of his marriage he located on a farm in Union township, Lucas county, and spent the remainder of his life and reared his family in this county. He was among the first white children who roved the prairies of Wayne county, coming to said county in 1855. Thus we can truly say that another early pioneer has gone from his native land to the country beyond.
On June 23 1918, he made a profession of his faith in Jesus Christ and identified himself with the Baptist church at White Oak school house, and was baptized by Rev. G. W. Smith. He has since been a loyal advocate of the principles of the gospel of Christ, until he was released from this prison of mortality. His last illness was of five weeks duration and he bore his afflictions with such fortitude that he said he was ready and willing to go, without murmuring or complaining of his lot.
He leaves to mourn his departure besides his seven sons, three sisters, Mrs. Mada Davidson and Mrs. Irene Lowe, of Wayne county, and Mrs. Rachel Snook, of Derby, besides a host of other relatives and friends. Funeral services, conducted by Rev. M. S. Clark, were held at the family home on Tuesday, followed by interment in the Gwinn cemetery in Wayne county. The bereaved one have the sympathy of a large circle of friends.

TRANSCRIPTION NOTE: I have transcribed this obituary as faithfully as possible. There are discrepancies between this writing and my records. 1) I have Andrew born on July 6, 1849 in Eddyville, Wapello County, Iowa and moving to Wayne County later that summer. By 1955, the date indicated for him to move to Wayne County, two of his siblings, John H. and Virginia, had been buried in the Gwinn Cemetery in Wayne County. 2) I show his wife, Mary, as passing in April 1917, not May. I will check her headstone on my next trip to the cemetery. – Ray Gwinn Jr. GGGrandson.