Saturday morning I traveled with my husband and parents 2 hours south to attempt to fix Albert's stone. We planned ahead bringing a car full of tools to tackle the cleaning and resetting.
When we arrived at the cemetery we quickly realized that while we could clean his stone, we would not be able to reset it like we planned. We will need to construct a new base first which we were not prepared to do on Saturday.
Not wanting to waste the mix we brought with us we turned our attention to this stone:
This stone is for Rebecca CAROTHERS. Rebecca is not a relative of ours but since we had what we needed to fix her stone we decided to go ahead and clean and reset her marker.
Here she is looking good again! I just knew Rebecca was sending us her thanks!
Once we accomplished this task and cleaned a couple of other relatives stones we headed to the BP Station for lunch. One thing to note about Boundary Line Cemetery is that it is located in a rural area. Very rural! The BP Station is the only place in town to wash up and grab something to eat.
After lunch we returned to the cemetery to complete our work for the day. Just as we were packing up a van pulled up to the cemetery. We all stopped to stare as having any vehicle pass by was a rarity much less to have one stop!
Out jumps a couple who ask "Is this Boundary Line Cemetery"? My mom replied "Yes". "Oh good"! They said....".we are from Oregon and made this detour on our travels to try and locate my Great - Grandmothers headstone." "What is her name"? my mother asked. Their reply?
Rebecca CAROTHERS.........
So while we thought we were coming to fix up Albert's stone, Ms. Rebecca had others plans for us that day. She wanted to be clean and standing tall for her relatives who were coming to visit her that afternoon!
Glad we could be of assistance Rebecca.
Here is Rebecca with her Great - Grandson and his wife.
And another story for Genealogy Serendipity is in the books!
This is beyond a "small world" story, this goes into the "small universe" category. Absolutely amazing.
ReplyDeleteGave me the chills when I read what happened. Good thing you brought the stuff to repair Rebecca's stone. If you hadn't I can just her reaching out and smacking whoever had forgotten the supplies!
ReplyDeleteGreat story Lisa!
Awesome story Lisa. Thanks for sharing and for listening to the whisper of Rebecca.
ReplyDeleteAmazing story! The ancestors do make their wishes known at times.
ReplyDeleteNow this brought tears to my eyes.. what a gift to Rebecca's family and what great kindness for you and your family to reset her stone.
ReplyDeleteLucie
What a beautiful story, indeed!!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of our own cemetery serendipity story. We stopped at the Old Burial Ground in Woburn to photograph a stone (note, ONE STONE)from my Dad's ancestry- but bumped into another couple. We asked them which stone they were photographing (it was mostly illegible) and they said "Francis Wyman". This turned out to an ancestor on my mother's side! Not only that, the Francis Wyman reunion was happening at his house- which was still standing from the 1600s! We were invited back to the house, met cousins from all over the USA, and joined the Wyman Association. I've been going to reunions for 10 years now!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful "Random Act of Kindness". You just never know where the request will come from. Thanks for being an angel!
ReplyDeleteIncredible story! ! Isn't it wonderful you were able to have her stone ready when her family arrived.
ReplyDeleteThis brought tears to my eyes, as well. Blessings on you all.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! What a wonderful story!
ReplyDeleteFabulous story. The great-grandson must have been as shocked as you, and to think they were from Oregon. Your article should be in a magazine to be seen by many. And what a wonderful deed you did, Rebecca thanks you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Barbara - this should be a great serendipity story for some genealogy magazine or even a newspaper.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! I've always believed that what goes around comes around so I know good things are ahead for you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAwesome story way to go fixing the stone I need to do that with a couple of my ancestors stones. Joyce
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the wonderful comments! We feel blessed to be able to reset and clean Rebecca's stone and yes, I do think she is thanking us!
ReplyDeleteI love your story Heather! Genealogy Serendipity at its finest!
Wow that gave me goosebumps! I am a firm believer that no good deed goes undone....your turn is next!
ReplyDeleteAs an urban Californian, I'm still trying to get my brain around the idea that you were "allowed" to fix the stones. But wow, what a great thing you guys did for Rebecca and her family! Hopefully some good karma will come around for you very soon! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth:
ReplyDeleteThat is a very good point and one I should have made in my post. I took a beginner and advanced cemetery restoration workshop through the Indiana DNR this past summer. I had to complete these classes and submit an application to receive a permit to do this work.
Lisa
What a fabulous story. And I think it goes to show that when it comes on your heart to do something, do it...even if it seems strange. For you never know who will be blessed because of your actions.
ReplyDeleteWow! Absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely unbelievable. I still have chills!
ReplyDeleteGreat story!
ReplyDeleteI love stories that give me goosebumps, and this one did, thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi :)
ReplyDeleteI, too, am a family historian and I thought that this was a really fantastic story.
Tricia.