Oct '06 Work Day at Hollingsworth Cemetery

Three members (Dirk Stapleton, Gary Martin, and myself) and one associate (Bill Flynn) of Westport Camp #64, Department of Missouri, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War worked the better part of the day on 28 Oct 2006 removing weeds and saplings that have sprung up since the first day spent clearing brush and trees (see "Day of Clearing").

The current goal is to remove the old iron fence for two reasons. The first reason is to make it easier to get to the tree stumps in order to remove them with whatever means possible. With the stumps removed, it will be much easier to level the earth in and around the cemetery. The second reason for removing the fence is so we can see if a blacksmith would be willing and able to restore it. There are several missing pieces including two of the five cornerposts. and some of the rails, hairpins, and pickets.

With the ground leveled, it will be much simpler to set the markers where they belong at the head of the graves. Supposedly there were, at one time, other headstones within this cemetery. As mentioned before, there was a footstone found, believed to be a marker for Susan Hollingsworth, but without the last initial, it is difficult to tell.

First 5k Run

I participated in my first 5k run in the 2006 Kansas City Marathon yesterday morning (7 Oct 2006). My only complaint was that it was very early and a little on the frigid side, but other than that I had a good time running with a co-worker. We finished with a 9:27 per mile pace for a final time of 29:21. My goal was to finish with less than a 10:00 per mile pace. I made it!

I was one of 275 males and 778 participants in the 5k. The average finish time was 39:48. I finished 260 out of the entire group of 778 runners; 148 out of the 275 males; and 14 out of 22 in my age bracket.

Immediately after the race, I drove to the Truman Sports Complex and walked 2.5 miles for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), a worthwhile cause.

Day of Clearing

On Saturday, 6 May 06 the weather couldn't have been any better. It started out cool, but not cold, and cloudy and warmed up just a little. Later the sun came out and brightened the day to shed light on the work we had just completed. All of the brush and trees had been cleared. There are still stumps to contend with, one of which will be a challenge removing it from the fence. The before and after pictures should give you an idea how much work was done in a few hours time. We started about 9 a.m. and ended around noon.

Besides myself (Teacher, SkillsUSA Advisor, SUVCW Westport Camp #64), today's crew consisted of Martin Conrad (Teacher, SkillsUSA Advisor, Optimists Club), Becky Conrad, Nathaniel Conrad, Randy Long, Derek Long (SkillsUSA Member), John Ridings, Jessica Ridings (SkillsUSA Member), Ben Remington (SkillsUSA Member), James Bridges (SkillsUSA Member), Larry Stevenson (SkillsUSA Advisor), and Dan Carder (Elliott's Scouts Civil War Reenactors). Everyone worked hard sawing, cutting, chopping, digging, pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, and learning all with the utmost respect for those who were interred here so many years ago. By the way, after counting tree rings, we had determined that some of the trees were as much as 70 years old (approximately).

The gate was carefully extracted from the ground. On it is the manufacturing company's name, Champion Iron Fence Co. Kenton, Ohio. The fence is a hairpin and picket fence with open or scroll cornerposts. Additional information about iron cemetery fences and Champion Iron Fence Co. can be found at http://www.chicora.org/cemetery_fences.htm.

Another interesting discovery was that of an apparent footstone. Although broken, one of the pieces shows the first and middle initials as S. A. Another piece is still missing. It was buried near a tree between the two obvious grave locations. The only family members whose first name began with an S is their father, Samuel Gordon Hollingsworth (1814-1892), their mother, Susan Harris (Mimms) Hollingsworth (died about 1854), and a sister, Susan Hollingsworth (born 7 Dec 1854). The sister married Charles C. Faris in Oct 1882. The missing piece may solve the mystery. If there are other burials, where are the headstones?

Recent Hollingsworth Cemetery Discoveries

On Friday, 14 Apr 2006, Dan Carder of Elliott's Scouts (CSA Reenactors) and I visited Hollingsworth Cemetery. We "found" some missing pieces of the ornate wrought iron fence including the gate. Actually, I knew where the gate was, but it was underneath an inch or so of soil. Like patient archaeologists, we carefully swept leaves and dirt away in an attempt to stand the gate up. We made good progress, but it is still on the ground.

There is still quite a bit of fence missing. Like the gate, I'm sure the pieces are buried somewhere nearby. Two of the corner posts are missing, too. As big as they are (about 4" x 4" x 4'0") it should seem easy to locate them. They may be gone altogether. It will take a lot of work and skillful hands to replicate them.

Dan and I also located the bases to both of the headstones. Neither of the headstones are situated upon them at this time, although Gideon's headstone was only inches away from one. It was buried in the dirt. We found it by sticking a screwdriver into the earth. Jeptha's marker was moved about 15' away from the other base. It is partially exposed and has a metal peg protruding upward from it. In front of both markers are depressions about a foot deep. It's obvious now that the two graves are located under these depressions. The earth has settled as the bodies and whatever they were buried in decomposed over the past 144+ years.

The next day marked the 144th anniversary of the day Jeptha Hollingsworth died on 15 Apr 1862.

A moment of silence, please.

Thank you.

I made another trip to the cemetery on Monday, 17 Apr. This time there were three other helpers with me including Liz Murphy of the James Farm, Carol Dildine of the Daughters of American Colonists, Osage Chapter, and Charles McCorkendale of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, Westport Camp #64 (as I am) as well as the Civil War Roundtable of Western Missouri. Together we discussed a plan of attack on the cleanup.

One of the first steps we decided upon was to work our way inwards by removing brush and then trees. Brush will either need to be burned (if we can get permission), mulched (if we can get a wood chipper), or hauled away (if we can get trucks and dumping locations). Liz lives nearby and said we may be able to haul it to her place. Once the trees and brush are removed we can focus on the fence (Dan knows a blacksmith that may be able to help repair/reconstruct it), and the landscaping as well as stone setting.

Everyone who has visited the cemetery this Easter weekend agreed that it is more than they expected, but it is a gem of a cemetery despite the condition it is currently in. It will get tougher to reach it as time goes by until the hay is cut and bailed. It would be nice to complete this project before school starts up again in August. As a matter of fact a good target date for a commemoration would be 15 Aug 2006, marking the 145th anniversary of Gideon Hollingsworth's death.

Supporting Hollingsworth Cemetery

Hollingsworth Cemetery lies within this grove of trees.


















The fence is in desperate need of a talented blacksmith,


















the trees are in desperate need of a fireplace,


















the ground is in desperate need of landscaping,


















and the markers are in desperate need of proper placement.

If you're willing to devote some time turning this sacred area into a cemetery again as it was many years ago, please write a comment on this blog. Your time, service, and support will be greatly appreciated. At this time, I do not feel it would be appropriate to ask for donations. More information about donations will come at a later time.

For more information about the location of the cemetery, please read related blogs beginning on 05 Jan 06. Thank you for reading!

Spring '06 Return to Hollingsworth Cemetery

April 1 turned out to be a nice day for a weekend jaunt to Hollingsworth Cemetery. The land owner where the cemetery is located in Lawson, Missouri approved the "cleaning up" of the cemetery grounds. Besides, he could use some firewood.

So, my youngest daughter and I went to take some measurements and record the coordinates of the corner posts. Doing so led me to discover the gate into the cemetery. I was standing on it, but didn't realize it because most of it is beneath the top layer of soil.

Another discovery we made was the base of another headstone. It's only the base, though. No marker yet.

The wrought iron fence, badly in need of repair, measured approximately 28' 6" x 11' 0". The 4'0" wide gate is located on the east fence at the southeast corner with coordinates of N 39° 25.767', W 094° 13.383'. The other end of the same fence at the northeast corner is at N 39° 25.771', W 094° 13.381'. About half of that fence is gone or buried. The northwest corner is situated at N 39° 25.770', W 094° 13.383' and the northeast corner is located at N 39° 25.771', W 094° 13.381'. All coodinates are accurate within 25', at least according to the GPS.

Since the leaves are just beginning to bloom on the trees, there was quite a bit of sunlight filtering into the cemetery. I was able to photograph more images of the cemetery. There are too many to post here, but I will post those that seem to capture the serenity and condition of this place.

Classic Car Purchase

I can't believe I haven't blogged for over a month. I have been extremely busy with teaching, learning, and much more. During it all, I purchased a car on ebay. I'm now a proud owner of a 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu. The picture is what the seller had posted on ebay. I'll be driving my dad's rig to Indiana this weekend to pick it up and haul it back. I'm excited!

The James-Younger Gang

Inspired by the cousin connection to the Hollingsworth brothers (see previous blog entry on 5 Jan 06), I thought I would post some pictures of a few of the members of the James-Younger gang along with their headstones.

Jesse James









Jesse Woodson James was born 5 Sep 1847 in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri and killed by Robert Ford on 3 Apr 1882 in St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri. Originally buried at the James Farm, he had been reinterred in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kearney.

Jesse married Zerelda "Zee" Mimms on 24 Apr 1874 in Kearney. She has been interred beside him. Zee was born 21 Jul 1845 in Woodford County, Kentucky and died 13 Nov 1900 in Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri.

Frank James









Alexander Frank James was born 10 Jan 1843 in Kearney, Missouri and died of a heart attack on the James Farm on 15 Feb 1915. Frank was buried in Hill Park Cemetery in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri.

Frank's wife Anna Ralston was born 25 Jan 1853 in Jackson County, Missouri and died 6 Jul 1944 at the James Farm. She has been interred next to her husband.

Cole Younger










Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger was born 15 Jan 1844 on his father's farm south of Lee's Summit, Jackson County, Missouri. He died 21 Mar 1916 in Lee's Summit and is buried in the Lee's Summit Cemetery next to his younger brothers and mother.

Jim Younger






James "Jim" Hardin Younger was born 15 Jan 1848 in Lee's Summit and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 19 Oct 1902 in the same town. He is buried next to his brothers in Lee's Summit Cemetery.

Bob Younger
Robert "Bob" Ewing Younger was born 29 Oct 1853 in Lee's Summit, Missouri and died 16 Sep 1899 at Stillwater Prison in New Mexico from bullet wounds received during a bank robbery.

More information about these historical outlaws can be found at The James-Younger Gang website.

Sedalia, Pettis County, Missouri

This Roadside Park on westbound Hwy 50 west of Sedalia, Missouri has a historical marker for those interested in knowing about her past. Because it contained a brief mention of the American Civil War, it was added to my "collection" of Civil War monuments.

Nicholas Cemetery, Excelsior Springs, Clay County, Missouri

While giving a fellow teacher a tour of the burial sites, possible battle grounds, and monument locations for both battles of Fredericksburg, Missouri, I saw a low-lying concrete wall near Corum Road in Excelsior Springs. It had to be a cemetery. We stopped to find out. My wife wasn't too thrilled (she never is). We definitely found a cemetery which I later learned to be called Nicholas Cemetery. My guess is that it is really Nichols Cemetery because of the names of some of the deceased.

The cemetery is in pretty bad shape, but the wall is intact. Headstones are strewn around, a tree had fallen in, and dead weeds (it is January) are everywhere. An enumeration of this graveyard can be found at www.orwells.com/nicholas_graveyard.htm.

The most unusual aspect of this cemetery is that most of it is surrounded by a wall without an opening to walk through. There aren't any stairs to allow you access into the burial ground either. A small portion of the cemetery is east of the walled section and is fenced off with cattle pen fence. At least it has a gate.

Pleasant Hill, Cass County, Missouri

Yesterday, I returned to Pleasant Hill to run some necessary errands. While waiting for a phone call (that never came), I drove around town to see what they had in the way of monuments and memorials. I found two at Depot Park in the old part of town. There is also a memorial in Pleasant Hill Cemetery at the northern end of town. Pictures of all three are below.

Hollingsworth Family and Cemetery

The day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, 23 Nov 2005, I set out to "discover" some of the area cemeteries which have been enumerated in Cemetery Census of Clay County, Missouri, Volume I. One of the things I like to do is locate different burial grounds wherever I may be. The easiest places are nearest to home.

The last cemetery I searched for on that particularly nice, yet windy day was the Hollingsworth Cemetery in Lawson, Missouri. Having golfed on the course in the same area, I wondered if it was something I had overlooked. The first thing I did was drive all the way around the area where the cemetery is situated, including the short deadend streets heading inwards hoping to see some sign of the cemetery. It had to be small with only two known burials. Nothing was immediately noticable.

Not wanting to leave without knowing something, I stopped in at the country club. The course was open due to the pleasant weather. The proprietor informed me of a small cemetery in a grove of trees and pointed it out through the windows. He then tossed me keys to a golf cart and gave me permission to go look.

With all the low branches and tall brambles, it was difficult to find a way into the cemetery. Once inside, it was like being in a different room of a house. I was aware of my surroundings; however, it was very peaceful and still within the trees. The two headstones appeared to have been moved from their original locations. As a matter of fact, it looked as if animals had done some burrowing. The ground was very uneven.

The inscriptions on the headstones are as follows:

Gideon Hollingsworth
Born Jan. 23, 1840
Died Aug. 15, 1861

Jeptha Hollingsworth
Born Apr. 20, 1846
Died Apr. 15, 1862

The reason for my curiosity about this cemetery is mainly because of Gideon. In the "cemetery" book, he was listed as having been "Mortally wounded at Wilson's Creek." Knowing that Wilson's Creek was a Civil War battlefield near Springfield, Missouri, my researcher instincts drove me to the gravesite.

After taking a few photographs and logging the coordinates with my GPS, I returned the golf cart, thanked the proprietor, and told him I may return in the near future.

Research indicates Gideon was indeed a participant in the Civil War. He was a Private in Co. A, Extra Battalion, 4th Division of the Missouri State Guard in the Confederate States of America. He was inflicted with a wound to one of his lungs on 10 Aug 1861 and died five days later. It is not known where he died, although he may not have been on the battlefield. Otherwise, he would have been "killed in action."

Gideon M. and Jeptha L. were from an extensive family. They were direct descendants of Valentine Hollingsworth, Sr. (1632-1711), a Quaker who emigrated to America on the Antelope in 1682, although it is widely thought he emigrated on the Welcome with his good friend, William Penn. Valentine signed Penn's charter entitled The Frame of the Government of the Province of Pennsylvania and, Territories thereunto annexed, in America as one of the members of the assembly. This document has been published by Yale Law School at www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/pa05.htm.

The brothers Hollingsworth also had three sisters, Mary Helen (1838-?), Martha Josephine (1842-after 1918), and Susan (1854-?). There was a brother, Leander G. (1848-?) and a half-brother, Frank James (1860-?), too. The oldest six children were born to Samuel Gordon and Susan Harris (Mimms) Hollingsworth. Frank's mother was Mary (Williams) Hollingsworth. All but Susan and Frank were born in Todd County, Kentucky. Susan and Frank were born in Clay County, Missouri.

The Mimms family is extensive too. Gideon and Jeptha and their four siblings are descendants of David and Agnes (Weldy) Mimms, Sr. through their son David Mimms, Jr. with his wife Martha (Diuguid) Mimms. David and Agnes Mimms also had a son by the name of Shadrack Mimms. Interestingly enough, Shadrack is the great-grandfather of Zerelda Amanda Mimms, the first cousin of her husband Jesse James. Shadrack is also the great-great-grandfather of Jesse James. The Hollingsworths buried at the cemetery in Lawson, Missouri are third cousins to Zerelda and third cousins once removed to the Frank and Jesse James. The James farm is no more than seven miles as the crow flies from Lawson.

My personal goal is to see that the cemetery gets the attention it deserves. Work is underway to determine the legality of restoring, preserving, and maintaining the Hollingsworth Cemetery. There has already been an outpouring of moral support from several organizations including the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Falls/3004/), Clay County Archives (www.claycountyarchives.org), the James Farm (www.jessejames.org), the Missouri State Society Daughters of American Colonists (www.geocities.com/mssdac/), and Eric James (www.ericjames.org). Readers are encouraged to support this endeavor by commenting on this blog posting.

Bye, Mom.

Christmas Break is over and school starts back up tomorrow. The break went by too fast. Of course, that may have been caused by the death of my mother the last day before the break. I'm not ready to start up again. I've been down in the dumps. Hopefully, the students will pull me out of my slump.

Rest in Peace, Mother (7/15/1940-12/20/2005).

Hello, World!

It's official. I'm a blogger newbie. It took me a while to come up with a blog name that didn't confine me to a specific topic, not that it matters, but I tried to be creative about my selection. After testing the eWaters to see what blog names already exist and what type of content they had, I finally settled on "Glitch in Time." It doesn't really mean anything, although it does have a nice ring to it. Besides, the "Stitch in Time" blog names appear to have been gobbled up by seamstresses.

In the future, if I can maintain my blog composure, you will learn more about what I do. Briefly, I'll tell you that, as I've aged, I've come to appreciate the finer things in life... such as death. I know it sounds weird. My wife says I'm a morbid person for traipsing around in cemeteries. I'm not digging up graves, rather reading headstones. After years of genealogy research and finding a great-great-grandfather who fought and was injured in the American Civil War, I've turned my passion to researching those who fought for either side - Union or Confederate.

In addition to researching family history and Civil War soldiers, I enjoy reading and writing. Most of the reading I do falls into a couple different categories - science fiction & fantasy and history. Occasionally, I have been known to throw in a fiction thriller. As far as writing, I'm currently working on a sci-fi novel. It's been slow-going because of interference from my job and other hobbies. I'm looking forward to some free time where I can spin a tale stuck in my head onto digital parchment using electronic ink and getting it published for others to read and criticize.

Finally, I'm a computer geek. I haven't always been, but it seems I've always been around computers, or at least, they've been around me. Following a 17-year career as an electronics technician, I jumped into programming to alleviate my burn-out. It worked. Finding a job in the KC area proved difficult, though. There were too many laid-off Sprint programmers to compete with. They had experience. I didn't. The one job I had as a programmer for three years provided me an unrealized opportunity to learn how to troubleshoot and repair computers. The best of both worlds? The PC skills I developed led to a job as a telephone technoid for a major computer company and my own biz on the side. Then, I became a high school teacher. Now I'm passing everything I know to youngsters who are willing to learn what I have to offer them.

So, there you have it. As time progresses and the days fly by, you will undoubtedly learn more than you ever wanted to about a guy experiencing a "glitch in time."