Day 28

Here it is Sunday night. It is hard to believe that I have been on the road 4 weeks already. Today was a catch up day. I did laundry and then headed for Verona, NY, a small burg where Philip and Catherine Mehrhof are buried (Armenia's Mehrhof Tukey's grandparents). I found St. Peter's Luteran Church - but no cemetery. I wandered around a few back roads but no graves in sight.

So - I made my way to Rome, NY. There I went to the Ft. Stanwyx National Monument. This reconstructed fort from the 1750s and 1770s is smack in the middle of the city. They did a wonderful job of re-creating this star-shaped fort that was home to 500 men who defended the Mohawk Valley. Based on the various rooms in the fort, the men were much shorter, quarters were cramped, winter must have been miserable, summer hot in the wool uniform, and the mice must have had a field day. There is a great visitor center and plent of rangers to answer a multitude of questions - and the whole facility is FREE!

From Rome, I made my way to Utica. Not too impressed with this city. Very industrial although the surrounding countryside is lovely and the area is rife with waterways. I spent this evening sorting through research. I found St. Peter's cemetery - it is in Verona but on a different road. Evidently, the congregation demolished the old church (which was next to the cemetery) and built a new church at the location I found this morning. So - tomorrow I will make my way back to Verona before spending the afternoon at the Oneida County Historical Society. The Mehrhofs were only here for 8-9 years. I would like to find some information on Armenia's birth (the remaining children were born in Croton-on-Hudons or New Jersey) and about the farm Philip Mehrhof developed.

Hope everyone had an equally relaxing day.