Day 146

I had a lovely sleep in this morning but was still off to Fort Meigs cemetery in Perrysburg by 9am. Thank goodness I had a reasonable description of the monument for Alanson and Eliza Middaugh Davenport (3ggs). I found it after only 15 minutes. In this case it was good that I knew one of their children married Christopher Hum because there was a large Hum monument that was easy to spot. The white Davenport obelisk is in good shape even though the lettering is fading. Alanson and Eliza are buried together with their son William next to them under a separate marker (he died early at age 47). Alanson had a G.A.R. military marker but I can't imagine he was in the Civil War. He would have been 55 years old in 1861. It may be that the marker should have been next to William's grave since he would have been 20 in 1862 - more appropriate for enlistment.

I then tried to visit a historic village on the Maumee River but evidently it is closed for the winter. Ditto with the Wood County Historical Society. I guess it is a good thing I am headed home. I spent the afternoon at the Wood County Public Library in Bowling Green. The historical society keeps many of its records there so I ended up with surname files and a variety of publications to investigate.

My searches were pretty fruitless. There appears to be no will or probate record for Alanson or Eliza or any of their children (in Wood County). Alanson was living with his son Newman at the time of his death so there may not have been enough property to divide. Alanson, according to the obituary I found, moved from Huron County in 1842 and purchased farm land. It may be that Newman took over the farm thus the deed had already transferred by the time Alanson died in 1893 at age 86.

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking and relaxing. I will head for E. Lansing, MI tomorrow morning.