Crap
Not a very DAR comment to make, is it ? I was feeling all nice and comfy about Wesley Kerlin- no big secret that he intrigues me most. So, I have him in H.T.”s family plot and the bells are just ringing : of course, as I always suspected, Wesley is the second of the four brothers.
A few weeks ago, during those odd moments between being awake and entering Neverland, I realized that none of the Kerlin boys had named any of their children after Wesley. Now, we are talking about a family ( with the exception of William’s wife, Cassoline, who indeed proves the rule ) which has a string of Roberts, Williams, Henrys and here and there a John. Not one Wesley in sight.
Who was Wesley Kerlin . Was he the the black sheep of the family ( I sortof cling to that ) . He was related by marriage to the Giltner family, read ,fugitive slave act, Crosswhite. He was charming enough, and I rather suppose handsome enough, to charm Sally Giltner, a notoriously pious Methodist woman who owned slaves. While this strikes me as an oxymoron, I shall let this sucker slide by…Is that putting it kindly enough.
Who indeed was Wesley Kerlin. H.T. put a gravestone up for him, may have even been pushed to buy that lovely plot when Wesley died.Perhaps to consolidate matters.
Are they brothers. I haven´t a clue. I only suspect that if they were, Wesley was definitely the black sheep of the family.
Why, amidst all of the Henrys, Roberts and Williams is there not one single Wesley .
December 19th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
I am utterly amazed at all you have accomplished in your research. I only wish I was able to do the same for my branches. I am thinking about starting to dive back into genealogy and was wondering if you have a gedcom file of everyone. I’m not sure if you remember, but I am related to Henry A. Kerlin and Virginia G. Stoddart. Their daughter Janice Kerlin married John P. Killeen and they were my grandparents. I’d appreciate it!
Thanks
Meaghan
December 20th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Meaghan, of course I remember you. After all, as I once told you, my youngest daughter is named Meaghan, yup, the same spelling.
Right now, I am not doing much on the Kerlins, basically to go back any further I need to go to Virginia, of all places.
I still have more photos I have not put up yet, of that graveyard plot in Kentucky that Henry T. Kerlin bought. It is amazing, so beautiful.
I also have photos of Annie´s marker and a map of the place in Pittsburgh where she, Stanley , Samuel and one of Eva´s husband´s is buried.
A few years ago, my father , Eva´s youngest daughter and I went to Pittsburgh. About 10 years ago, Annie´s house was still there, but it is gone now. I wanted to take some photos, but Eileen and Dad would not let me out of the car !
The Kilbert side of the family also has a number of old photos that I had never seen. They had been scrap booked, and so had a plastic film over them, I spent a number of afternoons trying to photograph them, without that glare from the plastic.
One that might interest you is a photo of Henry A. and a very tall man. If you look very closely, you can see that Henry is holding the man´s hand. And it not a Killeen, not the same build at all. I think it is a photo of Stanley, and that is indeed what the scrap book said.
I have talked a lot with my father about his early memories. He remembers Annie and her beautiful auburn hair and he remembers a man that I think was Henry A.
He was a little boy, and all of them were living at Annie´s, not the dump yard. I have the address somewhere… One day a very well dressed, rather sad looking man came to visit, an Uncle of some sorts. My Dad asked him if he had any children, could they play together. The well dressed man said that he did have children, but that he did not see them very often, there were religious problems between him and his wife.
Who knows, but my Father and I both think it was Henry A.
Having done very little lately, becoming so frustrated at all of the brick walls that I am facing, I am pretty sure that I use something else to keep my information, not gedcom. Maybe something from Utah.
Once the holidays are over, I will try and see if I can send you something sensible.
Oh ! And Eileen talked a lot about Aunt Gertie, and somewhere I have a photo of a cabin or lake house that seems to have belonged to Henry A., with an elderly Gertie posing for the snap.
As always, best wishes/
June 30th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Hi!
Just trying to get back in touch. I wanted to let you know that I now subscribe to ancestry.com and can help out with some searches. One thing I did find was a WWI draft registration for Stanley Kerlin, which labels him as insane, which could explain why Henry is holding is hand. Please let me know if I can help in any way. I would also love to see any more pictures, glare or no.
Thanks again,
Meaghan
June 30th, 2010 at 8:13 am
Hi Meaghan,
I have always known that Stanley was crazy. I tried contacting the asylum he was in, but no can do. Privacy and all, plus their records do not cover the time that he would have been there. This must have been very hard for Annie, for all of her children died- excepting Eva- before she did.
I have those photos on some memory card from my camera. They are a terrible quality. I recognized Henry right away. He is standing next to this giant, whose face is blurred. I will never forget him gently holding the giant’s hand.
I also have some new info that I really have to put up here.
One is about Maggie’s father ( so Sam Kerlin’s Grandfather). It comes from a descendant of one her sisters. It is a family story, but, hey, one can go quite far with family stories.
The other is land information ( including Google Maps) about Robert Kerlin’s land, both in Winchester and elsewhere in VA.
Mostly, I am trying to figure out what happened to Robert Kerlin. The tax returns from 1810 (VA) and 1820 (Ohio) might give a clue.
We are descended from him. I know this. And yet everyone says that he never existed.
Sam Kerlin’s birth certificate would be nice, but given the time and place, I doubt that it will ever be found. I suspect that he was born in Louisville. They were all there, in Louisville.
Ok. Your comment might spur me to putting up the new things-
sue
Oh, and I have more stories about Annie…. I am not trying to be mean, but I have laundry to do-
July 1st, 2010 at 2:19 am
It’s amazing how addicting this stuff can be. If you don’t take it a bit at a time, it can be overwhelming. I came across something about my Killeen side and have been sucked right back into it. I would really love to see anything you have-pictures, stories, you name it. Unfortunately, I do not have much about the Kerlins that you don’t already have or know. I really love your flair for telling a story. I don’t know if it’s the scientist in me, but my attempts usually end up a list of facts, not too prosaic. If you would like to contact me via regular email, please do, I can send you the few documents I was able to find on ancestry.com. Again, let me know if I can help in any way.
Thanks!