Pulaski
Today was our final day with a family history stop, which was to be in Pulaski, TN. We left Kimball first thing this morning and were on our way. Since we were going to an area that isn't serviced by Interstates, we enjoyed a calm, traffic-free drive through the Tennessee countryside.
We stopped at a place called the Swiss Pantry with the intent of finding cheese curds, which we didn't find. What we DID find was a "vendor appreciation day" underway... where all of their vendors who grow and raise and sell their farm-fresh produce and meat were set up outside the store with samples! We tasted cheese grits (they had made the grits), sausage balls, chicken, popcorn, fudge... yeah, it was a fortuitous stop. I had a nice conversation with a young single mom who had moved to the area from Fort Worth two years ago and was enjoying a slower pace of life... and learning to raise sheep alongside her 11 year old daughter!
Back on the road, we continued to marvel at how our ancestors came to this land back when there were no roads and no conveniences and no... well, no nothing... except tribes who had been there long before them. We talked about the uncanny ability of humans to be cruel (or at the very least inconsiderate) in their treatment of others for the sake of furthering themselves. So, it's a mixed bag of emotions when traveling the South. We saw signs for the original path of the Trail of Tears all along the way... and we were headed to the town that was the founding place of the Ku Klux Klan. A mixed bag indeed.
When we arrived in Pulaski, we easily found the Old Cemetery Park, where my 5th great grandfather was buried (along with his son William and his wife Susanna Wood). A number of years ago, the deteriorating headstones and crypt stones were removed and placed in a concrete memorial. I had a book that indicated the headstone I was looking for was initials only, and had been very hard to read back in 1988 when the information was published. I was happy to find that it was not hard to read at all! And we found it quickly! The son and his wife never had markers.
On a whim, I thought we might stop by the Giles County Library to see their local history information. I had seen in a blog post somewhere that they had some local history available and that it was worth a visit. Also, who can resist a library with a statue of dogs reading (and said dogs have their own collars... and their names are Maggie Mae and Mac so they might as well be mine).
What we found was a full-blown genealogical society... active and staffed even on a Saturday! A gentleman named David Lancaster was working and immediately began pulling information about the Giddens/Gideon family line. The quick stop turned into a 3-hour tour of the Pulaski area and all the places, land, and connections that had made the Giddens an integral part of the early days (circa 1809ish). One of the last things we found was the last bit of land that James Giddens purchased... three lots in the town of Pulaski. David pulled out an old lot and helped us find exactly where the lots are. As he was looking he said, "My house is on this lot!" Indeed it is! He has a beautiful home that he was worked to restore to its 1909 grandeur. Of course, the houses that are there now were not on the land back when our Giddens bought it, but what a small world that our helper now lives on what was once Giddens land!
On a side-note, I was also keeping my eye out for Clack information for Cheri. When I mentioned the name, David said, "Did you say Clack?" Indeed, I did. He said, "Come in here, I need to show you something." When I walked into the next room, I found on the wall a tattered (burned even) Confederate battle flag with the name Lt. Col. C. J. Clack on it. When I texted a photo to Cheri, she said, "That's my great-great-grandfather's brother." Amazing!
After leaving the gold mine that was the Giles County Library, we went back over to the Old Cemetery Park to take a photo of the historic marker. In addition, I had read that there was part of the Trail of Tears there where you could go read about two of the groups that came through that area and walk to end of a lookout where the bridge they crossed had been. We took a moment to see this part of our history, and remember the plight of the displaced peoples that made their way through that long journey. Interesting point: One of the groups that came through was led by John Benge, who is an ancestor of my friends Bebe and Kay. I had researched the line for them a number of years ago.
After spending more time than anticipated in Pulaski, we hit the road on our way to Forrest City, Arkansas... the halfway point between the previous night's rest and home. We decided to try a local Mexican restaurant called Iguana's for dinner, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the food was excellent, priced right, and portioned perfectly. Amazing queso! AND the place was decorated with a wide variety of light fixtures and wall art from Mexico. A great find on our last night on the road!
We stopped at a place called the Swiss Pantry with the intent of finding cheese curds, which we didn't find. What we DID find was a "vendor appreciation day" underway... where all of their vendors who grow and raise and sell their farm-fresh produce and meat were set up outside the store with samples! We tasted cheese grits (they had made the grits), sausage balls, chicken, popcorn, fudge... yeah, it was a fortuitous stop. I had a nice conversation with a young single mom who had moved to the area from Fort Worth two years ago and was enjoying a slower pace of life... and learning to raise sheep alongside her 11 year old daughter!
Back on the road, we continued to marvel at how our ancestors came to this land back when there were no roads and no conveniences and no... well, no nothing... except tribes who had been there long before them. We talked about the uncanny ability of humans to be cruel (or at the very least inconsiderate) in their treatment of others for the sake of furthering themselves. So, it's a mixed bag of emotions when traveling the South. We saw signs for the original path of the Trail of Tears all along the way... and we were headed to the town that was the founding place of the Ku Klux Klan. A mixed bag indeed.
When we arrived in Pulaski, we easily found the Old Cemetery Park, where my 5th great grandfather was buried (along with his son William and his wife Susanna Wood). A number of years ago, the deteriorating headstones and crypt stones were removed and placed in a concrete memorial. I had a book that indicated the headstone I was looking for was initials only, and had been very hard to read back in 1988 when the information was published. I was happy to find that it was not hard to read at all! And we found it quickly! The son and his wife never had markers.
On a whim, I thought we might stop by the Giles County Library to see their local history information. I had seen in a blog post somewhere that they had some local history available and that it was worth a visit. Also, who can resist a library with a statue of dogs reading (and said dogs have their own collars... and their names are Maggie Mae and Mac so they might as well be mine).
What we found was a full-blown genealogical society... active and staffed even on a Saturday! A gentleman named David Lancaster was working and immediately began pulling information about the Giddens/Gideon family line. The quick stop turned into a 3-hour tour of the Pulaski area and all the places, land, and connections that had made the Giddens an integral part of the early days (circa 1809ish). One of the last things we found was the last bit of land that James Giddens purchased... three lots in the town of Pulaski. David pulled out an old lot and helped us find exactly where the lots are. As he was looking he said, "My house is on this lot!" Indeed it is! He has a beautiful home that he was worked to restore to its 1909 grandeur. Of course, the houses that are there now were not on the land back when our Giddens bought it, but what a small world that our helper now lives on what was once Giddens land!
On a side-note, I was also keeping my eye out for Clack information for Cheri. When I mentioned the name, David said, "Did you say Clack?" Indeed, I did. He said, "Come in here, I need to show you something." When I walked into the next room, I found on the wall a tattered (burned even) Confederate battle flag with the name Lt. Col. C. J. Clack on it. When I texted a photo to Cheri, she said, "That's my great-great-grandfather's brother." Amazing!
After leaving the gold mine that was the Giles County Library, we went back over to the Old Cemetery Park to take a photo of the historic marker. In addition, I had read that there was part of the Trail of Tears there where you could go read about two of the groups that came through that area and walk to end of a lookout where the bridge they crossed had been. We took a moment to see this part of our history, and remember the plight of the displaced peoples that made their way through that long journey. Interesting point: One of the groups that came through was led by John Benge, who is an ancestor of my friends Bebe and Kay. I had researched the line for them a number of years ago.
After spending more time than anticipated in Pulaski, we hit the road on our way to Forrest City, Arkansas... the halfway point between the previous night's rest and home. We decided to try a local Mexican restaurant called Iguana's for dinner, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the food was excellent, priced right, and portioned perfectly. Amazing queso! AND the place was decorated with a wide variety of light fixtures and wall art from Mexico. A great find on our last night on the road!
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