Hey friends,
I found this obituary yesterday [1].
I typed the name Peter Everly into the search engine and bam, there it was, first thing! I’ve searched for this obit off and on for years. Technology, records collection updates, and more contributed to me finally finding it this week.
Peter is my 4x great-grandfather.
He died on May 28, 1900.
73 years later, on May 28th, my brother was born. Coincidence? I think not.
Peter lived with his daughter Asenith when he died. Asenith is my 3x great-grandmother. She lost her first husband during the Civil War, and was later divorced from John Groves, her second husband. Obviously, she has some stories. Maybe I'll get to them in the blog sometime.
The article claims Peter was 95 years, 3 months, 11 days when he died. Some people might dispute that. I say it made him an old man when he saddled up for the Cavalry during the Civil War, mustering out in his 50s. What a boss.
Yeah, there’s some good stuff in this obit. I’m grateful to find it so I can continue to write down stories about my family. And to learn who they were, what their lives were like, and feel a deep connection with those who’ve gone before.
There’s a line in his obit that reads, “The angels of heaven, so fair, came down and carried him up there to rest with his loved ones gone before, who it seems he had a desire to meet in a better land.”
Grand-Dad Peter, it seems you were a genealogist and family historian at heart. Enjoy your time with family on the other side, and one day, I hope to pull up a chair and we can share all the family stories.