Maybe yes, maybe no

I find it difficult to ignore an Ancestry leaf. Often the hints lead nowhere, or at least nowhere new, but recently a hint led me down a new path, er, branch. To make a long story short: I learned that a gentleman who is quite possibly a 3g grandfather is buried in a cemetery less than 30 miles from here.

Practically my backyard!

All week I planned my visit to Shoup-Thompson Cemetery in northwestern Delaware County. I would pick up any unclaimed photo requests from Find A Grave, pack a cheese sandwich and bottled water, grab a brimmed hat, and hit the road. The gravestone kit is always in the car: brushes, garden clippers, cheap aluminum foil, soft towels, water, and bug spray.

If life were a movie, this would be the foreshadowing part. When I arrived at Shoup-Thompson, I parked in the shade near the old part of the cemetery. Leaning against a nearby tree was an illegible, broken grave marker. Go ahead, tease me. His marker may be so weathered that I cannot read it—if it is even here.

Starting to walk the rows of old stones, I was feeling hopeful. Field ... Smith ... Perry ... Henderson. But the longer I walked, the less hopeful I became. Arnold Aldrich (b. 1796, d. 1854), where are you?

Finally, I noticed a broken stone under an old maple tree at the back of the cemetery, just steps from the Scioto River. The stone originally showed two names, but only one remained: Rebecca Aldrich. Had the other name been Arnold?

Yes, I was sure of it.

The death day and year was right, the age at death was right, and Arnold had had a daughter named Rebecca.

[ARNOLD ALDRICH]
[DIED]
[Dec. ]29, 1854
AGED
58Ys, 8. Mo, 10 Ds.
===========
REBECCA ALDRICH
AGED 19 Years
Was Arnold Aldrich my 3g grandfather? Maybe yes, maybe no.

Sitting under the maple tree, listening to the birds and other country sounds, I realized that “Maybe yes” is good enough for now.