Ready. Amos. Fired! • PART 1
BROWSING AROUND A CEMETERY IS LESS CREEPY when doing it from the computer. When I discovered FindAGrave.com, where you can “find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials, add 'virtual flowers' and a note to a loved one's grave,” I looked up the name of my great grandfather, Amos York. I found one listed with the same birth and death years as those of his father, also Amos Main York. And it made sense to me that he was buried in Ohio, because most of my paternal ancestors and relatives were Ohioans.
I clicked the link to request a photo be taken of the grave marker by a volunteer, and I was soon notified via email that the job was fulfilled. When I saw the photo of the tombstone, I was confused, because one of the other names listed on the tombstone was “Martha, his wife.” But my Amos married Rachel Trader, and his son, Amos Marion was married to Alcinda Stukey, and even Amos Main’s father (Amos Main York, Sr.) married Catherine Turner.
My heart sank when it dawned on me that I had the wrong Amos. As unique a name as Amos York seemed to be, there apparently were others of them outside my family, even with matching years of birth and death! I emailed the FindAgrave.com photo contributor and apologized for troubling her, but she offered to mail some documents to me (before I had joined Ancestry.com): a will, census records, etc., in case I could find a link between the families.
What I have learned, since subscribing to Ancestry.com, is that my Amos York of that era was from Indiana, not Ohio. And the search continues... I have many questions, and there must be many answers yet to be found. Until then, I’ll keep scouring available sources, including FindAGrave.com, where I shall post a memorial to my own Amos York, whenever I find where he’s buried.