Tombstone Tuesday: J. F. M. and Margaret S. A. Lee

Lee Monument, 2010
Bedford Cemetery
Bedford, Trimble County, KY

This monument, located in Bedford, Kentucky, marks the graves of Jefferson Francis Marion Lee and his first wife, Margaret Shaw Anderson Lee.  One side of the stone reads as follows:

J. F. M. Lee

Born

Nov. 14, 1835

Died

Nov. 5, 1912

Farewell our children dear

Faint not neath the chastening rod.

It is the decree of God

That death must come to all.

J. F. M. Lee Inscription, 2010

The opposite side of the monument reads:

Margaret Lee

Born

Feb. 12, 1840

Died

Oct. 6, 1891

There is also an inscription beneath Margaret's death date, but I failed to get a good photo of it, and I failed to write it down while I was there.  Note to self:  Go back and get this information soon!

Margaret Lee Inscription, 2010

Also , at the bottom of the monument is the name LEE.  The marker is in good condition except for the loss of some sort of finial on top which seems to have broken off some time ago.

Inscription on base of J. F. M. and Margaret Lee monument, 2010

The graves are located in what is now called Bedford Cemetery in the town of Bedford in Trimble County, Kentucky.  Previously, the cemetery was called Odd Fellows Cemetery or Bedford IOOF Cemetery.  For more information and photos of the cemetery, check out this link:  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2135282.

The final photo I'll share is one that I took as I was leaving Bedford Cemetery.  I found the image quite telling and rather sad.  In the foreground of the photo you'll clearly see the Lee marker, but if you look more closely, you'll notice in the distance a smokestack sending up a big cloud of smoke.  This smokestack is part of the power plant that now sits on the site of Frank and Margaret Lee's farm where they lived in that wonderful old house he called Freedom Home.

J. F. M. and Margaret Lee Monument (left)
with power plant smokestack in the distance, 2010

Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to practice and promote random acts of genealogical kindness.  As an amateur genealogist, I know how exciting and rewarding it is to uncover a missing piece of family history.  I also know that it's hard to find all the missing pieces by yourself.  So did Bridgett and Doc Schneider, who established the Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK) website several years ago.  With this website, the Schneiders created a network for volunteers around the world to help genealogists find information about their family histories.  From obtaining copies of documents to prove lineage to taking photos of old tombstones and homesites, these volunteers provided a valuable service.  The website itself provided a way to match research needs to volunteers.  Sadly, the RAOGK website ceased to exist in 2011 when administrator Bridgett Schneider passed away.  Luckily, some volunteers have continued the cause on other sites.  Facebook, for example, has several RAOGK pages now.  Following are links to a couple of those pages:   www.facebook.com/groups/raogkUSA/?fref=ts and www.facebook.com/groups/33868082803/.  Find A Grave, one of favorite research sites, also offers an outlet for volunteers to take and share gravesite photos in their communities with those requesting them.  Ancestry offers volunteer opportunities through its Ancestry World Archives Project.  To participate in this project, volunteers can work from their home computers and transcribe historical records so they can be placed online for other researchers to access.

Many other opportunities to help family historians exist online and in local communities.  Wouldn't it be great if more of us shared a bit of our time and resources to help other people complete their family histories?  This is what I hope to do in 2013, and I want to share some ideas and opportunities about how to do so on this blog.  Let me share with you now a personal story of an awesome act of genealogical kindness that was done for me and my Lee family.

A couple of years ago, I was browsing the internet for information about my great-great grandfather, Jefferson Francis Marion (Frank) Lee, who lived in Trimble County, Kentucky.  Quite by accident I happened upon an article in an area newsletter that mentioned Frank Lee.  The article featured a Trimble County couple who were avid history buffs and who were sponsoring a local history festival.  The article went on to say that about thirty years ago, this couple had taken it upon themselves to rescue what they considered a local historical treasure--Freedom Home built by Frank Lee around 1860.

Freedom Home (surrounded by trees) on Frank Lee's farm in Trimble County, Kentucky, c. 1950

The old home, rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad, was about to be demolished so that a new power plant could be built on the home site beside the Ohio River.  This amazing couple bought Freedom Home and had it moved several miles down the road to their own property.  I immediately tracked down a phone number for these folks and made a call.  They graciously invited my husband and I to visit them, and they arranged with the new owners of Freedom Home for us to see my great-great grandfather's home.  The day we spent with these wonderful folks was a gift.  Not only did they give me copies of the history they had collected about my Lee family from Trimble County, they also took my husband and I on a guided tour of Freedom Home.  It was such an amazing experience to walk through the house that my great-great grandfather built, where my great grandfather (Gilbert Oliver Lee) was born and raised, where my granddad (Frank Lewis Lee) visited and played as a child. This was a day I will always treasure.  Following are a few photos I took of Freedom Home during that visit.

J. F. M. Lee's Freedom Home, 2010
Trimble County, Kentucky

Original staircase inside Freedom Home, 2010
Trimble County, Kentucky

The Ohio River from inside Freedom Home, 2010
Trimble County, Kentucky

What random acts of genealogical kindness have you done--or what have others done for you?  I hope you'll share your stories and ideas with me.  Leave a comment below or contact me via email at bsouthworth@windstream.net.

Frank Lee

Frank Lee is a name that appears several times in the history of my Lee family.  My father, grandfather, and great-great grandfather were all known as Frank Lee.  To my knowledge, the first Frank Lee in our family was my great-great grandfather, Jefferson Francis Marion Lee (1835-1912),who was a farmer, a father of five, and a Union supporter in Trimble County, Kentucky.  Known as Frank, he and his first wife, Margaret Shaw Anderson, raised their four daughters and one son (my great grandfather) on their farm on the Ohio river.  Their house, which g-g-granddad named Freedom Home, is rumored to have been part of the Underground Railroad.  I definitely plan to do more research about this tidbit of family history!




Jefferson Francis Marion  (Frank) Lee, far right, with his wife and children, circa 1870
 


The second Frank Lee in my family was my grandfather, Frank Lewis Lee (1881-1962).  Though my granddad died when I was just about a year and a half old, I have always felt very connected to him.  In fact, I think it's mainly because of him that I'm so interested in researching and preserving our family history.  My grandfather's desk, chair, and file cabinet remained in our house for years while I was growing up, and I loved to sit in the brown leather swivel chair at his big desk and write and draw.  My dad eventually sold the desk and chair, and the file cabinet was moved to a closet where it gathered dust for years.  While preparing my parents' house for sale after my dad's death in 2004, I rediscovered the old file cabinet.  In addition to being a pharmacist, business owner, and banker in Middlesboro, Kentucky, Granddad Lee, it seems, was also a collector of family history.  The contents of his old file cabinet, all saved by my grandfather, have become my treasures.  Numerous letters, receipts, and documents, some old photos, and a few belongings will be studied and preserved by me and then hopefully passed along to the Lee family's next "historian."

Frank Lewis Lee at work in his drug store, circa 1955


 

There is also my dad, Frank Welch Lee (1912-2004).  Following in his father's footsteps, Dad was also a pharmacist, business owner, and banker in Middlesboro, Kentucky.  A rather quiet and very private man, my dad once told me that he didn't like to think a lot about the past and preferred to "look forward."  I'm so very thankful, though, for what he did share with me about himself and the Lee family--and I'm so glad he kept Granddad Lee's old file cabinet!

Frank Welch Lee at work in his pharmacy, circa 1978

Finally, I was ALMOST another Frank Lee.  Well, my dad wanted to name me Frances, but my mom put her foot down.  They compromised, and I became Elizabeth--a name that was part of both of my parents' family histories.  A fourth Frank, however, did appear only thirteen months after I was born.  My brother, Frank Lewis Lee II, was born on February 22, 1962, in Middlesboro, Kentucky, but he died only two days later on February 24.  The older I get, the more I miss my little brother, and I wonder if he would enjoy discovering our family roots as much as I do.

Unlike my Dad, I find a certain comfort and excitement when venturing into the past.  So with this first blog post, let the adventure continue!  I so hope there are some genealogy buffs and especially other members of the Lee family that will follow along with me.  I'd love to hear from you all.