(10-14-2013 06:06 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Your photos, Rob, are the next best thing to my being in Springfield and New Salem. However, I almost fell off my chair when I saw the tombstone for Ann Rutledge and saw that her middle name was "Mayes." That was my maiden name, except that the U.S. Army had dropped the "e" from the name when all of my uncles - save one - and my father joined the service. I suspect that it might have been Miss Rutledge's mother's maiden name??? Anyone have any genealogy on her that could answer that question and where the family originated? So far as I can tell, my family started in southern Virginia or northern North Carolina.

(10-14-2013 03:47 PM)Rob Wick Wrote:  Joe (or Pop ),

You're welcome. It was a memory maker for both Cheryl and myself.

Anita,

Here is the information from Find-A-Grave:

Albert Booth

Born in Maine. Son of Isaac Booth. Husband of 1) Hannah Stephens Booth (d. 1860, Springfield) and 2) Clarissa Kent, widow of Josiah P. Kent who died July 26, 1856, in
Illiopolis township. Mrs. Clarissa Kent married March 17, 1861, to Albert Booth. He died March 1, 1873, in Springfield, Illinois, and his widow resides there. (Excerpts from 1881 History of Early Settlers of Sangamon County, IL)

The Booth monument has no names engraved. Small stones denote those family members in plot: Father and Mother are Albert and wife Hannah. Sons Albert, Charles and Timothy also have small stones, none with dates. Other known children are Amassa, Wesley, and Mary, who married Alexander McCosker and their name is inscribed on other side of monument. They are also buried in this plot.

It was a bittersweet time for Cheryl and myself. Several months ago we had to take Droopy to the vet because she had problems with her right eye. The doctor gave us some medicine and drops, but it never cleared up. I doubted she could see from it, but she still had her left eye. A few days ago, I noticed her left eye was starting to look like the right, but we put the drops in it and it seemed OK, so we took her to the kennel before we left for Springfield.

When we went to pick her up from the kennel, the owner asked us how long she had been blind. We were both dumbfounded, because when we dropped her off Thursday, she was fine. Evidently over those few days, the other eye went bad. The vet confirmed our worst fears today. Droopy is permanently and irrevocably blind in both eyes. The vet thinks it is something called Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration which comes on quickly and is predominant in female dogs. He said her overall health remains good, and she can live out a natural life with some help from us. She knows her way around the house, so she should be OK there, but we have to watch when she's introduced into a new environment, and we have to warn people not to startle or approach her quickly. It's disheartening to watch her and know there's nothing we can do to cure her. We can and will, however, continue to comfort and love her.

Best
Rob