The Caretaker's Gift

by Lin Morgan Barrett

My e-mail address is timbrwuf@coast.fortbragg.k12.ca.us
and I live in Mendocino, Ca.

This summer I began preparing for a trip to southwestern Pennsylvania, where my Taylor-Jordan ancestors had lived from about 1810-1880.

The Taylors were Quakers and I had been able to find some information about them in the Westland MM minutes. However, letters to Swarthmore and several other sources had begun to suggest that I would never find out what had happened to my gggrandmother Maria Taylor Jordan. The last record of her was in 1866 when the Westland MM was laid down.

I decided to visit the Westland Cemetery in Washington Co. I had read that the Quaker practice of not erecting headstones had been reversed in Pennsylvania after 1850. I had hoped to find her grave.

I searched the cemetery and found only her sister's family there. Asking around I located a caretaker about a half a mile away; he shared his records with me and much to my disappointment no Maria Jordan was listed, nor were her parents or other siblings.

The caretaker referred me to the Association president, Mr. Floyd Gillis who graciously welcomed us into his home unannounced and spent four hours into the early evening with us.

He believed that most of my family had attended the West Pike Run meeting house for worship. This was a subsidiary meeting to the Westland MM. He explained that all the birth and death records had been lost for the Westland MM.

He did say that he had visited the old West Pike Run cemetery and had found only two stones erected there. However, he and a Mr. Cleaver had found fourteen stones behind a shed stacked on top of one another and therefore in pretty good condition. He had cleaned them up and had made a list of the inscriptions. He presented me with the list.

Eleven of the fourteen stones were for relatives of mine... and best of all there was the stone for "Maria wife of John Jordan died 21 September 1866 at the age of 55."

As we talked we found we were related to Mr. Gillis by blood or marriage through three different lines. He showed us pictures of my ggggrandmother and some of her daughters. I have visited the cemetery and have pictures of all that this very kind gentleman shared with me.

Submitted:  Sat Sep 28 01:00:16 1996

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