In my last post, I spoke of my family lineage on the side of one of my maternal grandmother’s maternal side, the Tweed family. I’ll now move on to my paternal grandfather’s side of the family though, unfortunately, as far as grave sites, this search my brother and I did came up very lean. We visited the church graveyard where our great-grandparents on our father’s side are interred but after that, later generations of burial sites on this side are yet unknown to us, for the moment, at least; more searching to be done.
The resting place of my great-grandparents. And the Ensley name is another road to follow in search of ancestors.
But it was a humbling moment to stand before them, especially my great-grandfather for I never had the opportunity to meet him since he died in 1950, before I was born. This wasn’t a first visit to this site but it was still the next-to-perfect ending to a day of visiting our family’s past.
The old family homestead. surprisingly still in good shape. But the front porch was full of antique-looking stuff. Notice the old-timey wringer washing machine on the right.
The perfect ending to this day of discovery was visiting the old homestead where these great-grandparents lived and died. We had actually visited there before, way back in the day, when our grandfather would take us with him when he went to visit his mother and brother, our great-uncle Herman, who lived there his entire life, other than the time of his WWII service in the United States Army. As far as my great-grandmother, I have vague memories of her but at least I did get to meet her in the latter years of her 94-year life.
The old house is located in an overgrown area yet it still looked to be occupied, though not a soul was in site. There was, however, a locked gate over a paved driveway. It’s possibly a summer vacation get-away abode for this peaceful area is known for such.
Seeing it brought back many memories. And across the road from the house were the rotted remains of Uncle Herman’s chicken house. He raised laying hens, gathered the eggs and ran a route through the community and outlying areas, selling eggs, displaying that can-do attitude of survival ingrained in those who lived through the Great Depression.
The first ever hospital in Madison County, North Carolina, in operation 1919-1932.
The final interesting discovery of the day was just beyond the old house, halfway up the side of a mountain. It was a large, dilapidated building, a building I had no memory at all of being there. Understandable, seeing that I was such a young pup during my visits there. But in researching the Tweed family, it was discovered that one of our Tweed ancestors had donated the land for the hospital to be built on after a local doctor operated on him on his dining room table, saving his life. It was the first, and only, hospital in this isolated rural area from 1919 to 1932, which served and saved many lives during its operation.
That was a fascinating piece of history to end our day on, right in our own backyard, one of the many that remain to be discovered. And we also discovered other names to do research on in our never-ending quest of origin. The way I figure it, to know where you’re going it’s necessary to know from whence you came, and my brother and I have laid a solid foundation of that fact on our way to further journeys of discovery. And hopefully the work we’ve done will be an asset to those who have come behind us. And who knows? Maybe one day later generations may be doing research on us in search of their roots. A fascinating thought that is.
Wow. Those pictures are amazing. I love the one of the falling down house. So very cool!
My roots are all over seas, so i think they would be really hard to track down. My grand parents were all first gen americans.
It sounds so interesting there! It’s great that you got to experience some of that history!
what an amazing trip down memory lane! It’s always nice to go back and visit places of your younger years. That hospital is a great piece of history!
It’s so cool that you’re really being able to see a little piece of your history. I would love to be able to know more about where I came from but every time I try to find out, I run into dead ends.
the old house is still in a good shape. I miss my family but they live pretty far away. I really hope to see them soon and visit my old place
Wow it must have been overwhelming to actually set foot in the places where your family had so much history. I don’t know too much about my own family history.
That is such a cool discovery! I would love to trace back my ancestry and see where it leads. I know my husband’s family traced theirs back to highway robbers in England. That about sums it up. Just kidding!
That old hospital looks so neat. These sights are awesome. I bet it was a neat and history-filled experience.
It certainly was an experience. And seeing those old places was totally awesome.
I used to LOVE to explore on my grandma’s old farm with my dad when I was a kid. There used to be an old house my grandmother lived in when she came here from Germany as a teenager to be a “nanny” for the farmer.
This is so neat, Look how awesome those photos.Thank you for sharing your memories.
Happy to share. And even more awesome was actually standing there and seeing the sites.
That was really interesting. I would love to know more about my family history too and go to the places of my ancestors’ birth. Maybe I would be able to meet relatives too.
Nice piece of family history.Good pic of the hospital. Always good to know where you came from and where you are going.
Thanks.
I just love seeing old building and going back in the past to find treasures like these. What a great way to relive the past.
What a great thing to do! We have my husband’s family reunion every year and this year we will be visiting old family homesteads. I think it is so cool.
I love the photo of the old Hospital. It would have been amazing to walk threw it before it started to fall.
‘Twould be a danger to attempt to explore it now. Possibly some interesting artifacts there.
I think it is awesome that you both are learning your family heritage and going to these sites. The hospital was an amazing find indeed on the land. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome; I love to share. And yes, the history behind that hospital is amazing.
It’s so nice that you were able to get back and visit where your family cam from. I love your photos.
Thanks. I’ll show my wife this comment. She’s the photographer in the family. I just lucked out.
HOw sad to see the hospital get abandoned like that. I wonder if there’s ever a paranormal activities there?
Interesting question. There was no one around to talk to about what goes on in the neighborhood. I might possibly find a short story in that thought. Thanks for the idea…(“,)
What a great experience! Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
You’re welcome. It pleases me to share the thing I love: history.
Thank you for sharing this. I enjoy your photos, especially the old hospital, so neat to see.
That was pretty cool once I learned the history of it.
That is awesome that you found some of your ancestors. I know I like to visit my grandparents when I get a chance. It’s hard to believe how fast time has flown by since they passed.
I love how your old family homestead is fully intact. I have always been fascinated with old buildings and the stories that they tell!
I’d certainly love to know some of the stories hidden in that house, as well as the old hospital.
This is an awesome search that you are doing. It’s awesome to find where and who you came from.
It’s so cool to see those old buildings still standing. It would be cool if they would fix them up and put them on a historical site.
When you think about how things are before and how things are now – its actually very impressive – you appreciate things more. Love that kind of experience.