Now What, History ??????

A low supply of creative material really is a bad situation.  I want creative things to post but I need new photos with unusual great twists.  I am right now being obsessed with the research of two small towns.  As I dig deeper I keep finding so much about my neighbors down on the farm who were connected to Hopeville, Iowa. Murray is the other town that I am researching north of Hopeville.  As I research more through a 1968 source I am finding my branches of relatives going back to great great grandparents giving me insight to being related to far more people in the Murray area than I thought possible.

The Hopeville Church still stands today,  I attended my first cousins wedding in the building back in 1969.  It still holds services for a very few people. I did know some of  the others who use to attend here but the majority of people are now buried in the cemetery of two hills near by the town.

 Church members above posing for a photograph on a Sunday morning. When the town was first settled among the Indians they only had oxen, no horses, and log cabins were a necessary for shelter.

The town of Hopeville was a strong town in the late 1800's.  I was born near there.  I found that at one time they had a school of 160 students in it.  At one time they had a brick two story building for a school.  The country school it replaced still sort of stands today.

The school still stands today. It was a building I had been in when my brothers were in 4-H in the late 50's .  I remember going around and looking out of each window in fascination.  I had never attended a country school.

Back to the family side of being related to a lot of Murray people I found an article about John Abernathy.  Abernathy is an English name.  The history is that he and his family was captured by Indians further east and the husband, father John was held captive some time and lived with the tribe of the area in Illinois or Indiana.  The rest of the family had been released with scars. John on my Grandmother Burgus side was my Great Great Grandfather. John Abernathy eventually ended up in the Murray area.  His daughter married a Turner and they had a daughter named Grace Elizabeth Turner.  Grace married Charles Burgus my grandfather and my dad was born in 1918.

The names of many families on the branches funnel down to my family on my dad's mom side.  Abernathy, Turner, Ries, Griggs, and Burgus were scattered throughout the Murray area and in the country. Having my Grandfather being from a family of 14 that makes a large spread on the branches. The females take another name and that make me related to Wetzels, Spellebergs and others. As I read of other family histories of the area, those names seem to be a part of the other family trees that I wasn't aware of before now.

I remember this building in Murray as I was growing up.  I believe it was empty most of my life time.  One person tried to put a repair shop in the right side of the building.  While away to college and living life I found it had been torn down due to the roof giving out and destroying the structure.I think it originally had lodge meetings in the top floor.

I have spent a lot of time on seeking history about the two areas and finally I seem to be burned out.  Maybe when spring hits, I can get off the net and start doing outside things.  I hope all are fine.  I am in the classroom again today and the sun is shining.  Thanks for stopping by today.