For the August scavenger hunt prompt: "Find a Great-Grandparents grave."
I'm finally sharing this on my blog in January -- and how appropriately on January 5th, 2023 - my Great-Grandpa's 110th birthday!
I don't have to go far for this set of my Great-Grandparents. Matter of fact, I can see their tombstone from my bedroom window. They're buried in Fernwood Cemetery here in Henderson.
Henry Lloyd Sandefur and Anna Elizabeth (Thompson) Sandefur.
Henry, or Poppy, was born on January 5th, 1913, in Henderson to Eugene Henry Sandefur and Ollie Lee Moss. He was the fifth of six children.
Poppy and his siblings grew up at 1421 Clay St (the Sandefur's lived in that house from about 1906 through the 1950's) - their front door was quite literally out the front door of Audubon School, which Poppy attended until about sixth grade or so. He used to hide his books out in the shed and hop trains - he'd go to Nashville for a day or two and return home.
Anna Elizabeth, called Liz by some, Lizzie by others, and occasionally Lizbet by her youngest brother (although usually just called Anna) was born August 18th, 1916, to John Rowan Thompson and Mary Janella Nally. She was the seventh of eight children.
Nana, as I call her, grew up in the Smith Mills area and attended Smith Mills School. I am not sure if she finished out school and graduated or not. If she did, I would have imagined she'd have graduated from Smith Mills, if so, it would have likely been 1933.
Nana and Poppy wed on August 25th, 1933, in Shawneetown. Nana was 17 years old and Poppy was 20... it was a shotgun wedding. Hence the elopement to Shawneetown.
They welcomed their first child, their daughter Carolyn, into the world on April 8th, 1934. By the 1940 census, they had a daughter and two sons (Donald & William 'Buddy'), and were living at 122 Burdette St. here in Henderson.
By the 1950 census, they had three daughters and two sons, living out at 1714 KY-416 (in Niagara). Back then, it was known as "Rural Route 2." They would have one more daughter about five years later.
After my Mom was born ('63) and my late Uncle Jay ('65), my Grandparents (Jady & Glynda) built a house next door to Nana & Poppy, at 1670 KY-416.
Poppy was a diabetic and also suffered severe heart problems. He passed away young on March 11th, 1970, at just 57 years of age. At the time of his death, my Nana didn't know where to bury him (as the spots near his parents in Fernwood were full.) Poppy's cousin, funeral director Paul B. Moss provided my Nana with the two plots - one for Poppy and one for herself. She tried to pay him back for the plots, and he wouldn't accept the money.
In the mid 1970's, Nana moved to town, and then my Grandparents moved to town as well. Nana lived for twenty some-odd years in Fair Acres until her Alzheimer's progressed far enough that we had to place her into a rest home (about early 1999.)
Nana passed away on October 2nd, 2001. I was in the third grade. I'll never forget coming home from school and getting the phone call about 40 minutes after I'd gotten home. That day and the following few days were without a doubt some of the worst in my life. I'll never forget her funeral - that was the hardest rain I've ever, to this day, experienced in my life. It certainly fit the mood. I felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces and it was never going to be whole again.
My Nana was my very best friend. She had been my babysitter early-on in my life. After she went into the nursing home, my Grandma and I went every day, and I quite literally mean EVERY DAY to the nursing home to visit with her. Sometimes we'd go two or three times in one single day.
Nana is the entire reason I started doing genealogy. None of my friends knew any of their Great-Grandparents back then, so at just seven years old, I realized it was a rarity/oddity to know your Great-Grandparents.. (even if it's just one of them.) So I pondered if Nana ever knew any of her Great-Grandparents - unfortunately due to Alzheimer's, she couldn't answer that question (not accurately, anyway). My Grandma and I took to working on our family tree to figure out the answer. I've been hooked by the genealogy bug ever since. 2022 marks 22 years I've been doing genealogy. I owe everything to this beautiful, intelligent, wonderful, compassionate woman.
Some of you might remember my Nana, actually, because she was a bus driver for many years. I believe she drove a bus in the 60s, 70s, and into the early 80s. I know she drove the route out in Niagara but she might have substituted for other routes as well. She and Grandma Glynda would bowl with other bus drivers. I unfortunately didn't inherit Nana's bowling ball, but I did inherit Grandma Glynda's. It's certainly one of my prized possessions now.
I come from a family full of bus drivers, actually, lol. Poppy drove a bus as well. Their late daughter, Carolyn, drove a bus, and my Grandma - Glynda (Sandefur) Blanford also drove a bus. I believe one of the sons might have driven a city bus back in the day, too.
Thank you all for reading about my Nana & Poppy. It means a lot. ❤️
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