Grace’s Corydon Trip Report #2
November 2, 1998

Hi All, again,

OK, time to drop out if you aren’t interested in your mother’s/sister’s history.

We are now (Monday, 5:28 EST, Nov. 2, 1998) in Indianapolis. I finally got Sonny’s (our 1st cousin, his dad and our dad were brothers) phone number from Christina. Thanks, Christina, and I’M SO SORRY about your fall down the hill by where we ran into the dogs. I am sure you were really enjoying the run and the beautiful weather that you’d mentioned. I’ll bet you were really going fast, too, huh?

I called Sonny just after we got here and no answer. We will go to Morristown tomorrow. It’s turned rainy and cold so traipsing around a cemetery won’t be as much fun as it was in Corydon. BTW, Jane, Sue and I had gone to the cemetery when we were here (she flew in and I picked her up in Indianapolis in 1988) and I think a distant relative had taken us to the Hanover Cemetery where Patty Doc may be buried. I’m going to check with the funeral home in Morristown (the Dr. Patten old home) and see if they can help me.

Anyway, Ann, Sue, Rica, and Barbara, today as we were driving our last lap through Corydon we were getting ready to go past Bobby’s house (our grandmother) and Richard asked didn’t I really want to stop and ask if we could go in. I did (it’s now a counseling service). It said “come in” on the door (Bobby’s and Papa’s bedroom) so I did and went over and looked out over the back yard. The asst. came in and asked what I wanted so I explained that our grandparents had lived there. She called in the therapist and after we talked a minute and she realized who I was and her eyes got big and she took me into the “talk” room (the old living room where Bobby read to us on the old couch. She shut the door. Daddy had delivered her and Eloise Keller is her mother. I’d heard Mother mention Eloise lots, do any of you other girls remember? Eloise only lived in Corydon 2 years but made a splash. She must have been one of Mother’s good friends. Linda Keller … can’t remember her last name, have her card in the car…moved back in ’75 and bought Bobby’s house and restored it. It’s lovely and she got a historical award for her work. And get ready ::::: she let me take a stone from Bobby’s garden that ran up the steep hill on the south … remember where we used to play, girls? Anyway, the only place I cried was in Bobby’s living room, just couldn’t help it, but Linda, being a counselor was very cool about it!!

Backtracking: Just prior to the above we went to breakfast with Laura Etta. It was hard to leave her, too. In fact, it was weird when she drove up to the restaurant and walked toward the restaurant (we were watching for her) it WAS Mabel. So scary! Hadn’t seen the resemblance until that moment. She’s much cuter/ prettier though.

After the visit to Bobby’s house we went to the basement of the old library. They house all of the Harrison County genealogy records there. The old lady (she’s 78) who works there, it turns out, doctored with Dr. William Daniel (Bobby’s father) and Daddy. She lived up the hill in Bobby and Papa’s neighborhood.

We went through the books and found records of Applegate births and deaths. I guess it was really cemetery plot locations. All of the marriage licenses and birth certificates are in the courthouse in a big mess. After the genealogy stuff is more complete they will try and organize the courthouse stuff. The man working in the genealogy records said the lady who runs the courthouse records took it over from a guy who had run it for 50 years and didn’t care what shape things were in. It was pretty easy to find stuff today b/c it’s in books and by alphabetical order. It turns out that there was a man from New York who worked on Applegate genealogy and put it into book form. He’s now dead but did a fantastic job. Sorry Sue, but the page that had us on it had you listed as Due Applegate. I thought, “Man, this was when Barbara was about to be born and they just listed her as Due.” Then I looked closer and it was you, Sue. The lady let me cross out the D and put an S. Unfortunately, I just did it with pencil. Oh, well. Barbara, you WERE listed.

One thing else that Laura Etta said was that she remembered that my hair stuck out really bad up around my face. (Barbara, that may be part of why you think Makenna looks like me).

One thing may not have mentioned earlier. We did tour the square and saw all of the pre-Halloween decor. Spent the evening with Laura Etta and had plenty of trick or treater neighbors. They all love Laura Etta and gave her big hugs. Girls, I guess she was always like that. She said also that she used to have to leave the table b/c she couldn’t help laughing at us during meals. The Siberts also kept us 2 (Sue and Grace) and Bobby kept Rica (tho she came out to the farm on occasion) while Mother and Daddy and Ann went off to prewar. Ruth took us later by train to meet up with them.

Christina, sorry we missed your call yesterday/last night. We were out all day then had supper at Laura Etta’s. We were back at the motel by 8:00 pm I think. Maybe you had the wrong number. So sorry about the ink in the printer. I knew I shouldn’t be so carefree about printing everything that looked like it needed it.

Barbara, according to the genealogy (Gen. from now on) we do go back to Thomas Applegate. I had about $8.00 worth of 10 cent copies run (gave her $40 for a donation which she gladly accepted) so I have what I hope is a good record of “US.” I told her it was on the Internet and she said she wasn’t surprised.

Signing off from the Holiday Inn Southwest off the Loop in Indianapolis.

Morristown tomorrow. A tourist brochure said there is a covered bridge driving route from Shelbyville to Rushville. We may check it out.

Sorry I jumped around but I just have to tell it when it comes to mind. I need an outline, huh???

Love to all,

Mom/Grace/gigi, and Richard/Pa

Ann, we drove by the Kitterman’s and Mrs. Ashton’s where we kept the horses (now the hospital).