My friends - Our good friend and resident War Between the States expert, Greg Miller, has posted to the JP List the announcement that a marker will be placed in the Murray City Cemetery on 29 May at 10:00 AM, in remembrance of Andrew Meloan, Revolutionary War soldier. Since this man left many descendants(including myself), I am going to elaborate on him a bit here. I hope that any descendants in the are will attend the service. I had hopes of being there myself, but circumstances will not permit it. Andrew Meloan was born in Cecil County, MD in the 1750's. He lived in various places, including NC, before coming out to Montgomery Co., KY in the early 1800's. He remained there until 1827, when he, and a group of other residents, including the Utterbacks, Caldwells, Farrows and a few others came to Calloway County. The land on which the Murray City Cemetery now rests was originally that of Andrew, and he is said to have been the first burial there in what is now the very oldest part of that cemetery, where no markers have survived. His many descendants include numerous Utterbacks(his daughter, Permelia Meloan, married Robert Caldwell, who were the parents of Rachel Ozier Caldwell who married Harrison Peyton Utterback), Caldwells, and others. Andrew was married to Rachel Ozier, who had previously been married to John Zillerfrow. I have the original Family Record pages from Andrew Meloan's Bible in my collection. Andrew Meloan reached the rank of Corporal in the Revolutionary War, and fought in many of the well known battles of that conflict.He was present in Yorktown at Cornwallis surrender. At that point, he was an aide to General Benjamin Harrison, who, on behalf of George Washington, received the ornate ceremonial surrender sword from General Sir Guy Carlton, representing Cornwallis. Meloan was entrusted with the sword for 24 hours, after which it was, as was the custom, returned to the defeated commanding office, in this case, Cornwallis. While in the charge of Meloan, he removed a very small diamond from the hilt, and retained it as a memento of the occasion. The small relic has made its way through many generations, and I now have it in my collection. There is much more to be said about Andrew Meloan that I will not repeat here. I am glad that he will be recognized and a marker to his memory placed. Sunday is Mother's Day. It is a celebration of our mothers, both those living and those passed on, and, for us, a celebration of all of our "ancestral" mothers. Many years ago, one of my cousins, the late Rev. Thurman Skaggs, on the 20th anniversary of his mother's death, was trying to recall his mother's features and some facial expressions which she had. Although he had numerous photos of her, none reflected those subtle nuances for which he was searching in his memory. He went to bed that night, and had a dream in which he saw his mother, and the images for which he was searching were then firmly fixed in his mind. The next day, he sat down and wrote a poem, reflecting on his dream. I am reproducing it here for those of us who have lost our mothers and peer into the mists of the past for images of them for which no photographer could catch, and as a reminder to those with mothers still living to cherish every moment you may have remaining with them. -B ================================================================== Mother "She was so young, I wonder why With life brimful, she had to die. These twenty years, they are so long-- And does it seem too great a wrong That I should thus a vision see To show me how she used to be? The vision came, I know not how-- But those faces fair, I see them now! I saw, I felt, I heard, I talked-- With those long dead, I spoke and walked. The night was dark and all was still, When the room with light did quickly fill. I saw my mother, her face a smile, Come walking down the old church aisle. She quietly sat in the same old pew-- O, her charm as rare as noon-time dew. Among her friends of yesterday, She loved them all in the same old way. Toward her pew, I began to walk, So she and I could again laugh and talk. But a seraph bold came swishing by-- With pinion strong, he split the sky-- Through the clouds, beyond the blue, He took her back where dreams come true. And left me standing there in the fading light -- Just twenty years ago tonight." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++