Tag Archives: indiana

Barker Reunion

Tomorrow afternoon the descendants of Ray Herman Barker and Ruth Elizabeth Lloyd Barker will gather for a family reunion. I missed the last one so this will be my chance to catch up with the cousins I’ve known all my … Continue reading

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Thorntown Heritage Museum

Whenever I visit this part of Indiana where my Barker ancestors arrived after the Civil War, I’m always struck by how I don’t have to repeat my name and it’s never misheard as Baker. The Barker name, while not as … Continue reading

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Cornfields and Cemeteries

I have been enjoying wonderful weather in Indiana these past two days with mostly sunny skies, temperatures in the eighties (Fahrenheit) and the occasional terrifying thunderstorm. The best part is that I can watch the storm draping the cornfields in … Continue reading

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Spicewood

One of the many reasons I’m proud to be descended from Quakers and still consider myself one, even though I don’t believe in their god, is our meticulous record keeping. Every congregation holds a monthly meeting where, in addition to … Continue reading

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Back home again in Indiana

After an uneventful 500 mile drive, stopping only for Long John Silver’s and White Castle, I’m back in Indiana for a week of genealogical research. I’m spending the night in Richmond, just over the border from my home state of … Continue reading

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Flatlands

for John Philip Barker, 1930-2014 Just because this poem is set in autumn doesn’t mean it’s about death though my uncle is dying in our ancestral flatlands rusted over with leaves corn just gray stumps under leaden clouds Children die … Continue reading

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