Three years ago, after the death of my grandfather, my dear aunt gave me the walking stick I remember so well. After close examination, I barely made out some engraving on the cap. I pulled out my trusty magnifying glass, and played one of my favorite roles, a giddy Sherlock Holmes. Compelled to a delicious hunt, I drooled investigative juices.
Rev. N. Gillam
by
L. H. Hicks
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As the delicate script appeared from the patina, my DNA danced a little jig. First, I checked my ancestral file, which contains the names and notations of over 6000 people, which I am proud to say, took five long years to log in and document.
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My fourth great uncle, Oliver Hazard Perry Hanna (1813 -1880), as it turns out, was married to a Rachel Gillam. Sure enough, Rachel had a brother, Nelson Gillam (1814 - 1902) who was minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church near Delphi, Carroll County, Indiana for many years.
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At the Carroll County Historical Museum's online site, I found a photo of Rev. Gillam. There is a certain compelling, yet haunting, Lincolnesque quality about him, with the same deep set steely blue eyes and gaunt cheek bones. They could be brothers. (I feel another research project coming on.) I was unable to pin down the one who bestowed the gift, H. L. Hicks. I assume he was a dear friend, or possibly a parishioner of his church.
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Here's what John Rutherford has to say in his book, Millennium History of Carmel Methodist Church:
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Reverend Nelson Gillam’s ministry here in 1851 and 1852 was not the superficial kind in which numbers are counted, but the kind in which men are gloriously converted to God. His preaching was the type of Peter, filled with power and effectiveness.
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He must have been quite a charismatic speaker. I would love to take a journey back in time and attend one of his Sunday sermons, his walking stick resting on one of the altar chairs, alongside the pulpit.
This is a Sepia Saturday post.
Willow, what a wonderful piece of personal history! I'm blown away by the intense work you've done to learn more about your ancestors.
ReplyDeleteI think my greatest impossible desire would be to time travel, just to see those people I came from. I owe them everything I guess.
Oh, and the photographs are moody and beautiful, as usual. :)
I think you're on the verge of writing your book. Am I reading that correctly?
ReplyDeleteRave on, sister, rave on.
I have done years of work on my ancestry but do not have all the pictures and stories that you have. I love to hear your stories. I really need to still keep looking on Ancestory.Com for more stories.
ReplyDeleteQMM
I love the picture of the Reverand. He does look like Lincoln and the expression on his face. Almost full of sorrow. That walking stick is a lovely piece of family history.
ReplyDeletewow. what an incredible story and amazing treasure willow.
ReplyDeleteHow cool! I have my grandfather's gold headed cane, similarly inscribed from his uncle -- a circuit riding Methodist minister.
ReplyDeleteI have a new post up and I think you'll like the picture --but the links on others' blogs aren't updating, alas!
Great detective work, Willow Holmes! Another nice family treasure!
ReplyDeleteInfreakingcredible!
ReplyDeleteA fabulous walking stick. I love walking sticks, and have even cut, seasoned and carved my own over the years. My Great Grandfather collected them in his later years. I would love to have received one, especially the Cobra cane, but sadly they have been lost to me. I do hope that whatever family members received them also appreciate them, but I have my doubts.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lovely treasure, and I know that you appreciate it as it should be appreciated. Thanks for sharing.
Mike
As Farmchick has already said, he really was a perfect double for Lincoln. I trust his end was more peaceful.
ReplyDeleteBisou, Cro.
That is awesome. I love how history & family come to life through heirlooms and genealogy. I'm going to send my mom (an avid genealogist) this blog link.
ReplyDeletewow! Lincolnesque for sure - so sad looking - what a treasure, his walking stick :)
ReplyDeleteLooks like you've done a lot of tenacious and tender detective "legwork" on the way to your rendezvous with your sepia ancestors.
ReplyDeleteYes, he could be Lincoln's brother (or cousin--perhaps there's a connection there, too?). I am impressed at the time & energy you have devoted--and it is an act of devotion--to tracking your heritage. It's a fascinating trip!
ReplyDeleteThis just proves the point that, with family history, you have to keep digging away. And now you have unearthed this wonderful discovery!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful family treasure! Great work getting to the owner. He certainly does resemble Abraham Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteI'd read that someone was bringing the BBC's genealogy programme 'who do you think you are' to the USA. I think it would be right up your street, with your love of ancestor research
ReplyDeleteI love the photos
Very impressive research willow, and that is a beautiful stick.
ReplyDeleteThe photo is astonishing in its resemblance to Pres. Lincoln.
Spacedlaw, I LOVE your take on the "ten fingers shape a bowl for shadows", which originates with Sylvia Plath, by the way.
ReplyDeleteHello Willow,
ReplyDeleteWonderful keepsake, wonderful photo of the Rev. and wonderful sleuthing. Do you have a warehouse full of wonders somewhere?!
I just changed the name of this post to "Lincoln's Doppelgänger". I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Now I am wondering if there is a family connection somehwere. Uh-oh. I feel a new project coming on!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely insight into family history!
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right--the good Reverend was definitely Lincolnesque!
A very nice jaunt into the past. It was fascinating to share in the excitement of your discovery
ReplyDeleteThe last photo is a keeper. Really nice. I sense a rock solid something I can't put my finger on when you speak of researching your ancestry. For me, it is enough to be on this side and read about it and rejoice in the findings and share your excitement.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool that you know so much about your ancestors. We go back about 16 generations but don't really know anything about the people besides their names.
ReplyDeleteAbraham Lincoln and Sherlock Holmes in the same blog? Who could ask for anything more?
ReplyDeleteThat was wonderful detective work!
I enjoy the discussions of your ancestors. Curiosity about the somber expressions found in old photographs led me to this discussion:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/twicegolden/1595241892/
There were fascinating reasons that people look so grim--like sitting still for ten minutes for the picture to be exposed.
Ooooh--what a beautiful piece. That looks like a real treasure, Willow. And you aren't kidding about the resemblance there, are you! Amazing. Genealogy is fascinating to me. I, too, spent a good five plus years doing our family history work--sadly, a lot of updating needs to be done now, since lots of things have changed--some people gone, some born into the family, etc.
ReplyDeleteHow goof for that walking stick that it wound up in the exact right hands, eh?
RJ, thanks for the link to that excellent article on old photography! The accompanying flicker pic looks so much like on in WT's family collection. Same chair, the man crossing his legs in the same way. Where was it taken?
ReplyDeleteGeneology is entertaining- can't tell you how many cousins I've met all of the Hanks family - Nancy Hanks- which includes of course that homeless guy, Tom Hanks and my husbands colleague...Husbands side are the Wright Brothers and the hyprocrit man of God that the Scarlet Letter was based upon. Entertaining.If we whittle away at it long enough and thoroughly enough we will find a common thread tieing us all up together.
ReplyDeleteThe walking stick is grand!
Oh, Linda, I so agree. I even found that my college roomate and I had a common ancestor five generations back!
ReplyDeleteThat walking stick is so cool. It has such a simple elegance. I really like what Mr. Rutherford said of the Reverend. He must have been an inspring man.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe they were related...as Lincoln is an honorary Hoosier. They do look like brothers...I'll bet Abe was a beautiful baby, 'cause he sure was a homely old giant.
ReplyDeleteGreat investigative work Willow! Isn't it interesting how the walking stick must have been passed from hand to hand to be in your grandfather's possession.
ReplyDeleteI've often felt sorry for those who say history is boring. I see history as a living breathing thing full of a plethora of individual stories. I see you feel that way too.
ps I think there must be a family connection. The Rev's resemblance to Lincoln is uncanny.
ReplyDeleteWoW! A Lincoln clone, better tell our Abe Lincoln blogman! Didnt know they had a cloning program back in the day. It is good to know you come from good stalky folk. I am sure there are only angels running through my dna. If I see anything abberant I am blaming the ancestry.com sites! This would explain much however. Willow, are you just not letting us know about those "skeletons in the closet"? There's at least one black sheep? (No the Abe look-a-like was not a neo-cia cloning program - conspiracists beware!)Thank-goodness all dirt swept my collective relatives rug. My cousin is the gate keeper; owning the keys to kingdom of relativity. my background; I am honestly afraid to look fearing something, some bogeyman which could share similar if not almost the same dna. Yikes. I guess there could be that Malevinian line as well, that would be perfect; literally, but would not explain "my wierd life". How to get some of those "family jewels?", I'm sure they would be auctioned to the highest bidder who's feet are firmly planted, and has a lovely demeanor. In other words; a saint! I want a saint in my dna!
ReplyDeletei feel as if we have read the dust jacket...
ReplyDeletenow hungrily desiring to pour through the pages...
more please!
Being an adopted person who knows little or nothing about her ancestry, I am so fascinated with your family history posts -- and this was a terrific post! That cane is so dramatic. Were canes like this just a part of a man's sartorial splendor in those days I wonder, or were they practical objects to help people walk more comfortably?
ReplyDeleteJane, I was wondering the same thing about canes today. I am thinking they were part of the ambiance. Good question. Now I must know. Off to find out...
ReplyDeleteHey, Jane, this is what wiki had to say:
ReplyDelete(The cane took the place of the sword in men's wardrobe.)
Around the 17th or 18th century, a stout rigid stick took over from the sword as an essential part of the European gentleman's wardrobe, used primarily as a walking stick. In addition to its value as a decorative accessory, it also continued to fulfill some of the function of the sword as a weapon. The standard cane was rattan with a rounded metal grip.
There are a lot of people who say President Lincoln wasn't a Lincoln but nobody proved her wasn't. I must say this fellow looks like he was trying hard to look like Abe Lincoln as some people did in this days. Whatever, the cane is yours to keep.
ReplyDeleteMy genealogy is a big thing and goes back to 1600 something in England. One relative is in the Doom's Day Book of all places. LOL
Gotta go. My wife is coming after me again with that evil look in her eye.
what a fascinating nugget you unearthed!
ReplyDeletei'm a little envious of your family archive - another treasure
If this photograph was taken before President Lincoln was sworn in as president, then Mr. Lincoln did not yet have his beard, right? That would provide even more fodder for further investigation into the striking facial similarities of these two men. Even their charismatic personalities demonstrate, at the very least, kindred spirits. Wonderful piece, Willow!
ReplyDeleteA family treasure bestowed on a very appreciative and deserving, sweetie pie niece of mine! I love your research! Hugs, Unks
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have that silver-tipped walking stick in your possession and what an accomplishment to have your ancestry catalogued. (I must look into that.)
ReplyDeleteHe definitely does look like Lincoln. (I just loved the way you described your excitement at discovering the inscription. Well done!)
Kat
Veeeery interesting...and like you said here I sense another research project, yes!
ReplyDeleteDarned if he doesn't look a lot like Lincoln...!
So many times, I've heard someone described as looking like someone else, over something as slight as the same kind of mustache, or the like. (Depending on the configuration of my facial hair, usually, I've been compared to Errol Flynn, Robert Foxworth, David Crosby, Rob Reiner, and Jerry Garcia over the years!) But when I scrolled downward after reading your comparison of Rev. Gillam to Abe Lincoln, I was floored. Visually, they could, indeed, have been brothers. And only five years apart by birth! Wonder if "the bull jumped the fence," as Kerouac once wrote?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but smile when I first glimpsed the walking stick. I have one very similar... only mine is a 50-year-old wood & plastic toy based on the prop cane Gene Barry carried in Bat Masterson on TV... and I daresay, not worth nearly as much as that beautiful heirloom of yours!
The photo of Gillam is startingly like Lincoln...follow that lead!
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa also had a walking stick, but in my family we were always clearing things out..more's the pity!
Fabulous detective work! Don't you just love that about researching family history, how there are all these little clues to fit together?
ReplyDeletealright sherlock!!
ReplyDeletewow 6000 documented ancestors!!! more incredible dectective work.
beautiful walking stick!
An incredible object. Really incredible, with its half-hidden inscription. Fabulous post.
ReplyDeleteIt's such a shame we have the Images But Not The Voices.It Would be lovely to hear him speak.
ReplyDeleteHave A Fine Weekend Willow.
What a great story. I love genealogy, too. With that and blogging and Sepia Saturday and Shadow Shot Sunday and reading everybody's blogs and comments I can't get anything else
ReplyDeletedone. My sister and I are just about to get a new contract for a job so I'm going to have to mend my ways. Or maybe just stay up all night. He sure did look like Lincoln.
The walking stick/cane became as sign of wisdom with aging in the olden days, not just a sign of an infirmity.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great find in ancestry.
Amazing story, Willow! What a great piece of personal memorabilia you have. And yes, he could pass for Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteYour post makes we want to delve deeper into my own family history.
Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteYou get the Blogger University Honorary History degree on this one, my dear!
ReplyDeleteLook alikes??? Wow..unbelievable!
Very, very Lincolnesque. Another brother in the log cabin in Illinois?
ReplyDeleteI love that your beautiful walking stick now has provenance, it adds immensely to it's preciousness Willow. Yes, there was something about those old Methodist preachers, so many of them could turn out a mighty good sermon. The Founders of the church John & Charles Wesley, came from a really interesting working class, pro-union English background. And the hymns they composed often reflected those idealogical thoughts.
ReplyDeleteMillie ^_^
Wow, Willow. What an interesting post. Have you seen that new show on TV where celebrities uncover their pasts? My jury is still out on it.
ReplyDelete