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Jan 10
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Erik Hogan's avatar

I'll look into the Wet and Forget. Thanks! I can't even imagine finding a half brother/sister I didn't know about. Wow!!

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Jan 10
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Erik Hogan's avatar

I really appreciate that! Thank you!

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Mark G (Last of the Wild)'s avatar

Many thanks for sharing such a thoughtful piece. ‘Impermanence’ is definitely the takeaway. Most people are forgotten within a couple of generations.

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Erik Hogan's avatar

Yes, that is very true. But, maybe one good thing the internet has done is help preserve some of that history that would otherwise be lost.

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Mark G (Last of the Wild)'s avatar

Definitely. It has definitely opened a window to the past that would otherwise be lost.

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Kristi Keller's avatar

Eric, this piece was fascinating!!! I felt like I was on this ancestral journey right along with you and so many thoughts bubbled up as I read. I love how you said you like to imagine Wiley was a noble character, not knowing whether he was part of the atrocities of the south in those days. What I love the most is that you've captured this event with your kids in the unfortunate event that LOT 9 ceases to exist someday. What a memory and legacy this is. Sad to think that it would mean nothing to a developer.

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Erik Hogan's avatar

Thanks Kristi! Finding it again after all of this time was really profound!

My wife is a real estate title examiner and she's the one who found the plat for the subdivision. You can see on the map that there is an access easement to get to the cemetery around the edge of lot 9. Unfortunately, that isn't in writing on the property deed. We emailed the subdivision developer for more info, but haven't gotten a response.

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Kristi Keller's avatar

So fascinating. I think the Hogan family at large should do a GoFundMe to raise money and but it 😁

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Erik Hogan's avatar

Haha! That would be great! There aren't many of us left, though, at least on my specific branch. Just me and my sister and my kids.

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Kristi Keller's avatar

Oops, I meant BUY it. Stupid phone 😁 I suppose you understood lol

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Erik Hogan's avatar

I didn't even notice till now! 🤣

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Untrickled by Michelle Teheux's avatar

I love visiting the cemeteries where my forebears rest.

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Erik Hogan's avatar

It's a rare experience for me but wow did it have an impact!

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Earlene Hunter's avatar

Impermanence it is, including those incredibly lovely photos at the end.

Both my parents are buried in a family cemetery in rural Louisiana, which I would have trouble locating without a map or other help. Amazing how quickly the generations come and go. I enjoyed your writing too

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Erik Hogan's avatar

Thanks Earlene! Sounds like you could have a similar adventure of your own to Louisiana one day. The older I get, the more I become aware of the impermanence, the transient nature of things, the constant change. Its sad in some respects, but also poignantly beautiful.

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Jeanne Malmgren's avatar

Impermanence, ancestors, the creep of civilization ... it's all there, in this piece. Nice, Erik! Thanks for taking us along.

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Erik Hogan's avatar

Thanks for reading Jeanne, this was quite interesting to write about!

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James Hider's avatar

Great story Erik. It is always good to reflect on the lives of our family members who came before us - how different their life would have been, how similar.

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Amy Hayes: Daily Blessing's avatar

This was a fascinating piece! I’ve had a similar experience as a young person going far into the country in south-western Virginia to visit a similar family cemetery up on a mountain ridge, of my great-great’s (which also dates back to the Civil War). The old family farm up on the Ridge was divided up among the family members many years ago, and eventually a small piece came to belong to my parents … who then offered it to me. So I now own a small sliver of mostly useless property, just off a major highway, on the complete opposite side of the country from where I now live. We pay a small amount of property taxes on it every year and in this way I cling to a tiny piece of my heritage and my ancestor’s old family property. Your experience which you shared was very relevant! Thanks for sharing!

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Erik Hogan's avatar

Thanks Amy! I actually have a different situation similar to yours. A slightly different branch of my family tree all had land centered around my great grandmother's farmhouse. This was about 1 1/2 hours south of the cemetery in this piece. At some point when I was a baby my grandfather gave me 20 acres nearby. But, all of the rest of the family died or moved away. I had that land until I was a teenager, when my dad finally sold it.

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