Re-Settling Where Roots Grow Deep
The sun was already dipping west as we pulled into Lindley Prairie Cemetery in Cedar County. We made a small party -- my parents and two sisters. Long shadows stretched from the maples and monuments, dappling our path as we walked between the graves. Family names were everywhere -- Akins, Rickman, Tindle, Simmons, Strange.
It was surreal standing over the grave of Parthenia Strange, our 4th great-grandmother. She was born in 1810 somewhere in Halifax County, Virginia. She migrated here with one of her 11 children, Union Rickman, in the last years of her life. At least two of her brothers already had homesteads in Cedar County, which they had claimed in the 1850s.
Parthenia’s gravestone was severely aged, but we could still make out the inscription -- We Loved Her.
The simple words whisper an echo of a life well lived, inviting us into the humanity of our ancestors who loved and grieved as they settled these Ozarks foothills. Her son, Union, rests nearby. We had driven near his homestead on the way to the cemetery. He claimed his 40 acres on Bear Creek in 1875 pursuant of the Homestead Act. With all of the kinfolk homeplaces less than a mile away, we can only assume he came here with his mother to live near family. She would die only two years later, and they would lay her to rest at Lindley Prairie.
It reminded me, again, of why we belong right where we are. A couple years ago, my family moved into a wall tent on our land in Dade County. Before choosing to stay in the Ozarks, we had scoured the midwest for the right place to settle a homestead and sink our roots. We prayed, we researched, and we took several major road trips. We saw many beautiful towns and so much stunning countryside, but we were always so happy when we got home. It made us remember why we had come home to the Ozarks decades ago.
This place has been home to our people for a very long time. Nearly all of our ancestors spent time in the Ozarks. Most settled here and carved out a life -- but they didn't do it alone. So many of our family stories follow the same pattern of families settling this land together. Over these last years of our crazy adventure, I've realized more and more how this life is hard. It’s made possible when it is worked at in community, with each member bringing what they have to the table.
So many people I talk to dream of getting back to the land, but they don’t think it is possible. I know it never would have been possible for me. But by pooling resources, my family found a way to follow in our ancestors steps. Of course, we’ve had to live differently. We’ve had to reduce luxuries like cell phone service and share vehicles. Some of us have had to work long hours off the homestead, while others have had to not work anywhere else.
We’ve had to battle the elements, and at times, we’ve had to battle each other. There have been days when I didn’t know if we would succeed in our venture at all. Each time, however, God has helped us through. And when someday my sisters and I are laid to rest in these Ozark hills, I hope we have lived lives worthy of the same epitaph as our ancestor.
