On Saturday, 9 Sep 2006, the Evergreen Cemetery (Everett WA) had a Civil War event which included a cemetery walk presented by David Dilgard of the Everett public Library. This is part of my report to my genealogy group about the newest family mystery.

I got to the walking tour of the Cemetery L A T E.... my daughter, (Ginny Kay) - the one with the nasty broken arm, just couldn't make it and so I had to wait for a break in customers before closing the doors and taking off...

Erin, Abbygail, and I meet the walking tour at the flag pole and Dave Dilgard was right in the middle of a great talk... and it got better... even though the rain never really stopped.

We trudged up hill and along steep sides and dodged persistent raindrops and stood under lots of trees... I didn't know we had an area dedicated to Everett Firefighters and listened intently to David's story of the deaths the resulted with the memorial. Then the group passed by our great grandparent's, (Nels and Berit Oien), resting places and Erin and I stopped to said hi and to dig out their headstones - AGAIN.

David stopped here and there and we could easily identify the Civil War Vets as they were marked with flags and some with the information boards Jim Shipman showed us...

We were at this one spot... hiding under a tree, and when I looked down --- there was Grandpa's Niece's, (Anna Downing), headstone... She is the daughter of a much older sister and was part of those family poker parties held for years and years with her brothers and their families, (the Carl and Lucille - Ray and Rachel Ericksons, Grandpa Louis and Grandma Teresa.

I hadn't known that Anna had died so was a little sad. I said "Oh, there's Anna"

and Erin said... "Oh... Ericksons"....

and I thought Ericksons... here

And then Erin said "Carrie Oien..."

I was shocked.... seriously shocked...

Anna and her husband George had been interned on the grave of her parents, Carrie (Oien) and Carl Erickson, and her great-grandmother (Carrie Oien). Also buried there were other Erickson children. For all those years (40 or so) we , (Grandpa, Mom, (Marcella), Mike and I and later Penny) had been goin' to the cemetery and laying flowers -- I'm saying twice a year minimum with grandmother and a trunk load of flowers... and we had never visited those graves.

Nels Oien and "Mrs. Oien" (the headstones we had dug out) are buried about 100 yards away in the same section and we had never ever gone to Nels' Mothers and Grandpa Louis Oien's grandmother's grave (I'm sitting at the computer right now still feeling bewildered and confused)

Grandma Teresa never forgot stuff like that... just didn't do it! We were marched up hill and over to lay flowers on Christine Westlund's (grandpa's sister) grave. So, I'm adding that to my want-to-talk-about-it-in-heaven-with-Grandma stack.

Carrie Oien, great grandmother 1824-1911
Carrie Oien Erickson
--Carl Erickson, 1857-1937
--Clarence N Erickson, 1901-1904
--Carl O. Erickson Sr. 1864-1937
Brynie Erickson, 1830-1920
Anna Erickson, Downing
--George Downing

Nels Oien 1849-1939
Mrs. Oien, (Berit Fossom Oien) 1848-1919
Carl Oien, 1885-1918

Andrew Orien, 1880-1956
--Jessie Putney Orien, 1889-1975
Nels Oien

Christine Oien Westlund
--John Westlund
Marie Oien Mercer 1890-1982
--Harry Mercer 1889-1963

Louis Ingvald Oien 1895-1965
--Teresa McClean Oien1898-1984
Marcella Oien Cordray 1920-1964
Charles Swanson (Uncle George McClean son-in-law)

Steven Swanson (Uncle George McClean grandson)

Peter Oien 1875-1934
--Oluffa A. Oien 1876-1957