How unexpected and wonderful is that?  If you want to see it in person, you can.  Just drive to Hawesville!

David Wolfe
David Wolfe
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Hawesville Cemetery (also known as Memory Gardens) in Hancock County, Kentucky, is home to one of the coolest headstones you will ever see.  My friend David Wolfe, who's a local history buff and paranormal researcher, recently encountered and photographed this incredible headstone.

Hawesville Cemetery is located right off of Hwy 60 and is home to some very interesting sites and residents.

This particular headstone belonged to a young lady named Bettie Aldridge.  According to the website FindAGrave.com (and, yes, there's such a thing), Bettie was born on November 3rd, 1887 and died October 7th, 1898 at the age of 10.  Bettie's parents were Squire Washington Aldridge, who was born in 1846 and Hannah Gillians Aldridge, who was born in 1851.

As a matter of fact, on the Find a Grave website, you can actually see photos of other members of the Aldridge family tree. That includes her brother, also named Squire Washington Aldridge, who lived until 1972.

Here's another interesting and fun fact about Hawesville Cemetery.  Props to David for reminding me about this.  It's the same cemetery where William "Bill" Davison is buried.  It's entirely possible that the name sounds familiar.  It should- especially if you live in Owensboro and are vaguely familiar with our place in the Civil War.

Davison, a former captain in the 7th Kentucky Union Infantry Regiment, resigned from his duties following the Emancipation Proclamation.  What happened next is local Civil War history.  Davison became a Confederate guerilla and eventually embarked on a courthouse-burning rampage in Meade, Breckinridge and Daviess counties.  Yep! He's the guy who burned down the Daviess County Courthouse.

According to ExploreKYHistory.com, Davison was killed on March 7th, 1865.  There are a couple of different versions of how he died and no one seems to be 100% sure.  It seems he either burned to death or was shot.  However, we do know this.  Davison was originally buried in the Hancock County woods.  Following the Civil War, "he was reinterred" in the Hawesville Cemetery, where he rests today, incredibly close to Bettie Aldridge, the young lady who may not have seared her name into history, but who's certainly one of the most interesting residents of the graveyard.

Here's our interview with David from this morning's show:

 

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