The Quest

While visiting my sister this week in Chicago, I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood to Union Ridge Cemetery. Union Ridge is one of the highest points in Cook County and is a part of Norwood Park. Originally organized in 1872 from adjacent townships (Jefferson, Leyden and Niles) as a village, and named after Henry Ward Beecher's novel Norwood , or Village Life in New England (1868), Norwood Park was annexed to the City of Chicago in 1893. Click here to read more about Norwood Park . Union Ridge Cemetery is a beautiful place... well-shaded, and mostly well-kept. Quite a few of the headstones have begun to sink into the ground, obscuring the lower parts of the inscriptions. The cemetery is mostly surrounded by residential areas, which you would think would make it a peaceful place. And it was for the most part... except for the one lady who was outside in her backyard screaming the f-word at God-knows-who. There were several large monuments, and a good number of m...

I suppose I should have taken German. I would have never pegged Heckman as a German name, but it turns out that the word "heck" or "hegge" means "hedge" and presumably referred to a family who lived near a hedge. Had I taken German, I would have known that. I would now also be able to interpret the census and other records of our Zogg ancestors. But, alas, I didn't take German. PS - Why do I care about whether Heckman is a German name? Only because I'm stalking someone else's dead people.