Page 4 THE BEACON November 2017

Continued from page 1 Family Association of Lawrenceburg , Indiana . “ We ’ d love for everyone to come out and learn about that .” Mr . Gellert is one of the dedicated volunteers behind the Blasdel Family National Association Reunion that takes place concurrently with this community celebration of Pioneer Day . Blasdel relatives from Washington State , California , Texas , Florida , Tennessee , Illinois , Michigan , and Oregon , as well as those living just across the county line , will all converge in Dearborn County to share stories and forge lasting connections with distant cousins and new friends .

The now widespread John Ewbank family , too , can trace its arrival in the Tanner ’ s Creek Valley to the early 1800 ' s . Handwritten records , a still-working early nineteenth-century clock , and a solitary dresser saved from a grandmother ’ s home flooded by the relentless Ohio River , well document the family ’ s history . Robert Ewbank recalls past family reunions and gatherings , “ I was a boy , and I wasn ’ t much interested in it then , but they ’ d get up and tell these stories whenever they would all get together .”

Dearborn County Historian and Genealogist with the Lawrenceburg Public Library , Joyce Baer says , “ Pioneer

Gary Gellert notes that Susannah Blasdel was the first person buried in Cambridge Cemetery in 1821 , under a tree per her request . She was the wife of Enoch Blasdel , Mr . Gellert ’ s ancestor .

Day is a bi-annual event , and we ’ ve always kind of piggybacked with Franklin County , with Brookville ; they would hold their pioneer reunion one year , and we would hold it the next , but this particular year , the Blasdels have kindly embraced it partly because we have their archival collection over here . We ’ re going to be open Friday and Saturday 10-5 here in the Genealogy Department , and their national genealogist is going to be here from Florida to field questions .”

Mrs . Baer smiles and says , “ It ’ s really kind of morphed into a Blasdel , Dearborn County , Genealogy , Pioneer event .”

Mr . Gellert explains , “ The Blasdels and the Ewbanks , are intermarried and connected

… the Blasdels , the Ewbanks and the Smiths all lived within two miles of each other , so there were intermarriages and connections - and they supported each other .”

As the young country grew and developed , more and more families decided to build their lives in what was to them untouched land . “ They were not shy about helping their neighbor ,” Mr . Ewbank says , before sharing a little of the history of his family ’ s home place that will be open to the public during the event . “ The last settlement sold from 1812 through 1815 , was this homestead property and that ’ s where the frontier stopped . So if you looked north and west … there was nothing in between except for some trading posts .”

Although well-known to Native Americans , Indiana was a wilderness to the mostly European settlers who arrived ready to learn about the indigenous flora and fauna and to sacrifice and work and hope for a lasting legacy . Mr . Gellert says , “ We need to know where we came from

Decedents of two of the earliest pioneer families in Dearborn County , Robert Ewbank and Gary Gellert , enjoy researching their family histories and think future generations should know who they are by understanding where they came from .

Dearborn County Historian , Joyce Baer , encourages everyone to drop by the Genealogy Room at the Lawrenceburg Library to ask questions , share stories , and discover family connections , community history , and interesting people .

and honor the past and understand that we have a wonderful heritage here in Dearborn County . We ’ re particularly interested in Tanner ’ s Creek because our ancestors came up to Tanner ’ s Creek after the original settlement there in Lawrenceburg … mine in 1804 , and Bob ’ s in 1811 . So much of Dearborn County , the people , their roots , is at Tanner ’ s Creek . It ’ s very interesting how they lived as pioneers

- battling the Indians and the wildlife ; it was really hard .”

Everything from securing enough food for families and safeguarding livestock , to building a home was challenging . The Ewbank pioneers initially lived in one of two original log cabins on the property , but eventually built a substantial two-story home , even adding a modern-for-thetime beehive oven that today can be seen protruding from the eastern wall . Mr . Ewbank says , “ And what ’ s unique about the house , you think it ’ s made out of creek stone ? It ’ s made out of field stones . That ’ s why it took so long to build . The church was constructed in 1820 . They started clearing fields , and the field stones were actually glacial granite stones , whereas the creek stones were more sedimentary so they would crack and fall to pieces … If you made it out of the creek stone , it would crumble … so you can imagine those guys carrying those stones . It took about eight years to build the house . There are two stones in each wall , where no stone from the outside touches a stone from the inside . “

Mr . Gellert notes , “ All these settlements went up the creeks – that was the transportation . All these hillsides weren ’ t settled - you couldn ’ t go up the hill ; it was heavily wooded . So that ’ s why they went up Tanner ’ s Creek – the original roads always went

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