Philip was up early this morning and went to WalMart for grave cleaning supplies before I woke up.  When he returned, we had breakfast in the hotel then went first to the Edgar County Courthouse to look for mid-19th century wills and probate records for the Calvin family. The county clerk was helpful, let us into the records room, and pointed out several volumes that might have what Philip needs for his research.  We found a bit about the Calvins, but no wills as we thought we’d find.  

We then went back to the Franklin Cemetery that we visited yesterday so Philip could finish cleaning up the grave marker that he wanted to photograph.  It was from 1853, almost two hundred years ago, and is in remarkably good shape.  It’s possible to read all of it.  

Next, we stopped by the Edgar County Historical Society and Museum. Philip spent a long time with their resident librarian and genealogist pouring through documents and books and talking about the history.  Rosie, one of the docents, showed us around the museum describing their best artifacts.  One of the stories that Philip was happy to learn about was the connection of Paris with Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln visited the county courthouse as a Circuit Court judge during the late 1940s and early 1950s before he was president.  The building for the courthouse is in the same location then as now, but it was completely reconstructed and rededicated in 1891.  Lincoln was a circuit rider in that part of Illinois at the same time that the family Philip is researching was living there.

We had time to stop at Edgar cemetery in the middle of Paris.  For this one, Philip had a fairly precise map showing the location of the grave within the cemetery.  Although the grave was supposed to be in Section Two, all the sections we found were labeled with letters rather than numbers.  We did see a side street and another landmark that we could use to help pinpoint the marker’s location.  Once we had all those hints in mind, we drove close by, and Philip walked straight to it.  

Remembering yesterday’s hunt for an open cafe for lunch, we decided to eat before leaving town. We stopped at Betty Jane’s Kitchen.  It was a good choice for us.  Food was tasty, prices low, and service delightful.  The dining room is a big open space with mismatched chairs and tables nicely spaced throughout the room.  They also sell some knickknacks and housewares, maybe other things, too, and have recently added a candy shop.

Using directions from Google maps, we drove from Paris to Nashville, Indiana in about 2.5 hours.  The directions took us off on some tiny local roads driving right past and ignoring two signs advising “Local Traffic Only” and one that said “Bridge Out Ahead. ”  We never saw the missing bridge and the road continued on, sometimes so narrow that there were no lane markers or graded shoulders, but we finally were directed back to better and wider one-lane roads that brought us here to Nashville.  

Checked into the Cornerstone Inn when we arrived in Nashville.  It is in the historic section of town amid lots of tourist shops and attractions.  We walked a couple blocks to the Ferguson House Bistro for dinner.  Dinner was okay, but disappointing after the hotel desk clerk had mentioned it first in a short list of nearby restaurants.  We were there on Prime Rib Night.  My prime rib was dry and overcooked.  I think Philip was not too impressed with his barbecue ribs either.

The hotel is quite nice though.  We have the Aunt Ruth Tilton room for tonight.  I picked it since it’s on the first floor.  They have a compact elevator in this building, but not in their other buildings.  Looks like they have four or five adjacent buildings that were originally built as single family homes, but are now divided into hotel rooms and suites.  This main building of the hotel was once the Tilton family home.  This is the only interesting, non-Hilton property that I booked for this trip.  Philip wanted to come to Nashville, not for specific records or gravesites, but for some historical context for the Calvin family.  

Overnight at the Cornerstone Inn in Nashville, Indiana.