Mar 29, 2014

Home from the Hospital

It is good to be home.  It is good to sleep in one's own bed.  It is good for a non-interrupted night of sleep!  It is good that God answers prayers.  Bill just spent two days in the hospital resolving a bowel obstruction.  He started feeling bad Wednesday around noon, getting progressively worse until we handed over a Devil Pup meeting at 6 to Steve and headed to the ER.  After four hours in the ER, the diagnosis was made, a hospital room readied, and a treatment to unkink the bowel was decided upon by the doctors.  At least 50% of the time, this treatment works and avoids surgery.  Praise the Lord it worked for Bill.  

A tube was inserted through his nose, down his throat and esophagus, to the stomach and his stomach was slowly vacuumed out!  This relieves pressure on the "gut," allowing it to relax and unkink similar to a hose when you shut off the water.  It wasn't at all a fun process, but was much better than surgery.  Just a few hours of that treatment worked, but the tube was left in for more than a day to make sure.  

Bill has some very bad scarring in his colon from a 9-day hospital stay in St. Louis (a business trip that ended badly) many years ago due to diverticulitis.  The doctor said that is most often the root cause of this condition - that part of the colon isn't as efficient as the "normal" part of the colon.

The first night he was monitored very closely, making a sleepless night for both of us, but the second night was better.  X-rays confirmed that the blockage was gone by Thursday morning, and by Friday morning the tube was removed (another fun event) and he was released to eat again and go home.  Several people from Calvary Chapel came to pray and offer encouragement - much appreciated - and Marines from the Utah Dixie Detachment visited.  A number of people in the veteran community took over at events where Bill was expected to be through next Monday, relieving his mind and letting him get well.  

The only after effect is, not surprisingly, fatigue. I kept our kids in the loop with constant e-mails.  It was where I learned that having the kids e-mail addresses up to date in my home computer really doesn't do much good while at the hospital. 

Mar 9, 2014

James Parks - One Brick Down

A query to the Wells County, Indiana library has netted two bits of information.  My great great grandfather's middle name was Galloway!  James Galloway Parks, born June 17, 1791 in Virginia.  His daughter, Martha J. Parks, by his first (or possibly second) wife married a George W. Harshman, and it was his bio which contained this information.

The second bit of information was Martha J. Parks Harshman's son's second middle name.  (Both her children had two middle names.)  The son was Royal Johnson Hastings Harshman.  The information from Wells County also contained the information that Martha's husband had a first wife named Amy Hickman (though I have seen the name also as Anne Hickman).

James' wife is named in the information from the "Historical Hand Atlas" 1881, History of Wells County, Indiana, as Susannah Goodman.  I believe her maiden name to be Susannah Johnson Goodman.  Susannah's mother's name was Mary B. Johnson and her father William Goodman - but I've found very little on the Goodmans.  They were born in Maryland but I believe may have died in Ohio.  So it is Susannah's mother's maiden name that started the Johnson tradition.

I believe the marriage of James Parks and Susannah Goodman occurred in 1829 per this FamilySearch entry:
FamilySearch:”
Susan Goodman, "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994"
Name:     James Parks
Titles and Terms:    
Event Type:     Marriage
Event Date:     24 Aug 1829
Event Place:     Montgomery, Ohio, United States
Spouse's Name:     Susan Goodman
Reference ID:    
GS Film Number:     1030834
Digital Folder Number:     004017452
Image Number:     00098
Citing this Record: "Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZYB-WFF : accessed 15 Feb 2014), James Parks and Susan Goodman, 24 Aug 1829; citing Montgomery, Ohio, United States, reference ; FHL microfilm 1030834.
 
Two children were born before Susannah died in 1842: John G. born in 1832 (died in 1842) and Martha J. Parks referenced above, born 1834 (died in 1902).  Since James would have been about 38 years of age at this marriage, I am making a wild guess that he was married prior to Susannah.  This theory was given more thought when I found an Elizabeth Parks, born 1812 to James and Susannah Parks (altho I believe Susannah was a stepmother) who married William Golden in 1836 in Ohio.  Martha's son, Royal, named a couple of children with the name Golden/Golda, lending credence to this find.  Elizabeth Parks Golden died in Noble County, Indiana in 1890.

After Susannah's death, James then married Eliza Jane (Clevenger) Thornburg, a widow, in 1845.  Eliza was 18 years younger.  She and James were my great great grandparents.  They were the parents of Lydia Jane and Isaac James Parks.  I have no information on the dates of death or burial place(s) for James and Eliza.