Last month I went to Iowa to learn more about my family. One of my stops was Vinton, Iowa. Look at these colorful Queen Anne houses! https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-g3GP9Tv/0/M36Z7ppTwWKfqvvPkTSFSMfMb4k4JtrGdxJQXDzn7/M/PXL_20260420_181903660~2-M.jpg |https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-sBW3RZ6/0/LkNkWndGKGxSQwnPWFtkmj8VCbp4wtxDGkZ6rLzz6/XL/PXL_20260420_181618231~2-XL.jpg||https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-r4Gcbnz/0/NXSjMQGdrgcGF3cJzvTbSwPtZCj5wZhhQL7LmTqWv/XL/PXL_20260420_181634749~2-XL.jpg| |-|-|-| __________ I was talking to my sister about the trip and she made the comment that it is Vinton, Benton, Iowa. Yes! We have done so much family history and read **Vinton, Benton, Iowa** so many times when we were looking at information about our Shockley ancestors. Here are a few examples. Clinton is my great grandfather and Lena, Elsie and Helen are his sisters. They were all born and were buried in Vinton, Benton, Iowa. |https://photos.smugmug.com/Blog/Posts-for-blog/n-WZHcZk/Vinton-Benton-Iowa/i-M7FwSqs/0/KGkRS7Vxqh6xg3msbFJ8DKVBZcg7FRvzzhrSj8DwM/XL/Clinton%20Shockley%20Sr-XL.jpg||https://photos.smugmug.com/Blog/Posts-for-blog/n-WZHcZk/Vinton-Benton-Iowa/i-PmQ8j6S/0/KkBwwBrqF9BMHDH8SsZfPQLLvsPJbvK97HqNH6zsc/XL/Lena%20Ann%20Shockley-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Blog/Posts-for-blog/n-WZHcZk/Vinton-Benton-Iowa/i-L5Tk4J9/0/KxtxSLK2dgPV3D34qtwmTSSmdqNg8fG4MWBgZTjs3/XL/Elsie%20Morris%20Shockley-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Blog/Posts-for-blog/n-WZHcZk/Vinton-Benton-Iowa/i-pnVsjST/0/NJrxL7k7pSML3TZMs486Z688q6H3n4TM8k3fddcB2/XL/Helen%20Edola%20Shockley-XL.jpg| |-|-|-|-|-| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Over the years, while doing family history, I would think, "Will I ever go to Vinton, Benton, Iowa?" It was a far off thought...until I was planning this trip and realized I would be renting a car when I was in Waterloo, Iowa and Vinton is 37 miles away. So I planned to drive there and go to the Evergreen Cemetery. https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-JNCjM2x/0/MGg5mLrzthMrjTLDzCtJj2Vc7GP8KjRcFgq5Tk2Ht/XL/PXL_20260420_182350088.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL~2-XL.jpg Thank goodness for the grounds keeper that totally helped me. I am a rookie at going to cemeteries and only had the family names. That is not enough, some cemeteries are really big! This one was big. Luckily the grounds keeper was out and took me to the office and we looked up my family and looked at the map and he had me follow him on his 4 wheeler, to the sections of the cemetery where my family was, which was in two very different locations. Thank you again nice man that helped me! https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-c2t47K2/0/KkWv3k5WRNF9vNWkXg4CBVGwLVkmK4c9Mm4NHmCDX/M/PXL_20260420_183938283.PORTRAIT.ORIGINAL-M.jpg |https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-FZH7SSf/0/MSPFjsGvS5fcGd5nnkmdC4LDpnkdfqqB8dkDmbNHx/XL/PXL_20260420_184051475-XL.jpg||https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-wZTVpGj/0/LNdrdJN95Lwm2BMrFQTqKTLgnthRLmjd8bBHGML8n/XL/PXL_20260420_184549667.PORTRAIT-XL.jpg| |-|-|-| I went on a beautiful, sunny day in April.

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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is the area of the cemetery that Clinton, Lena, Elsie and Helen are buried. Their parents (Morris and Amy) and Clinton's wife (Jennie) and son (Clinton) are also here. https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-8FfNBRq/0/NKC5HSnq5hCjMrDHkGq6D3bnnDspPS6w3fdBTdQ2q/XL/PXL_20260420_185522789.PORTRAIT~2-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-G8W2bpg/0/NZsvGJXHcdXBV58mZjsSd22HF46KD8mm87kTjxdh6/XL/PXL_20260420_185625081-XL.jpg |https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-9khQFx6/0/LBr5qTFNNWh23nmsgzLQcnCcKhk9FLPgtzcnHQFNK/XL/PXL_20260420_185841001~2-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-rZtrVPK/0/LMGc9hd5BWcXP7KN3TvzBqm8cTpZgGTFmCd6SFC3J/XL/PXL_20260420_185734262~2-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-wQ6jScZ/0/L4QWQqXj9b9R3kj5g7PJDsBPHML4qNbKkHsKFBhCp/XL/PXL_20260420_185739245~2-XL.jpg| |-|-|-| |Clinton my great grandfather|Clinton's Sister Elsie|Clinton's Sister Lena| |https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-PLvVRtF/0/Kgp8QmPf95ZBQ3mJRbgBrPVpqxfSjCTrb2kjQ6xFm/XL/PXL_20260420_185834902~2-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-gj6GXKq/0/MjSBp4MhP5QS4XP8pJnzpH3wbDGGdRz62x35KDrV7/XL/PXL_20260420_185706164.PORTRAIT~2-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-724Vh9M/0/MDk7jVzvzm6ZTr2gxGCN5QrK33SKzkMbfHqct4FmL/XL/PXL_20260420_185728634~2-XL.jpg| |-|-|-| |Clinton's wife Jennie|Clinton's Father Morris|Clinton's Mother Amy| Clinton's Son, my grandma's brother *While I was on this trip I also visited my uncle and we found this picture of Clinton.*

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remember how I said that the family is in two very different sections? This section is a bit older and includes Clinton's grand parents Phillip and Sarah and two of their girls- Lizzie and Lelia. https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-LBZrxpP/0/Kb6t7q3t9xW5wSwTQ6NTXg29GV5JrgzqxR56gShN3/XL/PXL_20260420_191920796.PORTRAIT~2-XL.jpg |https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-txRb6DX/0/MrxBg8psHwwTKLq8Bts9fch5TfzLj75p4h4JnXWmW/XL/PXL_20260420_200236800~2-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-rkfQfSz/0/LFzFv9zZjCPtQPSszWZw2Bk45VNMMcP5QLXVdSdc4/XL/PXL_20260420_191944309.PORTRAIT~2-XL.jpg|https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-85PLN2n/0/KXd3vFW359kBM7rHWns7nq35cTgprLNzfhX6BvSC9/XL/PXL_20260420_191931678.PORTRAIT~2-XL.jpg| |-|-|-| Mother is Sarah, Father is Phillip then Selina or Lelia who died at 16 and Lizzie who died at 15 year old. Sarah and Philip had 7 children. Morris is their oldest child. He and his wife Amy and three of their children and their grandson are the one's buried in the other section. Fun Fact: There are a lot of Sarah's in my family history. My parents never said anything about being named after any one of them. Maybe I am named after all of these women.

**My mom's side** *Sarah Ann Miller Shockley 1825-1907 *Sarah Jane Robson Redfearn 1850-1921 Sarah Maud Redfearn 1888-1888 Sarah Brand Morris 1828-1903 *Sarah Garrett 1791-1850 Sarah Russell 1780-1867 Sarah Ann Lamson 1822-Deceased

**My dad's side** Sarah Tolton 1790-1814 Sarah Hopkins 1788-Deceased

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While at the cemetery I wrote an except for my book. This trip, to Iowa, was a research trip for the "honeymoon" book. I don't have a title yet. I am writing a historical fiction book about my grandparents honeymoon trip in 1939. I am going to have them looking back and dreaming about the future and in those places I will be able to put in things I know happened!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had a really beautiful afternoon in the Vinton, Benton, Iowa cemetery. https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-b782mPF/0/Kcm38SRC8rHZ6GBn5K4WHrB98H6cxBhMSnS2KDkrd/XL/PXL_20260420_192407047~2-XL.jpg As I was driving out of town I stopped at the beautiful Vinton courthouse. https://photos.smugmug.com/Personal/2021-Photo-Book/2026-Book/n-j8srDw/April/i-25Z9x6m/0/LZ9XzznGPrpfrpXVwRLR85KrsZ5ghnpv8JZ77NSzZ/XL/PXL_20260420_203136510-XL.jpg While my stop was brief Vinton is a nice little city, with some great architecture and a very nice cemetery! https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/hive-146701/2432f7unmo28aXAMGzs9AhK3eZW9L1JmeENvbKHXZEWS1Lim79AngsW71XWwVxnyMwQjv.png [//]:# (!worldmappin 42.154832 lat -92.003292 long the Vinton, Benton, Iowa cemetery d3scr)

IOWA Spigot