A Peaceable Pilgrimage

I started reading John Fitzgerald's book, A Peaceable Pilgrimage a couple of nights ago.  I am not going to get it finished before our homecoming event.  The book is published by Frederick Press of Leesburg, Ohio.  Inside information says that the book can be ordered directly from John Fitzgerald:

John Fitzgerald

149 South Street

PO Box 393

Leesburg, Ohio 45235

It struck me how suitable John's title for his book is for our own gathering.  It is a Peaceable Pilgrimage to honor out ancestors who were all about Peace and finding Peace for their families.  

 Kind of a crazy thing that I attended a very nice gathering on 9/11 this year with one of my good buddies.  I will put in a photo of what the group calls the healing field: 

This event takes place in the cemetery where many of my Cabell County ancestors are buried including my father, grandparents, etc...But the event made me think about how many times we have celebrations that are all about WAR....bravery....where our gathering is all about PEACE...bravery.....

In the first 18 pages that I read, I was very surprised to find the information that Thomas and Sarah Beals had made a stop at Quaker Bottom which is now Proctorville, Ohio just across the river from where I live now.

From Wikipedia:

The land where Proctorville is now situated was originally settled in 1797 and called Quaker Bottom. Situated on the Ohio River, Quaker Bottom grew throughout the 1800s as a trading center. In 1834, Jacob Proctor established a general store next to the wharf, and river boat captains knew the village as "Proctor's Landing".^[6] When the village was incorporated in 1878, the name was changed to Proctorville in Jacob's honor.

In the above map you will see Proctoville marked with an A and I live just to the East of Guyan Country Club.  The Ohio River is the boundary between Ohio and what is now WV.  

From my own ancestry, my Elliott family was probably acquaintances if not friends with Thomas and Sarah Beals.  A quick look at:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genepool/bealthom.htm

and

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/u/c/Linda-S-Buchholz/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0499.html

and

http://www.swohioresearch.com/index.php?p=3_14_Thomas-Beals

tells me that my Elliot family and this Beals family were living in many of the same locations in the time period from Revolutionary War until first quarter of the 1800's.