Gone - But Not Forgotten

Dedicated to and In Memory of

The People of Clay County, Nebraska

"Gone - But Not Forgotten" - a statement written on headstones for many years.  A statement I once thought the only meaning to be, when a loved one passes on, those who loved them would not forget them.   Now I know another meaning.

One day as I stood before a broken headstone, tossed aside and hidden among the tall weeds at the edge of a cemetery, the noticeable signs of the weathered, damaged stone gave a rude awakening when "Not Forgotten" is all I could read clearly.  To me it obviously looked "Forgotten".   Who did this belong to and what was their life about?

A headstone signifies the final resting place of a person who lived, who laughed, who cried, who worked hard, who was loved and who loved.   A person who cared enough about a future he would never see, but knew it could be lived in an easier way.     I survive because he struggled.  I relax because he fought.  I walk the path he paved.  Everywhere I look, those before us, each in their own way,  left something to be remembered by.  Everything I do is done because someone knew how to do it better.   A headstone can be gone from that final resting place, but that life will be seen forever.  

This site has been made possible by a special group of people who have shared their research on many Clay County Ancestors and have asked for nothing in return. 

On the following pages you will find the names of those who made Clay County, Nebraska what it is today.  The pages are created from various resource materials collected over the past few years from reliable sources and also unreliable re-transcribed sources.  Please do not take it as factual or truth, but consider it as a way to get there.    Donna Merkel ClayCountyNe@charter.net

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