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Tracking a legend makes for great - and informative - television

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 28, 2009

In 2002, Ken Marks helped a friend search for a lost graveyard. The two knocked on doors, searched farm fields in ankle-deep mud and were thrilled to find the site known only to a half dozen people.

Flush with the success of his first foray into field research, Marks set out to create a television series. He took a second mortgage on his home and called in favors from friends in the corporate film business. In 2004, he started filming the first segment of "Legend Seekers."

The pilot, "The Lively Family Massacre," recently began airing on some Public Broadcasting Service stations. The "Legend Seekers" staff worked with Pam Frazier of Randolph County, Ill., to determine whether family lore about the 1813 deaths of several ancestors at the hands of Indians was true. They also sought to find the burial site of John Lively and his family. Frazier is the sixth great-granddaughter of Jane Lively, who survived the massacre because she was staying with another family when the Indians attacked.

"Legend Seekers" isn't just an entertaining television program - and that's what makes it special. Narrator and genealogist Madonna Davis guides Frazier through the research process, emphasizing the use of original documents.

After using the Internet to locate census records, the two visited the Randolph County courthouse to find the original probate files for John Lively. They also located land and marriage records of Jane Lively Caudell with the assistance of local genealogist Velda Moore, who explained the significance of information in the records.

From land plat maps found at the local historic repository, Davis showed Frazier how to transition to a modern-day map. The two traveled to the site of the Lively-Caudell homestead, where the property owner walked the land with them and even pointed out a pile of stones that had been the foundation of a Caudell farm building.

Then they met with a historian who ferreted out an original letter written by Indian agent Thomas Forsyth to William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame), who was superintendent of Indian Affairs in St. Louis. Forsyth described the Lively massacre and told Clark the perpetrators were Kickapoo Indians, led by Chief Little Deer. Frazier had hoped to confirm tales of the massacre but was surprised to also learn the identity of the ringleader.

The historian directed Davis and Frazier to the site of the massacre, which was marked in 1936 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. A private lumber company now owns that land. With the lumber company's permission and assisted by a forest archaeologist, they walked the area, finding the group's marker - and much more.

According to written historical accounts of the massacre, the men who found the slain family buried them and marked their graves with five triangular stones. Davis, Frazier and the archaeologist combed the land near the marker, hoping to find shards of ceramic pots or some evidence of the family homestead. Instead, in a moment so emotional it would move the most staid of viewers, the trio found the triangular grave markers.

The makers of "Legend Seekers" have won many awards, including nine regional Emmys. The program's distribution is restricted to public broadcasting outlets, and local stations decide whether and when to show the program.

Local PBS station WEDU, Channel 3, advises that the program is not on the viewing schedule for the next two months. Station officials might decide to schedule it if they hear from enough readers interested in having it air in the Tampa market. WEDU is at 1300 N. Boulevard, Tampa. Viewers can contact the station at (813) 254-9338 or outreach@wedu.org.

In the meantime, Marks and his crew are seeking stories for episodes. If you have an interesting family legend, they want to hear from you. The producers will authenticate, discover and re-enact these stories. For information and to see snippets of the Lively investigation, visit www.legendseekers.com.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa FL 33606 or stmoody0720@mac.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist with

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