Page 137 - Demo

135Pollie BarnettWhen Pollie Barnett%u2019s daughter, Sylvanie, went mysteriously missing, it was rumored that she had been murdered by her sweetheart, but her body was never found. Pollie couldn%u2019t allow herself to believe that her daughter was dead, and she spent her remaining 25 years roaming Greene and the surrounding counties, looking for her. Believed by many to be insane, Pollie was known as %u201cThe Lost Wanderer,%u201d %u201cthe well known and eccentric old wanderer,%u201d or, sometimes, %u201cThe Catwoman%u201d because of the feline companion she had in her last years. For a time, Pollie%u2019s younger daughter, Olive, accompanied her on the search for Sylvanie. After Olive died and was buried, a newspaper reported that Pollie was dissatisfied with Olive%u2019s burial plot, and %u201cwith her own hands dug up the remains and carried them in her apron to some unknown spot.%u201d Pollie%u2019s love for Sylvanie was so deep, and her determination to locate her was so strong, that, according to a local newspaper article %u201cShe trampled over the country through sunshine and storm, undergoing hardships that would destroy the strongest constitution.%u201d Minutes before her death, Pollie asked friends to let her large black cat go, so it could continue looking for Sylvanie. When she died, on February 27, 1900, Pollie was given a church funeral and the burial expenses were paid for by donations from the citizens of Linton.The inscription on Pollie%u2019s monument reads: %u201cHere Pollie Barnett is at rest from deepest grief and toilsome quest. Her cat, her only friend, remained with her until life%u2019s end.%u201dFairview CemeteryGreene Co. (310-11)