Arkham13 recently mentioned how he stalked a woman on the internet. And all the detailed information he collected on her. And about a month ago, Pischina also had cause to stalk someone over the optics, and found him.

I know that kind of satisfaction. I've stalked people on the internet, too.

My greatest challenge, and achievement, was stalking Dosha Moorman.

I knew Moorman was her married name, but I didn't know her maiden name. That makes it kind of tough to track a woman. I tried every database I could think of for months, but couldn't find her. I even tried stalking her husband, Tom, just to see if I could find information that would lead me to Dosha. No luck.

Then one day, when I was in a database stalking someone else, a name caught my eye in a long list of names. It was about five names above the person I was after.

Dosha.

But it wasn't her. Someone else with the same name. But "Dosha" wasn't a name. It was a nickname!

Short for "Theodocia." Who the hell would name their kid, a girl no less, "Theodocia?" But I had no idea where she was from, or where her folks were from...

So I quick ran a search in my best database for "Theodocia Moorman." Man, hits galour! My heart was beating.

Her maiden name was "Paxon." And here was her birthday, May 12^th! Knowing someone's birthday opens up all sorts of search possibilities. And I no longer thought of her as "Moorman." She was Dosha Paxon to me now, her husband irrelevant (for now, at least).

What I really needed to find out was the state she was born in. Quite a few states have their official databases on the internet now.

Then I hit the jackpot, the site of a fellow stalker. Someone else who had been tracking this woman down, and then had posted all he had learned.

Her real last name was Paxson, not Paxon. This stalker hadn't met her IRL, but he did have a report from someone who did. Someone who lived near to her.

Neither one had pictures of Dosha, but now I knew what she looked like. Black hair, dark blue eyes, ~175 lbs. A "handsome" woman.

During the summer, she had a habit of hiking into the woods alone with just her baby to pick blackberries.

And so, I had her. Maybe not as much information as Arkham collected on his subject, but at least I felt like I knew her...

Dosha Paxson,

my great,

great,

great grandmother.

Born 12 May 1794, Campbell County, Virginia

Died 22 March 1868, Oskaloosa, Indiana.

Beloved by her husband Thomas Pamplin Moorman and their 13 children. At least two granddaughters were named after her, although their parents kindly used the shorter versions of Dosha and Docia.

A Quaker in Silver Creek Township, Green County, Indiana who liked to take her children out to pick berries.

As soon as I was done with my train ride with Lincoln, I would want to head to Indiana to pick berries with Dosha.

What a day that would be!