Exploring Almost Forgotten Gravesites in the Great State of Ohio

Dedicated to cemetery preservation in the great state of Ohio


"A cemetery may be considered as abandoned when all or practically all of the bodies have been Removed therefrom and no bodies have been buried therein for a great many years, and the cemetery has been so long neglected as entirely to lose its identity as such, and is no longer known, recognized and respected by the public as a cemetery. 1953 OAG 2978."

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Coe and Butternut Ridge Cemeteries - North Olmsted, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Many thanks to Linda Hiser for bringing to my attention the efforts planned for cleaning up the Coe and Butternut Ridge Cemeteries. Below is an excerpt from the March 19, 2009 story published in the "Sun Herald Newspaper" about this project. Contact information is provided in the story for those interested in volunteering with this project:
"Plan to clean up cemeteries expands into a larger project
Thursday, March 19, 2009
By Sara Macho smacho@sunnews.com
NORTH OLMSTEDHigh school student Philip Tomko turned his service project to clean up local cemeteries into a new task for the planning department.
Tomko, a member of the school's SITES service learning program, was given the assignment to help out the community through a project.
His plans to clean up Coe and Butternut Ridge cemeteries morphed into the creation of a citywide plan that includes tombstone preservation and improvement to traffic areas.
While a formalized plan is still in the works, Planning Director Kim Wenger said both cemeteries will be surveyed and costs will be assessed.
"Self education is a big part of the effort," Wenger said of the tedious task.
Officials are exploring how to go about the project, as concerns have come up including having to notify families before work can be done on aging grave markers.
Some tombstones date back to the 1800s.
"Proper preservation is key," Wenger said. "We're discussing having a gravestone conservation workshop."
The planning department has also obtained records of buried veterans, and is working to compare those records to what is already housed in the planning department.
As part of his service project, Tomko presented photographs and personal observations of the aging infrastructure to the landmarks commission.
He also presented his findings to Wenger, who expanded the school project into something more formal and citywide.
"Headstones are broken, missing, sunken in the ground and all scattered throughout the cemetery," Tomko said. "Families could be hurt when seeing these and it hurts everyone as a community."
Tomko said the main premise for his improvement plan is to respect those who died.
To address the needed improvements, a cemetery improvement committee was created recently and meets monthly.
Membership is open, and interested residents can call the planning department at (440) 716-4118 for more information.
Proposed plans include the installation of a historical marker at Coe Cemetery and traffic path improvements at Butternut Ridge.
"Some headstones in danger of falling apart should be first priority," Wenger said.
Residents interested in learning more about the cemetery improvements are encouraged to attend the landmarks commission meetings held the second Monday of every month at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 5200 Dover Center Road...."

Monday, April 27, 2009

Saint Theodosius Cemetery -

Recently visited Saint Theodosius Cemetery in Brooklyn, Ohio (Cuyahoga County.) My husband's maternal grandparents are buried at Saint Theodosius Cemetery. His grandfather died young and his grandmother, Anna Marko, married a second time. Her second husband was Andrew Kover. Andrew lost his first wife at a young age. However, Anna Marko was buried with her first husband Mike Marko. Andrew is buried with his first wife, also named Anna. Below are photographs on the Kover stone of Andrew and his first wife, Anna. (The Marko stone does not have photographs.) How important these photographs on tombstones can be when they are the only photographs you may have. This type of photograph appears to be made of ceramic and is subject to much "flaking away" and weathering over time.
Andrew Kover Birth: 1892 Death: 1967
Note: First wife named Anna died in 1930; Andrew married again to Anna Balencik Marko whose husband, Mikolaj (Mike) Marko, died in 1928.
Anna Kover
Birth: 1894 Death: 1930
Note: First wife of Andrew Kover / buried with him.
8200 Biddulph Road Brooklyn,Ohio (Cuyahoga County) Phone: (216) 741-1310 ***************************
Link to the Saint Theodosius Church website:

West Park Cemetery - Cleveland Ohio

Recently visited West Park Cemetery on Ridge Road within the city limits of Cleveland. I have a few distant relatives buried at West Park. My Voykofka relatives later changed their surname to Wykof as can be seen from the tombstones of grandparents, Carl and Marie Voykofka, and grandson, Charles Wykof, Jr. Charles died fairly young and is buried in a section of single graves.







3942 Ridge Road



Cleveland



Cuyahoga County



Ohio



Phone: (216) 348-7216



Friday, April 24, 2009

Cleveland Catholic Cemeteries

For anyone with an interest:

Click the title for a link to the Cleveland Catholic Cemeteries website with details about the Memorial Day Mass Schedules at its cemeteries on May 25, 2009.
****ALSO****
In the Spring/Summer 2009 publication of "Blessed Are They Who Mourn" published by the Catholic Cemeteries Beareavement Ministry - Diocese of Cleveland, page 4 - "Flag Day, Sunday June 14th, Cleveland Metro Parks Walking Tour at Calvary Cemetery - located at 10000 Miles Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. "Remember to bring drinking water and please dress appropriately for the weather and extensive walking on grassy hillsides as well as the roadways. Parking is available at the Calvary Cemetery's Main Office. For Free Registration and more information, contact the Cleveland Metro Parks Garfield Park Nature Center - 216-341-3152."

The Columbus Metropolitan Library

Clicking on title will take you to the search section for the Columbus Metropolitan Library. If you type in the word "cemetery" you can further refine (filter) by using the "discover" area located on the left-hand margin by clicking on further choices such as county, graveyard, Ohio, township, church, etc.

Link below to Obituary search on the Columbus Metropolitan Library's website:

http://www.columbuslibrary.org/cmlcnix/searchform.cfm

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Lakeside Cemetery - Bay Village, Ohio

Clicking on the title will take you to the listing of burials at the Lakeside Cemetery in Bay Village, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

Quoted from the website:

"Lakeside Cemetery was the first public burying ground in Dover Township, which is now Bay Village, Westlake, and the northern portion of North Olmsted, Ohio. The historic cemetery is located in Bay Village on the shores of Lake Erie in Northern Ohio".

Link to video about thefts and damage at Forest Cemetery in Circleville, Ohio

Please click on the title above for a WBNS 10-TV report about recent thefts and damage at Forest Cemetery in Circleville, Ohio. This was brought to my attention by Beth Santore. Thank you Beth. Hopefully, the perpetrator(s) will be caught and prosecuted.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Greene County Public Library has offers on-line mapping of county cemeteries

Information below quoted from the website of the Greene County (Ohio) Public Library:

"Cemeteries – Greene County, Ohio
Did you know that there are more than 130 cemeteries in Greene County?
The
Greene County Cemetery Map shows the approximate locations of all known cemeteries, including many cemeteries that are no longer in active use."

"Serving Greene County, Ohio with locations in Beavercreek, Bellbrook, Cedarville,Fairborn, Jamestown, Xenia and Yellow Springs"

On-line networks are sources for cemetery preservation groups

A reminder that checking popular sites such as "facebook" where cemetery preservation groups exist and offer open membership is one method of using the internet as a tool.

Utilizing Google searches, checking blogs such as Gravemappers and the Graveyard Rabbit offer an almost limitless scope of information that can help in various areas affecting cemetery or tombstone restoration.

Friday, April 17, 2009

East Cleveland Township Cemetery Foundation

Click on title above for information about the East Cleveland Township Cemetery Foundation.
This site was last updated in March of 2009.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Hardin County Ohio Cemetery Locations

http://userpages.bright.net/~crkelley/cemetery.htm

http://www.hardincountyconnections.com/

"Hardin County's newest publications
Dola Cemetery (The cemetery has been read, and now is in the process of being typed, see order form for release date spring 2009 ) I'm sorry for the delay but there are some discrepancies which need to be resolved and necessitate returning to the cemetery.
St Mary's Cemetery We have reread this cemetery and updated the 1983 readings. There will also be indexes to funeral home records included. NOW AVAILABLE. $20.00 plus $1.40 tax and $3.00 shipping.
2008 Kenton Times Obituaries. Will be finalized when I get back from California. Expected release May 2009.
1903 Hardin Co. Obituaries. Expected release September 2009
1903 Hardin Co. This and That. Expected release September 2009
1987 Kenton Times Obituaries. Expected release September 2009
Liberty Township Cemeteries. Expected release in time for Christmas.
We are working hard to make our publications an important part of any research done on or about Hardin County's past."

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Cyndi's List offers Links with Tips regarding tombstones and cemeteries

Cyndislist.com is another source when looking to improve your knowledge of tombstone restoration techniques and issues involving cemeteries. Clicking on the title offers some resources for consideration on these topics.