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."

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

"History Works II" - "Cemetery Tutorial"

Click on title to link to the "History Works II - "Cemetery Tutorial" found on the website of http://www.historyworksohio.org/

The information provides some helpful hints and a look at some basics of researching and interpreting gravestones and cemeteries that we all need to be reminded of even if we visit them often.

Greenfield Ohio's History Day, Saturday, October 3, 2009 - Reminder

Click on title for the schedule of events for "History Day" coming up this Saturday, October 3, in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio.

A reminder that at 11:30a.m., the stone wall (containing displaced gravestones) dedication will be held at the Old Burying Grounds near the Travellers Rest. 

"The wall has been rebuilt by John Daugherty and his crew along with volunteers from the community.  John and his crew will be honored during the dedication." 



Saturday, September 26, 2009

Further information about the Mount Tabor Church tour tomorrow - September 27, 2009

Article and photograph below are featured on the front page of the newspaper "The Urbana Daily Citizen"- Urbana, Ohio - in the September 26, 2009 issue:


Note the information provided about the earliest burials at the Mount Tabor Cemetery and the recent restoration work done to the zinc grave markers.  The cemetery contains one of the tallest zinc, "white bronze" markers I have ever seen.

Below is a "before photograph' of the leaning obelisk from "graveaddiction.com" - a wonderful site of cemetery descriptions and gravestone photographs run by Beth Santore:



Thursday, September 24, 2009

Information Update for Maple Grove & Woodstock Cemetery Transcription Records by Ralph L. Coleman, Jr.

Currently, Mr. Coleman is accepting look-up requests for anyone who is researching burials in either the Maple Grove or Woodstock cemeteries.

Researchers can contact Ralph at rlcolemanjr@hotmail.com or by writing to him at: 1536 Robins Circle, Ogden, Utah 84404, with their specific requests. A stamped, self-addressed envelope is appreciated for use in returns.

Please note, if a research request requires extensive printing beyond one or two sheets of paper, the researcher will need to provide postage reimbursement instead of a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Click on Title to be linked to Ralph's blog, "Along Spain Creek"




Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Mount Tabor Church and Cemetery - Salem Township, Champaign County, Ohio - Sunday, September 27, 2009 - 2p.m. to 4p.m.

Per the "Urbana Daily Citizen" newspaper, on page B-8 of September 23, 2009, a public event will be held at the Mount Tabor Church in Salem Township, Champaign County, Ohio (located south of SR 507 on the east side of SR 245) from 2:00p.m. to 4:00p.m. on Sunday, September 27, 2009 to celebrate the restoration efforts completed at the beautiful red brick Mount Tabor Church. 

An afternoon of "music and fellowship" along with speakers and refreshments will be offered by the Champaign County Preservation Alliance. 

Adjacent to Mount Tabor Church is the Mount Tabor Cemetery. 

Click on title to link to Mount Tabor Cemetery on "Findagrave.com" which currently lists 265 burials.  

The website of "graveaddiction.com" also contains interesting information about Mount Tabor Cemetery including photographs of the Ohio Historical Society Marker located on the property, and several "zinc gravestones," which I also refer to as being "white bronze" markers.

The Mount Tabor Church and Cemetery are fascinating sites to visit and this coming Sunday would be an ideal time to see both.

Link to the Champaign County Preservation Alliance:

http://www.ctcn.net/~ccpaohio/

Plat Map of (North) Lewisburg in 1857 in Rush Township, Champaign County, Ohio

Click on Title to access the government website for The Village of North Lewisburg

Click on 1857 plat map below for a larger view of (North) Lewisburg, Ohio



Two cemeteries are wholly within the Village of North Lewisburg's boundaries, the Butcher AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery on Tallman Street, and the Friends (Quaker) Cemetery on the property of the former Friends Church on Winder Street. 
Findagrave.com link to Butcher Cemetery:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=40119&CScn=Butcher&CScntry=4&CSst=37

Findagrave.com link to Friends Cemetery:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2199365&CScn=Friends&CScntry=4&CSst=37



Greenfield, Ohio - Upcoming History Day on October 3, 2009

Click on link to read details about the upcoming "History Day" in Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio. 
The activities will take place in Greenfield on Saturday, October 3, 2009 from 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. 

Included in the program will be the dedication of the stone wall at the Old Burying Ground by the Travellers Rest in Greenfield at 11:00a.m. 

"The wall has been rebuilt by John Daugherty and his crew along with volunteers from the community. John and his crew will be honored during the dedication."

The Travellers Rest is located at:
Jefferson Street and McArthur Way




Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Association for Gravestone Studies - 2010 Conference to be held at Denison University in Granville, Ohio

Click on title to link to the "Conferences" Page of the website for The Association for Gravestone Studies 

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From the website of The Association for Gravestone Studies:
"AGS holds an annual conference the fourth week in June.
This conference, held in a different location each year, features lectures, demonstrations, exhibits, conservation and documentation workshops, classroom sessions, slide presentations, and guided cemetery tours."


"Our next conference will be held at
 Denison University, Granville, Ohio
 June 22-27, 2010."




Friday, September 18, 2009

Link to a "YouTube" presentation: "Cemetery Preservation & Dowsing for Graves"

Click on title to link to a "YouTube" presentation by a speaker talking about cleaning tombstones and dowsing for graves.  I am not necessarily advocating all of his instructions, but you can judge for yourself.

I agree with the speaker to be sure to clean the back of an upright stone.  The lichens have a way of creeping around to the front of a stone over time.  Also, clean the sides.  I also clean the bases of gravestones so the monument looks as good as it can from top to bottom! 

I can't emphasize enough the need for repeated rinsing after cleaning a gravestone. 

Always be sure to bring enough clean water with you to properly complete your gravestone cleaning with adequate rinsing - don't depend on a rainstorm to do it for you! 

Rarely is there available water at an inactive cemetery, so plan ahead.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Bertalar Szabo Stone at Calvary Cemetery, Lorain, Ohio - And a lesson on the need for further research about a name!

Click on title to access link to the memorial for "Berta" Szabo buried at Calvary Cemetery in Lorain, Ohio.
On a recent visit to Calvary Cemetery in Lorain, Ohio, my husband and I stopped at the gravesite of my maternal great grandmother, Antonia (AKA Antonina) Szczepankiewicz.  She was buried in Section 0-3A of  Calvary Cemetery (which is affiliated with the Cleveland Catholic Cemeteries Association. http://www.clevelandcatholiccemeteries.org/ )   My great-grandmother was laid to rest in an area of burials during the time period that includes 1918 when the world-wide plague was raging.  There are also many infant burials nearby.  Almost all of the stones are flat in the ground. After cleaning my relative's stone, we walked around the area and noted that many of the stones were becoming more and more covered over by thick grass that has become "padded" by a stubborn thick layer of dirt underneath the grass.

Most of the stones are small white marble.  Many are rectangular in shape and simple in design, however, some also have a carved crucifix attached atop the stone. One such stone with a barely visible crucifix we saw is inscribed on its flat portion as belonging to "Berta Szabo."  So, we both bent down and  proceeded to clean away the excess overgrowth covering "Berta's" small stone to better read the inscription and admire the delicate crucifix that was carved on the stone so long ago.

I recalled that the surname of Szabo was of Hungarian heritage and the words "birth" and "death" were written in a non-English language.  However, the date of birth was expressed in English as Aug 21 1870 and the date of death also in English as July 27 1918. 

My first assumption was that "Berta" was a female and that she died from the plague like so many others during 1918.

When I got home, I accessed the website of http://www.pilot.family.search.org/  and searched under the name of "Berta Szabo" and chose Ohio for the location.  "FamilySearch" produced  four results from my search, but only one reflected the year of birth and death I needed.  I accessed that record which shows that "Berta" was really "Bertalar"; and was a male, not a female.  His death came from a much different cause than the plague of 1918, however, from the death certificate description for the cause of death, it must have been just as agonizing because it got to the point he refused taking nutrition.

This has been a lesson to me not to make too many assumptions based on gravestone inscriptions; and that further documentation is needed to back up my "best guesses"!!

"Name: Bertalar Szabo Death date: 27 Jul 1918 Death place: Lorain, Lorain, Ohio Birthdate: 1870 Birthplace: Hungary Age at death: 48 years Gender: Male Marital status: Married Race or color: American Street address: St Josephs Hospt. Occupation: Section Hand R.R. Residence: Lorain, Lorain Co., OH Burial date: 30 Jul 1918 Cemetery name: Calvary Father's name: Steve Szabo Father's birthplace: Hungary Mother's birthplace: Hungary GSU film number: 1984380 Digital GS number: 4019467 Image number: 2916 Reference number: fn 43825 Collection: Ohio Deaths 1908-1953 "

Thursday, September 10, 2009

"Spain" AKA Maple Grove/Spain Cemetery on Findagrave.com

Recognizing her for all her efforts to post burial memorials and tombstone photographs from the "Spain Cemetery" on "Findagrave.com":
"Candy CG (Findagrave.com #46915944)"
"Contributions to Find A Grave:
 26,091 Memorials Added
 26,096 Memorials Managed
 221 Memorials/week
 8,416 Photos
 7 Photo Requests
 392 Volunteer Photos Taken
 59 Virtual Flowers
  4 Virtual Cemeteries
  2 Fame Ratings"
Bio: 
"I love cemeteries! I walk my area cemeteries frequently.

If you see a name I have added, chances are that I have a photo to go with the name. I rarely will add a name without having the grave photo already taken.
If you have corrections and/or additions, please let me know. I will do all I can to make the page as correct as possible. Also, I will be more than happy to transfer ownership if I have added your family!"

Let me know what I can do to help you.

Candy

Contact: ccogea@att.net
 *******************
I continue to be amazed at how helpful "Findagrave.com" can be!  With the newer added features of family links for adding "FAG" memorial numbers of parents, spouses, and children to a person's memorial, a researcher can "click on" literally whole families from parent to child to spouse regarless of the actual burial location. 

Butcher Cemetery - North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio - stone found for Jonathan B. Jenkins

The (partial) stone for Jonathan B. Jenkins was found at the Butcher Cemetery in North Lewisburg on September 5, 2009. 
The stone is no longer at the original burial site, however. 
Per the D.A.R. stone reading records done in 1959: 
"JENKINS, Jonathan B. son of J. & F., died May 23, 1869, aged 2 years, 3 months, 12 days."

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Spain Cemetery (AKA Maple Grove/Spain) Cemetery - Rush Township - Champaign County, Ohio

The above two stones are the same, the one on the left is photographed in color and the one on the right re-done in black and white to better bring up the year of death.
Tombstones photographed at the "Spain" AKA Maple Grove/Spain Cemetery on September 5, 2009

Butcher Cemetery - North Lewisburg - Champaign County, Ohio - Broken stone found for Civil War Veteran - Captain J.M.S. Butcher, son of Dr. J. M. & Nancy (Brock) Butcher


We visited the Butcher (AKA Walnut Grove, AKA North Lewisburg) Cemetery on Saturday, September 5, 2009.  A broken stone for Capt. James M. S. Butcher was found at the back of the cemetery. 
I carried it down the hill of the cemetery and placed it in front of his father's (Dr. J. M. Butcher) stone.
Thanks to a collateral line Butcher descendant, I have a copy of the obituary for Captain James M. S. Butcher.  It is posted it here as well as a close up view of Captain Butcher's broken stone.   

The Butcher Cemetery had five known Civil War veterans; and now we know it has six.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Maple Grove and Woodstock Cemeteries - Rush Township - Champaign County, Ohio - Project Progress Report by Ralph L. Coleman, Jr.






Currently, Mr. Coleman is accepting look-up requests for anyone who is researching burials in either the Maple Grove or Woodstock cemeteries.
Researchers can contact Ralph at rlcolemanjr@hotmail.com or by writing to him at 1536 Robins Circle, Ogden, Utah 84404, with their specific requests.  A stamped, self-addressed envelope is appreciated for use in returns. 
Please note, if a research request requires extensive printing beyond one or two sheets of paper, the researcher will need to provide postage reimbursement instead of a stamped, self-addressed envelope.  

Click on Title to be linked to Ralph's blog, "Along Spain Creek"




Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Champaign County Ohio Officials including Township Clerks and Trustees

Click on Title to access a .pdf chart listing of Champaign County, Ohio officials.
Included are township clerks and trustees listing their names, addresses, phone numbers and end of term dates.
This information is helpful when needing to contact for information or registering a concern regarding cemeteries maintained by township officials.

Confederate Cemetery - Johnson's Island

Click on Title for history of the Confederate Cemetery on Johnson's Island in Lake Erie.