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."

Friday, February 26, 2010

Poem - "The Recording of a Cemetery" By Thelma Greene Reagan

From The "USGenWeb Tombstone Transcription Project"  one of my favorite poems!!

"THE RECORDING OF A CEMETERY
BY THELMA GREENE REAGAN"

"Today we walked where others walked
On a lonely, windswept hill;
Today we talked where other cried
For Loved Ones whose lives are stilled.
Today our hearts were touched
By graves of tiny babies;
Snatched from the arms of loving kin,
In the heartbreak of the ages.
Today we saw where the grandparents lay
In the last sleep of their time;
Lying under the trees and clouds -
Their beds kissed by the sun and wind.
Today we wondered about an unmarked spot;
Who lies beneath this hollowed ground?
Was it a babe, child, young or old?
No indication could be found.
Today we saw where Mom and Dad lay.
We had been here once before
On a day we'd all like to forget,
But will remember forever more.
Today we recorded for kith and kin
The graves of ancestors past;
To be preserved for generations hence,
A record we hope will last.
Cherish it, my friend; preserve it, my friend,
For stones sometimes crumble to dust
And generations of folks yet to come
Will be grateful for your trust."



Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Hudson, Summit County, Ohio website - Cemetery Descriptions

Click on title to access the Hudson, Ohio's website, and specifically, their "Cemetery Descriptions" section. 

Be sure to scroll down and read the thoughts expressed after the sentence:

"The Hudson Cemetery Board feels that the following passage whose author is unknown capsulizes the underlying philosophy for establishing and maintaining cemeteries."

There are a couple of typgraphical errors, but I think you won't have any trouble understanding the true meaning of the message the words express.




Monday, February 22, 2010

"Find A Grave Forums" - Message

Below is a reply I received on the "Find A Grave" forums where I periodically add postings. 
The "Stone Centre Inc." who posted the comments is a monument company located in Canada. 
Just followed a link in one of your postings on findagrave.com to the Ohio Genealogical Society site. I had no idea Ohio was so active! You guys are doing an awesome job!
I read some of the material on the site and was very impressed by the common sense approach. I have worked in the monument industry for 30 years and in a family business that is this year celebrating our 100th anniversary. I am seriously interested in genealogy so understand fully the importance of restoration/ maintenance and very much the problems of dealing with cemeteries.
I read the following article on your site:
Directions in Graveyard Preservation:
A Look Back and Some Suggestions to Start the New Millenium
Lynette Strangstad
© 1999, Lynette Strangstad and agree with a great deal of it but was struck by one very important missing aspect for the Future.
In my humble opinion...in addition to caring for what we have and restoring what we can...we need to educate the public about the fact that we need to be more careful about our memorials that we are buying now...we need to start working toward educating people that if they plan to buy a memorial....we should strive for what I call "permanent memorialization".
So far as I know the idea of "permanent memorialization is a concept is my own idea. I would like to see us working toward educating the public that our cemeteries are an important part of our heritage, and that as such, we need to encourage people to buy "permanent memorials" so that we will not be faced with the problems of deterioration that we have in our cemeteries today. I was hoping you might want to bring this idea forward to the membership.
The people we are putting up memorials for today, are the people that our great grandchildren (et al) will be researching. We are committing the same sins our ancestors did when we buy flat markers, benches that will be removed in 25 years, bronze plaques on boulders by a pond, a brick in a wall, a tree with a plaque in front of it...all very nice for now, a 12x12 tile in a niche or columbarium ... nice, convenient and pretty for now... but NOT permanent!
________________________

Allison
The Stone Centre Inc.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Licking County Ohio Genealogical Society - Meeting March 7, 2010 - 2:00p.m.

"Next Meeting:
Sunday, March 7, 2010, 2:00 p.m.
at Zerger Hall, 745 East Main Street, Newark, OH.
General Meeting:

Program: "Walking and Reading Cemeteries"
Presented by: Robert Sizelove, OHGenWeb Tombstone Photo Project Manager.
Meeting and Program are FREE and open to the public.
Please plan to attend and bring a friend.
For more information call the LCGS Library at 740-349-5510."
Cemetery Photos on the Licking County Genealogical Society website

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio - Greenfield Cemetery and Sheep - Pen Cemetery Records now on-line

Click on title to access the City of Greenfield, Ohio's website page that contains on-line records of both the town's main Greenfield Cemetery and the Sheep - Pen (aka Gustin aka Limes) Cemetery. 

As a reminder, check back often with websites of the towns where you think your ancestors may be buried. 
You may find such a listing for the cemeteries in their community that could lead you to the burial information of a long lost ancestor! 

Thursday, February 18, 2010

"Names In Stone" - Mapping a Cemetery

Click on title to access the web site of "Names In Stone" and their "Map a Cemetery" page.  "Names In Stone" is a site that does require membership, but offers a free limited membership

Monday, February 15, 2010

Photograph of Joseph Daugherty - Buried at Sheep Pen Cemetery

Click on Title to access Pvt. Joseph Daugherty on "Find A Grave"

Many thanks to Hilda Hartling for sharing this wonderful photograph of her ancestor, Joseph Daugherty. 

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Various Ohio Tombstone Photographs on the Internet

Click on title to access "missreadalot.gather.com/graveyards" 
I have not checked it all out, but 369 photos are currently listed on this site that can be enlarged and viewed.  They appear to have been posted by the same contributor and the tombstones are at cemeteries are in Ohio.   

Don't be afraid to "go exploring" on Google for:  Ohio, cemeteries, preservation, restoration, tombstones, gravestones, etc. etc. etc. - try different combinations, and you might be suprised at the results that might lead you to finding the tombstone of your long lost ancestor!!


Friday, February 12, 2010

1916 Madison Township - Highland County, Ohio Plat Map

The 1916 Highland County, Ohio Atlas is available for purchase from the Southern Ohio Genealogical Society
Click on title for more details on the order form that features all of their publications for sale



Tuesday, February 2, 2010

The Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS) Annual Conference - 2010 location - Denison University in Granville, Ohio - June 22 - June 27, 2010 ~ Beth Santore 2010 Conference Chair

Click on title to access the "Conferences" Section of the website of "The Association for Gravestone Studies." 

My thanks to Beth Santore who hosts the wonderful website of Graveaddiction.com for announcing that "AGS" has posted its information and registration form on-line for their 33 annual Conference.  The cemetery workshops and conference will be held in Granville, Ohio this year! 

Please contact Beth Santore, the 2010 Conference Chair, with any questions: