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."

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Spotlighting The Association of Graveyard Rabbits

Click on title or Logo below to link to the home page of
 "The Association of Graveyard Rabbits"
I encourage anyone with any interest in cemeteries to view this website (and check back often!) and follow the different blogs it promotes. 

Currently, there are seven Graveyard Rabbit blogs that are dedicated to covering a variety of topics related to Ohio cemeteries. 
Most also offer stories about the lives of those who were buried in Ohio among other topics of interest relating to Ohio's cemeteries including gravestone photographs.
 
The sites include: "A Grave Concern", "Gravestoned", "Graveyard Rabbit of Central Ohio", "Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay", "Great Black Swamp Graveyard Rabbit", "Strolling Through Cemeteries", and this blog. 

"The Graveyard Rabbit" is alive and well and 'he' dwells in every cemetery we research or visit!! 
Now, this Graveyard Rabbit organization and its website presents us with a unique opportunity to learn just how important every graveyard rabbit is.

Spotlighting William Audus of North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio buried at the Butcher Cemetery in North Lewisburg

AUDAS, William
Born: December 5, 1800
Died: March 31, 1867
Calculated age: 66 years 3 mos. 26 days
1860 U.S. Federal Census – NA Film # M653-942, page 15, Rush Twp., Champaign County, Ohio:
William Audas, age 59; Eliza A., age 53; Sarah Furgason, age 37; Eunice Furgason, age 1; William H. Hollingsworth, age 39; Mary J. Hollingsworth, age 31; George Walker, age 11; Amanda Reynolds, age 14.
Previous stone readings have shown this name spelled “Andas”. Page 8, “History of North Lewisburg, Ohio – 1826-1976”, under the heading of “Streets”, “Audas Street running south from Maple to the corporation line, was named for William Audas, a prominent citizen and proprietor for that part of the village in the year 1867.” William Audas died in 1867.
William Audus on "Find A Grave"
Click on title to read about him and see his stone photographs.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Maple Grove Cemetery and Woodstock Cemetery - Rush Township, Champaign County, Ohio

Thanking Ralph Lowell Coleman, Jr. on this Thanksgiving Day 2010

I received a nice note today from Ralph Lowell Coleman, Jr. of Ogden, Utah.  
Ralph originally hails from North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio. 

Ralph has been devoting countless hours of his time in research during the past two years in conjunction with personal hands-on work to document burials at both the Maple Grove Cemetery and the Woodstock Cemetery
These cemteries are in Rush Township which is located in the northeastern corner of Champaign County, Ohio.

Below is an excerpt from Ralph's note which updates his ongoing Maple Grove and Woodstock Cemeteries research and beyond:

"I'm still working on cemetery records at Maple Grove and Woodstock to make them more complete. I will have a revised database to send back to Rush Township so they can update the database I installed there when I was home last year. I have over 4000 burial records for North Lewisburg, so it will significantly increase the records they will have onhand for folks' research.

I'll have some publications put together which I will be donating to the libraries in Urbana and North Lewisburg as part of this process. I have records of cemetery plot deeds, burials, and so forth which will make it easy for people to research family lines and information without having to actually go to the cemeteries. I'm having this material professionally printed and bound before I send it off.

I've also been transcribing the 1870 and 1880 census records for North Lewisburg. I'm almost done with the 1870 report; I'll have it printed and bound and a couple of copies sent off to both libraries. I don't foresee having the 1880 census done until spring; at that time, I'll also print and bind and send off copies for the libraries."

Click on this post's title to link to Ralph's Blog titled:  "Along Spain Creek"

Also,
"Along Spain Creek" - Cemetery references

Thank you Ralph!!!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Mount Pisgah Cemetery Clean-Up Story - Proctorville, Lawrence County, Ohio

Click on title to read the October 31, 2010 story in the "Herald-Dispatch" of Huntington, West Virginia about a group of dedicated volunteers who cleaned up the Mount Pisgah Cemetery in Proctorville, Ohio. 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Spotlighting Robert M. Sizelove, Sr. - Project Manager of USGenweb's Ohio Cemetery Photo Project

Spotlighting Mr. Robert M. Sizelove, Sr. who has been a major contributor on the "Rootsweb" site for many years as the Project Manager for USGenweb's Ohio Cemetery Photo Project (see link above). 
Robert also has his own website: "Robert's Cemetery Site" which I have also included here as a link. 
I wish to personally thank Bob for all of his tireless efforts with tombstone cleaning and inscription reading at several cemeteries in the state of Ohio. 
He has made a significant contribution with finding and sharing cemetery records that he has derived from his work. 
Bob has always encouraged others to contribute as much as possible their tombstone photographs and biographical information about the lives of our Ohio ancestors so we can honor them appropriately.

Spotlighting Paddy's Run Old Welsh Cemetery in Shandon, Morgan Township - Butler County, Ohio

Click on title to link to a colorful and informative website about the Paddy's Run Old Welsh Cemetery in Shandon, Morgan Township, Butler County, Ohio. 
Quoting from the website:
"Morgan Township was settled in 1802 by Welsh immigrants from Llanbrynmair, Montgomeryshire, Wales. The township was named after General Daniel Morgan for his victories in the American Revolutionary War; he too was a Welsh descendant from the colony of Virginia.
The Paddy's Run Old Welsh Cemetery in Morgan Township was established in 1821 by the congregation of the White Water Congregational Church. This church is now holding services under the name of The Shandon Congregational Church of Shandon, Ohio."

The website was last updated in 2003 by Jerry Johnson
(The link to the Ohio Bicentennial Page no longer works - Ohio's Bicentennial was in 2003)

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Interment.net Resource

Click on title to access the on-line records provided on the website "Interment.net" for the state of Ohio.
All of Ohio's 88 counties appear to be listed.  You can click on the county you need for researching your cemetery and learn if someone has submitted a transcription for an ancestor's stone you are searching for. 
Interment.net information is not as extensive as the contributor lists found on the website "Find A Grave" or even "Ohiogravestones.org", however, it is another resource to check and it just may contain some information you are searching for that the other sites do not currently have.

Some of the features offered on "Interment.net" include several genealogical type links and you can 'follow them on Facebook and Twitter'.  You can follow them via a RSS feed "of the newest cemetery transcriptions published daily."  

Interment.net is definitely a site to check back with from time to time to see new content.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Preserving Marion, Ohio's Quarry Street Cemetery

Click on title to read about preservation efforts going on at the Quarry Street Cemetery in Marion (Marion County) Ohio.  The story is from the "Columbus Dispatch"

Friday, November 12, 2010

Spotlighting gravesite of Samuel Crooks at Sheep Pen Cemetery, Highland County /Fayette County line, Ohio


My thanks to Ronnie Sword of the Fayette County, Ohio Veterans Association for placing the flag holder and flag for the gravesite of Samuel Crooks at Sheep Pen Cemetery in time for Veterans' Day 2010.

Click on title to read Samuel Crooks' memorial on "Find A Grave"

November 12, 2010:

Linda,

Ronnie asked me to send you these pictures he took of the grave at Sheep Pen Cemetery, where he placed a flag/ marker for the veteran you contacted him about.
Thanks
Amy Jackson
Fayette County Veterans Service Commission
133 S. Main Street Suite L11
Washington Court House , Ohio 43160
Phone: (740) 335-1610
Fax: (740) 333-3587
Email: amy.jackson@fayette-co-oh.com
People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Remembering Veterans on Veterans' Day, 2010 - Spotlighting Corporal Noah T. McVay

We can take a few moments to remember and honor all veterans, past and present, who made their individual sacrifices for all Americans to keep America safe and free.  

Spotlighting here Corporal Noah T. McVay (aka McVey) 
Clicking on the title will take you to his memorial on Find A Grave 

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Googling: "Cemetery"+Ohio"clean up"

Click on title to see results of a Google search for "Cemetery"+Ohio"clean up".

You can try various Google searches for your cemetery of interest, or for cemetery preservation, cemetery workshop(s), cemetery clean up, and other combinations to obtain further on-line information about cemetery preservation efforts. 
Most importantly, don't forget to include the word "Ohio" in your search so your results hone in on activities and plans that pertain to Ohio!! 
You can learn a lot and derive a lot of enjoyment from some of the information shared by others on-line. 

Friday, November 5, 2010

Update - Vienna Historical Society - Cemeteries Preservation Project - Vienna, Trumbull County, Ohio

Click on title to access website of the Vienna Historical Society of Vienna, Ohio (Trumbull County), and learn more about their cemeteries preservation project. 


Several links are featured on their site which include Vienna's Civil War soldiers, historic maps, Vienna Cemetery Walk 2010, Township Records Project, as well as other township links. 

Also, there is a link to a Warren Tribune-Chronicle article dated May 16, 2010 about:

"A Youngstown State University student completing her thesis on the history of the Vienna cemeteries is sharing her findings and recommendations with residents who want to improve the condition of the aging markers."


Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Spotlighting the Medina County Cemetery Preservation Society

To learn more about the Medina County Cemetery Preservation Society of Medina County, Ohio click on the title of this post.

The site also includes a link to the Wayne County Cemetery Preservation Society of Wayne County, Ohio.