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, September 11, 2011

Revisting Simeon Shepard

This afternoon I received a nice email from Mary Whitmer that I would like to share regarding Simeon Shepard:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My connection is that my 3 greats grandfather married a Sarah Sheppard as his first wife.

I think Simeon probably was her father. If you read the article about the finding of the headstone dated Aug. 20, 2011, it says the headstone is inscribed Died in 1864 at age 82 years and 16 days. This matches what is inscribed on the marble monument in the Andress cemetery. I think it was the same person! What I have to wonder is why there were two monuments, and of course, how the second one wound up in Lorain. What do you think?

Sincerely,

Mary Whitmer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, here is the best part!
!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"Speculation continues over headstone"



Saturday, August 20, 2011

By ALLISON STROUSE

astrouse@MorningJournal.com


"LORAIN — After two days of searching and calling, the mystery behind why Simeon Shepard's headstone is in the back yard of a West 23 Street, Lorain, home isn't known, but there is a plausible theory.

"It was either replaced or stolen," Diane Wargo Medina said.

Since she was 19 years-old, Medina has been helping care for the Charleston Village Cemetery on West Sixth Street, Lorain.

So when she heard about the backyard tombstone she was determined to discover where Shepard came from and belonged.

Her investigation ended up being very fruitful, as she studied U.S. Census and death records.

"The date of death matches and they were from the Lorain County area," she said.

There is a monument at Andress Cemetery with Simeon and his wife, Aseneth, names.

Aseneth passed away a few years after Simeon.

Which is one of the reasons, Medina believed that the headstone could have been replaced.

Whether the stone ended in the West 23rd Street back yard by accident or on purpose, she believes it belongs in one place only.

"I personally think that (the headstone) should go back over there (cemetery)," she said.

Medina, who repairs headstone at the West Sixth Street cemetery, stated that she would be happy to help relocate and repair the stone.

"I will gladly repair it," she said. "It should go back."

While the mystery of how the headstone ended up in the backyard may never be solved, the mystery of who Shepard was has been.

Shepard was a farmer, born in Massachusetts, who moved to Henrietta with his wife, Aseneth and their daughter, Sarah Shepard, according to the website familysearch.org.

He died in 1864 at age 82 years and 16 days, according to the grave stone.
URL: http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2011/08/20/news/mj4931603.prt
© 2011 morningjournal.com, a Journal Register Property

Spotlighting "Adopt A Tombstone" - Fairview Park Cemetery - Fairview Park, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Click on title to access the website: "AdoptATombstone.com":

"Definition of Adopt-A-Tombstone:

Adopt-A-Tombstone is a community project to restore historical markers, please consider getting involved.
 
How adoption works:

You can volunteer to take ownership for the restoration work performed on a gravestone, monument or tombstone

OR

You can make a financial donation to be used for the purchase of supplies and material necessary for the project.

OR

If you have a special talent or skill that would be helpful to make this project successful that you are willing to donate your time and knowledge.

Type of work performed by volunteers:

Light duty - cleaning a small stone; takes about 1 hour.

Somewhere between Light & Heavy duty - clean and detail a large monument; takes about 4 hours.

Heavy duty - lower a monument so the base can be leveled; perform the restoration and repairs; raise the stone back into position; takes about 8 hours, min.

~ Adopt-A-Tombstone ~

Cuyahoga County, Ohio
FairviewParkCemetery@gmail.com or call 440-356-9454

Email Chris Gerrett: 

developed by Marcus Gerrett 3/20/2007
All Rights Reserved ©"