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, December 18, 2012

Focusing on the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Benefits of being a Member

As many of you who read my blog regularly already know, I am a great 'fan' of the Ohio Genealogical Society.  I am also a long time O.G.S. member who has benefitted greatly from my membership in various ways that have become important to me to further the success of my genealogical research.  

Receiving the publications of the Ohio Genealogical Society are one of the best benefits of being an O.G.S.member!  There is the "Ohio Genealogy News" published quarterly in a quality magazine format. My describing it as a "newsletter" would be shortchanging its wide scope of well researched content found in each issue.  

The "Ohio Genealogical Society Quarterly"  always offers in-depth documented stories about such subjects as family histories, church histories, cemetery related stories, bible records, and so much more.     

The Ohio Genealogical Society is also actively involved with cemetery preservation in several aspects including its county cemetery vertical files at the society's library, the once a year hands-on cemetery workshop, and cemetery related links on their website.  

There is an online "Guide to Cemetery Reference Sources at the Library" that is a listing of the books on cemetery subjects the O.G.S. Library holds.  Here you can further link to the "O.G.S. Cemetery Information" to explore even more links to such topics as "Selected Cemetery Laws" and "Cemetery Preservation."
 
The O.G.S. website has a "Ohio Cemetery Locations Free Index" to everyone who visits the site.  It is most helpful for identifying in what county and township your cemetery is located.  For example, I did a random search for "Sheep Pen" and the results were "Highland"  for the county, and "Madison" which is for the township since "Sheep Pen" Cemetery is not located within any city or village limits, and the alternate cemetery names of "Gustin and Limes" are shown. This is helpful if you are only able to identify a cemetery by its lesser known name.
 
Exclusively for members, is the more extensive link titled:  "Ohio Cemetery Locations" which provides greater descriptive details about the location and GPS coordinates; and ownership information, if known, of an Ohio cemetery.

Since our focus is OHIO, exploring the gravesites of our ancestors buried in OHIO, and taking it one step further, the preservation of those OHIO gravesites; the one organization that can help us bring all of this focus together is the OHIO Genealogical Society!  

So, I invite you to spend some time exploring the O.G.S. Website and visit their library when you are in the Bellville, Ohio area.  Becoming a member will give you your greatest advantage, so please don't pass up learning more about how an O.G.S. membership can fulfill your research goals.   

The Ohio Genealogical Society
611 State Route 97 West
Bellville OH 44813-8813
Phone: (419) 886-1903
Fax: (419) 886-0092 

General Correspondence ogs@ogs.org