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, August 23, 2013

Spotlighting Union Township, Fayette County, Ohio and the Three Cemeteries Under the Care of the Union Township Trustees

I am sharing the website of the Union Township Trustees in Fayette County, Ohio.  

Below are portions of their site that pertain to the three cemeteries that they are responsible for conducting regular maintenance services, and also handling other issues of concern.

"We have removed a number of old damaged trees and replanted new ones. We plant a new tree whenever we have to remove an old one. We are awaiting an estimate from a monument company to replace foundations, and straighten and repair damaged monuments. As our budget permits we will do this in all three of the cemeteries.

You probably have guessed that the Union Township Trustees rank the care of the cemeteries high on our list of responsibilities." 

Also included on their website are:

Cemetery Regulations

Cemetery Policy

Fees

Also,

The Union Township website includes photographs of:

Bush Cemetery


Sugar Creek Baptist Cemetery

Sugar Creek Methodist Cemetery

Contact Us
(740)-335-2520
uniontownship@utfay.com
  

Bush Cemetery has 172 interments listed for it on "Find A Grave."
 
Sugar Creek Baptist Cemetery has 601 interments listed for it on "Find A Grave."

Sugar Creek Methodist Cemetery has 323 interments listed for it on "Find A Grave."

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The 2013 Ohio Genealogical Society's Cemetery Restoration & Preservation Workshop -- October 11 and 12, 2013 -- Please see the Ohio Genealogical Website for Details and Registration

The focus of the 2013 Ohio Genealogical Society's cemetery workshop will be at the Norton Center Cemetery where the hands-on workshop will be held.  

"North Cleveland-Massillon Road
Norton
Summit County, Ohio" 

"Located on the west Side of North Cleveland-Massillon Road, south of Greenwich Road."

 
Currently, on "Find A Grave", there are 61 interments listed for the Norton Center Cemetery.  

Sunday, August 18, 2013

John Leslie Limes (1891 - 1930) - Find A Grave Memorial

John Leslie Limes (1891 - 1930) - Find A Grave Memorial

Added the scanned image of the Spring Grove Cemetery grave card to the "Find A Grave" memorial of John Leslie Limes buried at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.  He is the only person with the surname of Limes that I know of buried at Spring Grove Cemetery.  

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Ohio Cemetery Law Task Force - OHSCD 5 - Enacted Senate Version of HB 59 - 2013


 
SECTION 747.10.  (A) The Ohio Cemetery Law Task Force shall develop recommendations on modifications of the laws of this state relating to cemeteries. 

(B) The Ohio Cemetery Law Task Force is established. The Task Force shall consist of the following eleven members: a representative of local government, other than townships, appointed by the President of the Senate; a representative of the Ohio Township Association appointed by the President of the Senate; a representative of Native Americans appointed by the President of the Senate; a representative of private cemeteries appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; a representative of the Ohio Historical Society appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; a representative of archeologists appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; a representative of the Ohio Genealogical Society appointed by the Governor; a representative of the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission appointed by the Governor; a representative of the Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing in the Department of Commerce appointed by the Governor; a representative of the Department of Transportation appointed by the Governor; and a representative of the Department of Natural Resources appointed by the Governor.

The initial appointments shall be made not later than thirty days after the effective date of this section. 

Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. 

The Task Force shall elect two of its members to serve as co-chairpersons of the Task Force. 

The Task Force shall meet as often as necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities. Members of the Task Force shall serve without compensation. 

(C) The Task Force shall issue a report of its recommendations to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Governor not later than one year after the effective date of this section. The Task Force ceases to exist upon submitting its report.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52610569


Posting this in honor of my dear deceased aunt, Mary Stella Zagorsky Stitak who would be 101 years old today. 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

A Plea For Help for Walnut Creek Cemetery, Perry Township, Fayette County, Ohio


Walnut Creek Cemetery (Perry Township - Fayette County, Ohio) Report (August, 2013:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  The older, early pioneer section toward the back and right side of the Walnut Creek Cemetery across from Buckeye Hills Golf Course desperately needs to start receiving more routine clean up and maintenance. Taller weeds are encroaching and obscuring many gravestones of all types. The cemetery's main gate also is getting covered by weeds that have grown tall on both sides of it.

Particularly these older areas are in the most need of better care.

It is also unfortunate that so many gravestones have now sunken out of sight while others are lying on the ground broken in pieces. Dead grass sits on top of some of the flat markers making them impossible to see until cleared away.

In 1999, when the Fayette County Genealogical Society conducted a tombstone inscription transcription of the Walnut Creek Cemetery, (pages 40 - 58 of the publication: "Tombstone Transcriptions Perry Township, Fayette County, Ohio 2001") it was stated (on page 40): "It is the oldest cemetery in the county that is still in use." I am reasonably sure that is still the case today. This distinction is indeed an honor for the Walnut Creek Cemetery making it truly deserving of receiving routine good maintenance care.

I am willing to bet that there are veterans buried at Walnut Creek Cemetery from every war that America has fought in going back to the American Revolution. Thankfully, a veterans' group is going out to place flags at the gravesites. The flags can be seen peeking through the weeds at many of the older burial sites.

  Many of us do have ancestors buried at Walnut Creek Cemetery, and some of us live further away and are not able to do more than clean up around our own ancestors' gravestones during a short visit to Fayette County.

Hopefully, a way can be found to restore regular maintenance at all of the gravesites located at Walnut Creek Cemetery; so visitors walking anywhere on its grounds will enjoy being there and feel proud that their ancestor's final resting place is at Walnut Creek Cemetery. Thank you.
 Random scenes below of the pioneer burial areas of Walnut Creek Cemetery:
 
 
 







 

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Exploring the Hitler-Ludwig Cemetery - Pickaway County, Ohio

Sharing some scenes from the Hitler-Ludwig Cemetery in Pickaway County, Ohio.  Photographs were taken August 2, 2013:

 The photograph was found sitting between the lowers branches in the tree. I moved it down for picture taking purposes and then put it back where I found it.






The stone above illustrates why it definitely is not a good idea to put pots down on gravestones!

Antonina Szczepankiewicz (1858 - 1918) - Find A Grave Memorial

Antonina Szczepankiewicz (1858 - 1918) - Find A Grave Memorial

Thanking Julie Szczepankiewicz and Joe Malachowski for all of their help in obtaining and transcribing this birth record of my maternal great-grandmother, Antonina Szczepankiewicz.  

At the time I purchased and had installed my great-grandmother's grave marker, I only had the Calvary Cemetery (Lorain, Ohio) grave card for a reference for her birth and age information.  Consequently, her name on the tombstone should be spelled "Antonina", and she was not 56 years old at the time of her death; however, because as per this birth record she was 60 years old at the time of her death.