Cemetery Preservation Work Sessions at the Old Burying Ground in Greenfield Resume - Tuesday, July 12, 2016 - Starting at 8:00a.m.

From Scott Andersen:

"Planning to work at the Old Burying Ground, Greenfield, Ohio, on the 12th of July. 

That's a weekday, so we'll see how many can actually attend. It will be an early start, about 0800."

Click HERE to access the website of the Greenfield Historical Society's "Past Events" Page where you can view information and photographs from all of the previous Old Burying Ground preservation work sessions, and also the Sheep Pen Cemetery Workshop that was held on June 25, 2016. 

James Kelley (1833 - 1858) - Find A Grave Memorial

James Kelley (1833 - 1858) - Find A Grave Memorial

Take a look at the improvement in the gravestone after just one cleaning of D/2 Biological Solution and being re-set in its base!

Top Photograph courtesy of Scott Andersen

 Photograph below from 2010 - Linda Ellis

Upcoming Cemetery Preservation Workshop for Saturday, July 9, 2016 at the Fall Creek Cemetery in Liberty Township, Highland County, Ohio

Sharing from Steph Roland (of the Highland County, Ohio Veterans Service Office):

29 June 2016

"An upcoming cemetery preservation one day hands-on workshop being instructed by Mr. Mark Morton, Gravestone Guardians of Ohio.

***The class is limited to the first 20 participants that call (or TEXT) to register:

*****Contact Phone #:  
937-763-8164*****. 

This class is open to the public and though there is a “Suggested Donation” of $20.00 per person, no one will be turned away if they cannot make that donation amount. There are several sponsors that are greatly helping to make this project happen, and any donations received during on-site check in will help defray the cost of the class to be presented, materials the host is responsible for providing, as well as drinking water for all participants throughout the day.

Many thanks to the current event sponsors: Hillsboro Eagle Riders, Aerie #1161, Peggy Carter, Bill & Marjorie Pike, Barbara Vergamini & Letcher Langston for their help in making this project happen!!"

 

William T. Cassella (1951 - 2016) - Find A Grave Memorial

William T. Cassella (1951 - 2016) - Find A Grave Memorial

So sad to learn of yet again another person that I worked with who has passed away far too soon.

Sheep Pen Cemetery Stands Proud Once Again!

It is truly amazing the turnaround that can come about for a cemetery, its gravesites, and gravestones, from just one day's work put in by a dedicated group of volunteers!

Five years ago the Sheep Pen Cemetery  (AKA Limes or Gustin Cemetery) suffered from a brutal vandalism attack that left most of its monuments and markers in shambles. The cemetery grounds were covered with monuments that were forcibly knocked over and separated from their bases. Among the casualties were 1840s fragile tablet upright markers, that had stood the test of time up until that point, that were senselessly cracked in half and left lying broken on the ground. 

Months later, there was a restoration done by a local monument company to fix the worst of the repairs needed as best that could be done, however, overall there remained many condition problems with the gravestones at Sheep Pen Cemetery where the earliest known burial was Nancy Boyd in 1836.

But, all that changed this past Saturday, on June 25th, thanks to the the Greenfield Historical Society sponsored hands-on all day workshop.

Thus, it was a win-win; for the workshop participants who were taught the best practices of Do No Harm  -- meaning also NO power tools of any kind were used! (per the guidelines of AGS - The Association for Gravestone Studies, NCPTT of the National Park Service) and for the gravestones of the early pioneers who had walked some of the same terrain of the Madison Township (Highland County) Perry Township (Fayette County) area. I know they would be expressing their heartfelt appreciation to all concerned if they were here.

Sharing photographs below courtesy of Scott Andersen:

 

Spotlighting Nancy Boyd - 1788 - 1836 Whose Burial was the Earliest at Sheep Pen Cemetery

The Sheep Pen Cemetery Hands-On All Day Cemetery Preservation Workshop, hosted by the Greenfield Historical Society on Saturday, June 25, 2016, yielded amazing results ranging from discoveries of long buried gravestones to the raising up of the upright marker for Nancy Boyd who died on December 25, 1836 and was the earliest recorded burial at Sheep Pen Cemetery. 

Scott Andersen reports that "a total of 46 gravestones were cleaned, and 32 gravestones were repaired or reset." 

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On page 471 of the book: "Highland Pioneer Sketches & Family Genealogies" by Elsie Johnson Ayres, "The oldest grave was that of Nancy Boyd who died on Christmas Day, 1836." 

(After Restoration Photograph on the right courtesy of Scott Andersen)

Peter Johnson Barkley (1845 - 1845) - Find A Grave Memorial

Peter Johnson Barkley (1845 - 1845) - Find A Grave Memorial

Thanking Scott Andersen of the Greenfield Historical Society for sharing this photograph that he took and added to the Peter Johnson Barkley Find A Grave Memorial.  

This gravestone was uncovered during the hands-on cemetery preservation workshop that was held June 25, 2016.  It had been buried at the cemetery for many decades.  

Spotlighting Westwood Cemetery in Oberlin, (Lorain County) Ohio

Sharing photographs taken on June 22, 2016 while touring the beautiful Westwood Cemetery in Oberlin, Ohio.  

Westwood Cemetery's character is a welcoming one that reaches out and beckons you to return and extend your explorations among the headstones - taking time also to stroll by its peaceful pond where you might happen upon one of the 'resident critters' lazily gliding through the still waters.  

Westwood Cemetery's exceptionally maintained grounds are gracefully encircled by smooth asphalt roadways that make a drive around the sections a comfortable experience.

  

Easy to see and read section markers are erected throughout the cemetery that keep the visitor apprised of their current location.

Copies of printed materials are available in weatherproof boxes located at the gated entrance that include a helpful Cemetery Section Map, a two-sided document detailing its rich diverse history, and a listing of all of the names of those buried in Potters Field. 

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Westwood Cemetery on "Find A Grave" contains 8,591 interments.

Nine Famous Interments are listed on "Find A Grave" for the Westwood Cemetery.

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Information about the Westwood Cemetery is also located on the website of the Oberlin Heritage Center.