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, June 13, 2017

Sharing Concerns about the Defunct McDowell Cemetery - Also known as: Demaline Cemetery or Demline Cemetery in Gates Mills, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Sharing from Jane Gramlich, Special Collections Librarian at Akron-Summit County Public Library:

Jane's concerns are for the family cemetery of her Demaline/Dimline ancestors which is now on private land and apparently visitors are not welcome. 

Per Jane, the gravestones were moved sometime back to another cemetery, but the bodies remain buried in the original cemetery. 

This illustrated the need for preservation of our cemeteries."

The "official" name of this cemetery (on "FindaGrave", anyway) is actually McDowell Cemetery. It's in Gates Mills.

In the book Ohio Cemeteries: 1803-2003 ed. by K. Roger Troutman, the cemetery is called Demline/Demaline-McDowell.

In the book "Buried Beneath Cleveland" by William G. Krejci, it's referred to as the Demaline Cemetery or the Shelden/McDowell/Dimline plot. He notes in the book that most of the cemetery "is private property and strictly off limits." (p. 37)."

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Here is the cemetery description as shown on "Find A Grave":

Cemetery notes and/or description:

Located on Chagrin River Road, Gates Mills, this cemetery is abandoned. According to the Reference Guide to Cuyahoga County Cemeteries on Rootsweb, stones were moved to Gates Mills North Cemetery. 

All memorials are based on the Western Reserve Historical Society typescript titled Cuyahoga County Cemetery Transcriptions, 1934. 
The readings for this cemetery were done in 1928. 

The majority of burials are members of the Demaline family, alternately spelled Dimline, Dimaline, and Demline. 

The cemetery was located in the village of Gates Mills, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and is # 2598 (Demline/Demaline Cemetery / McDowell Cemetery) in “Ohio Cemeteries 1803-2003”, compiled by the Ohio Genealogical Society.
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Contact information:
Jane Gramlich
60 S. High St.
Akron, Ohio 44326
330-643-9030