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."

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Shining a new Spotlight on Dr. William H. Wagstaff of North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio

Dr. William H. Wagstaff of North Lewisburg, Champaign County,  Ohio has once again led me on another merry chase whisking me along through the many unexpected twists and turns that profoundly affected his life that I'm sure turned it upside down at times.  
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Both Dr. John Milton Butcher (as well as his son Dr. John Calvert "J. C." Butcher) and Dr. Wagstaff all belonged to the Central Ohio Eclectic Medical Association. 
Below is a wonderful newspaper clipping about one of their meetings that took place in 1886:
This information led me to move into a new direction taking a different path at this fork in the road of Dr. Wagstaff's life where I also learned what the "H" stood for as his middle name - Harris!:

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(Above:)
The Dr. John M. Butcher monument)
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And, dare I say most recently learning that Dr. Wagstaff's wife; had became his ex-wife by 1891.  

Melissa Josephine (AKA "Jose or Jose B." was the daughter of Dr. John M. Butcher, a prominent physician in North Lewisburg.  
The cemetery carries Dr. Butcher's name as its alternate and more popularly known name.  
The official name is Walnut Grove Cemetery.  
 
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 Dr. Wagstaff's residence caught on fire on November 20, 1899!:
 
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There was once a Walnut Grove Cemetery Association that oversaw this cemetery that sits atop the hill on Tallman Street in the Village of North Lewisburg.  
After Dr. Wagstaff's death in 1904, the cemetery essentially became an orphan because the Village of North Lewisburg did not receive (or did not accept!) a proper deed to the cemetery from Dr. Wagstaff before he died.  
Till this day it shows the cemetery as being owned by the Walnut Grove Cemetery Association (a ghost association!) with no living members.  
But all of those details are another story....

The final wishes and words from Dr. William H. Wagstaff who, to date, rests in what we hope is eternal peace -- but sadly in an unmarked grave at the cemetery he once oversaw.:
(Below:)
The Will of William H. Wagstaff

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 Above is the 1890 Veterans Census
showing Dr. William H. Wagstaff
 
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