The Geauga County WPA Cemetery Plat Maps are now posted on the right sidebar of the blog

 A FLICKR collection of the WPA Cemetery Plat Maps for Geauga County, Ohio for public viewing and downloading is now posted on this blog, along with those for some other Ohio counties, on the right sidebar of this blog. 

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Geauga County is comprised of 16 townships.: Auburn, Bainbridge, Burton, Chardon, Chester, Claridon, Hambden, Huntsburg, Middlefield, Montville, Munson, Newbury, Parkman, Russell, Thompson, and Troy.

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Geauga County is one of the counties situated in the Western Reserve district of Ohio.

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From the website of the Cuyahoga County Recorder.:

https://fiscalofficer.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/WesternReserveHistory.aspx

"The so-called Western Reserve comprises the Northeastern corner of the state of Ohio. Its southern boundary extends 120 miles westward from the Pennsylvania line along the 41st parallel of north latitude. 

It includes all of the counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Trumbull; and part of Ashland, Mahoning, Ottawa and Summit counties. In all it contains about 5,280 square miles and is larger than the states of Delaware, Connecticut or Rhode Island."

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As I proceeded with naming and saving each of these cemetery plat maps drawn up in the 1930s, I noted how many of those burial grounds were deemed abandoned. I was reminded of just how many veterans we have buried in Ohio going back to the American Revolution.  Geauga County is certainly no exception, in fact it seemed that the smaller the cemetery the more likely I might find a name with the number "1" for their war service which is the number designated for the The Revolutionary War.

  Below are some of the maps of the smaller size cemeteries in Geauga County as they existed when these maps were created during the years of the Great Depression.: 

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The Thwing Cemetery - John Thwing  buried at the Center Chardon Cemetery

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Clark Cemetery - Chardon Township

From the Ohio Gen Web site.:

"Angel; no longer exists.  

     What stones could be found were moved to Larned in the 1940s."

"Thwing; no longer exists.  

      What stones could be found were moved to Larned in the 1940s."

"Clark; no evidence"

I have not been able to learn who the veteran was who had the surname of "Clark" at the cemetery identified as the Clark Cemetery in Chardon Township when the WPA surveys were being conducted. 

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Angel Cemetery

Benjamin Pitcher buried at the Center Chardon Cemetery (AKA the Larned Cemetery)

Lieutenant Elijah Sperry 

Also buried at the Center Chardon Cemetery

Marauchie "Polly" VanOrden Sperry 

Also buried at the Center Chardon Cemetery

Zimri Wells Also buried at the Center Chardon Cemetery

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Gates Cemetery - Middlefield Township

Elisha Bundy who was buried at the Bundysburg Cemetery

John Cox who was buried at the Old Cemetery

Jacob Gates who was also buried at the Bundysburg Cemetery.

Note: Neither the Bundysburg Cemetery or the Old Cemetery appear in the WPA Cemetery Plat Maps. 

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The Henry Cemetery - Now shown as the Old Southwest Cemetery or the Southwest Cemetery 

Bainbridge Township

William Henry - War of 1812 veteran

JosephWitterIII-

RevolutionaryWar veteran 

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The Webster Cemetery in Thompson Township

From the Ohio GenWeb site.:
"Webster; 7721 Clay St., private property) Inactive"

     "Location: on the east side of Clay Street,
3/4 to 1 mile north of Rt. 166.  Nine stones were found in 1984 scattered on a hillside.  Some had been moved to Maple Grove."

Pvt. Mark Barnes was buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Thompson Township. 

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Warner Cemetery in Thompson Township.

John Jackson, War of 1812 veteran

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The Sanford Cemetery

From the Ohio GenWeb site.:

"Evergreen/Sanford; (16217 Moseley Rd.) Inactive

     "Location: on the south side of Moseley Road, about 0.4 mile west of the 

intersection of Dewey and Moseley Roads.  It is not maintained; most of the 

stones were moved to Maple Grove."

Marcus Tillotson was buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Thompson Township.

From the Ohio GenWeb site.:

"TILLOTSON        Marcus                           TH Evergreen Cem.                25    0                      2 Aug 1864        65y 8m 20d       NO                                                                                                        was TILLATSON; replaced STONE & Others Evergreen Interments; consumption; see Maple Grove Sec 109, Lot 3 "

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The Phelps Cemetery in Thompson Township. 

From the Ohio GenWeb site.:

"Phelps; (6700 Sidley Rd., private property) Inactive Location; on the southeast corner of the intersection of Sidley and Thompson Roads. Only a few stones remain."

"Abandoned Cemetery"

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Bartlett Cemetery - Thompson Township

            From the Ohio GenWeb site.:

"Bartlett; (6979 Thompson Rd.) Inactive

     Location: about 1000' southwest of the intersection of Leroy and Thompson 

Roads.  The land was purchased in 1950 from a relative of the Bartlett family. " 

Joseph Bartlett - Revolutionary War

Eliu Emmons, Seth Hulbert, Joseph Patterson, Abel Ray, and Abner Stockwell were all War of 1812 veterans.

Ansel Bartlett, John Ransom, both were Civil War veterans.

"Remembering Medal of Honor recipients" - From the "Record-Herald" in Washington Court House, Ohio

"Remembering Medal of Honor recipients"

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Buried at the Washington Cemetery in Washington Court House, Ohio:

Corporal Isaac Harrison Carman

Sgt. Major Francis M. McMillen

******

Also mentioned in this story.:

Elon Thornton who was the last surviving Civil War veteran in Fayette County, Ohio.

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Good Hope Cemetery:

First Lieutenant David Jones

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Bloomingburg Cemetery:

Corporal Henry Casey

"Families encouraged to report rundown Ohio cemeteries" - From the Urbana Daily Citizen - Urbana, Ohio

"Families encouraged to report rundown Ohio cemeteries"

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Cemeteries in Ohio that have NOT had any burials during the past 25 calendar years, and family cemeteries, as defined in the Ohio Revised Codes, are NOT eligible to be Registered.

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See (D) Sections 4767.02 to 4767.04 of the Revised Code do not apply to or affect a family cemetery or a cemetery in which there have been no interments during the previous twenty-five calendar years. As used in this division, "family cemetery" means a cemetery containing the human remains of persons, at least three-fourths of whom have a common ancestor or who are the spouse or adopted child of that common ancestor.

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Because of their being deemed ineligible to be Registered, neither cemetery category is eligible for complaints against those responsible for them to be submitted to the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission - the "OCDRC".

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The "OCDRC" only accepts, reviews, and acts upon complaints submitted to them regarding Active and Registered Cemeteries (or cemeteries that are Active and SHOULD BE Registered but are not due to no fault of their own). Please keep this fact in mind. 

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A large number of Ohio's cemeteries are older and Inactive, and sadly they are the very ones that visitors would have reasons to file complaints about. However, should they file complaints, the "OCDRC" will reject them for the reasons stated above.

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Sharing a response from Professor Norman R. Weiss, FAIC, FAPT, FSA - in response to a question posed to him by Mr. Ted Kinnari, President of "D/2 Biological Solution"

Sharing with permission by Mr. Ted Kinnari, President of D/2 Biological Solution, the response he received from:

Prof. Norman R. Weiss, FAIC, FAPT, FSA

400 Avery Hall/GSAPP

Columbia University

New York, NY 10027

nrw2@columbia.edu

*********

"Ted:  Orvus, like Ivory Liquid and Vulpex, has been the subject of much confusion in the conservation community.  It is based on one of the commonly-used anionic surfactants.  Anionic surfactants, found in many household products, are essentially synthetic soaps in which the significant portion of the molecule carries--at one end--a negative charge.  

They should not be confused with non-ionics, despite the apparent similarity of the terms.  Non-ionic surfactants do not carry charge.    

Anionic surfactants are potentially incompatible with "quats" (quaternary ammonium compounds), the antimicrobial components of D/2.    They can reduce D/2's bioactivity, by attaching to the positively-charged site on the "quat" molecules.  Thus, a preliminary washing with Orvus can be counter-productive to the effective use of D/2 in the field.  

Monument conservators should not be doing this.  I understand that there is literature describing Orvus, developed originally for the washing of horses and cattle, as a safe material.  In this situation, however, as a pre-wash for D/2, not only is it not needed, but it is a bad idea."

Thanking Mr. Jim Blanton for placing flags at veterans gravesites at the Butcher AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery and Friends AKA Quaker Cemetery in North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio

Once again, Mr. Jim Blanton, of the American Legion, has placed flags at gravesites of American Civil War veterans buried at the two cemeteries in North Lewisburg, Champaign County, (Rush Township), Ohio - the Friends (AKA Quaker) Cemetery and the larger Butcher (AKA Walnut Grove) Cemetery.  Thanking Mr. Blanton for caring about these American Civil War veterans and honoring their service to preserve the Union and keep our country standing united behind its flag.

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The shadow of Mr. Blanton is seen behind the marker (newly installed in June 2020) for Commissary Sergeant William H. Wagstaff  

(The photo below is after Mr. Blanton cleared off the dead weeds and grass from the top of the marker.)

(The photo below is before Mr. Blanton cleared off the dead weeds and grass from the top of the marker.)

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Below is Jim Blanton's photo of the Captain James M S Butcher marker installed in June, 2020; the same time as the William H. Wagstaff marker was installed. 

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Two photos below of the Butcher Family plots

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Below is the marker for Corporal William Apple

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Below is the marker for Loda Jones

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Below is the marker for Pvt. Harrison Apple

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Below is the marker for Pvt. William Tribbett

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Small American flags placed inside the small fenced in area at the Butcher Cemetery

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Below is the marker for Pvt. William Wright Fell

the lone known veteran buried at the

 Friends Cemetery in North Lewisburg

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A collection of the Lake County WPA Cemetery Plat Maps have been posted on FLICKR

The Lake County WPA Cemetery Plat Maps have been posted for public view on FLICKR as a collection for the county based on images that are found online as PDF documents on the Lake County Engineer's Office / GIS Department. 

A link to this collection of the Lake County WPA Cemetery Plat Maps can be found on the right side bar of this blog. 

Click HERE to link to the Lake County, Ohio cemeteries as they are listed on the website "Find A Grave." 

Announcing the next work session at the Old Burying Ground - Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio - Tuesday, June 9, 2021- Starting at 8:00a.m.

The Greenfield Historical Society volunteer team of cemetery preservationists met May 18, 2021 to continue with their work which began in 2014 and has continued ever since to restore the Old Burying Ground which is the village's pioneer cemetery.  

The next "OBG" work session is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th, 2021 starting at 8:00a.m.  

Greenfield Historical Society's website.:

http://www.greenfieldhistoricalsociety.org/ghs-OBG.html

Greenfield Historical Society's Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/greenfieldhistoricalsociety

Sharing new photos of the Walnut Grove Cemetery AKA Butcher Cemetery in North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio and taking a look back at earlier ones.

Thanking Nathan Holycross for taking the May 14, 2021 photographs below during a visit to the Butcher AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery in North Lewisburg. They are helpful to see also for comparison purposes to photographs taken from earlier dates. 

May14, 2021 - Photo of Butcher Cemetery sign above

And,

In the photograph below, the white marble monument on the right with a bible or prayer book on top of it, was erected for Aaron and Adaline D. Limes Winder Winder Ballinger Dailey. 

Also, on the right side of the monument is an inscription for Aaron and Adaline's grand-daughter, Birddie B. Sherrett.

To the left of their taller monument is the smaller monument on a base for their daughter, Phebe Annie Winder Sherrett. Birddie B. Sherrett's small marker sits between them. 

Phebe Annie was the first wife of Eli Sherrett who is buried at the nearby Maple Grove Cemetery in Rush Township. 

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The July 2, 2017 photo below was taken by this author who was standing between the Winder monument and the Sherrett markers following a clean up of the weeds around them.  Also the monument and markers themselves were cleaned with D/2 Biological Solution and rinsed. 

"This Place Matters"

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The photo taken May 14, 2021 below shows the tall black granite monument for Dr. John Milton Butcher and his wife Nancy Brock Butcher. 

The flat marker to the left was installed in June 2020 is for Dr. William H. Wagstaff who served as a Commissary Sergeant in Co. E of the 54th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry.

The flat marker to the right also installed in June 2020, is for Captain James M S Butcher, who served also in the Civil War attaining the rank of Captain of Co. I of the 30th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry.   

Below is the same scene and two close up photos of the two new veteran's markers courtesy of Christine Roby - June 8, 2020 - following the installation of the two new flat markers.

Below is a May 14, 2021 photograph of a large dead limb that has cracked off from the tree and is lying on the ground on a sloping area of the Butcher Cemetery.  Low lying branches from the tree can be seen. 

Also, a partial view of a tree in a photo from May 14, 2021 that needs pruning of its long overhanging branches. 

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The above two photos show the fenced in area in the front of the Butcher Cemetery.  

The damaged wrought iron fence has badly deteriorated over the years.  There are a lot of dead tree limbs and branches lying on the ground both inside and outside of it that need to be gathered up and removed.  

Martha Matilda Abrams McClung is one of the two known burials in this area. The other burial is for a 20 day infant, little Charlie Chappell.

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Below is a photograph taken by this author in June of 2017 of the fenced in area when it was in better condition.:  

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Below are among my most favorite photographs! 

To the left is a photograph of Mr. Richard Holycross, father of Nathan Holycross, and myself.  To the right is a close-up view of the repaired and re-set Mary E. Good monument that Mr. Holycross completed a few months earlier.  

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It is my hope that the Village of North Lewisburg will resume regularly scheduled maintenance at the Butcher Cemetery.  It is the town's early settler burial ground that gave it the start it needed to grow and proper. 

To lose any more history due to apathy and neglect would certainly become a major loss for the community, and for those who are eager to see its integrity protected and preserved.  So much history is alive at cemeteries.  Those that came before us deserve our respect and our willingness to pass their legacy on to future generations. 

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“Show me the manner in which a nation cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals.”

By

Sir William Ewart Gladstone

Sunday May 16, 2021 - There will be a dedication of markers for three brothers who served in the Civil War - Baltic, Holmes County, Ohio

 "HEADSTONES TO BE DEDICATED FOR CIVIL WAR VETERANS"

American Legion Post 494, of Sugarcreek, Ohio, and Forrest Chanay, of the Holmes County Civil War Roundtable, will be dedicating 3 headstones for the Millers Brothers, who served in the 67th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Co. C, during our country's Civil War.  The brothers,  Tobias, Isaac, and Stephen served with honor and valor.  

Tobias and Stephen were both killed in the 2nd battle to take Fort Wagner, South Carolina, on July 18, 1863.  This battle is made famous by the movie "Glory".

Brother Isaac survived the war and lived a good and successful life.  He died in 1900.  The story goes that Isaac arranged to have his brothers bodies brought back from South Carolina, and buried in the Shutt-Berger (Church of the Brethren) Cemetery at Baltic, some years after the war.

On Sunday, May 16th, a public dedication of the new headstones will be held.   Music from 1:40-2:00 will be provided by Steve & Lisa Ball, and Larry Stahl.  Members of American Legion Post 494 will lead the ceremony.   

Veteran Forrest Chanay, of the CWR, will have charge of the dedication of the headstones, using the dedication prescribed by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW).  The Ladies of the GAR will be strewing flowers at their graves.  Abe Lincoln (Jerry Payn) will have a few words afforded for the occasion.

The 41st OVI and other reenactors, will provide honors for the three veterans.  Boy Scout Troop #91 will be assisting with the ceremony also.   Family relatives Evelyn Ting, from Brunswick Georgia and Rod Miller of Gettysburg, Pa will participate in the event.

The community is encouraged to attend the ceremony.  Social distancing and masks are recommended.   

Bring your own lawn chairs.   

For more information or to share anything about the Miller Brothers, contact Jeff Schrock at 330-473-5928 or Chanay at 330-276-6202.

Re-visiting Ohio Attorney General Opinion - 2978 - 1953 - "1. CEMETERY - MAY BE CONSIDERED ABANDONED..."

There are several OAGs that touch upon topics that pertain to cemeteries that are posted online on the Attorney General's website going back to the early 1950s - and No. 2978 - 1953 is the one I go back and re-read the most often.  

OAG's are Ohio Attorney General Opinions.  

No, OAGs are not actual laws in the State of Ohio.  However, these Opinion statements are published resources that are referenced for legal cases.  They are important because these Opinions are usually given "careful consideration" by the courts as stated in the FAQs.:  

OAG - FAQs

"What is the significance of an Attorney General opinion?"
"Attorney General opinions provide valuable advice to public officials and are useful in guiding the actions of those officials.  Although Attorney General opinions are not binding on the courts, courts usually give formal opinions careful consideration."

Indeed, careful consideration should be given to this No. 2978 from 1953 because it appears to have withstood the test of time; for almost 68 years. It should be re-visited, though, and updated to provide stronger protections for abandoned cemeteries.  

I have not read where it has been over-ruled.  

Old newspapers tell us that all was not well regarding some of Ohio's cemeteries during the 1930s.

 While researching Ohio newspaper stories about the cemetery documentation work conducted by the W.P.A. workers in the 1930s, I became aware of many other "newsy" cemetery stories published on the same pages as the W.P.A. related stories.  

I learned that many veterans were buried in unmarked graves.  

I learned that fraud by cemetery owners is a crime not unique to our times.  I learned that cemetery owners engaged in fraudulent activities to scam unsuspecting people out of their money by not delivering goods to customers that were promised.  

Sadly, I also learned that thefts at cemeteries happened then just like they are happening today.