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."

Sunday, May 16, 2021

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. 
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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