A link to the Tuscarawas County W.P.A. Plat Maps is now on the right sidebar of the blog

A link for the Tuscarawas County, Ohio W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps is now on the right sidebar of the blog.

This collection of cemetery plat maps follows the same format used for other Ohio counties, such as the pages being numbered.  Also, in the lower right-hand corner is the outline box of Legend of Wars;  History; and acre size for the cemetery.  

Noting, however, that the Cemetery Locator Map is missing from this collection.  

Penciled in numbers added to the right of the cemeteries names on the Cemetery Index Page refer to their numbered locations are shown on the county map.  

Similar to the other county maps listed on the right sidebar of the blog, these map pages are showing at 24%-25% in Microsoft Office Picture Manager.  Enlarging the size to 50% should enable easier viewing of the veterans' names, as well as other information including any penciled in notes.  

There are several pages containing penciled in notes. These now fading additions could appear in various places on a map page so be on the look out for them!  See a couple of examples below.: 

    

As I moved along working with this set of maps, I found myself considering many of them as a form of "map art"!   So, I took out some time and placed  frames with a touch of color around a few just to see what they would look like!  

I'll share some here:

Below is page 120 with two cemetery plat maps - both for Oxford Township.  The cemetery on the left - Pleasant View Baptist Cemetery - shows the veterans names in a single column listing to the right of the map.  

The cemetery on the right - King's U. B. Cemetery - has fewer veteran burials.  Their names are placed within the map itself with a connecting line to the gravesite.  

Thus, it can be easy to overlook seeing some veterans names when they are placed inside the map in smaller size print.   

There was one eye-catching notation that stood out quite glaringly on page 40 - the name "Miss Elizabeth Weaber" on the Addenda Page for Unknown Veteran Burials at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Dover.  

After further research, Elizabeth Weaber's gravesite was located! This is due to the invaluable work by Scott Harmon, City of Dover City Cemeteries Superintendent, who dug deeper into the Maple Grove Cemetery original handwritten burial records.  

As it turns out, Elizabeth Weaber's surname was spelled as the more common surname of "Weaver" in their records. That important discovery enabled Mr. Harmon to visit the gravesite of Elizabeth Weaber where he so kindly took photos.  His photos and research, in turn, enabled me to create a Find A Grave memorial for Elizabeth Weaber.   

See below for the gravesite photographs and burial records by Scott Harmon.

Thanking the Tuscarawas County Public Library for sharing the New Philadelphia obituary for Elizabeth Weaber.: 

Also, thanking Lori Smith of the Tuscarawas County Recorder's Office, for sharing a scanned copy of the original veteran's registration grave card for Elizabeth Weaber.: 

Below is a side-by-side of pages 13 and 23 both in Sandy Township.  

Page 13 shows "Pleasant Valley or Old Methodist Cemetery" with 3 veterans names.

Page 23 shows in capitol letters: "VOID" SEE PLEASANT VALLEY CEMETERY".  The cemetery is identified as Old Methodist Cemetery. The same 3 veterans names are shown on page 23 as those on page 13.  

Find A Grave lists this cemetery today as the Sparks Cemetery.   

Zebulon P. Sparks is shown as one of the 3 known Civil War veterans buried at this remote cemetery.:   

David Rasler is shown as David Resler – Page 142 – United Brethren Cemetery in Sugar Creek Township.  

He is the only veteran on page 142.  

Find A Grave has his surname spelled as “Rasler", and the original grave marker is engraved with his surname of "Rasler".: 

Below is the W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Map for Bunker Hill Cemetery.  The location of this cemetery is shown as partially located in 3 townships.:  Sugar Creek, Franklin, and Dover. 

Working with these maps, in particular, was a twist and turn adventure; and I feel a rewarding one! 

It is my hope that others will feel these W. P. A. Cemetery Plat maps are a treasure trove of historical value having lasting usefulness worth saving for the future.

My special appreciation to Krista Horrocks, Project Reviews Manager of the State Historic Preservation Office of the Ohio History Connection, for sharing the PDF file of these maps; and to John Kolb, Secretary and Co-Editor of the "Lorain County Researcher" newsletter of the Lorain County Genealogical Society, a Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, for his assistance in converting the map images in this large collection.