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."

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season and a Safe and Happy New Year - 2025! May Ohio's cemeteries have a banner year in 2025 with more done to preserve and protect them!

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 
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2025 will be another banner year for cemetery preservation hands-on events at Ohio cemeteries and we'll follow the news about them.

2024 was a stellar year with a 48 State cemetery workshop by Jonathan Appell; and it looks like it will be repeated in 2025 with a stop here again in Ohio.
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If you didn't receive this book for Christmas you may want to look into purchasing it for yourself - "This Place of Silence" Ohio's Cemeteries and burial grounds by Ian Adams.    
I highly recommend it whether you are a seasoned visitor to Ohio's cemeteries or not.  There is always something new to learn and appreciate about Ohio's cemeteries!
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I feel ALL of Ohio's cemeteries are historic!
  I personally feel that a cemetery doesn't need to have a national designation of one sort or another to be considered a 'historic" cemetery or burial ground.  
All are worthy of being preserved and protected for the present and the future.  
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Thus, every cemetery in Ohio is worth preserving and protecting.  As we know, once they're gone, they're gone, unless action is taken to prevent their deterioration from continuing until it is too late.  
Thus, it is vitally important to take the necessary steps to correct the problems that plague them - moving forward with a solid plan to ensure success! 
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We can accomplish this goal in a variety of ways including engaging in hands-on preservation work at a cemetery; conducting in-person documentation by transcribing the inscriptions on tombstones -- noting the motifs and carvings on them -- remembering to look for a carver's name or initials before walking away!; contacting lawmakers to pass legislation that improves the laws to better protect Ohio's cemeteries; and our strong vocal and written advocacy promoting preservation of Ohio's cemeteries -- ALL of its cemeteries! This can come through contacting the media, contacting Ohio's lawmakers, and contacting like-minded people to join you -- possibly create a Facebook Page for your cemetery of concern or for one in crisis!
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Also, please consider joining.:
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Remember to adhere to the "Do No Harm" guidelines of the NCPTT so that you leave the cemetery in better condition than what you found it. 
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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

The Vinton County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps have been added to the right sidebar of the blog.

 A link to the W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Vinton County, Ohio have been added to the right sidebar of the blog.
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The following townships comprise Vinton County.:
Brown, Clinton, Eagle, Elk, Harrison, Jackson, Knox, 
Madison, Richland, and Wilkesville.
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Vinton County is mostly a rural county. 
At the time these maps were created during the 1930s, 13 cemeteries had the name Farm included for them.


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There are 31 map pages that are in the "Multiple Townships - Smaller Cemeteries" category.
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The Cemetery Index page appears to have been covered with some older type of plastic that has yellowed and wrinkled over time, thus making it more difficult to read all of the cemetery names and numbers for them.

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There is an Addenda page listing the veterans with unknown burial locations.


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Note: 

WPA CEMETERY PLAT MAPS - VINTON COUNTY - WILKESVILLE TWP - WILKESVILLE CEM - VETS NAMES INCLUDING AGNES C LAMB - PAGE 46

Agnes was a Major in the WACS during WWII.

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Also, please note there are penciled-in notations for later wars inside the Legend box for each cemetery.:

 #3 for WWII, #5 for the Korean War, and #7 for the Vietnam War.  

Further note, however, these numbers do not correspond with the original and official W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Map numbers that were created during the time the program was in place, which was during the 1930s.  Those numbers were assigned to other wars.:

#3 - Warfare with Indians on the frontier.
#5 - War with France
#7 - War with Tripoli.
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The overall condition of these maps is fair to poor with the Cemetery Index Page being in the most unreadable condition unfortunately.

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

The Henry County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps have been added to the right sidebar of the blog.

The W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Henry County have been added to the right side-bar of the blog. 

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Also, please note that the Henry County WPA Cemetery Plat Maps are now online in .pdf format on at the Henry County Engineer's website.:
  Search under the heading Maps/plat books Map Resources.  

At the bottom are the WPA Cemetery Plat Maps

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I am so pleased to share that the Henry County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps are in excellent condition with all of the pages numbered. 

There is a Cemetery Index and a Locator Map for the map collection. 

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Here is a link to the Henry County, Ohio cemeteries on Find a Grave.

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Henry County, Ohio is comprised of the following townships.:

Bartlow

Damascus

Flatrock

Freedom

Harrison

Liberty

Marion

Monroe

Napoleon

Pleasant

Richfield 

Ridgeville

Washington

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The Henry County Cemetery Index lists 55 cemeteries with 23 cemeteries that have religious affiliation connections. 

The St. - i.e. Saint cemeteries have the largest number with 14.  

Others include.:

Sacred Heart Cemetery - shown as Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery on Find a Grave.  

This cemetery was previously known as St. Michaels, and Poplar Ridge Cemetery that was opened 1840 per Find a Grave. The cemetery photo shows an ornate cross tipped entrance arch constructed of thick heavy stone blocks. 

Not far beyond the entrance stands a large towering monument with a crucifix on top erected on a rise at the center area of the cemetery.  This is a magnificent monument that certainly would garner the attention of visitors even prior to passing through the entrance arch.

There are seven photographs posted for the Sacred Heart Cemetery on Find a Grave and these two are my favorites.:
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A long distance view of the grand stone entrance arch with the black iron fencing and gate.  In this picture just beyond the entrance is the tall memorial monument inside the cemetery for Rev. George A. Verlet.  

Also, a close up view photograph of Rev. Verlet's beautiful monument with its large crucifix on top reaching upward toward the heavens above all of the markers and monuments in the cemetery.  

The entire scene is peaceful and welcoming complete with its backdrop of the rural countryside.  It is easy to see the Sacred Heart Cemetery is regularly maintained.

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For the Cole Cemetery's W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Map, the code for the Lot Category includes s.g.s. meaning single grave section. Under Section there are O.P. for Original Plat or 1-A for 1st Addition. 

On Find a Grave the Cole Cemetery shows an alternate name of Wait Creek Cemetery.

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Other religious affiliated cemeteries include.: 

U.B. cemeteries - United Brethern (known by other names on Find a Grave.)



A link for the cemeteries on Find a Grave that either have the name of Lutheran or Lutheran as an alternate name.  

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There is one cemetery named "Old Angel" - see W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Map below.  

On Find a Grave the cemetery is named Angel. 

However, the cemetery was named after a family with the surname of Angel.
Daniel Webster Angel.

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Lastly, we'll take a look at the Gunn Cemetery.

Cyrus D. Gunn, Elijah Gunn, Jr., and Elijah Gunn, Sr., were all veterans.

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"May 22 2015 – TheCrescent-News.  Defiance, Ohio"

"FLORIDA -- Nestled in a small, family cemetery just east of Florida, off Henry County Road 424, is the grave of a Revolutionary War soldier, Elijah Gunn Sr. The sun-splashed cemetery holds the graves of Gunn and many of his family members.

The Elijah Gunn Sr. Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, of Napoleon, recently took on the project of restoring the headstone on Gunn's grave. The chapter was founded in 1975 with 12 charter members. It currently has 20 active members.

Julie Eberle, the regent of the Elijah Gunn Sr. Chapter of the DAR, said, "We were talking about a project for the DAR and decided that the deteriorated condition of Elijah's headstone was a project we could do."

Eberle said Homier's Monumental, of Defiance, worked on the headstone and placed a new one on Elijah's grave.

The new headstone will be dedicated in a DAR ceremony on Saturday, June 13 at 11:30 a.m. at the cemetery. To reach the cemetery, go east from the village of Florida for about two miles on Henry County Road 424. There is a gravelled pull-off area on the south side of the road. Visitors will walk on a sturdy wooden bridge across the canal to reach the cemetery.

Elijah Gunn and his wife, Anna, were early pioneers in Ohio and in the Florida area. He was born on Dec. 25, 1759 in Sunderland, Mass. He was the son of Nathaniel Gunn and a descendant of Jasper Gunn, who emigrated to America from the Highlands in Scotland in 1635. Elijah served in the Army of the Revolution.

In 1796, Elijah and Anna (Sartwell) and their children came with the Connecticut Land Company to survey the Western Reserve. Elijah was employed by the surveyors and Anna, who was the second pioneer woman to come to Cleveland, cooked for the party and was known as a "competent nurse" who spent her spare hours caring for the sick and dying and assisting young mothers. She also had a large family of her own to care for -- she had six children -- and she was not paid for any of the services she performed for the company.

The Gunn family stayed for three years in a log cabin in Cleveland and eventually moved to Waterville in 1815. Anna was given some land in Cleveland in 1803 by the Connecticut Land Company for her services.

A few years after their move to Waterville, the Gunns moved up the Maumee River near Florida and bought land from the government. Ownership of the present Gunn Family Farm and Homestead was deeded directly by the government in 1833 to Elijah Gunn Jr., the Gunns' son. Anna died in 1842 at the age of 84 and Elijah Sr. died in 1855 at the age of 95.

Elijah Gunn Jr. was born in Massachusetts and went with his family to Cleveland. He served in the War of 1812 and came back to Ohio shortly after the war. He married Eleanore Grant, a cousin of President Ulysses S. Grant, and they built a log cabin on the Maumee River. They were granted about 100 acres of land in 1833, which is the present Gunn Family Farm. At the time of his death in 1875, Elijah Jr. owned about 500 acres.

Elijah Jr. and Eleanore had six children, including William Gunn, and raised at least four orphans. Elijah Jr. died in 1875 and Eleanore in 1838. Elijah had a second wife, Dorcas and they had three children. Elijah, Eleanore and Dorcas are all buried in the Gunn Cemetery."

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