New ways for members to find their way around Find a Grave & Spotlighting the American Revolutionary War Veteran Burials on Find a Grave.

First, sharing this recent email message I received from Find a Grave announcing their discontinuation of the Find a Grave Forums.  (You may have received it as well.):

 
"At Find a Grave, we are continually evolving to meet the needs of our members. 

Our newly released Cemetery Suggest Edits has provided an enhanced and faster method for members to suggest updates to cemetery pages.

Following this rollout, the usage of the Forums has declined to the point that we have decided to retire the Find a Grave Forums. We first introduced the Forums circa 2002 as a way to collaborate with the updates to various administrative processes on the site.

 

Since then we have added simpler ways for Find a Grave to make announcements and for you to contact Find a Grave, find help, submit merges, and suggest edits.

 

As a result, we have made the decision to retire the Forums in August 2026.

 

The Forums will become read-only in July 2026."

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Thus, we'll explore a few of the updated links on Find a Grave - in no particular order.:

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Find a Grave Support

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Try using the "Search Box"

Example:  American Revolutionary War Veterans

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American Revolutionary War Veterans Buried in Ohio

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DISCOVER

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Memorials

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Reporting a Duplicate Cemetery

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Adding Cemetery Boundaries and Sections

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Help

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Contact Us

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I feel, overall, these current updates from Find a Grave are the most extensive that the company has made in recent memory.  

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If you are a long time regular user of Find a Grave, you may find it invaluable to familiarize yourself with these changes as much as possible; particularly those you feel will impact your research.  

You'll be able to move more smoothly through the category links, etc. and make them work for you to achieve your intended results. 

Find a Grave presents its "Cemeteries and 2025 Year in Review"

"Cemeteries and 2025 Year in Review"

January 21, 2026

News from Find a Grave

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Find a Grave's Virtual Cemeteries - Where People of the Past with something in common can gather together one last time.

Even if you are a long time member of "Find a Grave", it is possible that you may not have taken advantage of its particularly useful tool: the "Virtual Cemetery" that it offers. 

Below is a link to my Find a Grave "Virtual Cemeteries", including my two recent and most extensive, Virtual Cemeteries. Each of them are set to Public View, meaning any member of Find a Grave can view them. 

There are other settings available via the "Edit" button; including adding a Cover Photo and Optional Description to help customize how you wish to present the Virtual Cemetery. They also can be shared to Facebook, etc. which is also a helpful feature!:  

My Find a Grave Virtual Cemeteries Main Page

Remembering Lorain High School Teachers of 1966 Virtual Cemetery 

Thanking fellow 1966 classmate, Adolf Stransky, for his help documenting the teachers we have lost, thus helping me create this Virtual Cemetery!

Lorain High School Class of 1966 Classmates Virtual Cemetery

Find a Grave's "Virtual Cemeteries" is a most useful tool that can be edited, and thus updated, at any time.  

Try creating one and you'll be glad you did!

A Find A Grave Update for the Walnut Grove Cemetery (Butcher Cemetery) in North Lewisburg - Champaign County, Ohio.: Three additional burials were added.

 For several years the Butcher Cemetery (AKA  Walnut Grove Cemetery) in North Lewisburg, located in Champaign County, Ohio has had 100 memorials posted for it on the website Find A Grave.  However, recently a check was made on this cemetery on the Find A Grave website that led to the discovery that now it has 103 memorials posted on it!  

Thus, the three new memorials were reviewed to learn who the memorials were created for and what information was posted on them.  This occurrence is highly unusual for the Butcher Cemetery because it has been inactive for burials for over 100 years, and the cemetery has been on Find A Grave since January 1, 2000.   

Thus, listed below are links to the three most recent memorials posted to the Butcher Cemetery on Find A Grave.:

Robert J. Monroe - Father 

Clarence Monroe - Son

Florence Mendenhall Monroe (later Williams and Becks) - Mother 
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Robert Monroe - Both the marriage certificate and the newspaper notice of marriage show his name as "Robin" Monroe.

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Posted below are the death certificates for Robert, and Florence Monroe, who were the parents of Clarence,  Also shown below is the death certificate for Clarence Monroe.:  

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A point worth noting from studying each of these death certificates is that Robert J. Monroe; the first to pass away in 1915, that his burial location is listed as having been at the "Walnut Grove Cemetery".   Florence, who married again twice after his death, her burial was stated only as being in "North Lewisburg".  The same is true for their son Clarence Monroe.  

All were buried by the M. F. Freeman Funeral Home in North Lewisburg.  M. F. Freeman was Marion Floyd Freeman.  

Unfortunately, many of the burial records from this funeral home have been lost over the years, per the current funeral home located in North Lewisburg, the Freshwater, McDonald & Vernon Funeral Home.

From what is known, no one in this Monroe family has a marker on their grave. 

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Below are the local newspaper death notices for Robert J. Monroe, his wife Florence (Mendenhall) Monroe, and their son, Clarence Monroe.: 

(Source: The online newspapers provided by the Champaign County Public Library.)

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Clarence Monroe's short life nevertheless had significant twists and turns during his early childhood that are chronicled in the news reports below.: 

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Further, the records from the Champaign County Children's Home provide additional details for Clarence Monroe and his siblings Emma, and Merl (AKA Mearl / Merle) Monroe who were also admitted to it on September 4, 1908. (Source:  FamilySearch).  

  

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There are U. S. Census records for 1910 and 1920 for this Monroe family.:

1910 U. S. Census

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1920 U. S. Census

Beginning on Line 40:  

Joseph Williams, his wife Florence Williams, Merle Monroe - step-son age 15, and Lester Monroe - step-son age 13. 
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The notification below brings a sad ending for the dwelling where Robert J. Monroe and his wife Florence (Mendenhall) Monroe once lived with their children in North Lewisburg.: 

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May everyone from the Robert Monroe and Florence (Mendenhall) Monroe family rest in eternal peace.  They are not forgotten.

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Mary A Morter (1818 - 1852) - Find A Grave Memorial

Mary A Morter (1818 - 1852) - Find A Grave Memorial

Half-sister to Queen Victoria of England 

Buried at South Salem Cemetery in Ross County, Ohio.   

Locating Lost Graves at the Mayfield Union Cemetery in Mayfield Village, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

I have always admired the well-kept appearance of Mayfield Union Cemetery that sits pristinely on Wilson Mills Road in the heart of the once quaint looking Mayfield Village. 

The noisy traffic near I-271, and a long stretch of nearby businesses, both large and small, reminds me I live in the 21st Century; yet silently, the cemetery coaxes me to ignore it all and take a step back in time.  It's white painted wood sign suspended from an outstretched black iron hook swings back and forth in the breeze; as if to publicly extend its "Welcome to the year 1843" when the Mayfield Union Cemetery opened.   

So, for me it was heartwarming to read a story about the Mayfield Union Cemetery, in this case written by Jeff Piorkowski.  It appears in both the "Sun Messenger" newspaper and online on "Cleveland.com."  

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The account explains how Mayfield councilwoman, Patsy Mills, hopes to discover any lost graves at the Mayfield Union Cemetery.  She has valid reasons to feel they exist and proposes the use of ground penetrating radar to accomplish the goal.

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I think you'll enjoy reading the article, and hopefully we'll see a follow-up story reporting a succesful resolution to this situation in the near future.  

Every gravesite deserves to be found!  

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Currently on "Find A Grave," there are 468 interments listed for the Mayfield Union Cemetery.

Sharing Pictures from the West Kirtland (Williams / Marble / Pleasant Valley / Chardon Road) Cemetery in Kirtland, Lake County, Ohio

Sharing photographs taken by my friend, Rick, who travels the Lake County area frequently and often stops to visit and photograph gravestones; particularly at some of the more rural cemeteries in the vicinity.  These were all taken on November 9, 2013.  Thank you, Rick, for sharing them with us.

Like so many other early Ohio cemeteries, the West Kirtland Cemetery has also been known by other names.  In the "Ohio Cemeteries 1803 -2003" book published by the Ohio Genealogical Society, K. Roger Troutman, Editor, on page 349, appears: "West Kirtland - Williams - Marble - Pleasant Valley - Chardon Road (6307) as the different cemtery's names used to identify it.  It is located on the south side of U.S. Route 6 (Chardon Road), West of Hobart Road, and East of Rookwood Drive." 

On "Find A Grave", the West Kirtland Cemetery has 107 interments listed for it.  

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Also, on the website for the Lake County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society is an in-depth description and history of the West Kirtland Cemetery which includes a comprehensive listing of their July 25, 2000 stone readings.  A cemetery section map is included as a separate link on the page.

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Below are random views of some of the Williams Family buried at the West Kirtland Cemetery:

 

 

 

 

 

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Views of gravestones for the Metcalf Family buried at the West Kirtland Cemetery

 

 

 

 

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 Two monuments for the Nash Family.  

There are others listed on "Find A Grave."  

Clicking on the family name above will display all of them.

 

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 Ann M. Nash Graves inscription on tall weathered marble monument

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Two views of the medium gray granite monument for Cinthia, Thomas P. and Nathan Hobart 

 

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Two views of the broken white marble gravestone for Sally Page wife of Thomas Page

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Gravestone for Ruth E. Page, wife of H. K. Squires

(his gravestone is shown below) 

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Small twin markers for Hiram K. and Caroline G. Squires

Hiram's spouse was Ruth E. Page Squires; her marker is shown above. 

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 Gravestone photos for some of the Presley Family

 

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Two views of the Daniel Steward white marble monument

 

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 Early 1800's urn sculpture on stone marker for Rebecca Stonebridge

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 Ornate monument for Mary Worrall

"and children" erected by her son Thomas Worrall

 

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 Two views of the broken white marble stone for Hannah Fuller

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 Large dark gray monument designating the family plot of the Bidlake Family buried at the West Kirtland Cemetery

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Leaning upright marble marker for Elisha Goodell

 

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  Leaving, we turn for our last glimpse of West Kirtland Cemetery -- brightened by the late afternoon's streaming sunlight. We linger to admire a brilliant array of Autumn's hues coloring the grayness of simple markers and towering monuments alike.