Sharing photographs from Melissa Murray Masters from her supervised visit with her two grandchildren at the Butcher Cemetery (AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery) in North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio - August 10 - 11, 2024

Extending my appreciation to Melissa Murray Masters for her interest in and efforts at the Walnut Grove Cemetery. It is the proper name for the more commonly known name of "Butcher" Cemetery that sits on the hilltop of Tallman Street in North Lewisburg, located in the northeastern corner of Champaign County, Ohio.

Sharing some of Melissa's photographs she took over the weekend of August 10 and 11, 2024 at the Butcher Cemetery.

 Together with two of her grandchildren, Melissa cleared away several downed branches that had been strewn throughout the little cemetery.  

Melissa and her "crew" loaded the debris via a handy and quite useful golf cart to the back of the cemetery where such debris had been waiting for the "powers that be" -- possibly the Village's Street Department - to remove them from the cemetery.  We hope that happens soon. 

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Below is the sinking government issued marble marker for Civil War veteran, "C. E." Evans - Charles E. Evans.   

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Below is the downed marker for James Eckles.

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It was a productive group effort that is appreciated so much!  

The children were eager to try to improve the condition of the cemetery I'm told; and their volunteer time working there was well spent!  

It was a win-win for everyone! 

The youngsters will remember years from now that they had made a positive difference at a local cemetery that had for far too long been neglected and lacking in recognition and respect by the community for being the sacred ground that it is - the final resting place of about 100 early North Lewisburg pioneers.

Their example will inspire others to follow their lead giving the Butcher Cemetery more hope for a brighter future. 

And, they got to spend quality time with their grandmother!

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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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Sharing a link to the newly updated website for the Village of North Lewisburg, Rush Township, Champaign County, Ohio

Sharing a link to the history page of the Village of North Lewisburg, in Champaign County, Ohio.  Under "Village Cemetery Directories.:

The Butcher Cemetery (Known Also as Walnut Grove Cemetery)  

The Friends (Quaker) Cemetery
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Here is a link to the main page on the newly updated North Lewisburg website.

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Enjoy virtually exploring North Lewisburg, a quaint village tucked away in the northeast corner of Champaign County, Ohio.

Eli Allen's photos on Google Maps & Find A Grave - The Friends (Quaker) Cemetery and Butcher (Walnut Grove) Cemetery in North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio

 Below is Eli Allen's photograph of the original William Wright Fell marker not identified before. 

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Below: 

A panoramic view of the Butcher Cemetery from the rear of the cemetery.:

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Adaline D. Limes Winder Winder Ballinger Dailey - buried at the Butcher (AKA Walnut Grove) Cemetery in North Lewisburg.:

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Thanking Eli Allen, creator of "WanderingAppalachia" for taking photographs (see examples above and below) at both the Friends (Quaker) and Butcher (Walnut Grove) cemeteries in North Lewisburg, Champaign County, Ohio; including some 360 degree panoramic type photographs which really help tell the story of these two early Ohio cemeteries and their current condition. 

 Unfortunately, neither cemetery is in good condition.  Both are located wholly within the boundaries of The Village of North Lewisburg so they are not the responsibility of Rush Township.  

Sadly, the Butcher Cemetery is in worse condition due to severe lack of routine care.:

-- The landscape is in need of regular grass cutting; trimming weeds around markers and monuments; as well as repairing and re-setting markers and monuments for those that need it.  

-- Also, dead trees and tree branches lying on the ground need to be removed. 

-- The cemetery sign needs to be painted or replaced due to peeling paint.  

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Eli has shared his photographs on "Google Maps": 

The Friends (AKA Quaker) Cemetery on Google Maps.

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The Butcher AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery on Google Maps. 

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Eli Allen has also so kindly posted his new photographs on many of the Find A Grave memorials for both the Friends Cemetery and the Butcher Cemetery. 

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Additional photographs shown below:

Olive Brown - Friends Cemetery 

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Susan Victoria Dickerson - Friends Cemetery

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Unknown - death year 1856

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I invite you to check out Eli Allen's Wandering Appalachia website! 

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Sharing a link to "Google Maps" - The Butcher AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery in North Lewisburg, Champaign County from Eli Allen

Google Maps - The Butcher Cemetery in North Lewisburg, Rush Township, Champaign County - has new 360 degree photographs that have been added June 4 2022 by Eli Allen.  

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Eli's website is Wandering Appalachia 

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The Butcher AKA Walnut Grove Cemetery in North Lewisburg on Find A Grave

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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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