Wrap-Up Report for Clean-Up Work at Dean Cemetery, Buckskin Township, Ross County, Ohio by Scott Andersen

Scott Andersen and his wife, Venus, have wrapped up their clean-up work for this visit at the Dean Cemetery on Thursday, September 22, due to rain at the cemetery on Friday.  

He sent more photographs, including one of himself and Venus, while they were at the Dean Cemetery.

I thought it would be nice to share these photographs and some of Scott's comments. 

September 20, 2011 - Scott Andersen kneeling by broken pieces of stone markers. (See last three photographs for more about these stones.)

September 22, 2011 - Venus Andersen brushing off a broken gravestone

Leaning gravestone for Abraham Dean - Revolutionary War Veteran

Leaning gravestone for James H. Dean

Gravestone for Mary Polly Depew Dickey, wife of  Rev. James H. Dickey

Broken partial gravestone for John Milton, son of Daniel and Sarah who, per Scott, could actually be John Milton Robbins. 

Full inscription: Died September 22, 1840, in his 10 year of age.

Per Scott, the initials "R P" are inscribed on this tall stone marker of undetermined purpose.

Per Scott, the initials "P C" are inscribed on this tall stone marker.  He thought it could stand for "Presbyterian Church."  He says: "This cemetery is the site of the original Presbyterian Church of South Salem." 

Wrap-Up Remarks from Scott:

"I spent my last morning at the cemetery trying to document as much as I could.

I numbered all of the stones we had found, and tried to take as many pictures as possible.

It was so wet, I don't know how well they really came out.

I drew a little map of the cemetery, and will clean it up, and make it into something presentable when I get home.

There are so many stones out there! You find them lying half buried as you cut along.

 

As far as finding "all" of the stones in the cemetery, I think that we have really just scratched the surface."

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Thank you Scott for sharing your photographs and interesting details about your work at the Dean/Old Dean Presbyterian Cemetery.

 

Until your recent visits and now 2011 clean-up work at this remote burial ground, it had been neglected and forgotten; but thankfully no more! 

September 22, 2011 Update - Dean Cemetery - Buckskin Township, Ross County, Ohio

Here is the latest report from Scott Andersen, who with his wife, have spent 3 days thus far this week working on clearing away the tall weeds and brush at the Dean Cemetery in Buckskin Township, Ross County, Ohio. 

Per the book, "Ohio Cemeteries - 1803 - 2003" published by the Ohio Genelogical Society - page 559:  "Dean Old Presbyterian - Location:  South of Lyndon.  From SR 28 at Lyndon go 0.6 mile south on Lyndon Salem Road
to just north of Buckskin Creek.  East of Lyndon Salem Road 0.4 mile.  Coord:  39" 20' 49.87" N, 83 degrees 17'49.23" W. South Salem."

Below is an excerpt from Scott's latest email.

Please note, below Scott's email are 3 photographs he took during their 3 days of work at the Dean Cemetery:

"We only spent about 3 hours working in the cemetery today, as a few other commitments pulled us away. We cleared out a lot of the brush, and really opened up the cemetery. Thistle and briar are awful plants! A few more headstones made themselves visible, and what seems to be the remains of a vault lid or "cap", has also shown up.

For the time being, we have just been leaving things as find them. My wife did pour water on, and scrub on a few of the stones, she just got too curious to pass them by.

One thing that was rather interesting; The headstone of Mary Dickey. Mary Dickey is actually Mary Polly Depew, 1791-1816.

Mary was married to my 5th Great Uncle, James Henry Dickey. There is a poem on her headstone. We need to work on the third line of it a bit more, as its hard to read the inscription.

"Ye Young and Gay Come Near and See

The Silent Bed that Waits for Thee

Time was like you, one Life Posses'd

And Time will be When You Shall Rest"

Anyone recognize that?

Hoping to spend most of the day out there Friday, provided the rain doesn't start falling again.

We are planning to spend some time documenting and recording in detail what we've found so far, and then attack the world of six foot tall weeds again." 

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Enjoy Scott's photographs that definitely show the clean up progress accomplished in just 3 days of time - (the latest photgraph appears first at the top)! 

Thanks for sharing Scott!

ABOVE: Day 3 - September 22, 2011 further clean up and digging up of some gravestones by Scott Andersen at the Dean Cemetery

ABOVE: Day 2 - September 21, 2011 beginning of clean up of weeds, etc. by Scott Andersen at the Dean Cemetery.

ABOVE: Day 1 - September 20, 2011 prior to start of clean up and digging up of gravestones by Scott Andersen at the Dean Cemetery.

Scott Andersen's Update on his work at the Dean Cemetery, Buckskin Township, Ross County, Ohio

September 21, 2011, Update from Scott Andersen:

"It rained all morning here, so we only went out to the cemetery for an hour or so this afternoon.

Rather than cut brush, we decided to have a closer look at the stones we uncovered yesterday.

There were several that were just plain worn down, and for the time being, unreadable. However, there were a good number that we could read."

We found:

Catherine Mark, 1809-1829

Benjamin Brackney, died 1826

Agnes Nancy Cunningham, 1557-1841 

(gravestone photo already on Find A Grave)

Samuel Cunningham, 1778-1845 

(gravestone photo already on Find A Grave)

James H. Dean, 1822-1840

Mary Polly Dickey, 1791-1816

Mary Lawhead, 1803-1833 

(gravestone photo already on "Find A Grave" - but needs a better one) 

William Lawhead, 1755-1823 

(gravestone photo already on "Find A Grave" - but needs a better one) 

John Milton 

(gravestone photo already on "Find A Grave"
A beautifully carved stone!) 

Alexander Wallace, 1803-1828
 
and most significantly

Abraham Dean, 1763-1806

"Abraham Dean is one of those Revolutionary Veterans who has a monument over at the South Salem Cemetery.

This gives me hope that we may actually find Robert Dickey's stone in the cemetery as we continue to cut brush.

Abraham's son, James Dean, not the James H. Dean we found today, married one of Robert Dickey's daughters, and this is how my family is linked to the Deans.

Nelle Miller's middle name was Dean, so I think these families had close bonds for many years."

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Additional Note:

Hopefully, Scott will also locate a gravestone for James McGinnis (1744 - 1822) because currently there is a photo request for his gravestone posted on "Find A Grave".  He is also listed as a Revolutionary War Veteran.