Scott Andersen reports on his continuing cleanup and probing / searching for sunken gravestones at the Dean Cemetery in Ross County, Ohio.
He has posted all of the interments at the Dean Cemetery on "Find A Grave."
Posted below are some photographs from Scott's most recent trip to the Dean Cemetery this July. He also shares some of his comments describing his discoveries.:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Above)
Panoramic view of the Dean Cemetery with sunlight streaming down through the trees on the cemetery's landscape.
Scott remarked that he has not seen this much sunlight at the Dean Cemetery since he started visting it.
(Above)
Scott just 'unearthed' this tombstone for Elizabeth McGinnis !
~~~~~~~~~~
"The latest and greatest is of Elizabeth McGiness's monument. She died
in 1817. This tiny stone had fallen forward in the dirt, and I have
simply stood it back up. It was covered with weeds and a layer of dirt,
and just happend to see a corner of it protruding. Doesn't appear to
have been broken off, but rather just a short, little stone. Wish they
were all this easy! I've posted the photo on Findagrave."
(Above)
"This will be the toughest part of the search.
Story goes that about 25
years ago, the township trustees were sent into the cemetery, to clean
it up.
They inadvertantly knocked down many stones, and they piled them
all up in this area. They have for the most part started disappearing
into the ground.
The large broken stone about half way up the photo on
the right side is that of Mary Brackney 1806-1827."
(Above)
"The larger stone in the row further back in this photo (above) belongs to Mary Polly DePew Dickey 1791-1816, the first wife of my 5th Great Uncle.
The
two large stones up front belong to James and Hannah Dean, who are also
relatives."
"I thought this photo (above) was interesting.
Compare it to the photo from
September of 2011 (below), taken in the same spot, from a different angle.
Thank you, Scott, for your dedication to cleaning up the Dean Cemetery and finding more gravestones with each visit that have been hidden from sight for so long.
The "before" and "after" photographs -- from September, 2011 and July, 2013 -- clearly show the progress you have made.
Thank you for sharing your results with us!
