Sharing the latest update regarding the "African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act" - from the website of Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown.

On February 22, 2022, Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Mitt Romney of Utah introduced the "African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act". 

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On July 21, 2022, Senator Sherrod Brown's webpage announced that this important legislation will now go to the U.S. Senate for a vote. 

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Excerpt:

"The African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, would establish a program at the National Park Service to provide grant opportunities and technical assistance to local partners to research, identify, survey and preserve these cemeteries. Providing federal resources will ensure sites like Union Baptist are preserved and maintained for future generations."

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A link to the Madison County, Ohio W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps on Flickr have been added to the right sidebar of the blog

A link to the Flickr Album of W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Madison County, Ohio has been added to the right sidebar of this blog. 

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These map images are also posted in PDF format - the map pages identified by numbers only - on the Madison County Recorder's website.

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Thanking Chuck Reed, the Madison County Recorder, for overseeing this worthwhile project - making these maps accessible for research in the public domain. Note, there are links for several types of useful records posted on the Madison County, Ohio Recorder's website.  

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These W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Madison County follow the same format as those from other Ohio counties we have seen thus far.  Both a Project Title Page and a County Index of Cemetery Names page begin this collection.  

 We need to be mindful that these maps were created from research conducted during the 1930s -- the decade long timeframe that was defined by the Great Depression.  Thus, cemetery names may not "match up" to those listed on "Find A Grave" or on a county government website.  Also, for the veterans war designations, World War I was the last war fought at that point in time.  A World War I veteran's number is 31.   

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The Madison County Cemetery Plat Maps appear to be in their original form. 

 Please note, however, that Deercreek Township is shown as "Deer Creek Township" - see map page 65 below.:  

The title page of the Lafayette Cemetery shows the township name spelled as "Deercreek" Township.  

The Madison County government website also spells it as one word "Deercreek".:

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Somerford Township - is spelled as "Summerford Township"on the W.P.A. Cemetery Plat maps.   Wikipedia clears up some of this confusion with their listing.:

" Summerford is an unincorporated community in Somerford Township, Madison County, Ohio."

Here is a link to Find A Grave for the Somerford Cemetery (AKA Somerford Township Cemetery) in Summerford, Madison County, Ohio. 

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  Below are some other points to take note of regarding these maps.:  

  There are three Revolutionary War veterans who have the word "unknown" by their names listed under the heading of "Cemetery" shown in the lower right corner of the county Cemetery Index page. (See below - Page 2).:

David Colver is shown as one of the three Revolutionary War veterans with an unknown burial location.  

Sharing a link to his Find A Grave memorial where a D.A.R. plaque is in place including his name as having been buried in the Garwood Cemetery in Logan County, Ohio.  Of interest are the photo images posted for him. 

One provides a biographical sketch in a letter dated March 16, 1925, stating in part.:  

"He was allowed pension on his application executed September 19, 1832 while a resident of Deer Creek Township, Madison County, Ohio.  He died October 24, 1847.  

There is no data on file as to his family."

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The next veteran listed is Andrew Cypress.  Below is the information that was located for him.:

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For the third Revolutionary War veteran, Joel Wilcox, thus far the only information found that could possibly be this Joel Wilcox is shown in a Revolutionary War Veterans' Index by the Ohio Genealogical Society that his "birth county" was "Madison" and that he served in the "CT Line" as a private.  It is possible that "birth county" should be "death county". 

Thus far there has not been any definitive source located stating the location of his burial.

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Next, taking a look at the different types of Legends included in this collection.:

Below is a fairly typical Legend which includes such information as the official project numbers, war designation numbers, and the size of the cemetery.: 

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Below is an abbreviated version of a Legend that denotes an unknown burial position at a cemetery by an asterisk (*).:  

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Below is a Legend that has "C" for Crypt and "T" for Tier.  A Legend like this would be chosen for a mausoleum.:

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Below is a close-up view of the soldiers' circle at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Union Township, followed by the full map image. :

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Thus, we can see there are many interesting W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps in this collection that were created for Madison County, Ohio! 

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From the Warren (Ohio) Tribune Chronicle: "Society Restores Obelisks" by Bob Coupland

Sharing from the Warren Tribune Chronicle this full coverage story explaining how a smaller size historical society, the Vienna Historical Society, and its President, Christine Novicky, led the tireless preservation project to properly repair and reset the larger size obelisk type monuments; and thus accomplish their goal to restore the entire Vienna Township Cemetery (AKA Vienna Memorial Cemetery)  

You can also check out the Vienna Historical Society's "Viennapedia's Save a Grave Campaign to learn more or donate to their cause." 

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Tim Foor and his son, Michael Foor, of Hallowed Ground Cemetery Preservation LLC were hired for the work. 

See below the photo collage of steps taken to repair and reset the Bartholomew obelisk at the Vienna Township Cemetery.: 

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This is another example of win-win outcomes benefitting all concerned.

 The preservation efforts enable the cemetery to continue as a resource to respect in the community and one everyone can be proud of and support.  

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The Vienna Historical Society on Facebook

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