Exploring Almost Forgotten Gravesites in the Great State of Ohio

Dedicated to cemetery preservation in the great state of Ohio


"A cemetery may be considered as abandoned when all or practically all of the bodies have been Removed therefrom and no bodies have been buried therein for a great many years, and the cemetery has been so long neglected as entirely to lose its identity as such, and is no longer known, recognized and respected by the public as a cemetery. 1953 OAG 2978."

Monday, January 6, 2025

The Delaware County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps are now up on the right side-bar of the blog.

 WPA CEMETERY PLAT MAPS - DELAWARE COUNTY, OHIO.

Townships in Delaware County, Ohio.:

Berkshire

Berlin

Brown

Concord 

Delaware 

Genoa 

Harlem  

Kingston

Liberty

Marlboro 

Orange

Oxford

Porter

Radnor

Scioto

Thompson

Trenton

Troy

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This collection of W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps is excellent for quality of the images.  All pages are appropriately numbered.  

It is quite evident when analyzing these pages of cemetery plat maps and the listings of the names of veterans, that Delaware County has a more than an average number of American Revolutionary War veteran burials in its cemeteries. A researcher can grasp a real sense of early American history reviewing these cemetery plat map pages of the veterans names and the wars they served in. 

Seeing the names of so many soldiers who fought in the American Revolution and were buried in Ohio, and specifically in Delaware County, brings a reality to us that the histories we have read about them in books and on the Internet are true. 

For example, The Galena Cemetery cemetery has six burials listed with the number "1" denoting Revolutionary War,  as shown in the Legend Box. 

Mill Creek Cemetery in Scioto Township lists two American Revolutionary War veterans, one of them was Sgt. William Warrington (Page 27 lists his name as William J. Warrington, however, other references show his name as  William E. Warrington) who saved the life of General George Washington.  

Below from FamilySearch.:  

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LWSB-F7P/sgt.-william-e.-warrington-1754-1852
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Six Revolutionary War veterans are listed on this page for the Sunbury Cemetery.:

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Link to the Columbus Metro Library - Digital Collection 

And this link.

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Thus, even though Delaware County's veteran burials are dominated by those who fought in the Civil War, which is the case at other Ohio counties; I feel Delaware County's American Revolutionary War veteran burials number a close second.

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season and a Safe and Happy New Year - 2025! May Ohio's cemeteries have a banner year in 2025 with more done to preserve and protect them!

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 
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2025 will be another banner year for cemetery preservation hands-on events at Ohio cemeteries and we'll follow the news about them.

2024 was a stellar year with a 48 State cemetery workshop by Jonathan Appell; and it looks like it will be repeated in 2025 with a stop here again in Ohio.
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If you didn't receive this book for Christmas you may want to look into purchasing it for yourself - "This Place of Silence" Ohio's Cemeteries and burial grounds by Ian Adams.    
I highly recommend it whether you are a seasoned visitor to Ohio's cemeteries or not.  There is always something new to learn and appreciate about Ohio's cemeteries!
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I feel ALL of Ohio's cemeteries are historic!
  I personally feel that a cemetery doesn't need to have a national designation of one sort or another to be considered a 'historic" cemetery or burial ground.  
All are worthy of being preserved and protected for the present and the future.  
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Thus, every cemetery in Ohio is worth preserving and protecting.  As we know, once they're gone, they're gone, unless action is taken to prevent their deterioration from continuing until it is too late.  
Thus, it is vitally important to take the necessary steps to correct the problems that plague them - moving forward with a solid plan to ensure success! 
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We can accomplish this goal in a variety of ways including engaging in hands-on preservation work at a cemetery; conducting in-person documentation by transcribing the inscriptions on tombstones -- noting the motifs and carvings on them -- remembering to look for a carver's name or initials before walking away!; contacting lawmakers to pass legislation that improves the laws to better protect Ohio's cemeteries; and our strong vocal and written advocacy promoting preservation of Ohio's cemeteries -- ALL of its cemeteries! This can come through contacting the media, contacting Ohio's lawmakers, and contacting like-minded people to join you -- possibly create a Facebook Page for your cemetery of concern or for one in crisis!
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Also, please consider joining.:
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Remember to adhere to the "Do No Harm" guidelines of the NCPTT so that you leave the cemetery in better condition than what you found it. 
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Tuesday, December 24, 2024

The Vinton County W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps have been added to the right sidebar of the blog.

 A link to the W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Maps for Vinton County, Ohio have been added to the right sidebar of the blog.
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The following townships comprise Vinton County.:
Brown, Clinton, Eagle, Elk, Harrison, Jackson, Knox, 
Madison, Richland, and Wilkesville.
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Vinton County is mostly a rural county. 
At the time these maps were created during the 1930s, 13 cemeteries had the name Farm included for them.


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There are 31 map pages that are in the "Multiple Townships - Smaller Cemeteries" category.
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The Cemetery Index page appears to have been covered with some older type of plastic that has yellowed and wrinkled over time, thus making it more difficult to read all of the cemetery names and numbers for them.

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There is an Addenda page listing the veterans with unknown burial locations.


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Note: 

WPA CEMETERY PLAT MAPS - VINTON COUNTY - WILKESVILLE TWP - WILKESVILLE CEM - VETS NAMES INCLUDING AGNES C LAMB - PAGE 46

Agnes was a Major in the WACS during WWII.

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Also, please note there are penciled-in notations for later wars inside the Legend box for each cemetery.:

 #3 for WWII, #5 for the Korean War, and #7 for the Vietnam War.  

Further note, however, these numbers do not correspond with the original and official W.P.A. Cemetery Plat Map numbers that were created during the time the program was in place, which was during the 1930s.  Those numbers were assigned to other wars.:

#3 - Warfare with Indians on the frontier.
#5 - War with France
#7 - War with Tripoli.
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The overall condition of these maps is fair to poor with the Cemetery Index Page being in the most unreadable condition unfortunately.