52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy: Cemeteries

The prompt for Week 9 of 52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, from Amy Coffin at We Tree, and hosted by Geneabloggers, is: Cemeteries

Genealogists understand the full value of cemeteries and appreciate them in ways most others can’t see. Share a cemetery or cemetery experience for which you are most thankful. What makes this place special? What does it mean to you and your family history?

A cemetery that is very special to me is the Perkins Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio. My mother took me to cemeteries often throughout her life, something she had also done with her grandmother in years gone by. Below is a snapshot of my brother and I at the Parker lot in Perkins Cemetery in 1962.

Many of my ancestors in my Mom's paternal lines are buried at the Perkins Cemetery, from the Parker side, House side, along with the former neighbors and extended family members of the Parker and House families. If you look at the map of Perkins Township in the 1896 Erie County Atlas, you will see many of the names of the homeowners on the tombstones in the Perkins Cemetery. The original Perkins Cemetery was in an area of Perkins Township which was taken by the U.S. Government by eminent domain during World War Two for the war effort. A company was hired to disinter the bodies of those buried at the old Perkins Cemetery, and the remains were re-buried at the site of the current Perkins Cemetery just off Route 250. A marker placed by the Erie County Historical Society summarizes the relocation of the Old Perkins Cemetery to its current location.

My father, who died in 1983, and my mother, who died in 2010, are now buried in Perkins Cemetery. We visit Perkins Cemetery often to reflect on our happy memories of when Mom and Dad were still with us. How I wish I could walk through the Perkins Cemetery with them today!