Robertson Family Lot at St. Joseph's Cemetery

The Robertson family lot is located in Section D, Lot 21 at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. The many stones in this lot honor the memory of several of the extended family members of William Robertson, who was an early Sandusky grocer. The Robertson grocery was at what is now 149 East Water Street in Sandusky. Mr. Robertson resided on Columbus Avenue in a building which still stands. After William Robertson retired, his sons carried on in the family business.

Tombstones, from left to right, the tombstones in the Robertson lot honor the memory of:

Elizabeth Robertson, a child who died in 1880

Ellen Robertson, a child who died in 1891

Child Robertson, who died in 1864

Frances Robertson, who died in 1865

Unknown Robertson family member

Francis Robertson, age died in 1865

William  Robertson, a child who died in 1864

Joseph Robertson, a child who died in 1874

Details about the burials of these individuals, and many other former area residents of the Catholic faith are found in the St. Joseph's Interment Records, a notebook housed  in the genealogy section of the Sandusky Library. 

Most of the tombstones in the Robertson lot represent the lives of children whose lives were cut short, and all were descendants of William Robertson.  A walk through any cemetery will give you the opportunity to discover history, art, and family connections.

Wood National Cemetery

According to the National Cemetery Administration, Wood National Cemetery is located on the grounds of a former Soldiers Home that today is called the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

From 1867 until 1871, the home buried its soldiers in private cemeteries in the Milwaukee area. In 1871, a cemetery opened on the grounds. Originally known only as Soldiers Home Cemetery, it wasn't until 1937 the name was changed to honor Gen. George Wood, a longtime member of the Soldiers' Home's Board of Managers. It became a national cemetery in 1973.

The cemetery is part of the Northwestern Branch-National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers National Historic Landmark district, designated on June 6, 2011.

Several Medal of Honor recipients are buried at the Wood National Cemetery, including Boatswain's Mate Michael McCormick  who died in 1865. He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy, on board the USS Signal for actions in battle on the Red River, Louisiana, May 5, 1864.

Thank you to my brother for taking these photographs.

Photo credit. T.J. Orshoski

FamilySearch Alerted Me that I Have Many Ancestors Buried at the Perkins Cemetery

Below are screenshots of images of my relatives buried at Perkins Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio.  A total of 25 of my close relatives are buried at Perkins Cemetery, including my 4th great grandfather Julius House, who with his wife and several other friends and family, settled in Perkins Township in 1815, in an oxen train led by John Beatty, an abolitionist and one time Mayor of Sandusky, Ohio. Thank you FamilySearch.org for being so creative in your applications for family history!

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McKenna Monument at St. Joseph's Cemetery

In Section D, Lot 6, at St. Joseph's Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio is a monument honoring Thomas McKenna and his family. Thomas McKenna was born in Sandusky in 1850, to Thomas McKenna and his wife, the former Mary Ann Rowland. An article which appeared in the December 16, 1893 issue of the Sandusky Register provides  us with details about his life.

Thomas McKenna was a member of the A.O.H., the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which is the oldest Irish Catholic fraternal organization in the United States. The group seeks to aid newly arrived Irish both socially and economically. In 1879, Thomas McKenna married Anna Dullighan. Rev. R.A. Sidley officiated at the marriage ceremony. 

Anna Dullighan McKenna died in 1913, and Thomas McKenna died in 1918. Below is an obituary for Thomas McKenna, from the 1918 Obituary Notebook at Sandusky Library

Thomas and Anna McKenna were buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery. Three of their children were also buried in the family lot with their parents. Clara McKenna died at the age of 10 in 1893. Theodore McKenna died in Toledo, Ohio in 1920. Leo McKenna died in 1940. At Find a Grave, you can see a photograph of the McKenna monument at St. Joseph's Cemetery. In this picture, the names on the tombstone are clearly legible. Over the years, weathering has made the names on the McKenna monument currently difficult to read. Thank you to all the volunteers at Find a Grave for documenting tombstones all over the U.S. and across the world. As time goes by, stones continue to deteriorate, and photographs taken  of tombstones now will be helpful to family researchers in the future.

 

Johanna Willmoth

Johanna Willmoth was the youngest child of Thomas and Bridget Willmoth, who were both natives of Ireland. Johanna was born in 1884, and she died in January of 1901,  at age 16 years and 4 months, from consumption. Funeral services for Johanna were held at Saints Peter and Paul Church, and a beautiful monument honors her memory at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio, Rest in peace Johanna!

Tombstone of Margaret Bowen and Her Infant Andrew

At St. Joseph's Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio, in section D, is a tombstone that honors the memory of Margaret Bowen and her infant son Andrew Bowen. Both died in 1872. 

Margaret was a native of Ireland. She married Andrew Bowen in 1871, and they had a son in 1872, who died in infancy.

Andrew Bowen, the father of the infant of the same name, and spouse of Margaret, was born in County Roscommon, Ireland. He and his family emigrated to the U.S. in the 1860s, and they settled in Sandusky, Ohio.

The elder Andrew was a Sandusky police officer. He moved up the ranks to captain and city marshall. After his wife and infant son passed away, he never remarried. A lengthy tribute to Andrew Bowen, who died in the summer of 1897,  appeared in the June 14, 1897 issue of the Sandusky Register. Below is an excerpt from the article.

Rest in peace, Bowen family.

 

Grover and Miona Hart

In section E of St. Mary's Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio are the tombstones of two young children of William Hart and his wife, the former Amelia Kromer. 

Grover Hart was born in 1893 and died in 1897.

Miona Hart died as an infant in 1899. Though her stone is broken, it is still legible, after all these years.

Sadly, William Hart  and Amelia Hart  both passed away on same day in 1909. May they all rest in peace.