Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay gets an Award

Wendy from All My Branches gave the Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay a KreativBlogger Award. Thanks Wendy! (We are even cousins, on the House side!) Here are the rules connected with the KreativBlogger Award:




1. Copy the award to your site.
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.
4. Link to those sites on your blog.
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.

The blogs I would like to award with the KreativBlogger Award are:

1. Cheryle Hoover Davis at The Graveyard Rabbit of Northern Arizona

2. Terry Snyder of The Great Black Swamp Graveyard Rabbit

3. The team that writes for Jewish Graveyard Rabbit

4. JoLyn at The Mount Timpanogos Graveyard Rabbit

5. Henk Van Kempen of The Graveyard Rabbit of Utrecht and Het Gooi

6. Webmaster of Blogging a Dead Horse

7. Michael Colbruno of Michael Colbruno's Mountain View Cemetery Bio Tour

Visit these sites to learn more about cemeteries from all over the world, and the folks who are buried in them. Thanks again for the award, Wendy!

Rev. Thomas Holland Boston

Thomas Holland Boston was born in Maryland in 1809. A biographical sketch in the 1888 “Firelands Pioneer” states that he settled in Sandusky in 1839, after his marriage to Amelia Butler. Rev. Boston established the first church for African Americans in Sandusky. For many years, he was the minister of the St. Stephen American Methodist Episcopal Church, which is still in operation on Neil Street in Sandusky.

Rush R. Sloane, author of the 1888 “Firelands Pioneer” article wrote that “Mr. Boston has always been a devoted friend of the slave and his kindly services were always at their disposal.”

Rev. Boston married Susan Bobo following the death of his first wife Amelia. Rev. Thomas Holland Boston died in 1892. He is buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.

The "Path to Freedom" sculpture was dedicated at Facer Park in downtown Sandusky on November 11, 2007, honoring the community's involvement in the Underground Railroad.

F. D. Parish, Sandusky Lawyer and Abolitionist

Below is an engraving of F. D. Parish from the July 1888 "Firelands Pioneer."



Francis Drake Parish was born in Ontario County, New York on December 20, 1796 to Elisha and Lois Wilder Parish. He moved to Ohio in 1820, and settled in Sandusky, Ohio in 1822. A publication from the Western Reserve Historical Society states that Parish was a "sound and able lawyer." Rush Sloane, another Sandusky abolitionist studied law under F. D. Parish.Mr. Parish took a deep interest in the history of the state of Ohio, and he helped to found the Firelands Historical Society. Mr. Parish had strong ties to Oberlin, Ohio. He served as acting president of Oberlin College when President James Fairchild was abroad. The Oberlin College Digital Collections features a portrait of F. D. Parish.

F. D. Parish was a well known abolitionist. The Ohio Historical Society's online exhibit "The African American Experience in Ohio" gives the following account of Parish's experience aiding fugitive slaves:

Two fugitive slaves from Kentucky were cared for at Parish's home and protected from arrest by their benefactor in February 1845. Parish subsequently helped the fugitives on their journey. In 1849, the Circuit Court of the U.S. for the District of Ohio fined Parish for the estimated value of the slaves at the time. This sum, together with court costs and legal expenses ($1,250) was paid by friends of Parish, who raised the necessary amount by subscriptions of one dollar each.

By the 1870's F.D. Parish had moved with his family to Oberlin. He died in 1886, and is buried with his wife and daughter in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. For more information about Underground Railroad activities in Sandusky, see the Sandusky History web site.

George and Marian Parker

George Parker and Marian House were married about 1875 in Erie County, Ohio. Marian House was the daughter of Lindsey House and Mary Ann Young. Marian's grandfather, Julius House, settled in Perkins Township in 1815, with a group of settlers coming from Glastonbury, Connecticut.

George B. Parker was the son of Joshua Parker, who emigrated from Lincolnshire, England, in the 1850's, and Jane Francis. The only child of George and Marian (House) Parker was Leroy Joshua Parker, born May 30, 1880.

Sadly, George B. Parker died in an automobile accident on September 23, 1914,with two other men. They were returning home from a trip to the Sandusky County Fair. The accident happened near Green Creek. Young Leroy Parker was also in the auto accident.The hospital staff thought he was dead, and had covered his body with a sheet.They realized he was alive when they saw the sheet move.

Of course, Leroy Parker lived, went on to marry Ada Steen, and have four children,and a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the generations are continuing to this day.George and Marian Parker, who are buried at Perkins Cemetery in Erie County, Ohio, in the Parker family plot.

Catholic Cemeteries of Sandusky

The office of the Catholic Cemeteries of Sandusky maintains three cemeteries. Early German Catholics in Sandusky were usually buried in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, located on the west side of Mills Street in Sandusky.

The earliest members of the parishes of Holy Angels Church and Saints Peter and Paul Church in Sandusky were usually buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery, located on the east side of Mills Street in Sandusky. Many surnames of Irish and Italian descent are found in this cemetery.























Rev. Patrick J. Shea, who was born in Kilkenny, Ireland,in 1838, and died on July 13, 1908, is honored with this monument at St. Joseph's Cemetery.


















As the population of Sandusky kept growing, a new Catholic Cemetery was created in the late 1920's. Calvary Cemetery is located at the intersection of Tiffin Avenue, Sanford Street, and Venice Road in Sandusky, adjacent to the Mills Street Golf Course.

























Several records for persons buried at Calvary Cemetery are available at FindaGrave.

















The three photographs pictured above were taken at Calvary Cemetery. On the grounds of Calvary Cemetery is the office for Catholic Cemeteries of Sandusky. During the winter months, children are often seen sledding on the hill that is located between Calvary Cemetery and Mills Creek, while in the spring and summer, golfers enjoy the Mills Creek Golf Course. The contrast between the peaceful serenity of the Catholic cemeteries, and the active participants of sporting activities causes us to reflect that both life and death are part of the natural course of human life.

Mrs. Lydia Lyon Goodwin

In the book THE HISTORY OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ELDER JOHN STRONG, OF NORTHAMPTON, MASS., by Benjamin W. Dwight, we read that Lydia Lyon was the daughter of Eliakim Lyon and Mary Strong Lyon. Lydia was born on December 15, 1812 at Stafford. She married Theron Goodwin in 1840 in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Theron Goodwin was the son of Abel Goodwin and Olive Torrey Goodwin.

Lydia Lyon Goodwin's ancestry goes back to the Elder John Strong of Northampton, Massachusetts. Many other residents of Huron and Erie Counties were from this Strong line, including former Sandusky Mayor, Rush Sloane, and his grandfather Abner Strong, who was a key figure in the Undergroud Railroad of the Firelands area. Mrs. Lydia Lyon Goodwin died on March 31, 1843 in Ohio. She is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio. The Oakland Cemetery interment card indicates that she was originally buried in Bloomingville, Ohio, but later was re-buried at Oakland.

The marker near Lydia's tombstone appears to be a Woman's Relief Corps marker. However, the Woman's Relief Corps was not organized until 1883, and Lydia Goodwin died in 1843, so it is unlikely that she was a member of this group.

Castalia Cemetery

The Castalia Cemetery is located at 407 Bardwell Road in the Village of Castalia, Ohio. Margaretta High School can be seen in this photograph, just west of the Cemetery.

Castalia Cemetery is owned and maintained by Margaretta Township, one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio. An index to the 1880 United States Census of Margaretta Township is found online.

One of the earliest burials in Castalia Cemetery was that of Mrs. Snow, who was murdered in a massacre in 1813, along with her son Robert. Willard Snow escaped the attack. He died on January 22, 1875. Willard Snow served in the 40th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. An account of the Snow Massacre is found on page 392 of Harriet Taylor Upton's HISTORY OF THE WESTERN RESERVE, available on Google Books.