Possible destruction of a Native American site in Alabama

See the posts below to read about the possible destruction of an Indian mound in Alabama, to make way for a Sam's Club. It is heart-breaking!

Oxford, Alabama Destroying A 1500-Year-Old Indian Mound To Build A Sam's Club

Heritage and History Being Destroyed

Deyo Cemetery

Deyo Cemetery is located in Groton Township, in the southern portion of Erie County, on Portland Road, between State Route 269 and Southwest Road. The soil at Deyo Cemetery is very sandy, and many of the tombstones are quite old. A shady woods borders the northern edge of Deyo Cemetery.

Several tombstone inscriptions for Deyo Cemetery are found at the website FindaGrave.




The book COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF THE COUNTIES OF SANDUSKY AND OTTAWA, OHIO, available on the database Heritage Quest, contains a biographical sketch of Hiram Deyo. Hiram's parents were Dr. John Palmer Deyo and Sarah Foster Deyo, whose tombstone is pictured to the right. Dr. John Palmer Deyo was born in Ulster County, New York in 1804. In 1833, he came to Ohio on horseback. Dr. Deyo settled four and one-half miles north of Bellevue, and he was a pioneer physician in that region. After his father's death, Dr. Deyo gave up medicine, and took over his father's farm. John Palmer Deyo married Sarah Foster in 1836. Dr. Palmer died in 1898, and his wife Sarah died in 1887.



Young Joshua was the son of J. Steward. He died on January 12, 1854, at the age of three years and twelve days. While some of the older tombstones at Deyo Cemetery have inscriptions that are illegible, Joshua Steward's inscription is easily read.A star adorns the top of Joshua's tombstone.

Cholera Victims Remembered

In the July 8, 2009 issue of the Sandusky Register, cholera victims from Sandusky's past are remembered. Though a subscription is required to read the complete article, a portion of the article, along with two photos can be accessed here:

"Cholera Epidemic Ravaged Sandusky"

Mrs. Mary M. Warren

Flat against the ground at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky is a tombstone for Mrs. Mary M. Warren, who died on July 9, 1856, at the age of 42 years, 9 months, and 22 days.


Mrs. Warren's tombstone states that she was the wife of E. W. Warren. Erie County Probate Court records available on FamilySearch indicate that Mary Matilda Burrows married E. W. Warren on October 22, 1838 .

A Rootsweb website gives much more detail about Ebenezer W. Warren and his family. Ebenezer Warren eventually re-married, and moved to Michigan. The web site Findagrave.com shows that he was buried in the Wild Cherry Cemetery in Hillsdale County, Michigan in 1869.

Not all the words of the inscription are legible, but the words that can be read are:

...suffer'd long with disease ..of the...
But this .....head is at rest
....and aching.......
.....quiet immovable breast
.........affliction no more.

None knew her but to love her.

It certainly appears that Mrs. Warren was greatly loved and missed, by the poignant words on her grave.

Graves Cemetery in Margaretta Township

Graves Cemetery is located in Margaretta Township, south of Castalia, Ohio. As its name would suggest, several people with the surname Graves are buried here.






Emily and Alice Graves were sisters, the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Erasmus Graves. According to the obituary of Miss Emily Graves, found in the 1934 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library, her father was one of the earliest settlers of Erie County, and he platted the Graves Cemetery. Alice Graves died in 1927, and Emily Graves died in 1934.


A large monument in memory of the Bardwell and Graves families is found towards the back of the Graves Cemetery.




To the left of this monument are three stones:

Sarah Ann Graves, wife of James G. Snowden
1835-1916 (Sarah Ann Bardwell was married first to William L. Graves)

William L. Graves
1831-1874

Effie M. Daughter of W.L. And S.A. Graves
1860-1864

To the right of the Bardwell-Graves monument are two stones honoring the parents of Sarah:

Salmon D. Bardwell
1796-1852

and

Lucy A. Bardwell
1806-1879



On the northern edge of the Graves Cemetery is a lovely blackberry tree, which was laden with berries at the time of my visit.



More details about the individuals buried at Graves Cemetery can be found by viewing the microfilmed records of Erie County cemeteries at the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. The Graves Cemetery records are on the reel containing the films of the note cards from cemeteries of Margaretta Township.

Favorite Cemetery Photo

The July 1, 2009 posting from The Association of Graveyard Rabbits blog challenges the Graveyard Rabbits to choose their favorite cemetery-related photo. My favorite cemetery photo is the picture of the female sculpture which honors the memory of the daughters of Vincent Kerber, as discussed in an earlier blog post.

The pensive lady symbolizes to me a mother figure in Heaven, looking down, and thinking, "Now what are those kids up to today?" Certainly at the time this sculpture was placed in the St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio, computers had not yet been created, and no one had any idea as to what the word blog may mean. Finding the stories associated with the individuals buried in cemeteries around the Sandusky Bay area has been such a joy, and I would like to think this stone lady would be pleased.

Children of Moors and Samantha Farwell

Though barely legible, this tombstone honors the memory of three children of Moors and Samantha Farwell.

Records from the ERIE COUNTY CEMETERY CENSUS BEFORE 1909, provide these names and dates for the Farwell children:

M.E. Farwell
Died June 25, 1837
Age 4 hours

T.M. Farwell
Died July 8, 1842
Age 2 years, 2 months

T. J. Farwell
Died September 29, 1842
Aged 39 days

Moors Farwell was the first Mayor of Sandusky. He was first married to Sarah Cooke. (Sarah Cooke was the sister of Eleutheros Cooke, the first lawyer in Sandusky.) Sarah Cooke Farwell died on February 28, 1827, and she is buried in Huron County. Moors and Sarah Farwell had a daughter Sarah Farwell, who married Jeremiah Cochran.

According to the publication NEWSPAPER ABSTRACTS, HURON COUNTY, OHIO, 1822-1835, by H. R. Timman,Moors Farwell of Sandusky, married Miss Semantha Dean of Cortlandville, on June 17, 1831 at Cortlandville, New York. (This item appeared in the Sandusky Clarion on July 6,1831.) In the 1850 Erie County Census, Moors and Semantha/Samantha Farwell had these children living with them:

Julia Farwell, age 17
Maryetta Farwell, age 16
and
Augusta Farwell, age 12

The R. B. Hayes Center's Obituary Index indicates that Moors Farwell died on December 14, 1850. Mrs. Samantha Farwell married Samuel Enoch Hitchcock in 1858. They moved to Alpena, Michigan, where Samuel was instrumental in organizing the first church of Alpena County. Julia Farwell appears in their household in Michigan in the 1880 U.S. Census. Augusta and Maryette Farwell both passed away in 1852, while still in their teens, according to Oakland Cemetery records.

It is sad that these Farwell children died so young. Their father was very active in the early affairs of Huron and Erie County, and their mother was a pioneer citizen of Alpena, Michigan. Had they lived longer, they too may have made significant contributions to their community.