Category: Cemeteries

Tombstone Tuesday: James Whitcomb Riley

7/28/2014

Grave site of James Whitcomb Riley, Crown Hill Cemetery

A couple of weeks ago, my son was spending his mornings at an art workshop at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Across the street from the museum lies Indianapolis's Crown Hill Cemetery, so my daughter and I decided to explore it one day, after dropping him off.

First of all, the cemetery, is HUGE: 555 acres, which makes it the third largest non-governmental cemetery in the United States. I downloaded their map onto my phone, because I wanted to see some of the more 'famous' graves before we had to go back to pick up my son.

There is an actual Crown Hill at the cemetery, which is the highest point in the city of Indianapolis. I drove our car to the top of the hill, and that's where we began our adventure. At the top of that hill is buried James Whitcomb Riley, a nationally-recognized Indiana-born author and poet, known especially for his children's literature. Riley's name is an everyday word to those of us living in the Indy area; the Children's Hospital is named after him, as is the Riley Children's Foundation, which funds not only the hospital, but camps and other programs dedicated to the health and well-being of children.

Even having known about Riley's legacy in the city of Indianapolis, I still was still emotionally touched when we walked up to his grave site. Underneath beautiful classical columns lay his stone and this plaque.

Plaque near gravestone of James Whitcomb Riley

I gave my daughter some coins to place on his grave.

She sat next to a life-size statue of a child reading before we continued our adventure walking around the cemetery.

James Whitcomb Riley is not part of my family tree, but I enjoyed this visit to his grave just as much as I do when I visit family members' graves. Sometimes we genealogists are so focused on finding just OUR ancestors that we don't realize there are so many amazing stories and amazing people to learn about outside of our families who have had great impacts on our lives and our communities.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: Graves of Memphis

7/7/2014

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My family and I are on vacation this week. We made a two-day stop in Memphis, Tennessee on our way to our final destination, and, not surprisingly, I have photos of gravestones to share. And, although these graves have nothing to do with my or my husband's family histories, I still found them fascinating.

Our first destination was Graceland, former home of the late Elvis Presley. Towards the end of the tour, we were able to view his family's burial plot on the grounds of the estate. Neither me nor my husband are fanatical Elvis fans, but we do enjoy his music from time to time and we appreciate his strong influence on music history. The burial plot was beautiful, with a lovely, clear fountain, and a semi-circular pergola and brick wall with some really nice stained glass windows embedded in it.

He is buried with his parents, Vernon Elvis Presley and Gladys Love Smith Presley, and his paternal grandmother, Minnie Mae Presley. There is also a small memorial plaque dedicated to Elvis' twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, who was stillborn. The tributes written on the plaques of each stone are just very endearing and you can tell they were written with love.

The small print on Elvis' stone reads, "He was a precious gift from God we cherished and loved dearly. He had a God-given talent that he shared with the world, and without a doubt, he became most widely acclaimed, capturing the hearts of young and old alike. He was admired not only as an entertainer, but as the great humanitarian that he was; for his generosity, and his kind feelings for his fellow man. He revolutionized the field of music and received its highest awards. He became a living legend in his own time, earning the respect and love of millions. God saw that he needed some rest and called him home to be with Him. We miss you, Son and Daddy. I thank God that He gave us you as our son. By: Vernon Presley"

Later that evening, we took a drive to Memphis National Cemetery. The weather was nice, and we wanted to spend some time outside so that the kids could walk and run around a little. (Yes, normal parents would probably look for a playground or park, but we're not normal :-))

Memphis National Cemetery

It was a good decision, because the kids enjoyed it and it was the first time they had ever been to a national cemetery. We had to explain to them that these were the graves of people who served in the military and their family members. My son tried to read some of the stones, but he needed help with some of the military abbreviations and state names. My daughter found the graves with the prettiest flowers and wanted me to take photos of her next to them.

We looked around at some of the graves, just kind of noting where these people were from and when they served in the Armed Forces. There isn't a whole lot of information on these small stones, but my husband found one that was particularly interesting and told a bigger story indicative of the time and place in which this man served. Dale Moore was a sergeant in the U.S. Army and served in Korea and Vietnam. He passed away at a relatively young age, possibly while on duty. Buried with him is his wife, Yung Min Moore, a woman he evidently met while he was serving in the Far East. She lived a good deal longer than her husband, but it doesn't appear that she remarried. And the baby, born in 1962 - just tugs at your heartstrings.

We were initially surprised to find large monuments for the states of Minnesota and Illinois, but not after we looked around and saw how many Civil War soldiers from those states were interred here. Once we got there, we also did a little reading about the cemetery (aren't smartphones wonderful?) and learned that this cemetery has the second-most number of 'unknown' interments of any national cemetery, with over 8,800 interments being unknown.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: Johann Michael Drees

6/23/2014

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On my recent trip to the Family History Library, I looked up a few birth, marriage, and death records for the Drees Family. Frances Drees Grilliot was my husband's great-grandmother on his Dad's side of the family. Her grandfather, Johann Michael Drees, was born in 1812 in Garrel, Cloppenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany, and immigrated to America in 1833.

Johann Michael, a blacksmith by trade, was one of the first settlers of Minster, Ohio, and actually served as the town's first mayor. Because he was quite an influential person at the time, a short biography was published in the book, History of Western Ohio and Auglaize County by C.W. Williamson (1905). This biography is great, because, among other information, it states Johann Michael's hometown, tells me when and how he came to live in Ohio, and says who he traveled with. (His hometown is also listed on his gravestone, which is shown below.)

Using their online catalog, I discovered that the Family History Library does have Catholic Kirchenbuch records for Cloppenburg going back into the 1600s, so I was excited to look through them. Here is Johann Michael Drees' baptism record below. His father's name is also Johann Michael, which I already knew, because the biography I mentioned above referred to him as 'Jr.' He was baptized 19 May 1812 (second record from the bottom). His mother's name was Maria Catherine Högemann.

Baptism Record for Johann Michael Drees (b. 1812)

Johann Michael died 18 Feb 1878 and is buried in St. Augustine's Cemetery in Minster. Interestingly, his gravestone (below) states that he was born 19 Jun instead of 19 May. Now, I am pretty certain that that baptism record says '19 May.' April is clearly right before May, but then if you look at the top of the next page, it says 'July.' So, either there weren't any baptisms in June, there was some mistake by the priest or scribe who entered the records, or Johann Michael (or his descendants) was (were) just mistaken about his birth month.

Gravestone Photo Source: FindaGrave.com; photographed by A. Chronicler.

Baptism Record Source: FHL Film 909936, Kirchenbuch, 1613-1875, Katholische Kirche Cloppenburg

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: Bernard and Frances (Drees) Grilliot

6/9/2014

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This is the tombstone of Bernard Otto Grilliot and Frances Marie Drees Grilliot, who were the parents of Naomi Grilliot Schroeder, my husband's paternal grandmother. They are buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in McCartyville, Ohio (Shelby County).

Bernard was born 16 November 1898 in Patterson Township, Darke County, Ohio. His parents were Nicholas Grilliot and Amelia Magoto, who were both Ohio-born children of French Catholic immigrants. Frances Marie Drees was born 28 December 1900 near McCartyville. She was the youngest child of J.M. "Mike" Drees and Mary Catherine Wilkens, who were both Ohio-born children of German-Catholic immigrants.

Bernard and Frances were married 31 May 1921 at Sacred Heart Church in McCartyville. They had ten children, born between 1922 and 1940. Bernard ran a local farm implement business, which he later sold to his sons, Bernard "Buddy" and Tom Grilliot. Bernard Otto Grilliot passed away 24 February 1980 and Frances Grilliot passed away 17 Feb 1988.

Photo Source: FindAGrave.com; photo taken by Joan Shoffner.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: Johann Christopher and Maria Angela Bernhold

5/12/2014

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These are the tombstones of Johann Christopher Bernhold and his wife, Maria Angela Mehring, who are buried in St. Augustine Cemetery in Minster, Ohio. They are my husband's 4x great-grandparents through his paternal grandfather's (Schroeder) line.

Gravestone of Johann Christopher Bernhold

Gravestone of Maria Angela Bernhold

Johann Christopher (who usually went by just Christopher) and Maria Angela were from Hunteberg, Niedersachsen, Germany; according to immigration information found at AidaOnline, more specifically the district of Welplage. In 1846, they immigrated to the U.S. with their four children, Karl ("Charles"), Ernst Friederich Heinrich ('Fritz", "Frank", "Fred"), Anna Maria Sophia Engel, and Herman Heinrich. Two daughters, Anna Maria Elizabeth and Margaretha Engel, passed away in Hunteberg in the 1840s, prior to the family's emigration. (The location of Hunteburg is shown below:)

The Bernhold family settled in the German immigrant community around Minster, Ohio, where they ran an average-sized family farm. By the 1870 Census, Christopher and Angela were living with their son, Herman, and his wife. Maria Angela passes away in 1874, but Christopher is listed in the 1880 Census, still living with Herman. That census form is difficult to read, but it states that Christopher, at about the age of 80, still "works some on farm."

Photo source: FindAGrave.com; photographed by Crashlan.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: Joseph Anton Brunswick

5/5/2014

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This is the gravestone of Joseph Anton Brunswick, who was the grandfather of my husband's maternal grandmother, Rita Brunswick Tumbush. According to county probate birth records, he was born December 3, 1867 in St. John, Ohio (Mercer County), which is very close to Maria Stein. He was the fifth child of Andrew Brunswick, a German immigrant, and Philomena Oldendiek, the daughter of German immigrants.

Gravestone of Joseph A. Brunswick

Joseph married twice. He married a young widow, Bernadina Rolfes Vehorn, on April 4, 1894 at Maria Stein. She passed away December 27, 1905, a couple of weeks after giving birth to their seventh child. He remained a widower until 1925, when he married the widow Elizabeth Boeckman Droesch. He died September 30, 1940, and is buried in St. Wendelin Cemetery in Mercer County, Ohio. His obituary from the October 4, 1940 edition of The Minster Post is below:

Joseph A. Brunswick Obituary (Source: The Minster Post, 4 Oct 1940)

Gravestone image source: FindAGrave.com; photographed by tut

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Tombstone Tuesday: George and Rosalie Voisinet

3/3/2014

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This past Sunday, I wrote a blog post about the family of George and Rosalie (Jardot) Voisinet, French immigrants who were my husband's 5x great-grandparents. George and Rosalie immigrated to America in 1852 from Evette, France and settled in Loramie Twp, Shelby County, Ohio. They are buried in St. Remy Cemetery in Russia, Ohio. A nice, detailed history of the St. Remy Parish can be found at this link.

Source: FindAGrave.com, photographed by Jenni Monnier

George and Rosalie passed away in 1866 and 1875, respectively, so this is obviously not their original gravestone. It's nice to see that there are descendants out there who are willing to contribute to the maintenance (and replacement) of their gravestone.

©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder

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Tombstone Tuesday: William and Mary (Watercutter) Knob

2/17/2014

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William and Mary (Watercutter) Knob are buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in McCartyville, Ohio (Shelby County). They are two of my husband's great-great grandparents on his paternal side of the family.

William Knob was the youngest child of German immigrants Heinrich Knob and Anna Pancier. The gravestone is difficult to read; it states that William was born in 1867 and died in 1947. His death certificate says he was born in 1869. Age clues from census records are inconclusive - his birth year could be anywhere between 1867 and 1869. I have not yet located any probate birth record or church baptism record.

Mary Watercutter was the daughter of Henry Bernard Watercutter and Caroline Lohman, who were both children of German immigrants. Based on census age clues, which are pretty consistent for her, Mary was born around 1878, which also what her death record indicates. The gravestone almost looks as if her birth year is 1873, but I have never physically been to this grave, so it just may be weathering. I will have to check the next time I am in the area. Mary passed away on July 5, 1965.

Gravestone of William and Mary Knob (Source: FindAGrave.com, photographed by Joan Shoffner)

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Tombstone Tuesday: William and Dina (Licciardi) Bellan

2/3/2014

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My maternal grandparents, William and Dina (Licciardi) Bellan are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Brookpark, Ohio. My grandfather passed away 25 years ago this past week, and sadly, was laid to rest on my mom's birthday.

Of any of my family's gravestones, I have visited this one the most throughout my life. As you can see, my grandmother lived about eight years longer than her husband, and her parents are buried very close to this grave as well, so we often came with her to the cemetery to visit. I took this photo last year when we visited on Memorial Day weekend. We brought some flowers and my daughter helped put them down.

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Tombstone Tuesday: Christopher and Catherine Magoto

12/9/2013

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Christopher Magoto and his wife, Catherine Humbert Magoto are buried in Darke County, Ohio's Holy Family Cemetery. They are my husband's 4x great-grandparents through his paternal grandmother's line. Christopher and Catherine were born in the town of Hannonville-sous-les-Côtes, which is located in the Lorraine region of northeastern France. In 1852, they left France with six of their children and sailed to America, entering the country at New York City and subsequently making their way to the small French Catholic communities located in the northeastern portion of Darke County, Ohio. Like most other French and German immigrants in the area, they lived on a farm, grew crops, and raised livestock. Catherine passed away in 1861 at age 49, while Christopher lived until 1892, when he passed away at age 80. He did not remarry after his wife passed away.

When I found both Christopher and Catherine's French civil birth records, I noticed that the ages at death as inscribed on the gravestone were incorrect (fairly common, esp. for immigrants). Also, like most French immigrants in this area, the family changed their surname from 'Magotaux,' which is how it is spelled on Christopher's birth record, to the more phonetic and easily-spelled 'Magoto.' I do love that Catherine's maiden name is included on the gravestone; if only all of our female ancestor's had theirs on their stones - tracing female lines would be so much easier!