#22 Tedrow Cemetery

For this week’s “At the Cemetery” prompt, I’m going to take a look at Tedrow Cemetery in Dover Township, Fulton County, Ohio. A lot of Belknap’s are buried there, including Thomas Belknap, our ancestor that originally left New England and came to Ohio to continue our branch of the Belknap tree.

Tedrow Cemetery is located on the north side of County Road J, just east of the village of Tedrow. The cemetery has also been known as Spring Hill Cemetery and Eldredge Cemetery.

Photo from Janet L. Parker, Find-a-Grave

Family members buried here include:

• Thomas Belknap (1803-1889)
• Polly Ann Farr Belknap (1837-1887), Thomas’ 3rd wife
• Zera Belknap (1853-1920), Thomas and Polly’s oldest son
• Mary Jane Kessler Belknap (1854-1928), Zera’s wife
• Frederick Belknap (1889-1920) – Zera and Mary’s son
• Myron Belknap (1855-1929), Thomas and Polly’s 2nd son
• Alice Lucelia Belknap Shaffer (1857-1944), Thomas and Polly’s oldest daughter
• David Shaffer (1848-1911), Alice’s husband
• Gertrude Shaffer (1876-1889), Alice and David’s daughter
• Lucretia Belknap (1860-1900), Thomas and Polly’s 2nd daughter
• Henry McDole (1854-1915), Lucretia’s husband
• Lucina Ellen Belknap (1866-1907), Thomas and Polly’s 3rd daughter
• John Q. Clark (1861-1946), Lucina’s husband
• Bessie A. Clark Bachman (1887-1920), Lucina and John’s daughter

Lucina Belknap Clark’s tombstone in Tedrow Cemetery, Fulton Co., Ohio (photo is from 2005)

Only 3 of Thomas’ children are not buried in Tedrow: Francis M., Thomas J., and Arthur.

A very helpful transcription for Tedrow Cemetery can be found here: http://www.crewfamily.com/tombstones/volume_1_page_112.htm.

Week 22 (May 27-June 2): At the Cemetery

#38 – Tombstones

Tombstones aren’t too unusual as a source, but sometimes they aren’t highly accurate. And often they only give names and birth and death years. But sometimes they have additional information that can be useful and point your research in the right direction. I’ll post some examples from my own family below.

Sometimes stones list military service, branches, and/or units.

Sometimes, stones will list the parents of the deceased. This is especially helpful if you have a lot of people in your tree with the same name.

This is my aunt and her husband. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, stones will have full dates and even marriage dates (kind of tiny above their last name it says “Together Forever. Married 7-4-1960).

This is my great-great grandfather. His stone tells the city and country of his birth. And it’s actually correct, although his birth name was Johan Axel Rustad.

52 Ancestors #38 – Unusual Source

Tombstone Tuesday – Martha Gisel Belknap, 1869-1925

This is a photo of a photo of Arthur Belknap (1869-1955) at the grave of his wife Martha Gisel Belknap (1869-1925) in Wauseon Union Cemetery in Wauseon, Ohio.  She died in a car accident that was mentioned in this previous post: A Tragedy and a Mystery.

Martha Gisel was born 21 June 1869 in Ohio.  In the 1880 Federal Census, she was living with her family in Franklin, Fulton County, Ohio.  Her parents were John Gisel (1843-1923) and Margaret Rhost (1848-1939), both were born in Switzerland.  Martha had a daughter Minnie on 31 Mar 1887 and married Arthur Belknap in Fulton County, Ohio on 5 March 1890.  They had four sons and a daughter (Floyd, Earl, Belva, Orville, and Kennard).  As mentioned in a previous post, Martha died in a car accident in Michigan on 15 September 1925.

Martha and Arthur Belknap with Minnie and Floyd, abt. 1893

Tombstone Tuesday – Back to Nature

I don’t know who this tombstone belongs to.  I could find no name or dates.  They are most likely facing the tree stump now.  This stone is located in Newburgh Cemetery in Livonia, Mich.  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1197

A visit to Briggs Cemetery

This cemetery is so strange to visit.  It is behind a building that used to be a church (?) and is now a theatre.  It has no fences and is located on a very busy road with lots of traffic noise.

Here’s a link to the complete cemetery transcriptions and pictures!  Very handy!  http://www.usgwarchives.org/mi/tsphoto/wayne/briggs.htm

Ancestors in this cemetery are all Everitts, uncles, aunts and cousins of my 4X Great-Grandfather George Baxter Everitt.

Above: Marshall Everitt, uncle of George B. Everitt

Above: Catherine VanGorden Everitt, wife of Marshall

Above: The backs of Marshall and Catherine’s tombstones.  His says “Our Father” and her’s says “Our Mother.”

A visit to Newburgh Cemetery

Newburgh Cemetery is an old cemetery located on Ann Arbor Trail in Livonia, Michigan.   Many members of my Everitt ancestors (and one Bolt that I know of) are buried in this cemetery.  Apparently, Everitts were early settlers in the area.    The cemetery dates from 1827, when Salmon Kingsley, a Revolutionary War veteran, was buried here.

Above:  Tombstone of George Everitt (1778-1854), Uncle of my 4x Great-Grandfather George Baxter Everitt

Above: Elizabeth VanGordon Everitt (1786-1872), wife of Uncle George. Her sister Catherine married George’s brother Marshall.  They are buried in another Livonia Cemetery that I’ll talk about next time.

Above: Isaiah Bolt (1799-1856), my 4x Great-Grandfather.  His son, William Dillon Bolt, married the above-mentioned George Baxter Everitt’s daughter, Mary Jane Everitt in 1860.