Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1939-08-03
CHAPTER VII
Cemeteries
,MeiRS


This cemetery is situated on stat'
highway 78, just east of the village
of Meigs. The markers to those
stone, and on account of the fac
that they have scaled off the in
scriptiOns are in many cases un
readable. We shall not attempt te
give dates of the first burials, but
they date back more than century
We presume the ground was first
used for a cemetery, when the
church and hall mentioned before
was first built. This has always
been a free burial ground, and like
all country cemeteries started in
those times was never laid out with
regard to regularity of rows, and
many graves unmarked, and the
names of the persons. who sleep
there are unknown to this genera
tion. We remember a few years ago
in helping dig a grave, we dug into
two such graves, and had to go
over into another row to get a va
cant space.
Those who selected this ground
were looking no doubt to beauti-
full location, rather than an easy
place to dig graves. Quite a bit of
the ground is underlaid with ledge
of limerick, which starts from near
the top Of the ground and extends
to the bottom of the graves, and
takes real work to get grave fin
ished in time. OF late years, dyna-
mite has been used which lessons
the work. In the case of one grave
dug, three truck loads of rock were
taken out. We are not telling you
this to discourage you and keep you
from wanting to be buried here, as
it is the sections who have the hard
task, and as we said before, it is a
beautiful spot in which to sleep the
last sleep. In this ground, earth
to, earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to
dust" has been said over the re-
mains Of hundreds from the babe to
the old and inf1rm, but it has al
ways been sad day for some when
a loved one was laid away.
The pioneer who came over land
in the covered wagon, rests beside
the ashes of their children, grand
and great grandchildren. Men who
have left much of this worlds
goods, lie beside those who perhaps
at times knew the pangs of want
and hunger. Mayhap saint and sin
ner. At least several men who
served their church as elders, are
inferred here. Perhaps the most
prominent church man was Seth An
drews-highly educated and a
preacher of the Christian church.
Well we remember many of the
gems of education, as we'll as
thoughts of the Christian life scat
tered as seed, by the sower. "Uncle
Seth" as he was known to neigh
bors and friends, lived on our road
to school, and many was the even
ing we were invited in to eat the
fine apples he had stored away, and
that he might give us apples of wis
dom out of his vast store house of
knowledge. He was the father Of
Prof Martin Andrews, for many
years of the Marietta college, and
Rev. Frank Andrews, whose home
at last account was in Indiana. We
the local church, when on visit
remember of folks telling of hear
ing him two miles away, the win
dows of the meeting house being up.
Soldier Dead
In this cemetery are buried SOL
diers of all wars but World war, as
follows: Revolutionary Hugh Os-
borne; John Lindimore, Isaac
Whitehouse, 1912; Simon Merwin,
Isaac Morey, Jared Andrews, Mexi-
can war; Simon Merwin, Isaac Nor
ey, both Mexican and Civil war;
Edward Hempfield, w. j. Shook, j.
C. Murduck, VIM. E. Matson, j. b.
Merwin, J. J. Harper, j. w. Ashton,
Ralph Mcconnell, David Lawrence,
Thomas Martin, Caleb Wells, Chas.
McCallister, Japheth Smith, Civil
war; Spanish-American, Robert
Frank Bailey.
Somehow we can't help wonder
ing why there cart be some provis-
ion whereby the national or state
government might appropriate
sum to take care of these graves.
While all the soldier graves in this
cemetery have the flagstaff which
bears the name of the soldier-the
war in which he served, and in the
case of the Civil war the company
and regiment, yet many times not
so much here as in cemeteries un-
der township supervision, the
grounds are i'll kept.
This cemetery is the last resting