Revolutionary War Officer First Individual Buried in Famous Mound Cemetery Here

Marietta Daily Times, April 7, 1938

Colonel Robert Taylor, Revolutionary War officer, with numerous direct descendants residing in and near Marietta, was the first individual buried in the famous Mound Cemetery here. Colonel Taylor died on September 30, 1801, "in the 65th year of his age."

In the little plot near the fence on the Sixth Street side of the cemetery are stones marking also the graves of his wife, Jane Taylor, and a daughter. An inscription records that Mrs. Taylor "departed this life Feb. 26th, 1819, in the 79th year of her age."

One time resident of Attleborough, Mass., Colonel Taylor came here with Commodore Abraham Whipple in 1799. He bought a farm of 200 acres along what is known now as Miller's Lane, a few miles east of Marietta. He acquired another tract in Fearing Township, near Whipple, and there he and his family resided at the time of his death.

The exact location of this tract has not been determined, according to Louis E. Miller, a great-grandson, living at 713 Fifth Street. Mr. Miller, aged 81, is the oldest surviving descendant. Great-great-granddaughters are Mrs. Emma West, Mrs. Lucy Racer and Mrs. Etta Miller Smith, all living in the Reno neighborhood, Marietta Township. Mrs. Smith is the wife of Clayton B. Smith, one time deputy in the Probate Court. They are parents of Glenn B. Smith of the county surveyor's office here, and a lieutenant in Company A, 166th Infantry, Ohio National Guard.

Lieutenant Smith has preserved some records dating back to the period of his relatives' residence here. There is a receipted bill for $6, the price of the black walnut coffin in which the colonel was laid to rest. Another bill for funeral charges totaled $2.25. One John Shaw appends his signature as recipient of these sums in full.

Here is a letter, faded and time-stained, written at Attleborough, Mass., to Colonel Taylor more than 137 years ago. Creases preserve the envelope form in which it was folded for "carriage," but time has obliterated every vestige of the seal. It was penned by John Tilton, a New England friend of the pioneering family. He was concerned as to how they fared in the "wild western state of Ohio."

Attleborough, 31st March 1800.

Dear Sir:

I received your agreeable favor of the 13th of January last on the 26th instant. Although I heard of your safe arrival, was very anxious to hear of your welfare, and how you and the family bore the fatigues of the journey.

We were exceeding glad on receiving the lines you wrote us, and we often mention the many agreeable hours which were spent in company by both families. I am glad to hear your town lot is so well situated, which must make it valuable. I suppose the land is natural to Indian corn as the other grains you mention, for I heard great fame of the production of that grain in the western country.

Your purchase of those articles of trade you mention - the profits of which will pay your expenses - is no small acquisition. I hope you are well supplied with fish that's peculiar to that country, and plenty of every kind in abundance.

Received a letter from (illegible) in answer to the one you were so kind as to forward from Pittsburgh, in which she mentions that Mr. Prince was in hopes to get you to settle in Cincinnati, as the country is so much superior, and they did so much better than in Marietta. he intended to write you on the subject, which I hope you have received ere this.

Nothing of any consequence has happened among us since your departure, except some failures. Job Sweeting has sold all his estate to Barry A. Page for five thousand dollars, and intends to purchase a farm. Capt. Page is about exchanging the estate with Jabez (name illegible) in North Providence, for his place. Doct. Sterling desires his best respects to you and family. He has met with an unfortunate loss in the death of his son a few weeks since, by suicide.

Your friends in town and country in general are well, and were exceeding glad to hear from you, and desire their best regards to you and family. I hope you have not made a purchase before you hear from Cincinnati. perhaps that part of the country would suit better than Marietta.

We have had a comfortable Winter. February and March were the most tedious. I hope in your next you'll be able to write us how you are settled, and your prospects, which i hope will be as soon as you receive this.

We have had great mourning and lamentation for the death of our illustrious and great General Washington, news of which has no doubt reached you ere this. As to politics, we have but little news except the New Constitution in France, and Boneparte being at the head of Government. We are all well at present. Mrs. Tilton and Mrs. (Benoset?) join with me in the most unfeigned love and esteem to yourself and family. And believe me, dear Sr., your humble servant,

John Tilton

P.S. Since writing the above, I thought it best to send this to the care of Col. Sprout, as you did not mention your being settled at Marietta, and perhaps you have gone to Cincinnati, and have paid the postage there. Please write to me often. Be assured that Mrs. Tilton and myself will be glad at all times to hear of your welfare and family. . . . Your son, Robert, thinks exceeding hard that you did not give him the lot up town, as now he is deprived of voting, and not eligible for any office in Town or Government. I remain as above.

John Tilton 

Old Families Still Factors Here

 The Marietta Daily Times, November 9, 1934

Three descendants of soldiers of the War of the Revolution, who later became early pioneers of this section, were candidates for election to Washington County offices at the election on Tuesday. This interesting and perhaps unprecedented fact is called to our attention by Mrs. E. W. Hill, Sr. Evidence that the militant and pioneering spirit has persisted down through the generations since the settlement of this area is furnished by the fact that two of the three members of these old families were successful at the polls.

In historic Mound Cemetery may be found this inscription: "General Rufus Putnam, a Revolutionary officer and leader of the colony which made the first settlement in the Northwest, April 7, 1788. Born April 9, 1738. Died May 4, 1824. The memory of the just is blessed." Arthur D. Mackey, who led the Republican ticket in the number of votes received and was elected sheriff by an overwhelming plurality, is a descendant of General Putnam, who has been called the "founder and father of Ohio."

On another stone is this inscription: "Colonel William Stacy, Revolutionary soldier. Born in Massachusetts, 1730. Came to Marietta, 1788. Proprietor in Ohio Company. Foreman of first grand jury in Ohio. Died in Marietta, Ohio, in 1802." Colonel Stacy was a prisoner of Indians for four years and was saved from being burned at the stake by giving an Indian chief the Masonic sign. Lloyd S. Stacy of Adams Township, who was chosen to represent Washington County in the lower house of the General Assembly, is a descendant of this brave soldier and pioneer.

Another marker in the cemetery bears this inscription: "In memory of Colonel Robert Taylor, who departed this life September 30, 1801, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, being the first interment in this burying ground." This Revolutionary War soldier and early pioneer here was one of the ancestors of Ezra Racer Miller, who was candidate for county auditor on the Republican ticket.

A Live Man Dug Out of Marietta Mound

 The Marietta Register, April 23, 1886

Such was the startling statement made in all the dwellings and on the streets of the little town of Marietta sixty-five years ago. Some believed it, many doubted it, but all were anxious to know the fact. The unbelieving were referred to as truthful a man as lived on Fifth Street; he said "it was true that he had aided in the work."

To make my story short, Father G., who was the grave-yard sexton, had a flock of sheep which were allowed to roam among the tombs, watched by his three sons. Weary of the monotony of looking after the flock by night, the boys with shovel and hoe determined they would to their minds unsolve the mystery of the great mound.

When darkness had spread over the earth, they began their work on the top of the elevation and almost noiselessly put down a hole six feet deep. The elder was below, arranging for further work, when in a moment the sides began to give way and before he could be rescued the dirt fastened him. 

Quick haste was made by one of the frightened boys with the news to his father. Armed with bottle of spirits and a good raw-hide, the old fellow climbed the fence and up the sides of the mound to its summit. With great industry, but more noise, the earth was pitched away and the youngster was relieved from his prison confinement only to feel the rod as soon as he recovered, for thus violating the sacred place and making a town talk at the expense of the family. In the Mound Annual can all this be found, and much more.

Some people say that 1,000 years ago this country was more densely populated than now. I have not time now to give my views on this subject, but I must tell you about one of their burying places. On the top of the hill back of the old Platt place, northeast from the Court House about one mile, from the beginning there has been a heap of earth rising above the surface of the ground about seven feet, thirty-five feet long and at the broadest place about fifteen feet wide. Some have supposed it natural, others have supposed it the work of the Mound Builders.

With the support of the owner of the land, Mr. Adam Brown, on the 20th day of this month (that is Tuesday of this week), Capt. Sayre and myself, with excellent assistants, began the work of discovery. After going down with a hole six feet square for four and one-half feet, we came to a flat rock six feet long and three feet wide and five inches thick, evidently brought from a distance and placed with a purpose where it was. Underneath this we knew was the treasure, perhaps something that would tell us when and by whom all these works were made.

The long stone was with difficulty and great care removed. Underneath it - Oh what a find. We were not sold. You will not be sold if you pay your quarter and see all the interesting things we unearthed, exhibited as they will be on Thursday and Friday evenings of this week at the Presbyterian Fair in the Clarke house on 4th Street.

W.

*     *     *     *     *

The Marietta Register, April 30, 1886:

That Mound Story

Mr. Editor: In the Register of April 23d someone over the signature of "W." tells a great cock and bull story about a live man being dug out of Marietta Mound. He commenced by saying, "such was the startling statement made in all the dwellings and on the streets of the little town of Marietta sixty-five years ago. Some believed it, many doubted it, but all were anxious to know the fact. The unbelieving were referred to as truthful a man as lived on Fifth Street. He said, "it was true that he had aided in the work." To make my story short, Father G., who was the graveyard sexton, had a flock of sheep which were allowed to roam among the tombs, watched over by his three sons . . .

Now, in regard to the above statement, I am prepared to say from personal knowledge, that not one word of the essential points in the same are true. The whole story was a fabrication from beginning to end, put forth as one of the wonderful events that took place in the early days of our pleasant little town. 

It so happens that I was well acquainted with "Father G." as referred to above. I am his eldest son and happened to be 15 years old at the time this event should have occurred. My father was sexton at the time and for some years after, but never dug a half dozen graves in the graveyard during his life time. Myself and grandfather, Jimmie Hill, dug nearly all the graves from 1820 to 1825. I was intimately acquainted with all concerned about the Mound Cemetery from my early boyhood days until I was a man grown, and know that there never was a hole of any kind or at any time dug in the summit of the mound in question. 

It is true that "Father G." had a large family, that I am the eldest son, that at the time of this event I had one brother who was a boy some 12 years old, the third boy spoken of was dead at the time, the fourth boy happened to be a girl. So that there could not have been more than two boys able to operate at the time. We had sheep at the time that were allowed to run at large, as did others. There was but little or no fence around the cemetery at the time, to prevent our sheep or others from feeding there, and the idea of watching our sheep at night is far fetched and untrue.

My father was a poor mechanic who raised a large family by his industry; he was an honest, industrious and truthful man. His boys wore linsey and went barefoot in the summer, but they were honorable and upright. A raw-hide was an article never used or kept in the family to my knowledge. There was no town talk about the event at the expense of the family.

What he calls "Mound Annual" I confess to be a document that I have never seen, but should like to do so. However, no odds for the Mound Annual, I know that the whole story is false as to the event, not a syllable of it is true. 

I do this in self-defense, as I happened to be a live boy at the time of the great event, and thank God that I am alive yet and in good condition, and surrounded by a few old residents that lived in that day to whom I can appeal for my truth and veracity.

William Glines

Resurrection of Pioneers

The Marietta Register, November 2, 1871:

The City Council recently passed an order for the removal of the remains of persons buried on the ridge just south of Oak Grove Cemetery. This ridge was the site of the first burial ground in Marietta, laid out as a cemetery by the Ohio Company at the foundation of the city, in 1788. It was abandoned as a cemetery about seventy years ago.

During the Indian War, 1791-95, this ground, being in an exposed situation, was forsaken and burials were made on the brow of the sand hill, now dug off, just above Wooster Street on the line of Third. March 13, 1791, Capt. Joseph Rogers, one of the spies or rangers of the garrison at Campus Martius, was killed by the Indians on the side hill above the present residence of William R. Putnam. His body was brought in the next day and buried in Third Street, then unimproved.

A daughter of Gov. St. Clair, named Margaret, a son of Maj. Ezra Putnam, Matthew Kerr, killed by Indians June 17, 1791, and probably James Wells and wife and daughter and others who died of small pox in 1793, and W. Moulton, with others, were buried there. About the year 1839 the remains of most of these were exhumed and re-interred in Mound Cemetery. There were some graves still remaining immediately back of Third Street as late as 1849.

Gen. Benjamin Tupper, who died in 1792, was buried under an apple tree between Third and Fourth streets, opposite the Quadranaou, on Warren Street, also a child of Col. Ichabod Nye and at a later date, Maj. Anselm Tupper. But these remains were removed to Mound Cemetery about 1820.

After the Indian War there were other burials on the ridge, in the original cemetery, which was abandoned in 1801 on the opening of Mound Cemetery. How many were buried there, it is impossible now to tell, as no record has been preserved and even the names of most have been lost. As complete a list as we can now make out: 

  A little daughter of Col. Nathaniel Cushing, aged 13 [months], died August 25, 1788, the first death in Marietta. 

  Gen. James Mitchell Varnum, Director in the Ohio Company, died of consumption January 10, 1789. 

  Several children died of measles in November, 1789. 

  Mr. Welch landed from a boat bound for Kentucky and died of small pox January, 1790. Eight persons who died of small pox, brought here by Mr. Welch. 

  Mrs. Rowena Sargent died in 1790, daughter of Gen. Benjamin Tupper, married February 6, 1789, in Campus Martius by Gen. Rufus Putnam (a judge) to Col. Winthrop Sargent, Secretary of the Ohio Company, also of the Northwest Territory - the first marriage here.

  Mrs. Shepard, first wife of Col. Enoch Shepard.

  Mrs. Clark, first wife of Maj. John Clark, also a son of hers, perhaps 12 years old.

  Capt. Josiah Monroe, a member of the Ohio Company, coming here with the first forty-eight who landed April 7, 1788. He was appointed the first Postmaster in 1794, was a Justice of the Peace, lived and kept the Post Office near where the store of Bosworth, Wells & Co. now stands, and from him was named Monroe Street, running there from Front to Muskingum.

  Also Mr. Boutelle, who came here as a Tutor in the College and within three weeks died of small pox June 13, 1835, in a cabin near this ridge, was buried there.

The remains of Capt. Monroe were removed to Mound Cemetery last winter. The work of exhuming the remains was faithfully done, as well as could be at this date, last week and the week before, under the direction of William Warren, who opened twenty-six graves and re-interred the remains in twenty-six newly made graves in two rows on an elevated and beautiful lot in Oak Grove Cemetery. The appearance of some graves there was probably entirely obliterated, certainly that of all the children, their small bodies not causing enough of falling in of the earth to distinguish the spot. Stones had been erected at several of the graves, but time and the want of care had broken or removed or defaced all, so no inscription could now be seen. None of the twenty-six could be certainly identified, except the remains of Gen. Varnum and Mr. Boutelle. In Gen. Varnum's grave were found four handsome vest buttons of gilt and dark blue glass. He was very stylish in his dress.

The coffins had generally gone to dust, although in several cases the shape was clearly defined. Of those made of black walnut, parts were taken out of about the firmness of moss. The wrought nails of the early coffins were found, with the hinges, and the cut nails of the coffin of Mr. Boutelle of later date. In one case a brass pin was distinctly seen on the top of a skull, where it had been placed in pinning a handkerchief, but on touching it crumbled to dust. The hair was found, but in a decayed state mixed with the earth. The skulls were generally taken out whole, with many sound teeth, also most of the large bones of the arms and legs.

The Marietta Register, December 7, 1871:

Mr. A. T. Nye gives us the following additional names of persons buried in the old Cemetery, and probably among those whose remains were recently removed to Oak Grove, viz: Dr. William Pitt Putnam and Miss Abigail Gleason. Dr. Putnam's widow, who was a sister of Miss Gleason, married Gen. Edward W. Tupper, who became a well known citizen of Gallipolis. Dr. Putnam was a brother of the late David Putnam, Sr., of Harmar, and a grandson of Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam. Also Hiram, son of Gen. Joseph Buell, who died at three years of age in 1797, was as we suppose, buried there.

 

Meeting Held in Mound Cemetery

 Marietta Daily Leader, September 28, 1898

Tuesday afternoon at 3:30, under the rays of a setting sun and in the shadow of the famous Mound and surrounded by the graves of the historic men who planned and laid the foundation of our beautiful city in the years long since gone by, the Village Improvement Association held a meeting to protect the fast decaying and down-trodden graves of those to whom we owe our present homes. The graves of those who made it possible for the Mound Cemetery to be in existence. Could a more appropriate place have been chosen?

About fifty members of the association and a few of those interested in the work which they have taken up, that of advancing and beautifying the city's parks and cemeteries, gathered to do what they could to further the ends of the association.

Promptly at 3:30, Chairman Dan Buell called the meeting to order and in a few chosen words stated the object of the meeting. The meeting was called for the purpose of devising the ways and means whereby the cemetery should and could be beautiful.

Mr. W. T. Westgate was called upon to state the present condition of the cemetery fund. He stated that the funds of the Mound Cemetery were far from being enough to do any work at all in this graveyard and that the trustees were forced to take money from the Oak Grove fund to pay the actual running expenses.

Councilman B. F. Wood was called upon to give his views as to what he thought the City Council would do to help the matter along. He stated that he was not certain whether the Council had any legal right to pay for any improvement of this sort, but he for one was heartily in favor of the work and if he had the legal right would vote for it.

Rev. George R. Gear spoke on the matter and stated that he was enthusiastic in the matter and thought the matter should be attended to at once.

A question arose as to the deed and title of the land on which the cemetery was, and Mr. R. D. Cook read the following paper.

It may be a matter of interest to the lot holders in this cemetery to know that most of them have nothing but a sexton's receipt for money paid for a certain amount of ground, or perhaps nothing at all to show that they are owners of lots. The record of the trustees which dates back only to 1858, is for most lot holders the only foundation for a claim to ownership. If any lot holder under such circumstances should move from Marietta, leaving no representative, the unoccupied space in his lot would be at the disposal of the trustees to sell or keep vacant. That such forfeited space will be sold is unlikely now that we have Oak Grove Cemetery. But such a possibility can be avoided and the lot assured to the owner or his heirs forever by his having a deed recorded by the trustees, the entire cost of which is but $2.50.

It is also interesting to know that the Mound Cemetery is not town property. It is in reality state property and stands in the same relation to the town as did the Ice Harbor Lot before it was given up by the state. To give the town absolute control over this cemetery the legislature would have to act as it did in the case of the Ice Harbor Lot.

Mr. George M. Woodbridge told of the early history of the "City of the Dead" in this city and was of the opinion that something should be done at once. He did not think that the paper read by Mr. Cooper was exactly correct, but stated that the exact data could be found at the proper place of recording such papers.

Mr. S. J. Hathaway spoke of the early history of the cemetery and of the transfer of the Oak Grove property for that of Mound Cemetery. He spoke of several instances which came to his notice as City Solicitor, at which time the question was gone over. He was in favor of improvement. Rev. Mr. Coil spoke of the improvement of the grounds and said that he thought it was a duty we owed to the dead and the living to give the ground immediate attention.

Mr. Westgate was called on several times to give certain facts pertaining to the grounds and he stated, among other things, that the people that were making the greatest fuss about the bad condition of the grounds were those who had the worst looking lots. He said that the trustees had no funds to better the condition and that they were powerless to do anymore work than was at present being done.

A committee was appointed, consisting of Mr. Hathaway and Judge Rood, to look into the deed and title of the land and suggest proper steps to have it put in proper form. A committee on ways and means was appointed and Rev. George R. Gear, Hon. B. F. Wood, and Mr. R. D. Cooke were named to serve. The meeting then adjourned to meet at the call of Rev. Gear. Where with all, the meeting was a success and the scene an inspiring one. Much enthusiasm was shown and the work will be pushed forward at once.

An Ordinance Regulating the Burying Ground in Marietta

The Marietta Gazette, July 2, 1837

Section 1. Be it ordained by the Town Council of the Town of Marietta, That the Town Council shall cause to be re-surveyed and laid out as far as practicable, the Burying lots in the Mound Burying Ground, in such manner as shall most nearly conform to the original survey of the lots, and make such improvements as to save all the ground that can consistently with economy and convenience be occupied for graves. It shall be the duty of the Surveyor to cause to be marked the lines of all the lots, by stakes or trenches, and to record a plot of the same in his book of town surveys, and also to furnish the sexton with a copy of the same.

Section 2. Be it further ordained, That there shall be appointed by the Town Council annually, a Sexton, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the Burying Ground under the direction of the Town Council, and superintend the same, record the selections of burying lots taken up by families, and the repository of individuals; attend and assist at funerals, and locate the graves of individuals and strangers so as not to interfere with the family burying lots. He shall cause all graves to be dug as near each other as possible without opening the previously dug graves; shall place the head of all graves on the head line of the lots, so as to observe an uniformity in all the lines of graves, and shall cause them to be dug five feet in depth, and shall have charge of all the funeral apparatus belonging to the Town; and it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to enter upon the burying ground to dig a grave or graves, until it shall have been previously located by the Sexton (under the penalty of forfeiting two dollars for the use of the town, and all necessary expenses for removing any corpse that may be buried contrary to the law) excepting those who have already lots set off to them. And when the term of office of the Sexton shall expire, he shall deliver up all the books and papers relating thereto to his successor in office.

Section 3. Be it further ordained, That if any person shall pull down, break, or injure the fences which enclose the burying ground, or any part of the same, or any palings, wall, or other enclosures of the burying lots, or shall cut, girdle or otherwise injure any tree situated in said burying ground, or shall break, injure or destroy any monument therein, he, she, or they so offending shall for each offence, forfeit a sum not exceeding fifty dollars, to be collected according to law.

Section 4. Be it further ordained, That in case of the absence or sickness of the Sexton it shall be lawful for him to appoint a deputy to be approved of by the Mayor, who shall be governed by the same laws and rules as are made for the Sexton, and he shall continue in office during the absence or inability of the Sexton. The fees of the Sexton for his services shall be regulated by a resolution of the Town Council.

Section 5. Be it further ordained, That that part of the burying ground which has been heretofore reserved, with the exception of one tier of lots already in part occupied by graves, thence all in front of said tier of lots to Fifth street, be, and the same is still reserved and shall not be taken up and occupied for graves.

Section 6. Be it further ordained, That no person be hereafter permitted to enclose a space for a family burying place without paying a reasonable compensation for the same.

Section 7. Be it further ordained, That the friends of strangers wishing to have their friends buried in the ground, pay two dollars for each grave for that privilege; and that all others be buried in the old burying ground; and that all persons residing without the limits of the township of Marietta be placed upon the same footing as strangers.

Section 8. Be it further ordained, That the ordinance passed the 8th day of August 1831, with all other ordinances on the subject of the burying ground and the same hereby are repealed.

This ordinance to take effect and be in force from and after the 1st day of August, 1837.

Passed June 28, 1837.

R. Prentiss, Chairman.

Thomas W. Ewart, Recorder.

Buried Dog in Mistress' Grave

Marietta Daily Times, March 6, 1916:

Well Known Resident of City Called

Mary Frank Hart, one of the well known residents of Marietta, where she was born and had spent the greater part of her life, died early Monday morning at her home, No. 310 Front Street, after a brief illness which developed into uraemia.

Her passing came as a shock to many friends. Not until Thursday morning had she complained of illness, and until a few hours before the end, when uraemic poisoning developed, her condition had not been regarded as grave. The deceased was a daughter of the late Dr. Benjamin F. Hart and Sallie M. Hart. She was born in West Marietta on January 27, 1850. For more than a half century she had occupied the house wherein her death occurred.

Mrs. Hart for many years had been a member of St. Luke's Episcopal church and took an active interest in the affairs of that denomination. She is survived only by one brother, Dr. Charles S. Hart, and a nephew, James F. Hart, both of this city.

Funeral services will be held from the residence at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon, and friends of the family are invited. Rev. J. M. Hunter will officiate, and burial will be in the Mound Cemetery. 

Duluth News-Tribune [Minnesota], April 9, 1916:

Marietta, Ohio, April 1. Gratifying a wish which Mrs. Mary Frank Hart had often expressed before her death, and which is said to have been embodied in her will, Trixie, pet fox terrier of Mrs. Hart, whose funeral was held recently, was chloroformed and buried in the same grave with her mistress. For years the terrier had been the constant companion of Mrs. Hart, who was 66 years old. She was a sister of Dr. Charles S. Hart.

 

Watertown Burial Ground

The Marietta Times, November 4, 1869

Two miles and a half to the north west of Watertown village, in the township of Watertown, is one of the oldest burial places in Ohio. It is on the road from Watertown to Waterford. This graveyard is not properly taken care of. The fence is down, and several of the tombstones are broken, most likely by stray cattle. It is said that one of the pioneers was buried here as early as 1795, but no stone or other memorial attests the fact. The earliest inscription, so far as we could ascertain, is this:

"In memory of Giles Ford, who died, Sept. the 5th, 1797, in the 25th year of his age.

"How loved, how valued once, avails thee not,

To whom related, or by whom begot;

A heap of dust alone remains of thee;

'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be."

He perished early in the pioneer struggles of this western country. Near his grave is another, inscribed:

"In memory of Catharine Ford, wife of Capt. William Ford, who died Sept. 21, 1802, in the 54th year of her age."

Next, side by side, are the graves of the early settlers who bore that family name:

"Elizabeth Ford, wife of Capt. William Ford, died, August 16, 1819, aged 64."

"William Ford, Senr., died, October 9, 1823, aged 78 years."

"William Ford, Jr., died Sept. 15, 1823, in the 52d year of his age."

"Nancy Ford, wife of Judah Ford, died, March 6, 1809, in the 20th year of her age."

Capt. William Ford must have been nearly or quite fifty years old when he came to the West. He was thirty when the war of the Revolution began. William Ford, Jr., was born in 1770, and was grown up to manhood at the time of the settlement of Waterford. Father and son died within four weeks of each other in that fatal year, 1823. The period from 1821 to 1823 seems to have been remarkable for the mortal sickness, as the dates on the gravestones show.

"In memory of John Waterman, a native of Connecticut and one of the early settlers of Ohio, who departed this life, Sept. 1, 1834, in the 67th year of his age."

The grave of John Waterman is on the northeast side of the burying ground. Below are the graves of his children: Oliver (by his first wife, Margaret) died October 16, 1823, aged 1 year, 10 months; an infant daughter (by his second wife, Rachael) born 1826; one grave with rough and unmarked head an foot stones, that of a child probably; and, "Toulmin (son of John and Margaret Waterman) who died August 5, 1822, aged 3 years, 11 months."

The graves of John Waterman's first wife and second wife are at the end of this row: "Margaret, wife of John Waterman and relict of Stephen Potts, died August 28, 1823, aged 49 years." "Rachael, wife of John Waterman, died Nov. 9, 1833, aged 47 years."

Flavius Waterman was, we conjecture, the head of the first family of the name in the new settlement. There is now no stone over his grave, though one was set up long ago. He perished soon after coming to the West and was buried here, it is thought, as early as 1796 or 1797.

"Lydia Collins, wife of Charles Collins, and formerly wife of Flavius Waterman, died October 3, 1813, aged 70 years."

"Polly, wife of Ferrand Waterman, died July 18, 1852, in the 78th year of her age."

Born in 1774, Mrs. Polly Waterman must have lived through wondrous changes in her protracted life. She felt sorrow, too, for near her grave is that of a daughter, Polly, who died forty-three years before the mother, aged one year and three months.

The tombstone over the remains of David B. Waterman is one "with uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked:

"In Memory of David B. Waterman.

Died Aug the 21 1819

In the 45 year of his Age.

Behold my friends as you pass

By as you are now so once

was I as I am now you must be

Prepare for death and follow me."

Not far from David B. Waterman's grave rest the remains of Joseph Arnold who died on the 21st of August, 1868, at the remarkable age of 89. His wife (the daughter of Captain Reuben Stearns of R.I.) died twenty years before her husband, April 7, 1848, aged 66 years.

We had made other notes of the graves in this old burial ground, but we cannot now lay our hands on them. Of the individuals who rest here, or their families, the writer knows very little, but he supposes that they were of the bold, hardy, adventurous stock which furnishes the pioneers of every settlement.

Warrant for a General Town Meeting

The Marietta Gazette, July 19, 1834

To Griffin Greene, Esq., Marshal of the Town of Marietta - Greeting:

You are hereby commanded to notify the qualified electors of said Town, in the manner authorized by law, that a general Town Meeting will be held at the old Court House on Saturday, the 19th inst. at 2 P.M.

1st. To choose a Chairman and Clerk; then to take into consideration the resolution of the Council of the 12th ult. which is as follows, viz:

Resolved, That the Mayor be authorized to call a general Town Meeting, to answer and act on the following articles:

     1st. Whether the Town will advise and agree to the purchase of ground for the enlargement of the Mound Burying Ground.

     2d. Whether the Town will agree that the Streets between the Mound square and the square easterly thereof be enclosed and occupied as a part of the Burying Ground.

     3d. To act on any other business which may be submitted in relation to said Burying Ground.

     4th. To act on such propositions as may be submitted relative to amendments of the Charter of the Town.

And due return make of this warrant, with the service thereon.

given under my hand and seal of the Corporation, at the Mayor's Office, this first day of July, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and thirty four.

Nahum Ward, Mayor.

A true copy.

     Attest Griffin Greene, Marshal.

A Pioneer Memorial

Marietta Register, undated clipping

Editors Register: 

The place, used as a burying ground by the early settlers of Lower Belpre is near the river bank on the farm of Edwin Guthrie [Newbury Cemetery, Little Hocking]. Many persons were buried there who left no descendants here, but the spot has been kept sacred by Mr. Guthrie to this day. Among those whose remains lie there are Mrs. Denham and two children, who were killed and scalped by the Indians only a few rods from the spot where they were buried; and Mr. and Mrs. Spacht, grandparents of the Humphrey family.

Lately, Mr. Shepard Humphrey and his brother of Troy Township, Athens County, and Selden Humphrey of Meigs County, have had a fine monument erected at a cost of one hundred and fifty dollars on this early resting place of the dead, bearing this inscription:

Pioneers 

of 

Ohio.

Anthony Spacht,

and his wife

Catharine.

Hannah

wife of

Joseph Guthrie.

____ Stratton.

____ Bliss.

____ Denham.

One woman and two children killed by the Indians. These and some others, names not remembered, died, and were buried, near this spot, between 1790 and 1810. Erected by some of their descendants as a token of their memory.

The Harmar Bones

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 10, 1897:

Two Skeletons Found by the Workmen on the Storm Water Sewer on Maple Street

Bill Muncey, one of the men working on the Wilking job on Maple Street, digging a trench for a storm water sewer, was somewhat surprised in the middle of the forenoon today, to see exposed after an unusually deep thrust of his shovel, the bones of a human leg.  He had not been hired to dig up a graveyard. Handling his shovel more carefully, he presently brought out a whole skeleton. It had been lying four feet below the surface, with its head toward the river. It was pronounced by those who saw and were familiar with skeletons to be probably that of a woman. 

An hour later another skeleton, the bones of which were larger than those of the first one, was found ten feet farther up the street, lying in the same position and at the same depth, but with its feet toward the river. The second skeleton was probably that of a man. Dark streaks of earth, below, above and on either side the skeleton indicated where the coffins had been and rotted away, and in those dark streaks were found many old fashioned home-made nails, rusty with age.

Whose the bodies were and who buried them can only be conjectured as no one seen by the reporter had any recollection of a burial place having ever been as near as that to old Fort Harmar.

The bones were found at a point about a hundred feet from the riverbank, on the lower end of Maple Street. Mr. Wilking has preserved the bones and will keep them until he knows where they will be the most appreciated.  

Marietta Daily Leader, December 11, 1897:

A Pair of Skeletons

Friday forenoon workmen engaged in digging a sewer trench on Maple Street, West Side, unearthed two human skeletons at a point about 40 yards from the riverbank. From the difference in structure it is assumed that the bones belonged to a man and a woman. They were found about four feet underground and a distance of eight feet apart. No articles were found which would give a clue to the identity of the persons whose remains were thus ruthlessly disturbed by the march of public improvement.

The skeletons were taken possession of by Dr. Hardy and if they prove on investigation to be of any historical value, will be turned over to the proper persons for preservation.  The skull of the larger skeleton was found to be in fairly good condition, with the teeth still in place and nearly all the principal bones were also sound. The find created considerable excitement for a short time. 

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 11, 1897:

Another skeleton was found this morning by the workmen engaged on the Maple Street storm water sewer. This makes three complete skeletons that have been dug out. The last one brought out was of a man who had a badly broken leg, but it had healed together. The end of another coffin was exposed by the workmen, but it has not been taken out yet.

A Grand Army button, dated 1866, was found near one of the skeletons, but it is a mystery how it came there.

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 13, 1897:

A Very Old Burying Ground

No Record on the Map of 1796

Another skeleton was unearthed this morning in the Maple Street work, and the workmen are now fully satisfied that it is a genuine grave-yard they are going through, in laying the storm water sewer. The oldest inhabitants remember nothing of any burying ground there and a mystery surrounds the finding of the old coffins and remains.

This morning the Register reporter called on Mrs. Jefferson Heston on Gilman Street and from her learned that her mother, Mrs. Fearing, spoke several times that Mrs. Heston remembers distinctly, of the fact that a burying ground had existed in the early days at the foot of what is now Maple Street, but extending rather to the northward. The people living on those lots have never known of its existence, but the findings of the last few days go to confirm what Mrs. Fearing said.

In the County Recorder's office there is a map, made April 20th, 1802 (the original copy). It bears these words, "I certify that the foregoing plan descriptions are just and true. April 20, 1802, Rufus Putnam, Superintendent of the Company's surveys." This inscription is followed by others, attesting to the genuineness of the paper, which is yellow with age. The curious thing about this map is that is shows the street now known as Maple Street, but then as Middle Street, and the adjoining lots on either side, and a considerable distance up the Muskingum is the old Harmar "Burying Ground." In another book, made since that date, but purporting to be a true copy of older books, is a plat dated January 21st, 1796, showing exactly the same streets and lots, just as they exist today in that part of town, and the burying ground located up the Muskingum, where it now is.

In a resolution bearing date of January 21st, 1796, the "Harmar Burying Ground," was set aside for public use, and also other portions of the Ohio Company's purchase, but no reference is made in the 1796 resolution or map to a burying ground in Harmar other than the one up the Muskingum, where it now is. This makes the mystery of these old graves greater than ever. It is probable that it is one of the oldest burying grounds in the State, having been used by the very first settlement here and discarded in 1796.

The Daily Register (Marietta), December 15, 1897:

Remains of the Dead Found in Harmar

The solution of the question as to whose bones are being disinterred by the digging now being done in Harmar does not seem to me difficult, but to compress into a half column newspaper article the reasons for this belief that will meet the present inquiry may be more difficult.

In 1785, under the direction of General Harmar of the United States army, the building of a fortified place was commenced on the west bank of the Muskingum near the confluence of that stream with the Ohio River. This fortified place occupied about three quarters of an acre of ground, in the center of which was the well now under the bank of the Ohio River, the location of which is marked by an immense mill stone, recently placed over its mouth.

The fort was completed in the year 1787, and soldiers under the command of Major Doughty were stationed therein.  The number of soldiers occupying the fort varied much during the next six succeeding years, sometimes numbering five hundred, at other times they were reduced to fifty.

It, perhaps, would be well here to say that during the Indian war, many families lived in and near Fort Harmar. It is frequently mentioned by Dr. Hildreth that at the various festivities at Campus Martius and the Bowery, the officers were accompanied by their wives. The presence of ladies at Fort Harmar will account for the skeleton of the woman lately disintererd.

Immediately adjoining this fortified camp, garden lots extended back some distance and up the Muskingum bank near where the old Muskingum River locks were. These gardens were planted with trees of various kinds and much of the ground faithfully worked each year, the soldiers thus raising vegetables and fruit for their own consumption. Within the pickets, which enclosed several acres, on eligible sites, were built two large hewed log cabins for the artizans, one of which was used by Gov. St. Clair to hold the treaty with the Indians, which was concluded January 9, 1789.

The writer knows of no record of deaths or burials during the ten years of the occupancy of these grounds, but it is presumable that many deaths occurred and, as danger attended any outside movements, that interments took place within the picketed enclosure, which embraced the ground where the remains of the dead are being unearthed on Maple Street.

Most happy would I be in a much fuller manner to give my views on this subject to any enquirer that would favor me with a call.

George Morgan Woodbridge.

 

Harmar Cemetery

The Marietta Register, July 11, 1867

The Harmar Cemetery contains some "tombstone literature" that is worth printing, as follows:

William Thomas Milligan, died May 18, 1853, aged 22.

     All you take notice as you pass by,

     As you are now, so once was I.

John Taylor, died July 20, 1836, aged 46.

     How strange, O God, that rules on high

     That I should come so far to die;

     To leave my friends where I was bred

     And lay my bones with strangers, dead.

We also notice that Isaac Humphreys, Esq., a noted Democratic politician in this county in former days - a member of State Senate - was born in Ireland, January, 1768 and died in Harmar, June 2, 1850, over seventeen years ago.

William Skinner, one of the early merchants of Harmar, was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, February 22, 1768, and died, December 14, 1840.

Martin Ludixen, a native of Poland, died August 11, 1841 - "crossed the Atlantic sixty times."

Decoration Day

The Marietta Register, May 27, 1869

By Lieut. Col. John J. Nevin

"The 30th of May is hereby designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers the graves of our comrades who died in defence of their country, with the hope that it will be observed from year to year by all the people." - Extract from Gen. Logan's Order No. 11, Headquarters G.A.R., May 5, 1868.

I.

 Let us gather to the ground,

Our soldiers' graves around,

And strew each lonely mound

With the choicest flowers of spring;

And the spirits of the brave,

O'er the land they died to save,

Shall keep watch while we these offerings bring,

And when we forget their valor

Gave our liberty new birth,

May their ungrateful country

Perish from the face of earth.

CHORUS.

We'll gather to the ground,

Our soldiers graves around,

And deck each lonely mound

With the fairest flower o'er,

And the land they died to save

Still shall honor thus her brave,

And forget them never more.

II.

Oh then, on bended knee,

Let us mingle silently

The pale anemone

And the dark blue violet,

And the fragrant flow'rs of May,

With forget-me-nots and bay,

And garlands of spring beauties wet;

And their pure breath shall ascend,

Like a prayer, like a prayer,

That our land may find hearts as true,

As those that moulder there.

III.

And year by year we'll come,

When the flowers are in bloom,

And we'll deck each hero's tomb

On this "Decoration Day";

Till all the South and North

Shall link it with the Fourth,

Twin holidays and holy days for aye;

Yes the Fourth and this new May day

Through all the coming years;

That we'll keep with loyal glee,

But this with patriot tears.

Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, May 30, 1860:

It appears that an ordinance has passed the Council to levy a tax to purchase ground for a cemetery. This is a matter in which the present and future inhabitants of Marietta and its vicinity have a deep interest, and it is hoped that the Council will not, without consideration or examination, jump at the conclusion, that there is but one site in the region suitable for the purpose. The citizens of Harmar stand in equal if not greater need of a cemetery, and their Council will be glad to cooperate in the selection and purchase of grounds to accommodate both towns, if invited or allowed to do so.

A tract of wood land, of from thirty to two hundred acres, on the Harmar hill, in plain view from Marietta, and in many respects admirably adapted to the purpose of a cemetery, can be secured at less than one-fourth the price per acre which it is understood is to be exacted for the Judge Nye park. This site, and one on the lands of Judge Putnam, others on the lands of W. Fay and the Gates farm, with others which might be named, are worthy, at least, of examination and an intelligent report, as to their fitness or unfitness, by persons who are competent to select, before a matter so important to this and coming generations is decided.  But if it is a foregone conclusion that "the Park," and the Park alone, is worthy of consideration, we must submit with the best grace we can, to what will be deemed the hasty and short-sighted action of the Council, by more than one   TAX-PAYER.

*  *  *

The Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, June 6, 1860:

Marietta, May 30.

Mr. Editor:

Dear Sir, - In your paper of the 29th inst., there is a communication in relation to the purchase of a Cemetery, in reply to which I wish to say a few words. In the first place I will admit that Mr. Tax-Payer and the rest of our citizens may have been unfortunate in their selection of the members of the present Council. It is to be regretted that the honor and the emoluments belonging to the office of City Council (without saying anything about the curses they receive) will not induce such "competent" citizens as Mr. Tax-Payer seems to think himself, to come forward and offer their services for the good of the city.

This much I will say for the members of the present Council, that although they may not have "competence" sufficient to satisfy Mr. Tax-Payer, he will find they have independence enough to do what they think to be right and for the good of the city, regardless of the squibs that may appear in your paper or that great and wonderful paper called the Home News. Would it not have been better for Mr. Tax-Payer to have known what the Committee (appointed by the City Council to examine and report to them the most suitable ground for a Cemetery) had done, before he "jumps at the conclusion, that the Council had decided without consideration or examination that there is but one site in this region suitable for a Cemetery."

In selecting a location for a Cemetery, there are other considerations more important than the mere cost of the ground. It is very desirable to have the Cemetery located as near the city as possible, both for the convenience of getting to it and to save expense to those who are under the necessity of using the ground.

There are many of our citizens  who would feel unable to furnish carriages to attend the funeral of their friends, which they would be obliged to do should the Cemetery be located on Harmar hill or as far from town as Mr. W. Fay's or the Gates farm. There is no question but that the Harmar hill would make a beautiful and suitable location for a Cemetery, but the objections to it are, that it is too far off and too difficult to get up to it.

The Committee appointed by the Council for the purpose of selecting a location for a Cemetery, after having all the places mentioned by Mr. Tax-Payer (and in fact some others) under consideration, come to the conclusion that (all things considered) the ground known as "Nye's Park," was the most suitable, and reported the same to the Council. They also called upon Judge Nye and obtained from him his written proposition for the sale of the ground. In justice to Judge Nye, I must say that instead of thinking him "exacting" in his price, I think he has offered to sell the land as low as any one could expect. I have, as yet, not heard any citizen say that the price was too high. The Park contains a fraction over thirty-four acres, which is four times as large as the present Cemetery, so that there is ground enough to last at least one hundred years, which it seems to me is far enough ahead for us to provide for.

Before closing it may be well enough to state that the Council have not increased the taxes, although they have levied a tax for the purchase of ground for a Cemetery. In fact, the tax levied this year is less than it has been for the last six years.

Yours truly,

J. D. Cotton.

*  *  *

Cemetery

The Marietta Ingelligencer, June 20, 1860:

That our readers may judge how the organ of the German population regards the project for a new cemetery, we copy the following from the Demokrat of this week:

"The City 'Paps,' commonly called the 'City Council,' have resolved to lay out a new burying place. This resolve was made known to the Americans, through the English paper; the Germans, however, were, of course, regarded as paid hounds, who needed to know nothing whatever of the matter, until, in consequence thereof, they should have to pay more taxes.

"To us the whole maneuver appears a gross swindle, against which each citizen should array himself with all his power. The burying-place still has room enough for many years, and the people are groaning deeply enough under the burden of taxes. Bloodsuckers of speculators, who have their accomplices in the City Council, should seek for themselves another field of operation, and not impose still heavier burdens upon the poor citizens, who already have to pay almost all the taxes."

*  *  *

The Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, June 20, 1860:

The meeting of citizens of Marietta, called to consider the expediency of establishing, at public expense, a new Cemetery, was not very largely attended. After some miscellaneous talking, it was voted to adjourn till next Monday evening.

There are two questions to be decided - first, is it expedient to increase the present burden of taxation for the purpose of purchasing and laying out a new Cemetery; and, second, if expedient, where shall the Cemetery be located. Many citizens, who would not ordinarily object to the purchase of Cemetery grounds by the city, think the present time inauspicious and desire to postpone the matter for awhile. It is believed that the present burial grounds are adequate for a few years to come. 

Others are willing to be taxed, and immediately too, for this purpose, and earnestly desire such a Cemetery, but object to its being laid out and managed by the City Council. The Council is a changing body of men. They are elected without any reference to labors of this kind. This people remember how the Council has in past years looked after the Sacra Via. It would exhaust their time and abilities to look after the city of the living, and the city of the dead might receive little attention.

The persons, thus objecting to the City Council's having control of the matter, would prefer that a distinct Cemetery board or corporation be authorized to act in this matter, and into their hands whatever funds the Council might raise, should be placed. The advantage of this plan is, that a board would be chosen with reference to its special fitness to lay out and control a Cemetery. Such a board would constitute a guaranty that the people's money would be expended with wisdom and taste. A properly-digested plan of this kind, it is thought, would be acceptable to most of our citizens.

It was stated in the meeting by a member of the Council that Judge Nye's park would probably be the location selected. Many object to this spot as having fewer merits than some others which have been named.

We suppose the whole subject will be fully discussed at the adjourned meeting of the citizens on Monday evening. We hope to see a full attendance. The subject is one of very great importance. If we are to have a Cemetery at all, we should have it judiciously chosen and tastefully laid out.

*  *  *

Cemetery Meeting

The Marietta Intelligencer, June 20, 1860

At an adjourned meeting of the citizens of Marietta, held at the Court House on Monday evening, June 18th, to consult as to the expediency of the City Council's purchasing grounds near this city, for a public Cemetery, the following resolutions were offered and adopted almost unanimously, after a very full and fair expression of opinion by the very large and respectable assemblage of citizens there present:

Resolved, That in consideration of the deep indebtedness of the city of Marietta and the heavy burthen of taxation now resting upon its citizens, it is impolitic and inexpedient for the City Council to incur the debt of a new Cemetery.

Resolved, That it is the sense and opinion of the citizens of Marietta, that the present Cemetery grounds are sufficiently large for all interments of the dead belonging to the city proper for many years to come; and that the City Council be requested to lay out in lots and sell the same to heads of families residing in the city of Marietta, so much of the large, unoccupied plat of ground in front of, and belonging to the present Cemetery, as may be necessary for the supply of families now destitute of lots.

Resolved, That the Secretary be requested to publish the proceedings of this meeting in the newspapers of the city.

D.C.Skinner, Chairman.

G. H. Wells, Secretary.

*  *  *

The Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, July 18, 1860

The square, now known as the "Mound Square" was originally laid out by the Ohio Company, before it was known that it would fall within Section No. 29; was named by the Directors, Maria Antoinette," and leased by them to General Rufus Putnam; in doing which, particular directions were given as to the kind of trees to be set out upon it, and the manner of ornamenting the square.

When the surveys of the Company had been completed in this vicinity, it was found that the Square came within the limits of Ministerial Section No. 29, and for that reason could not be disposed of by the agents of the Ohio Company. After this fact was ascertained, the Directors of that Company passed the following resolution:

"Whereas, The great mound falls within the line of Ministry lot, (so called);

"Resolved unanimously, as the sense of this meeting, That every prudent measure ought to be adopted to perpetuate the figure and appearance of so majestic a monument of antiquity."

Up to this time and for some years after, the square was in the possession of General Rufus Putnam, who, under the laws of the Territory, was entitled to a lease from the Trustees of Section No. 29.

The land appropriated by the Ohio Company for a burying ground was North of the town, on the ridge beyond the West branch of Market Square run, and containing about 10 acres. After having been used for some time, it was found inconvenient and difficult of access and the Town Council, through one of their members, the late William R. Putnam, Esq., applied to Gen. Rufus Putnam to give up the use of the Mound Square to the town, then embracing the entire township, to be used as a burying ground. 

According to the laws of the Territory regulating Section No. 29, Gen. Putnam was entitled to a lease of the Square; but he consented, on the ground of the benefit it would be to the town, to give up the possession of the square to be used as a burying ground; and by the concurrence of the Trustees of Section No. 29, it was set apart for that purpose, without rent. This was probably about the year 1801 or 2, and since that time the Square has been occupied for burying purposes only.

At an early period the back part of the Square was surveyed and laid off into ranges of lots, but at what particular time, the papers of the city do not state. In 1837 a new survey was made, and the entire Square laid out into ranges of lots, except about 85 feet in depth on Fifth Street, which, by the Ordinances of June 6, 1820, and June 28, 1837, was reserved and burials prohibited upon it. The Ordinance of June 6, 1820, was passed by the people in general town meeting.

The Ordinances of the city have, for the last 40 years, allowed persons residing in the city, to select for the use of themselves and their families, a lot of convenient and suitable size for family burying, which selection it was the duty of the Sexton to record in the name of the person making the selection. While such persons or their families reside within the city, no burials will be allowed to be made on any such lots so selected, unless by the consent and direction of the person in whose name the lot has been entered or the family. When a family remove from the city they cease to have any right to bury in any such lots, for no person who, at the time of his or her death, was not a resident of the city, can be buried in any lot, without a permit from the Mayor.  

An impression prevails that persons who have thus made selections of lots own them. This is a mistaken impression. No lots have been or can be sold, but the ordinances of the city protect persons who have selected lots, in the use of them, while they continue to reside in the city, but no longer. The ordinances of the city also protect the graves of those who have been buried, but unoccupied ground, in the lot of any person who has left the city, is at the disposal of the City Council.

All the lots between the mound and that portion of the Square on Fifth Street reserved by the ordinances of June 6, 1820, and June 28, 1839 [1837?], have been selected and recorded by families now residing in the city, except one lot 12 by 9 feet. With this exception there is no ground that can be selected for a family burying ground in the Square. For the burial of persons belonging to families which have made no selection of a lot for burying, the Sexton has been compelled, for some time past, to resort to lots that have been partially occupied, and when the family that made the selection have removed from the city or become extinct. This can only be done to a limited extent, and the necessity for more ground has been felt by the City Council for some years past and has received their careful consideration.

Until recently the laws of the State of Ohio have not given the needed authority to purchase ground for a Cemetery without imposing a tax too heavy to justify any such purchase. The law of March 17, 1860, authorizes the City Council to levy a tax of not exceeding half of one mill on the dollar for a period of not exceeding six years, for the purchase of ground for a Cemetery. The City Council have so far acted under this law as to pass an ordinance levying a tax of the half of a mill upon the dollar for a period of six years, if necessary, to pay for ground which may hereafter be purchased for a Cemetery. Several localities have been examined, and the matter has been under consideration by the Council for some time past, but as yet no such ground has been purchased.

It has been stated by some persons not acquainted with the facts, that the City Council propose to prohibit further burial in the Mound Square, and to require the remains of persons now interred there, to be removed. It is sufficient to say that the Council have never entertained any such purpose. They feel as much repugnance to disturbing the graves of the dead as any other persons can; but they also feel the necessity of providing some place for the burial of the dead where such a disturbance is not likely to take place.

It has been said that the Council propose to sell out the front on 5th Street for building lots. This they cannot do, if they would, for it would be a violation of the purposes for which the square is held. The number of lots selected by families now residing in the city is about 600. The number of families actually living within the city limits is estimated at about 900, hence, 300 families have as yet no lot in the Mound Square, nor can they select any, for no lots remain unappropriated except those now partly occupied.

For some years past the taxes of the city for city purposes have amounted to 10 mills on the dollar. This includes the tax for interest on Railroad, Landing, and other bonds of the city, including school house bonds, amounting in all to seven and a half mills on the dollar. As the school houses of the city have now been paid for, the tax for that purpose has been omitted. The tax to pay the interest on landing bonds has been reduced from one mill on the dollar to half a mill on the dollar, thus reducing the city taxes, exclusive of cemetery to 9 mills. Adding half a mill on the dollar for cemetery will make the total 9-1/2 mills, or half of a mill less than for some years past.

By order of the Council

Thomas F. Jones, president.

A. T. Nye, City Clerk.

*  *  *

Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, August 1, 1860

Editor Intelligencer:

In your paper of the 28th appears the following, as a part of the "Council proceedings":

"A remonstrance from D. C. Skinner, W. S. Ward, D. Soler, C. Boomer and J. Wood, against the purchase of the grounds known as "Nye's Woods" for a Cemetery, and asking that all action in the premises be postponed until after the spring election, was laid before the Council. The remonstrance was received and laid upon the table."

Your paper purports to be a news-paper, and of course, to give correct news, and not garbled items, tending to mislead the public.

If the above report was made by your regular reporter, he has most signally failed as a reporter, and if made by one of the City Council, he must be one who is in favor of buying "Nye's Woods," and was unwilling to have the public know the whole truth. The remonstrance, instead of being signed by only five persons, as your report would have the public believe, was signed by more than 330 (333 I believe), man of them heavy tax-payers, paying at least as much as some members of the Council.

The 333 citizens who signed the remonstrance further asked that the question of purchasing a Cemetery might be submitted to a vote of the people at the next spring election. This the report fails to state. Only one conclusion can be made; if the Council "go ahead" and buy "Nye's Woods" after a remonstrance has been presented to them, signed by about half of the legal voters of the city, and that is, that they are determined to use their power even if the will of the people is outraged, and that they are afraid to leave it to a vote of the people, for fear the favorite project of some members of the Council may be defeated.

I enclose a copy of the remonstrance, which I wish you would insert, that the public may judge of the truth of your report.

A Signer.

"To the City Council of Marietta:

"The undersigned, citizens of Marietta, in consideration of our present burdensome rate of taxation, and believing that there is no present necessity for purchasing grounds for a new Cemetery, respectfully remonstrate against the proposed purchase of the grounds known as "Nye's Woods," and should your honorable body not consider this remonstrance a sufficient expression of the public sentiment on this subject, we ask that you defer all action in the premises until after the annual Spring election, and take measures at that time to ascertain the same by submitting the question to a vote of the Citizens of the town.

Marietta, July 24th, 1860."

"Signer" is right. The Intelligencer is a newspaper and "of course, gives correct news and not garbled items, tending to mislead the public."

We endeavor to give correct reports of every matter that interests the people and are especially particular that the proceedings of the City Council should be accurately copied. We have access to the minutes of the Council as recorded by the City Clerk, and copied from them that part of the report which has provoked the communication of "Signer." The minutes read as follows:  "A remonstrance from ____ and other citizens of Marietta against the purchase of the ground known as 'Nye's Woods' for a Cemetery and asking that all action in the premises be postponed until after the spring election was laid before the Council. The remonstrance was received and laid upon the table."

The City Clerk was absent and we put it in this form, "A remonstrance from certain citizens of Marietta against," &c.  Soon after, the City Clerk came into the office and inquired what form we had put the remonstrance in. We told him and he expressed himself as satisfied with it. About noon another member of the council came in and asked to see the report. We showed it to him, and he handed us a paper signed by three members of the Council, himself one of them, with the following correction which he wished inserted: "A remonstrance from D. C. Skinner, W. S. Ward, D. Soler, C. Boomer, J. Wood, against," &c. This is our authority for giving the report as we did. The names of the Council who authorized the change can be seen at our office.

*  *  *

The New Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, August 8, 1860

At the meeting of the City Council last evening, the following resolution, offered by Dr. Cotton, was adopted by a vote of four to two. C. F. Buell and C. Jones voting in the negative.

Whereas, The Committee, who were appointed to examine and report to the Council the most suitable location for a Cemetery, have reported that after a careful examination of several locations near the city, they regard the ground known as "Nye's Park," (all things considered) most suitable for that purpose; therefore

Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to purchase the said Park.

Messrs. T. F. Jones, J. D. Cotton and C. F. Buell, were appointed said Committee.

_____

In justice to those members of the Council who sent in a correction of our report of the Council proceedings respecting the remonstrance against the purchase of "Nye's Woods" for a Cemetery, we have to say that the paper containing their correction did have in it the words "and others," after the names D. C. Skinner, W. S. Ward, C. Boomer, D. Soler and J. Wood. They were written with a lead pencil and so indistinctly that no man could decipher them. The paper has been in the office several days, and out of all who have examined it, no one noticed the "and others" until it was pointed out and explained by one who signed it.

*  *  *

Is It True?
The Home News, August 11, 1860

Is it true that the deed for the new cemetery contains a condition that if the grounds should ever be used for any purpose other than burying the dead, they shall revert to the original heirs! What business is it to a person who sells a piece of property for its full value, to say the least, what the purchaser proposes to do with it? The deed in this case ought not to specify the object of the purchase on behalf of the city.

*  *  *

The Cemetery

The Marietta Intelligencer, August 15, 1860

"The Home News" asks, "Is it true?" - and then proceeds with certain implied assumptions of fact, which are not true. This, negative answer, to his question, it would seem is "News" to the writer or publisher of the captious article which begins with that question, in his paper of the 11th instant. News, which he might easily have obtained by inquiry at the proper sources of information, on the subject, and in a proper spirit; and, thereby, have economized his time, paper and types for the more appropriate publication of correct "news." He might have learned and ought to have known - before he penned that article and committed it to print - that no deed of conveyance - such as he assumes, had, or has been, made the city for the new cemetery ground; and that, by the plain provisions of the law, under which the purchase was made, none could or can be, properly, made, until the purchase money shall be paid. He might too, and ought to have known, or been informed - what any competent legal adviser could have told him - that, by the law of public corporations, such corporations, or bodies, cannot, lawfully, deal in lands, as he seems to suppose; and can only purchase or hold them for appropriate public purposes, authorized by law - by Charter or Statute. He might, also, have learned, without assuming, by implications, the contrary, that no such "condition" as his questions imply, was, or is, in the contract for the purchase of Cemetery ground; or was proposed, or entered the minds of the parties immediately concerned in making it, and that such an idea only found a lodgment in those of ignorant and captious fault-finders.

It may be hoped and should, in fairness, be presumed, that it is not and will not be new to the writer of the article here noticed, that assumptions of fact, where other persons are interested in them, and without evidence to justify and sustain them, are, oft-times, dangerous; and, in the end, mischievous to those who employ them; as they are, in their consequences, to others; and, as they are, also, exceptionable in morals and tend to injustice; and that mistakes of or in law, in matters of importance, are, sometimes, equally serious in their effects; and it may be added, perhaps, that it would be discreet to take a cautionary hint (from, in substance, a chapter in Fielding's "Tom Jones") namely: "that a man can write better on a subject for knowing something about it."

A Friend to Truth and Justice

*  *  *

Council Proceedings

The Marietta Intelligencer, August  29, 1860

August 21, 1860.

Members all present . . .

Messrs. Cotton, J. O. Cram, Charles Sullivan, R. E. Harte and A. L. Haskin were appointed a Committee to make a survey and plat of the new Cemetery ground, and report to the Council.

The Street Superintendent was instructed to have "the weeds and briars cut and the bushes grubbed out of the Cemetery ground as early as possible," and to allow the Dwarf Chestnut bushes to remain.