SQ - Graham Cemetery Traditional Cache
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Welcome to Graham Cemetery. Located southwest of the booming metropolis of Wayne, Ohio, this out of the way cemetery is cared for by the Montgomery Township Trustees.
This cemetery was named for the family that first owned this property. John Graham was a native of Ireland, born August 9, 1808 near Belfast. When he was 13 years old, he came to America with his parents Thomas Graham and wife. They first located in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Later they moved and made their home in Marion County, Ohio near the county seat. Both parents died at this location. John married Melita Anderson in Marion County on November 13, 1831.
Public lands were being sold in Montgomery Township about this time through the general land office located in Bucyrus, Ohio. John Graham purchased the entire north half (80 acres) of Section 22 on April 5, 1836. Upon moving to Montgomery Township, John purchased 40 more acres in the Section 22 on August 10, 1837. Here he built a cabin on a little knoll in what is shown as a marsh area on the map of Wood County in 1858. In all, John Graham owned close to 300 acres of wild land. He made his home here until his death at age 45 in 1854 and was buried near his home in Graham Cemetery.
Land transfers trace the actual ground that is now Graham Cemetery in Montgomery township as being 16 acres in the Northwest quarter of Section 22. Early maps such as the one from 1875, show a railroad going through the center but does not show a cemetery because it was private property.
In the years following the death of John Graham, Melita Anderson Graham through her daughter, sold and bequeathed the land that she owned (almost all of section 22) to her children. In these transfers, reference is made that it does not include five acres (Graham Cemetery) The map of 1886 shows a small cemetery located where it is today with the land surrounding it belonging to the Graham children.
The first recorded sale to the township is March 4, 1873. Melita Anderson Graham sold the five acres of ground comprising the cemetery to the Montgomery Township Trustees. On May 23, 1889, James A. Graham and his wife Margaret sold two acres adjoining the original five acres for cemetery purposes to the Montgomery Township Trustees. Other transfers of property came from Pearl Stahl to the trustees on March 25, 1905. This land is located east of the original five acres.
Later, Clarence L. & Clara Reese sold a number of acres (up to the railroad) on the west side of the cemetery. This took place on April 28, 1920. More land was acquired from Floyd Hemmingers. Approximately 9 acres to the south on August 9,1973. This land sits idol and does not have plans of being developed as of yet.
There isn’t an early written account of the first burials here. The biographical sketch of the Graham family in “Beers’” mentions that John Graham died on January 4, 1854 and was laid to rest in the Graham Cemetery on his farm. There are a number of very early burials attested by the tombstones in Sections 2 & 3. In Section 2, there is a stone for a young boy by the name of Sherman Mock with the date of death being April 9, 1825. If that date is correct, the actual burial was not at this location and the tombstone was later erected to commemorate his life. Most of the early stones are dated in the 1850’s and 60’s era before the sale to Montgomery Township.
Records of the early purchases of plots were lost to a fire. First systematic record of sales of plots was done in the early 1960’s when Arthur Hespe was the clerk.
An unusual structure is built into the side of the hill in Section 2. This Mausoleum type enclosure has a large stone over the grate door and has the year 1886 engraved on it. During severe winters, the bodies of the deceased were placed inside until proper burial could be accomplished in the spring.
There is a Mausoleum constructed on the Northeast side of the cemetery. This was built in 1914 by a group of individuals who purchased shares of stock and this entitled the purchaser to a burial crypt in the Mausoleum. Bequeaths still fund the upkeep of it.
You are searching for a small Lok-N-Lok. Please replace as found.
The "SQ" in the cache name above signifies Spirit Quest, a project by the Northwest Ohio Geocachers to distinguish those caches that are set in cemeteries
or memorial gardens. This cache is part of that series created by NWOGEO members to highlight cemeteries or memorial gardens in the area. Please be respectful of the area, and observe their rules and posted hours which are typically sunrise to sunset.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Onpxfvqr pebgpu bs gerr.
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