One week ago I was sitting at this computer doing the genealogy happy dance. At the last minute, even before packing for our long weekend trip into southwestern Ohio, I was noodling around looking for family in cemeteries down in that area on the net.
When my college roommate told me that we would be visiting a famous cemetery in Dayton, I remembered that one of my husband's aunts lived in Dayton and might be in the very cemetery we would be driving through. The cemetery is Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio. Several of the famous folks interred there are; the Wright Brothers, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Erma Bombeck.
The happy dance began when I found their names on the Woodland website. BTW, this cemetery has a wonderful website and all names are on their search engine. WAHOO!
My husbands great grand aunt and uncle, Peter and Elizabeth Tate Godfrey and their sons, Charles C., John W.H. and William Horace were all buried in Section 32. The REAL FIND was Caroline W. Tate, Elizabeth's mother and my husband's great great grandmother was also buried in this section.
Now for the down side! We arrived at Woodland and using the internet map were able to locate section 32. My brother found the Godfrey section, however only two tombstones were there and they were slowly making their way down a steep hill. This small section of what is a beautifully maintained cemetery is a disgrace. Broken gravemarkers are strewn around and numerous ones have rolled down the hill or are in the process getting there.
I've done this for a long time, so I know that finding anything is a plus and Elizabeth's was available for a photograph. The real disappointment was that there was no stone for Caroline Tate, Ted's great great grandmother. That one would have been my "money" shot!
Family in Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum
Section 32 Lot 2106
Elizabeth Godfrey
Peter Godfrey
Charles C. Godfrey
William Horace Godfrey
John H. W. Godfrey
Caroline W. Tate
Section 84 Lot 1520
Anna T. Godfrey
Harry F. Godfrey
Mary E. Godfrey
Section 102 Lot 1367
Harriet Godfrey
Section 98 Lot 1292
Mary Godfrey
William H. Godfrey
Section 111, Lot 3566, Tier 2, Grave 65
Infants of Fred Leingang
Very sad to see the neglected grave sites.
ReplyDeleteOne of my greatest summer joys has been exploring old cemeteries in northern Quebec and New Brunswick but this year I have to stay near home. I'm thinking of doing some 'genealogical acts of kindness' and get a few local cemeteries online.
ReplyDeleteNeglected graves are one of the saddest and loneliest sights. We'll be driving in the "wilds" of Pennsylvania this weekend and I hope to have some "finds" - not my own relatives, but perhaps something interesting.
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