Ohio Flags of Honor

From Memorial Day 2011, the Ohio Flags of Honor displayed on the Village Green, Powell, Ohio.

Never forget our fallen or their families.

Opportunity

My visit to Iberia Cemetery was what I call an “opportunistic stop.” One of those heck-so-long-as-we’re-in-the-neighborhood type of stop.

Not to be confused with hey-I-see-a-cemetery-over-there! type of stop.

The monument that marks the grave of Lizzie S. Hunter (d. 1872) is a handsome classic: A draped pedestal supporting a large urn. The inscription face features a nice carving of a single lily.

LIZZIE S.
wife of
J. S. Hunter
died
Jan. 11, 1872;
aged
36 Ys. & 6 d.

By the way, are you taking the opportunity to visit family graves this Memorial Day weekend?

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Iberia Cemetery, Morrow County, Ohio

Seeing things

Sometimes I see things.

Are the old sandstone grave markers for Joseph Scott (d. 1839) and R. M. Scott (d. 1839) in Iberia Cemetery for a young father and his child? Or maybe Joseph was R. M.’s older sibling. Or uncle.

But I look at the stones and see more. I see an adult and child leaning towards each other in affection and support.

Do you see it too? Because maybe I have been standing too long in the midday sun.

In Memory of
JOSEPH SCOTT,
Who departed this life
Sept. 1. AD. 1839:
Aged 27 years 11 Mo.
& 26 days.

R. M. SCOTT
Died Sept. 1839:
Aged 2 years.

Iberia Cemetery, Morrow County, Ohio

Another misplaced military marker

A bright white marble stone marks the grave of John Robison (d. 1849) in Armstrong Cemetery.

But what is this? A Civil War marker next to it? Not if John Robison died in 1849!

Perhaps somewhere in Ohio there is another John Robison who should have this GAR marker.

In Memory of
JOHN ROBISON
a native of Scotland
Perth-shire Killin;
who died Dec^r 28^th 1849
Aged 56 years.
A UK website promoting tourism describes Killin today:

Killin is a delightful highland village at the west end of Loch Tay in west Perthshire. It is situated beside the river Dochart close to its junction with the River Lochay and just a few hundred yards from the point at which it enters loch Tay and loses its identity to the Tay, Scotlands longest river.

Killin is the largest and oldest of the many settlements in Breadalbane—‘Braghaid Albainn’—the High Country of Scotland. The name of the village comes from its association with the legendary Celtic Hero Fingal who, it is thought was buried here—‘Cill Fhinn’ meaning the burial place of Fingal.

Armstrong Cemetery, Morrow County, Ohio

Araminta

Armstrong Cemetery in Morrow County, Ohio is not the smallest graveyard I have visited, but it is tiny. Fewer than a dozen gravestones stand there today.

I nearly drove past it.

The sandstone marker at the grave of Araminta Conger (d. 1842) tilts to the left and has a few nicks here and there, but the large willow carving remains strikingly well defined. The inscription is still easy to read—especially in mid-afternoon sunlight.

In Memory
of Araminta
Wife of William
Dennis Conger
Who died June
1^st 1842 Aged
22 ys 5 Mo
& 22 ds.
I pulled a few weeds growing at the base of the stone to read what at first glance appeared to be an epitaph. Then I realized that Araminta’s gravestone identified not only her husband, but also her parents:

Daughter of Arc-
hibald & Sarah
Bishop

When a wife dies at such a young age, I am always curious about whether (when? if?) the husband remarried. So it was a search for William Conger in the 1850 Federal Census for Morrow County that yielded this interesting record for the Archibald Bishop household:

Is Dennis Conger, eight years old in 1850, the son of William Dennis Conger and Araminta Bishop Conger?

I’m thinking yes, which makes me wonder whether Araminta died in childbirth, or from complications afterwards. Possible.

Of course, I would not want to draw conclusions without more research (well, I might want to, but I won’t). I will leave that research to others.

After all, there are so many more cemeteries to explore.
 

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Armstrong Cemetery, Morrow County, Ohio