Mormons to Help Locate Whiskeyville Cemetery Heirs – March 1959

Back on this post about Whiskeyville, I posted two articles about a small pioneer cemetery that was located just north of Rt. 113 on Rt. 58. Since that post I found another article from March 1959.

The story of that small cemetery apparently captured the imagination of Journal readers, and its fate played out in the paper during February, March and April 1959. 

I present them all here, and in order, for the first time. Here's the first, from Feb. 9, 1959.

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Cemetery’s Death Ordered With Widening Of Rt. 58

WHISKEYVILLE – The death of a cemetery has been ordered but the heirs cannot be found.

The State Highway Department has condemned the 141-year-old, 36-by-40-foot Whiskeyville Cemetery, in which at least eight people are buried, to make way for the widening of State Rt. 58. The plot lies just north of Rt. 113 beside Rt. 58.

A Highway Department representative told Amherst Township Trustees Saturday that the state will appropriate the land from the heirs – if any can be found – and that advertisements for bids on the project is scheduled for March 31.

The names of seven persons buried in the plot have been determined but the attempt to contact heirs so far has been unsuccessful. Title to the plot is uncertain.

The trustees passed a resolution to publish a notice of discontinuance of the cemetery in the daily papers within 30 days, which is the time state law allows for heirs to come forward and lay claim to reburial privileges.

In the event that no claims are made by heirs, the trustees will make arrangements for disinterment and reburial of the cemetery’s corpses. In this event, the highway department will reimburse the township trustees for all costs involved, the representative said.

Trustees indicated that the reburial would be made in the Kendeigh’s Corners Cemetery.

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But then in March 1959, there was hope. Members of the Lorain branch of the Church of Latter-day Saints decided to lend a hand and see what they could do. Here's the story that ran in the Lorain Journal on March 7, 1959.

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Whiskeyville Cemetery

Latter-day Saints Aid In Location Of Heirs

Members of the Lorain Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) this week took steps to help Amherst Township Trustees locate the heirs of seven persons buried in a condemned 141-year-old cemetery at Whiskeyville.

The 36-by-40-foot cemetery just north of Rt. 113 on Rt. 58 must make way for the widening of State Rt. 58. The State Highway Department has ordered the demolition.

Members of the Lorain church, learning of the inability of the trustees to locate their heirs, have taken down the names from seven headstones and sent them to the church’s archives division in Salt Lake City. Genealogical study is a specialty of the church.

Mrs. Ruth Shaver, 1007 W. 21st St., a member of the Church became interested as soon as she heard of efforts to locate the heirs, particularly since there are supposed to be one or more unlocated Mormon cemeteries in the county. The state will appropriate the land from the heirs if they can be located.

She was assisted in taking down the information from the headstones by Mrs. Elmer (Marjorie) Gabriel, 1226 W. 20th St., and Preston Cook, 2501 Sherwood Dr., chairman of the church building committee.

“It will take about two weeks for us to hear from Salt Lake City on whether they can help us,” Mrs. Shaver said. The service will be provided free of charge despite the fact that no Mormons are buried in the cemetery. Mrs. Shaver checked the names on the headstones against a list of Mormons who attended a conference in Amherst in 1800 provided for her by Frank W. Kosco Jr., 105 Arizona Ave.

Advertisements for bids on the project is scheduled for March 31. The trustees on [sic] publish in the daily papers within 30 days a notice of discontinuance of the cemetery. This is the time allowed by state law for heirs to come forward and lay claim for reburial privileges.

The highway department will pay the trustees for all costs involved in disinterring and reburial of the cemetery’s corpses if the heirs make no claims. The reburial would be made in Kendeigh’s Corners Cemetery.

Alas, ultimately no heirs could be located. Here's the story from the April 7, 1959 Lorain Journal.

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At Whiskeyville Cemetery

Graves Being Moved for Rt. 58 Widening

AMHERST – Remains of seven persons were found in the first day’s work of removing the graves of deceased Lorain County settlers at the Whiskeyville Cemetery on Rt. 58, just north of Rt. 113, to make way for the highway widening.

It was in the early part of the 1800’s that some of the bodies were buried in this plot, then known as the Crandal cemetery, and owned by Lyman Crandal. Wayne Garland of the Garland Funeral Home is working on the relocation project. Thomas Heusser and O. J. Ruth, South Amherst cemetery sexton, assisted in the findings.

Before work began it was known by cemetery markers, that eight graves would be found. But a baby’s burial uncovered Monday, had not been accounted for before. There are still two bodies that were known, that of Lucia Smith and her mother Nancy Smith, consort of Chileab Smith, both buried in 1824.

The first remains to be uncovered were those of Rhoda Crandal, wife of Ezekial Crandal, who died in 1818 at the age of 37. The next was the finding of a part of a baby’s casket, the two metal handles adorned with lamb carvings, which were found next to Rhoda’s grave. The remains of Eliza Crandal were next to be unearthed. She died in 1838 at the age of 37.

The remains of Cornelius S. Ferris, who died March 28, 1833 at the age of 36 were found.

"In most cases of the early burials, only the remaining bones were arm and leg bones, and part of jaw bones and skulls," Garland said.

The remains of Jane Carter who died Nov. 10, 1828 at the age of 30 were also found.

Garland explained that each burial will be taken to the funeral home in plastic burial pouches and placed in hermetically sealed steel caskets. They will remain at the funeral home until all disinterments have been completed, then the remains will be re-interred in the Kendeigh Corners cemetery.

The Crandal cemetery was turned over to Amherst Township a number of years ago.

The state highway department has allowed 17 days for relocation but Garland expects to complete the work this week.