Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Wednesday’s child: Mary E. Blain

MARY E.
dau. of
J. & A.
BLAIN
died
Sep. 15, 1863
Aged 2 yrs.
6 m’s. ___d’s.

Many Blains rest in Delaware County cemeteries, but I have not found Mary’s parents. At first glance, they do not appear on my go-to list of Delaware County burials—nor did I find them at Bokes Creek when I visited.

Bokes Creek Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio

Friday, January 14, 2011

The sound of a voice that is still


The zinc obelisk marking the grave of Samuel McGill (d. 1886) is a treasure trove of epitaphs, with one on nearly every face. I recorded three before the wind chill got the better of me.

SAMUEL McGILL,
DIED
JUNE 16, 1886,
AGED
74 YRS, 2 MOS, 10 DYS.

THERE IS REST IN HEAVEN.

I LOVE THEM
THAT
LOVE ME. AND
THEY THAT SEEK
ME EARLY
SHALL FIND ME.

OH! FOR THE
TOUCH
OF A VANISHED HAND,
AND THE SOUND
OF A VOICE
THAT IS STILL.

There is a reason that the third epitaph sounds especially poetic: Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote the lines for his poem “Break, Break, Break,” expressing his grief at the loss of his best friend.

Newhouse Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Wednesday’s child: Gorrell boys

Reading the inscriptions on the simple tablet markers, I realized that I was standing at the graves of three young boys, apparently brothers, who died within months of each other.

Did disease strike the Gorrell household in 1846?

John A. son of
L.&C. Gorrell
died July 28, 1846;
aged 1 yr. 1 mo.
& 19 ds.

Samuel son of
L.&.C Gorrell
died Sept 28, 1846
aged 5 ys. 7 mo.
& 29 ds.

William son of
L.&C. Gorrell
died Oct. 28, 1846;
aged 7 ys. 5 mo.
& 17 ds.



Though I have no supporting evidence, the boys’ father, “L.,” may be Levi Gorrell (d. 1853), whose grave lies with them. I found no grave for “C.,” their mother.

Newhouse Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio

Monday, January 10, 2011

Epitaph: When Christ commands

DIED
Sept. 27, 1847
HENRY DARRAH
Aged 22, Yrs.
7, Mo’s, 22, d’s.

Friends nor Physicians could not save
My mortal body from the grave
Nor can the grave confine it here
When Christ commands it to appear


Newhouse Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio

Sunday, January 9, 2011

On your snowy wings

During my visit to Bokes Creek Cemetery, I noticed a perfect epitaph for a winter day, the snow on the ground and on the gravestones giving another meaning to snowy wings.

O BEAR ME AWAY
ON YOUR SNOWY WINGS
TO MY
ETERNAL HOME
 
 
The zinc monument marks the graves of Jacob Dilsaver (d. 1854) and Eliza Dilsaver (d. 1886), his wife.

JACOB
DILSAVER,
DIED
AUG. 16, 1854,
44 YRS, 10 MOS, 1 DAY.

ELIZA
DILSAVER
DIED NOV. 16, 1886,
AGED 66 YRS., 5 MOS, 19 DYS.

Bokes Creek Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio

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