skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The sandstone marker at the grave of Philanda Crumb (d. 1845) shows signs of weathering, but so far remains easy to read.
Still, it is not impossible to imagine the day when another graveyard visitor looks at the stone and passes by because it is no longer legible.
PHILANDA,
wife of
Wm. S. CRUMB
died July 23,
1845,
Aged 21 years
11 mo. 17 ds.My lifted eye without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see.
My steadfast heart shall know no fear,
That heart will rest on thee.
The source of this epitaph is somewhat unusual: It was written by a woman! Helen Maria Williams (b. 1761, d. 1827) was a British novelist, poet, and translator of French-language works.
While Thee I seek, protecting Power,
Be my vain wishes stilled;
And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be filled.
Thy love the power of thought bestowed;
To Thee my thoughts would soar:
Thy mercy o’er my life has flowed;
That mercy I adore.
In each event of life, how clear
Thy ruling hand I see!
Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by Thee.
In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,
My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.
When gladness wings my favored hour,
Thy love my thoughts shall fill;
Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,
My soul shall meet Thy will.
My lifted eye, without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see:
My steadfast heart shall know no fear;
That heart will rest on Thee.
William. S. Crumb and Philanda Case were married on March 10, 1842 in Delaware County, Ohio. Both are buried in Williamsville Cemetery.
 |
| From FamilySearch.org |
Williamsville Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Thomas Cemetery is small, inactive cemetery surrounded by a shoulder-high stone wall. It sits well off the road in a residential neighborhood. You could easily drive by without noticing it—or at least not recognizing it as the charming old cemetery that it is.
John Thomas (d. 1858), who was a farmer in the township, is buried next to his young son Joseph Thomas (d. 1853).
JOHN,
THOMAS,
died
June 14, 1858
Aged 43 Yrs.
1 Mo. 13 Ds,
There may have been an epitaph on Mr. Thomas’s gravestone originally, but if so, it was lost when the stone was reset in concrete.
JOSEPH,
Son of John
& Cordelia E.
THOMAS,
Died
June 30, 1853;
Aged 1 year,
5 mos, 22 ds,
History of Delaware County and Ohio by William Henry Perrin (1880) includes a short biography of the widowed Mrs. Thomas:
Mrs. Cordelia Thomas, Hyattsville, was born in Connecticut March 12, 1830; daughter of Salmon Holcomb; her mother’s maiden name was Tuller, both natives of Connecticut; they emigrated to this State when the subject of this sketch was but 6 years of age; they located in Liberty, where they lived until their death. Cordelia was married in her 20th year to John Thomas, a son of David and Mary (Holcomb) Thomas, the latter was one of the earliest settlers in this county; is now 93 years of age; after the marriage of Mrs. Thomas they located on the Whetstone River, adjoining the homestead; lived there until his death which occurred June 14, 1858; they had five children, three living—Lavina (now the wife of Thomas Case), James and John. Mrs. Thomas now resided one mile south of Hyattsville, where she had 100-1/2 acres of land which she has since divided among the children reserving forty acres in her own right; John lives with his mother; was born Feb. 12, 1856.
According to a death record from FamilySearch.org, Cordelia Thomas died May 2, 1905, having lived nearly half a century as a widow.
By the way, Joseph Thomas’s epitaph, though not entirely visible in the photo, appears to be the touching short poem “Epitaph on an Infant” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (b. 1772, d. 1834):
Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade,
Death came with friendly care;
The opening bud to heaven conveyed,
And bade it blossom there.
Thomas Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Sarah Flanagan Cellar (d. 1823) was the wife of Thomas Cellar, who provided the land for the cemetery in which they both now rest.
In memory of
SARAH FLANAGAN CELLAR
wife of
THOMAS CELLAR;
who departed this life July 18, 1823;
aged 68 years.
As a neighbor, friend, relative, She was greatly
beloved; and having long lived a christian life,
She resigned her breath in hope of immortality.
There is an epitaph at the bottom of the stone, taken from the fourth and fifth verses of the hymn “Now Let Our Souls on Wings Sublime” by Thomas Gibbons (b. 1720, d. 1785), a London clergyman.
Now let our souls on wings sublime,
Rise from the vanities of time,
Draw back the parting veil and see,
The glories of eternity.
Born by a new celestial birth,
Why should we grovel here on earth?
Why grasp at transitory toys,
So near to Heav’n’s eternal joys.
Shall aught beguile us on the road,
When we are walking back to God?
For strangers into life we come,
And dying is but going home.
Welcome sweet hour of full discharge,
That sets our longing souls at large.
Unbinds our chains, breaks up our cell,
And gives us with our God to dwell.
To dwell with God, to feel His love,
Is the full Heav’n enjoyed above;
And the sweet expectation now,
Is the young dawn of Heav’n below.
Let’s not overlook the intricate carvings on this gravestone.
Symbols of grief and mortality (willows, urns) are topped with a stylized sunburst, which can be interpreted as a symbol of the immortality that Mrs. Cellar hoped for when she “resigned her breath.”
Liberty Church Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Not long ago I reviewed the photographs I took one summer afternoon in St. John’s Episcopal Cemetery, Worthington, Ohio. One gravestone caught my eye with its carving of a praying figure.
The gravestone for Anthea Garretson (d. 1856) is a rectangular tablet with a carved gothic arch and a woman on her knees in prayer.
ANTHEA,
WIFE OF
HARMAN GARRETSON
Died
Dec. 23, 1856
Aged
[62] Yrs.
But is it the figure of a woman? Do I see the hint of a wing to the right of the figure? It’s an angel!
Check out the photo on Find A Grave. In the right light, the wing outline is obvious.
St. John’s Episcopal Cemetery, Franklin County, Ohio
