A cairn-like monument

cairn n. a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark

Next to a large maple tree in the back corner of Woodhill Cemetery stands a monument made to look like a pile of stones with a flaming urn on top.

It is not a cairn, but that is what I see when I look at it.

Whatever you see, the monument is an impressive memorial to the family of John N. C. Schenck (b. 1778, d. 1867), the first postmaster of Franklin, Ohio.

J. N. C. SCHENCK,
BORN
JAN. 24, 1778;
DIED
OCT. 26, 1867

SARAH T.
WIFE OF
J. N. C. SCHENCK;
BORN
AUG. 21, 1787;
DIED
JAN. 28, 1842.
Sharing the monument with John and Sarah are several of their children, their inscriptions carved into several of the monument’s “stones.”

 

According to The Historical Marker Database, www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=26549,

John Noble Cumming Schenck, older brother of one of the founders of Franklin, William C. Schenck, established a store here in 1802. In 1805 President Thomas Jefferson appointed John Schenck postmaster of Franklin, a position he held until 1829. Schenck’s store is considered Franklin’s first post office and was one of the first four in Warren County.

Woodhill Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio

Semper fidelis

Walking through my hometown’s cemetery on Memorial Day, I spied this monument—a cenotaph—for Thomas John Van Dyke (b. 1890, d. 1918), a young Marine who lost his life in France during World War I.

IN MEMORY OF
THOMAS JOHN VAN DYKE
BORN MEMPHIS TENN. NOV. 17, 1890
ENLISTED MARINE CORPS JULY 21, 1917
KILLED ARGONNE NOV. 1, 1918
BURIED MONTFAUCON FRANCE
SEMPER FIDELIS

From the American Battle Monument Commission, http://abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/ma.php:

Within the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial in France, which covers 130.5 acres, rest the largest number of our military dead in Europe, a total of 14,246. Most of those buried here lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of World War I. The immense array of headstones rises in long regular rows upward beyond a wide central pool to the chapel that crowns the ridge.

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial

Photo courtesy of American Battle Monument Commission

The ABMC database lists Thomas J. Van Dyke as follows:

Thomas J. VAN Dyke
Private, U.S. Marine Corps
5th USMC Regiment, 2nd Division

Entered the Service from: Washington
Died: November 1, 1918
Buried at: Plot E Row 19 Grave 27
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Romagne, France

---

Woodhill Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio

Willow and coffin

The old sandstone marker for Nathaniel Coleman (b. 1787, d. 1836) is the first gravestone on which I have seen emigrate used to describe movement from one state (New Jersey) to another (Ohio).

The marker also has an interesting carving: A coffin or box tomb rests beneath a willow tree.

Sacred
To the memory of
NATHANIEL COLEMAN
Who was born in N
Jersey May 7, 1787
And Emigrated to
This Town In 1829
And departed this life
Dec. 3 1836 Aged 49
Years 6 mo. & 26 days

Woodhill Cemetery, Warren County, Ohio

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?

---

Iberia Cemetery, Morrow County, Ohio