Ledger stones on the hill

During my quick visit to Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, home to many of my ancestors and an easy detour as we drove home from my husband’s Army reunion, I found the graves of my great-great-great grandparents among five ledger stones set shoulder to shoulder on a hillside in Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery.

The center stone marks the grave of M. Isabella Wilson (d. 1839); the topmost stone, the grave of her husband, George Wilson (d. 1837).

IN MEMORY OF
M. ISABELLA WILS[ON]
consort of
GEORGE WILSON E[SQ.]
who died
Oct. 31 [st] A.D. 1839
Aged [69?] years.

In Memory of
GEORGE WILSON
Who departed this life
[the 17^th day of] Feb. 1837
[Aged 76 years]

George and Isabella raised their children on the family farm in Perrysville (now Port Royal). According to family stories, George built the farm’s original covered bridge across Licking Creek, now re-built and known as Lehman’s bridge.

The farm was in the family for six generations, starting with George’s father Thomas, before being sold in 2002.

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Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Juniata County, Pennsylvania

Wednesday’s child: Mary and Ruth Parker

The Parker plot at Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery includes the small double gravestone for sisters Mary Parker (b. 1865, d. 1866) and Ruth Parker (b. 1879, d. 1882).

MARY
BORN NOV. 23, 1865
DIED AUG. 4, 1866

RUTH
BORN MAR. 4, 1879
DIED DEC. 8, 1882

CHILDREN OF
E. SOUTHARD
AND
M. ISABELL
PARKER.

The Parker stone that first caught my eye was their father’s, E. Southard Parker. Mr. Parker was my great grandmother’s brother-in-law. She must have admired him because she named my grandfather for him: Southard Parker Mayer.

Somehow I failed to get a close-up of Mary and Ruth’s small foot stones. See them in the plot photo? It is a six-hour trip back to this cemetery, but these foot stones are on my to-do list.

Westminster Presbyterian Cemetery, Juniata County, Pennsylvania

“Also her infant son”

I was surprised to discover that few of the older gravestones in Springville Cemetery in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania have decorative carvings. Most are simple and to the point. The marker at the grave of Charlotte Cromlich (d. 1866) with its open book—a Bible no doubt—is one exception.

The open Bible may catch your eye, but the last words on the gravestone catch your heart.

CHARLOTTE,
WIFE OF
W^m. Cromlich,
and daughter of Geo. & S.
ODONNEL,
Died Jan. 30, 1866,
Aged 26 yrs & 11 days.

Also
Her infant son
sleeps by her side

The verse on the Bible pages is Philippians 1:21.

For me to live is Christ
And to die is gain.
In July 1860, when the census taker in Carlisle, Pennsylvania came knocking, Charlotte and William were not yet married. She was a domestic in the home of the William Breckbill family. He was living in a rooming house operated by William Noaker. His occupation is listed as master wheelwright.

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Springville Cemetery, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania

Who is buried in the Machpelah mausoleum?

The private mausoleum is built into the side of a small hill at Oak Hill Cemetery. At the base of the chimney (chimney!?) is the date 1886. There is a wooden portico with a tin roof built onto the front.

Above the double doors, carved in wood and highlighted with silver paint, is one word: Machpelah.

Machepelah is most likely not a surname, but rather a reference to the Cave of Machpelah, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs. Believed to be the burial place of Abraham and Sarah, the Cave of the Patriarchs is considered holy by Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

  

There is a hunk of concrete to the right of the doors on which someone has scratched the name Nell Andrix. Is this a hint about who is buried in the mausoleum? There are a number of Andrix graves nearby. Most likely, just an unrelated scrap.

Who is buried in the Machpelah mausoleum?

Oak Hill Cemetery, Madison County, Ohio

Silent Sunday: Gettysburg

State of North Carolina Monument, Gettysburg National Military Park