T. Smith - Mount Varnum Cemetery, Washington Township, Butler County, Penna

Am I hot on the trail of Thomas Smith of Butler County, Pennsylvania, who is my ancestor or am I on a wild goose chase tracking down someone else's ancestor?  I feel the need to search out every possibility until I find enough information to confirm that this man and his family is or isn't mine.

Yesterday I searched the Butler County Cemetery Inventory to see if I could find Thomas Smith in any of the cemeteries in Parker Township.  It seems Parker Twp. had very few cemeteries - and he wasn't in any of them.  I decided to look in the listings for cemeteries in the five adjoining townships in Butler County, Pennsylvania.

Washington Township is directly west of Parker Township and Thomas's property in Parker was close to the border between both.  The Parker Twp. cemeteries were closer to the center and eastern areas of the township while Mount Varnum Cemetery is on the eastern edge of Washington Township.  In fact, the cemetery is almost directly west of Thomas's property as shown in the 1858 Butler County map.  In the map to the right, Mt. Varnum Cemetery is slightly below the "T" in Washington. Thomas's property was just across the border from the "N" in Washington.  The distance was probably less than 3 miles.  I'm sure people in the 19th century were aware of township lines but, as in our day, those lines weren't borders or boundaries that prevented people from shopping, worshipping, and friendshipping outside their townships.

There were several Smith families in the six counties.  One family had a series of deaths of young children and as I was copying the information I was thinking how sad for that family to lose so many children.  The first child was Martha who died in 1863.  Thomas of the 1850 census had a daughter named Martha but I didn't guess any connection to the man who may be my Thomas Smith.  But when I came to the next to the last name, it was also Martha who died April 20, 1846, at 40 years, 4 months, and 14 days of age, wife of T.  The last name in the group - no name, really, only an initial - was T. Smith who died September 6, 1862, at 69 years, 6 months, 9 days of age.  Which puts his birth at February 25, 1793, which is within range for the Thomas Smith of the 1850 census.

Is this my Thomas Smith and members of his family?  Thomas of the 1850 census had children named Martha and Nelson living with him and his calculated age was close to this Thomas's calculated age.  But some questions arise in my mind.  There were children whose parents were "T. B." and "A" and others who were the children of parents with the possible initials of "M." and "S."  There was a Martha, "wife of T."  Could Thomas/T. have been married twice (of course it's possible!) or are these two different families buried on the same plot?  Are initials M. and S. really M. and S. or were they so "faded" that it was only a guess what the initials were?

Below is a transcription (of a transcription!) of the Smith family gravestones in Mount Varnum Cemetery, Washington Township, from the Butler County Cemetery Inventory, Volume I, located on the first page of the Mount Varnum transcriptions.

________________________________________________________________

Smith Martha J - [died] ??-30-1863 - 1/? - Child of M.? & S.?
Smith Infant - Child of M.? & S.?
Smith Nelson - Co. L 14 Pa. Cav. GAR
Smith Lavina - [died] 07-03-1868 - 5[years]/2[months]/22[days] Ch. of T.B.& A.
Smith James E. - [died] 02/20-1856 - -[years]/3[months]/15[days] Ch. of T.B.&A.
Smith Infant - [died] 01-24-1856 - Child of T. B. & A.
Smith Infant - [died] 12-29-1861 - Child of T. B. & A.
Smith Perry - [died] 1856 - Child of T. B. & A.
Smith Martha - [died] 04-20-1846 - 40[years]/4[months]14[days] - Wife of T.
Smith T. - [died]09-06-1862 - 69[years]/6[months]/9[days]

________________________________________________________________

I hope, over time and with more information, I'll be able to confirm (or refute) a connection to this family.  If this turns out not to be my family, I'll have plenty of research to share with their descendants!

Previous posts regarding Thomas Smith:
Searching for Thomas Smith, Sr.
The Search for Thomas Smith Continues - 1850 and 1860 Census Records
Neighbors of Thomas Smith, 1850. Neighbors of Henry Smith, 1860
Thomas Smith and 1858 Property Map of Parker Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania

--Nancy.

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Transcription of Oak Hill Cemetery Interments for the Froman Family

I am searching for my great-great-grandfather John Froman (1841 to 1870-1880) who is the husband of Catherine (Saylor) Froman. I wrote to Oak Hill Cemetery, Sandy Lake, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, where his wife is buried and requested interment information. I was hoping that he may have been buried without a gravestone. I received one and a half hand-written pages with the information as it appears below. Unfortunately my gggrandfather was not mentioned in the records.

Oak Hill Cemetery Company

Sandy Lake, PA 16145

lot 117E
Owner John F. Froman - deed dated Dec 20, 1928
Burials
Catherine Saylor Froman - age 84 - Dec 20, 1928
Jacob Froman - age 70 - March 26, 1935
Jacob Froman - age 24 - Feb 1, 1899
Marie Froman - age 7 mo. - Sep 14, 1899
John Froman - age 73 - May 18, 1936
Rebecca Froman - age 88 - Nov 18, 1952 (pneumonia)

[Beside Jacob Froman (age 24) and Marie Froman (age 7 mo.) is a note that reads:]
moved from 97H Nov 10, 1930 - 97H orig. owner Jacob Froman - deed dated 9-1-1899

lot 76G
Owner Gust Froman - deed dated Dec 14, 1909
Burials
Gust Froman - age 63 Mar 14, 1934
Catherine E. Froman - age 2 mo. - Oct 28, 1909
Harry Froman - age 22 - Feb 28, 1926
Mary Ann Froman - age 93 - Jan 31, 1969 - heart
Helen Marie Bonnell - 76 days - June 23, 1975 - cardiac arrest
Raymond Paul Froman - age 94 - June 15, 1999 - pneumonia

lot 29D
Owner Mr. A. Froman - est. 1915
Burials
Sarah Froman - age 50 - Mar 8, 1915
Adam David Froman - age 61 - July 19, 1930
John H. Froman - age 80 - Feb 27, 1979 - heart
Mary E. Froman - age 75 - Apr 30, 1979 - shock state
Lawrence S. Froman - age 76 - Jan 26, 1980 - interocutaneous fistula
Minnie R. Froman - age 81 - May 12, 1982 - cancer bones & brain
Ortelia C. Froman - age 84 - Mar 18, 1984 - cancer lungs & liver

There is also an infant J. H. Froman buried in a single grave lot, Oct 7, 1912.


The family of John F. Froman on lot 11E and the family of Gust Froman on lot 76G are definitely part of our line. The owner of lot 29D, Mr. A. Froman (Adam Froman) who may or may not be related.

Interments in the Union Cemetery Lot of Henry C. and Elizabeth (Armitage) Meinzen

When searching for Henry and Elizabeth (Armitage) Meinzen's unknown infants and children a few years ago, I contacted Union Cemetery in Steubenville, Ohio, where I knew Henry and Elizabeth were buried. I hoped to find the rest of her 15 children there.

I corresponded with cemetery employees several times and each request was returned with information. I finally asked it they would please send the names and information of all individuals buried in Section Q, Lot 203, the Meinzen lot.

These are the names of family members from their records:

Meinzen, William, age 16, interred 1888/11/27
Meinzen, Infant, stillborn, interred 1891/01/25
Meinzen, Infant, stillborn, interred 1904/08/20
Hendricks, Hannah E., 35 years, 6 months, 3 days, interred 1910/09/06
Meinzen, Edward C., 32 years, 9 months, 10 days, interred 1911/11/17
Meinzen, Elizabeth, 68 years, interred 1920/06/29
Meinzen, Henry, 88 years, 5 months, 5 days, interred 1926/01/02

Was the infant born and buried in 1904 Elizabeth's and Henry's. Elizabeth would have been 52. Her previous child was born in 1898 or 1899 when she was either 46 or 47. Or was the infant the child of their son and daughter-in-law, Henry and Helen/Ella (Dray) Meinzen?

These are the names of the additional individuals they sent:
Brison, Infant, stillborn, interred 1893/08/23
Easman, M. A., 5 months, interred 1894/06/15
Potts, David, 4 years, interred 1905/11/26

I have not yet identified these as family/not family, though research so far would suggest they are not family: I've found no connection between individuals with these last names and Henry and Elizabeth. Of course that's not to say there isn't a connection - just that I haven't found one. If they are not related, I assume one of two things: either Henry sold sections of his lot to them or he was very generous at a grievous time for their parents.

Perhaps I will never know if the infant who was stillborn in 1904 is Elizabeth's. I'd like to know, though, because it means the whole family would have been found!

Copyright © 2010 by Nancy Messier.