Oak Hill Cemetery Tour (Today 25 Aug 2013)

The Vanderburgh County Historical Society is sponsoring...

an Oak Hill Cemetery tour "Captains of Industry."

Sorry for the late posting, but if you can make it - the effort will be worth your time.  It begins at 2 PM.  Hope to see you there!

- Indiana Bones

Evansville's Oak Hill Cemetery Tour May 2013

Panoramic view of the crowd attending this interesting tour of Evansville's largest cemetery.

Dennis Au & Chris Cooke conducts this tour on an annual basis.

Click on the photo above for a larger image.

On the left side you can see Indiana Bones in the yellow shirt and hat.

Next to Indiana to the right in the blue blouse is Becky West.

On the other side of Indy in the red blouse is Deb Travers.

Many TSGS members were present: John & Becky West, Deb Travers, Sue Newcom, Irvin & Connie Conrad, Karin Kirsch, Kathy Wilson, plus at least 3 more.

Link Changes to Evansville City Cemeteries

I go to the City Cemeteries (Oak Hill & Locust Hill) almost every day to search for a grave.  Last night, I could not get to these great genealogical databases... I got instead a re-direct to a login page.  I went to the Oak Hill Cemetery Face Book site and asked what was happening.  The City/County web sites just recently went through some revising which included some changes in the URL's to the various governmental departments.  For some unknown reason the old links bring you to the login page instead of a re-direct to the new URL address or simply inform you that the sites have been revised with new Uniform Resource Locator (URL) addresses.  Oak Hill management quickly provided all that I needed just a few minutes after 8 AM... special thanks to Chris & his staff!

This is one of the biggest problems with the Internet that after you find a great site... you bookmark it and then that bookmark becomes a bad link because the site changed servers or simply just changed the URL within the site. I have worked 16 years on the Internet and have figured out ways to find these elusive new addresses for the sites I want to visit.  Fortunately, I found a way to get to the cemetery databases late last night when I wanted to get a little info about a Gus Mattingly that had drowned trying to save others!  His grave marker was featured on a "Tombstone Thursday" on this TSGS Cruiser Blog (check the labels to the right for a link to that blog -"Gus Mattingly").

Anyway, I got a quick response this morning from that Cemetery Face Book page which I appreciate very much!  They gave me the new URL's to use on the links for the Tri-State Genealogical Society's web site for those who visit our site.  They have been updated on our site.

If you would want to bookmark the new URL's, here is the two cemetery databases and the Evansville City Cemeteries' home page

Locust Hill Cemetery Database Search http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/locusthill.aspx

Oak Hill Cemetery Database Search  http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/oakhill.aspx

Evansville City Cemeteries Home Page  http://www.evansville.in.gov/index.aspx?page=1334

Now, that fall is upon us, you might want to visit the city cemeteries, especially Oak Hill, to see all of the beautiful trees as they change colors.  I have spent hours photographing the breath taking beauty of this cemetery!

- Compiled by JGWest

Tombstone Thursday - Norton

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

James Earl Norton

1915-2003

Frances Helen McBride

1920-2001

Married for 65 years!

(Section D, Lot 2, Graves 8 &9)

 

Great Grandparents of Ryan Lurker who works with JGWest.

 

- Photo taken by Indiana Bones.

 

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated

in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Tribute Tuesday

 

Evansville's largest and one of the very oldest cemeteries

has been recognized by the

Indiana Department of Natural Resources

as a Historic Cemetery!

Oak Hill Cemetery

Established 1853 

 

- Photo taken by Indiana Bones

Two Great Historical Presentations!

The

Vanderburgh County

Historical Society

has two interesting events

coming soon!

Isn't their logo really cool!

It is like the past seeing the present.

The Vanderburgh County Historical Society and Willard Library proudly presents: The WPA at Angel Mounds

Thursday, 30 Aug 2012    6:30PM - 8:00PM
This public program is FREE of charge. 

Angel Mounds Director, Mike Linderman, will discuss the plans to rebuild the WPA camp buildings erected during the 1930's at Angel Mounds.  Linderman's discussion will touch on the history of the WPA at the site with Eli Lilly and Glenn Black and what was accomplished. The talk will then shift to present day plans to rebuild the original camp buildings and how Angel Mounds has gone about finding exact location, size and building design to ensure construction of the most accurate representation.
Event Location:
Willard Library 2nd Floor
Special Collections Dept.
21 First Ave., Evansville, IN 47710
To Register: http://www.willard.lib.in.us/calendar_of_events/event_details.php?eventID=722
<<<<<<<<=====>>>>>>>>
Civil War Tour of Oak Hill Cemetery
Sunday, 09 Sep 2012   2:00PM
This event is FREE and open to the public!

The Civil War Tour will be led by members of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society under the auspices of the City Preservation Office and City Preservationist Dennis Au. The tour will start outside of the Administration Office within the Cemetery. Parking is available in the Veteran's Plaza just inside the main gate off of Virginia Street.  Contact Superintendent of Cemeteries Chris Cooke at ccooke@evansvillegov.org with any questions.

Indiana Bones encourages everyone to attend both of these historical events!


Tombstone Thursday - Moore

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Lucinda Aurelia Peach

wife of Morris E. Moore

1915-1978

Birth Mother of Rebecca L. Meredith

Becky West is a TSGS Board Director

[Becky's father was Robert H. Meredith, Lucinda's first husband.]

- Photo taken by Indiana Bones.

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated

in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Tombstone Thursday - Kron

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Section 62, Lot 89, Graves 3 & 4

Fred Kron

1880-1958

Mathilda Kron

1884-1937

 I selected this grave marker because I noticed it was made of two regular grave markers: one flat (horizontal on the ground and the other was mounted on top vertically.  I have never seen one made in this fashion before.

- Photos taken by Indiana Bones

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of 

Donald G. West 1952-2000]

From the First Mate's Photo Album

Oh, Deer!!!

And I do mean deer, White-tailed Deer roaming around grazing in Oak Hill Cemetery!  Superintendent Chris Cooke sent me a photo of these deer that were right in front of the Administration Office Building early yesterday morning.  I went by the cemetery to finish decorating graves for Becky's family.  And, there they were just walking around like they owned the place.  Chris said he had seen some deer over the last few years, but mostly when it was a little colder.  These look like they are young... short and slender.

 They stopped to pose for me and, then, they looked at me as if I was invading their privacy.

 Then they saw the SUV taking pictures of them and decided to run for it.  I was lucky to get this last pic before they were gone!  This was a first for this ol' Cemetery Geek!

- Photos taken and submitted by Indiana Bones

Tombstone Thursday - Baker

'

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Larry J. Baker

1947-2006

The colored flags with the eagle & the lighthouse make this marker especially nice!

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Tombstone Thursday - Stone

'
Oak Hill Cemetery
Evansville, Indiana
Cicero Stone* 1878-1920
Section L, Lot 72, Grave 4

[Click on photo for a larger image. Note: the Masonic symbol.]
* Listed as Cercero J. Stone in the Oak Hill Cemetery online index of the death cards. http://www.evansvillegov.org/external/index.asp?site=http://www.evansvillegis.com/cemeteries/oakhill.aspx&type=City

In the Browning Online Genealogy Database http://browning.evpl.org/ shows that Cicero J. Stone died on 15 Feb 1920, survived by wife Maude; daughters - Ardath, Blanche & Beatrice; son Kenneth.

- Photo by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Tombstone Thursday - Heston

'

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Section A, Lot 144

Heston Family

[Click on image to enlarge]

This is a good-sized boulder marking the graves of the Heston family members. Six of the eight graves have been used in this lot. You can easily see this "rock" from a distance.

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Review of Oak Hill Cemetery on the Internet

'

Joy Neighbors posted in Indiana Pioneer Cemetery Restoration Project (INPCRP) on Face Book:

This month's Cemetery Worth the Visit is Oak Hill located in Evansville, Indiana. Gorgeous landscaping, sculpture and lots of tree stones!

http://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/

This is a very nice historical look, as well as, nice photos of cemetery. Did notice that several times the name was Oak View instead of Oak Hill... our local cemetery is always worth a visit, but this blog about the cemetery is worth taking a look at! - JGWest

Tombstone Thursday - Mattingly

'

August Mattingly

1881-1899

Oak Hill Cemetery

Section 17, Row 5

Evansville, Indiana

"Drowned trying to save lives of others"

- Photo taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

Tombstone Thursday - Kornberger

'

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Section 41, Lot 21

Kornberger Family Plot

Caroline Kornberger died 1887 (age 2 years)

Edward Theo. Henry Kornberger died 1913 (age 31 years)

Margaret Kornberger died 1904 (age 54 years)

Rudolph Kornberger born in Germany died 1905 (age 69 years)

This is a six-foot tombstone with a very large cameo-style profile image of Rudolph Kornberger.
- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

"Evansville City Cemeteries - New Link"

'

I just discovered that the link to the Evansville City Cemeteries has changed! I was making a list of links for a handout for an introductory program on Wednesday. Joan Elliott Parker asked me to make a short presentation to about 40 librarians at the Newburgh Public Library on 20 Oct 2010. I wanted to send this handout to Joan ASAP so she could get the copies made for everyone. I almost went into a panic, as I view the databases for the 2 cemeteries to be prime examples of excellent information that you can get on the Internet.

Luckily, Chris Cooke, Superintendent of the cemeteries is a friend on FaceBook... Isent him a private message from FaceBook and he responded quickly giving me the revised new URL for the cemeteries. Chris said that the city was making changes to their network of department web sites the last few weeks. It looks great and on the left hand column you can find various links including the link to the searchable database.

For our blog readers, here is the new URL for the Evansville City Cemeteries: http://www.evansvillegov.org/Index.aspx?page=1334

John G. West, TSGS President

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday - James G. Jones

'

Evansville's First Mayor...

James G. Jones was Evansville, Indiana's 1st. Mayor from 1847-1853. This plaque is placed on his grave at Oak Hill Cemetery. Click on the photo to get a larger image. James Jones was a lot more than just Evansville's Mayor! He served as Indiana Attorney General 1860-1861.

Below is Colonel Jones Civil War marker.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

Tombstone Thursday - Smith

'

Oak Hill Cemetery

Evansville, Indiana

Edward Q. Smith

Marion W. Smith

Section 7, Lot 49, Graves 1 & 2

This grave marker caught my attention yesterday when I was at the cemetery. The mid-section with the four columns is newer than the rest of the marker below & above. The older portions are made of limestone, while the new part is made of polished granite.

This is a very ornate marker... notice the initials "E, Q, S!"

You can see the difference between the old & new from a long distance, that makes this one stick out more than its size makes it stand out. This is a nice marker that has some special beauty.

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

[Tombstone Thursday is dedicated in memory of Donald G. West 1952-2000]

From the FIRST MATE's PHOTO ALBUM...

'

... last night's TSGS meeting.

We had about 20-25 attend our meeting! We are trying to get more of our 425 members to attend, with a slight increase noted over some meetings of our last fiscal year of 15-20 attending. We would love to have more members & guests to come join us.
Our guest soeaker was Ken Gilkey, Presideent of the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Ken gave an interesting account of George Rogers Clark capture of Ft. Sackville (Vincennes, IN). The after meeting comments were very good. Thanks, Ken!

The red & green 13 striped flag is known as the George Rogers Clark flag. Colonel Clark was a brother to William Clark of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

After cleaning the small G.A.R. sawhorse type stand, I showed it to our members to see if anyone knew why these were at Oak Hill Cemetery. This one was on loan to show. Everyone that gave a comment suggested this plus the other 8 or so others were used to set a coffin upon at the cemetery before it was moved to lower the coffin into the grave. (They may have been, also, used in the homes or other places where the body of the deceased may have been on display before going to the cemetery.) All agreed that it was interesting that these existed. "G.A.R." was determined to stand for the Grand Army of the Republic.

We had a very good meeting that many missed... next month's meeting will feature Robert N. Hall a very entertaining speaker who will discuss the works of author Washington Irving including Rip VanWinkle and the "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (kind of a fall/Halloween theme). Mr. Hall will be dressed as Ichabod Crane! I have heard this and about 5 other programs by Bob and I believe this is his very best of the great programs I have had the opportunity & pleasure to hear!

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest

Mystery at Oak Hill Cemetery

'

Chris Cooke, Superintendent of the Oak Hill Cemetery, asked me to drop by when I got a chance to take a look at some small sawhorses that he found in the Administration Building basement. They had the letters "G.A.R." on each one. I counted at least nine of them, but there might have been a couple more; some were being used like stands for some planks that were marked "Oak Hill Cemetery." Chris speculated that the planks were used to stand on when lowering a coffin into the grave... that was just a guess. All of them had water stains on the legs and were dirty from being stored in the basement undisturbed for many years! Below is a picture of one of the legs with the letters stenciled on it with the "G" being at the bottom.
We used a 16"x 25"x 1" filter to show the approximate size. They were about 12 to 15 inches tall and about 15 inches long.

Photo above shows how most has been used in this storage area in the basement. The planks with the stands made a nice shelf to store some of the cemetery's wreaths.

The mystery has four parts. Why are they so small, why do they have the letters "G.A.R." on them, what does "G.A.R." stand for, and what were they designed to be used for?

The initials, immediately, point to the "Grand Army of the Republic." Or could they be the initials of someone or a funeral home (or even a vault company)?

The small size might be to use as a platform or even a stage. Maybe they were used like barricades to block off some of the streets during some funerals or special ceremonies. They seem too short for using as benches.

Were they donated to the cemetery or simply just abandoned? Anyone have any ideas, let us know, please!

- Photos taken & submitted by JGWest