tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post2090235579920976952..comments2024-03-27T04:14:38.477-05:00Comments on crAAKKer: My Roots Are Showing—St. Matthew's CemeteryGrange95http://www.blogger.com/profile/01857460215043659894noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-6903296705727858472011-01-03T19:44:36.818-06:002011-01-03T19:44:36.818-06:00@ Nina: These pics were taken with my iPhone, and...@ Nina: These pics were taken with my iPhone, and late in the afternoon, so I was pleased they turned out as well as they did. I do want to go back in late spring with a better quality camera to do a little more thorough job documenting the cemetery with my Dad. Would love to see what a skilled photographer could do with the cemetery, as I think the hillside setting in a pasture with some old trees has a lot of potential in better hands than mine.<br /><br />P.S. Thanks for catching the rather embarrassing typo!Grange95https://www.blogger.com/profile/01857460215043659894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-57982774022175572152011-01-03T18:15:37.501-06:002011-01-03T18:15:37.501-06:00What an unexpected surprise. Thanks for sharing.What an unexpected surprise. Thanks for sharing.Josiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00226640652091292377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-22162163084933069202011-01-03T16:56:42.711-06:002011-01-03T16:56:42.711-06:00Love the cemetery pictures. (Keep an eye out at my...Love the cemetery pictures. (Keep an eye out at my place for some from me in a few days.)<br /><br />I think you mean "restful" rather than "restive." The two words have opposite meanings.Nina Thttp://www.somebeaut.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-44790802205069809702011-01-03T11:29:18.532-06:002011-01-03T11:29:18.532-06:00@ Lucki Duck: I just looked back at the bell phot...@ Lucki Duck: I just looked back at the bell photo, and it states the church was established in 1893, so the pre-1893 graves would have been from a private plot for a few families living in that area.Grange95https://www.blogger.com/profile/01857460215043659894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-30801144508650351552011-01-03T11:23:10.959-06:002011-01-03T11:23:10.959-06:00@ Subconscious: Yup, maybe three times a year we&...@ Subconscious: Yup, maybe three times a year we'd do the cemetery walkabout and hear a lot of old stories about relatives who died before I was born. I'm glad now we did it, since so much family history would have been lost to the mists of time otherwise.<br /><br />@ Lucki Duck: Total number of graves is a bit difficult to tell, since many of the older family graves were done in groups surrounding a central headstone. But I would estimate there are maybe 20 rows of graves with roughly 15 graves per row, for a ballpark of 300 total.<br /><br />Size of the cemetery is also a rough estimate, but using the fence line as a guide, my estimate is that the cemetery is 200-250 feet north to south, and 400-500 feet east to west. That works out to roughly 2-3 acres, which feels about right. I think the cemetery association owns something like 10 acres total, with most of it fenced off and rented out as pasture to the neighboring farm.<br /><br />Date of the oldest grave is 1878, with a dozen or so in the 1878-1900 range. I suspect the cemetery started as a private cemetery for a few local farm families, with the church being established later and using the cemetery for all church members. There are several small rural church cemeteries in the area which are still in use, despite the closings of all the associated churches.Grange95https://www.blogger.com/profile/01857460215043659894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-3479206511295746632011-01-03T09:07:21.436-06:002011-01-03T09:07:21.436-06:00How large is the cemetery? Approximately how many ...How large is the cemetery? Approximately how many graves? What is the date of the oldest grave?<br /><br />Nice post. Thanks for sharing.Lucki Duckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05176927202305128485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169281096117913024.post-32947214968378026542011-01-03T03:26:45.584-06:002011-01-03T03:26:45.584-06:00These little midwest cemeteries are such a part of...These little midwest cemeteries are such a part of my memories too - you'd take the whole family down to visit and put flowers once in a while, and your parents would talk about the folks around the cemetery. I even remember going to look at plots where my dad had spots reserved - so matter-of-fact.<br /><br />Nice pics . . .Subconscioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09694049620534350265noreply@blogger.com