Transcription contributed by Arne H Trelvik 26 May 2003 & 7 December 2003

• Image from Warners 1867 Wall Map of Warren County Ohio showing location of the Lebanon Ohio Cemeteries
• Lebanon Pioneer Cemetery page
• Removals from the Presbyterian Graveyard to Lebanon Cemetery
• The Miami Gazette, Waynesville, Ohio, Wednesday 3 Aug 1870 - THE GRAVE OF HENRY CLAY'S DAUGHTER

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471

On the 7th of September, 1806, Jonathan Tichenor and Abner Smith, as Trustees of the Presbyterian Church at Lebanon, in consideration of $40, purchased of John Shaw a lot, which is now in the western part of Lebanon, for a graveyard, and is known as the Old Presbyterian Graveyard. This is the oldest graveyard at Lebanon. It is much older than the date of the deed to the Presbyterian society would indicate, as it is known that it was used as a place

of burial as early as 1799. There are no inscriptions upon the tombstones marking the earliest graves. Capt. Robert Benham was buried here, but there is no inscription upon his tombstone. The grounds have long been neglected, and are grown up with weeds and briers. Many remains interred here have been removed to the Lebanon Cemetery. Among the names of well-known families of Warren County, the following are found on the tombstones in this yard: Beller, Ferguson, James, Randolph, Dill, Perlee, Dunlap, Halsey, Monfort, Miller, Blackburn, Beedle, Braden Bone, Brown, Liddell, Krewson, Cowan, Perrine, Tharp, Goodwin, McCrary, Dunham, Crane and Benham.

About 1811, the Baptists removed their church from the site east of Lebanon to a lot in the western part of the town, as since enlarged. The churchyard from that time was used as a burying-ground, and is still known as the Old Baptist Graveyard. Here are the graves of Judge Francis Dunlevy, Elder Daniel Clark, Judge Joshua Collett, Judge Matthias Corwin (the father of Gov. Corwin), and Keziah Corwin (grandmother of the Governor). In this yard was buried a daughter of Henry Clay, the inscription upon whose tombstone is as follows: “In memory of Eliza H. Clay, daughter of Henry and Lucretia Clay, who died on the 11th day of August, 1825, aged twelve years, during a journey from their residence at Lexington, in Kentucky, to Washington City. Cut off in the bloom of a promising life, here parents have erected this monument, consoling themselves with the belief that she now abides in heaven.”

What is known as the Methodist Graveyard, which adjoins the Baptist burying-ground on the south, does not seem to have been used as such until about 1820. There is now no line marking the boundary between the two yards, both being within the same inclosure, and the whole comprises a square within the corporate limits of Lebanon. Although some of the remains have been removed to the new cemetery, the grounds are still kept in good preservation, and no steps have as yet been taken for their abandonment as graveyards.

The Lebanon Cemetery Association was organized at a meeting in the town hall of Lebanon, June 20, 1850. The capital stock of the association was divided into twenty-five shares of $50 each, and one share was taken by each of twenty-five stockholders. The first officers were: A. H. Dunlevy, President; John E. Dey, Jacob Egbert, Robert Boake and William M. Charters, Trustees; Horace M. Stokes, Clerk; and William F. Parshall, Treasurer. The grounds of the association at first consisted of eight and one-half acres, which were tastefully laid out according to a plat drawn at the request of the President, by John Van Cleve, Esq., of Dayton. Additions have since been made to the grounds, until they comprise nearly fifty acres. The first interment was that of Hannah Seely, who was buried August 29, 1850. In 1881, there were 450 lot-holders, and the total number of burials in the cemetery was 1,913, of which 208 were remains removed from the older graveyards. The grounds contain many beautiful and costly monuments, among which is the family monument, simple and chaste in design, of one of Ohio’s most distinguished men – Thomas Corwin.

The following list of the names of persons buried in the three old graveyards at Lebanon was obtained by the writer with the assistance of Mr. S. C. Drake. Most of those named were born prior to 1800. Some of the tombstones marking the graves of the pioneers have fallen down, and on others the inscriptions are almost illegible. Many graves are marked by rough stones, without any inscription. In a few instances, the date of death and age have been ascertained from other sources than the tombstones, and are given in the list:

BAPTIST GRAVEYARD

METHODIST GRAVEYARD

METHODIST GRAVEYARD - Continued.

*Four sisters killed by lightning near Lebanon, May 30, 1844.

PRESBYTERIAN GRAVEYARD

PRESBYTERIAN GRAVEYARD - Continued

The square occupied by the old Baptist and the old Methodist graveyards remains as a cemetery now called the "Pioneer Cemetery". The square does not contain the old Presbyterian graveyard which no longer exists. The grounds of the old Presbyterian graveyard are now occupied by an automobile dealership.

The 3 indivual listings of burials in the Old Baptist Graveyard, Old Methodist Graveyard and Old Presbyterian Graveyards preceeding this note have been transcribed by John L. Cowan, Ph.D., of Baltimore, MD, into a single table identified as PIONEER CEMETERY IN LEBANON, OHIO . As noted above, the Old Presbyterian Graveyard is not included in what is now called the Pioneer Cemetery.