The cemetery was added to overtime. Each addition has a unique labeling and
numbering scheme. The burial
designation is only a guide for finding the grave in the cemetery not an exact
location. The real value in the burial
designation is to show possible family ties.
Over time burial conventions have changed. Early burials show and east / west
alignment. The headstone is generally
in the west and a footstone in the east.
Standing in the west looking east one can read the inscription. Today this burial convention is not
followed. Another change over time is
the grave size itself. Based on lot
sizes one speculates that 3 X 6’ was an adequate size for an adult burial. Inconsistencies are the norm rather than the
exception. See the Overall
Map to see the full layout of the cemetery. Note the “Star” added, top of page near center, in 2009 showing
the location of the memorial bench for Lon E McIntosh.
The Original Area, began in 1827, and is made
up of “Squares” 3, 4, 5, 6,7, 8, 9, & 10.
Squares 3,4,5,6 are made up of 26 lots.
Some of the lots were subdivided which may cause some confusion. The lots are generally 10’ wide and 45-75’
deep. Squares, 7-10 though no longer
square shaped, and are made up of 13 lots each. Please see the OA_Map to view this area Burial designation for the Original Area - Sq#L#
= a purchasable plot. Square
Detail Map
The South Addition is south of the original
area. This area is laid out using an
X/Y type grid. With the “range” bring
the X coordinate and the “lot” being the Y coordinate you can find the general
location of the “plot”. The use of
“lot” as the Y coordinate is confusing when lot implied a purchase area in
other sections of the cemetery.. In the
South Addition the “plot” implies a purchasable area. As in the Original Area the “plots” in the South Addition were
subdivided regularly. .Please see the SA_Map to view this area. Burial designation for the South Addition- SAR#_L# = a purchasable “plot.” Range numbers are 1-19 and lot numbers are
1-21. SAmap2
The West Addition is a single “line” of lots
the entire west side of the Original Area and South Addition. The numbering convention for the South half
of this addition provides the “lot” designations for the south addition. West Addition has Lots 1-21 in the same
format at the South Addition. The
second part of the West Addition is along the West edge of Squares 3,5,7,9 and
are labeled WA_L# and have lot numbers 22-49.
The East Addition shows it’s Victorian Era
age. The Circular layout divides the
area into NE, NW, SE, SW sections with numbered lots. This section is due east of the South Addition. Please see the EA_Map to view this area. Burial designation for the East Addition - EA_(NE/SE/NW/SW)_L# = Purchasable plot. Individual burial plot sales may have
occurred in the East Addition. During
the Depression it appears that pauper burials occurred. Many graves in the East Addition have no
permanent markers for a variety of reasons.
East addition detail maps: EA_NW,
EA_NE,
EA_SW,
EA_SE
The North East Addition numbering scheme is
more erratic around the Denny Lumber store.
This addition is due east of Original Area Square 4. There are 25 lots together the last 11 lots
are harder to see a labeling pattern.
Please see the NEA_Map
to view the area. Burial designation
for the North East Addition is NEA_L# = purchasable plot. This plots in this area were generally
subdivided.
There are no maps for the Township Tiers or
the West Addition but you can see the areas on the perimeter of other
maps. 2009 a memorial bench for Lon E
McIntosh was added to the cemetery. The
Bench is in the Township Tiers (TT) between lots 6 & 7. A black star with white M1 identifies the
general location. You can see the star
at the top of the Overall
Map and the East Addition Map (EA_Map.) The West Addition (WA) is along the right/
West side of the Overall
Map
For a very good description on the specifics on the
cemetery please consider viewing, The Burial Records, Middletown “Pioneer”
Cemetery 1827-1987, available at the Middletown Library or for purchase at the
Southwest Butler County Genealogical Society, PO Box 243, Hamilton, OH 45012.
If family members would like to place cemetery
markers on unmarked graves or replace old stones, the Middletown Engineers
Office needs to be contacted to establish burial location and where the marker
should be placed. The Middletown
Engineers Office can be found on the Middletown City website under City
Government then City Services.
http://www.cityofmiddletown.org/
Mari Lynn Thurber- marit@cityofmiddletown.org, (513)
425-7913 is a good contact regarding specific burial information.
This page was last updated: 9/5/09
