Caleb Leonard graves

This is part of the Veteran burial maps that were drawn in the 1930s as part of the Works Projects Administration. This is the oldest part of the cemetery and no written records exist for this section. The only records that I can find are the tombstones themselves, many of which are worn and hard to read and some have fallen over face down. I also found a partial transcription done around 1936 by some members of a DAR chapter and that listing has some names for stones that can't be read or are no longer there. Then there is this 1930s veteran map. This map also has at least one stone marked that is no longer there - # 4

I have turned the drawing sideways because it matches the orientation of the maps I have drawn and it is easier to compare the two that way. Marker number 1 on the map above is for Caleb Leonard Jr. and corresponds to grave number 9 on my map below. It is just inside the stone entrance column for the cemetery. Grave number 21 is for William Leonard who died Dec 11, 1848 at the age of 82.

Marker # 4 above is for Caleb Leonard Sr. and is actually quite far away despite how close it looks on the map. Tha stone is no longer there but # 3 for George Snyder is still in the cemetery and that is how you can find the general are for the Leonard burial. If you go the the cemetery website, click on tombstones, then go to old section, then maps of old section at the top of the index page, then click through the maps you fill find # 53 George Snyder on map section # 3. (I have to find a better way of displaying the whole map. You can print out the sections and tape them together to get a better idea of the locations)

Caleb Leonard - Pennsylvania - PVT in Wash County Pa Mil Rev War July 17, 1845

Both Caleb Leonard Jr and Sr. were Revolutionary War veterans and I am hopeful that someday we will be able to find Sr's grave stone maybe just beneath the surface of the grass. I would love to be able to have it put back up and marked with a Revolutionary War marker. Since I am a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, that would mean alot to me to be able to find and restore a tombstone for one of our Patriots. Anyone else out there with any information about the possible whereabouts of the missing stone, I would love to hear from you.

Ringgold Cavalry and the Civil War

Elwood's stories of the old Ringgold cavalry, 1847-1865;
by John William Elwood
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Coal Center, Pa., The author, J. W. Elwood, 1914.
OCLC:
213517302
Related Subjects:
Pennsylvania Cavalry. -- Ringgold Battalion, 1847-1864. Pennsylvania Cavalry. -- 22d Regt., 1864-1865. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Pennsylvania Cavalry -- Ringgold Battalion. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Pennsylvania Cavalry -- 22d.

The copy of Elwood's Stories that I own is a reprint of the original. Since the original book was published before 1923, it is now in the public domain and so it has been reprinted by different publishers. The one I purchased was from Higginson Book Company and cost about $40. http://www.higginsonbooks.com/.

I found an original version of the book once online and it was selling for well over $200. I also found a listing for this book that said it was published by Closson Press. http://www.clossonpress.com/. However, I just checked both Higginson Books and Closson Press and could not find this book listed on either site. I did find a few used copies at Amazon for around $35. Higginson Books and Closson Press are both worth a look though as they have a large collection of genealogy related books that they publish and reprint.

If you enjoy Civil War History, you will enjoy reading this account of the history of the original Ringgold Cavalry which became known as Co A. The books covers the activities and battles that the Ringgold were involved in during the war but also gives a glimpse into the personalities of the soldiers that comprised the comany and that mostly hailed from the Beallsville area and many of whom are now interred in the Beallsville Cemetery.

The author of this book, Sergeant John W. Elwood is buried in Beallsville Cemetery. One of the Ringgold Cavalry companies left Beallsville and the farewell point where everyone met to see their soldiers off, was the National Hotel which is located across and down the street from Beallsville Cemetery.

The photo on the left is from a collector's series 1 in the Pennsylvania Historic Towns of Washington County by Patrick Connors. In case the caption is too small or fuzzy to read it states: "The Ringgold Calvary [sic] was organized in Beallsville at the time of the Civil Was. On the morning of June 22, 1861, Captain John Keys of Beallsville [buried in Beallsville Cemetery] and the original 70 men of the Ringgold Calvary [sic] departed Beallsville from this national Hotel. A rousing address was delivered from the steps of the hotel where over seven thousand were present to say good-by. It was great event in the hisory of the country and Beallsville."

The National Hotel is on the left and you can see the steeple of the Beallsville Methodist church up the street on the right. The Beallsville Cemetery, although not connected to that church, is located right behind it.

You can see the tombstones of both Captain John Keys and John Elwood at the Beallsville Cemetery website. The John W. Elwood papers are located at the Emory University Library in Atlanta, Georgia. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122552377&referer=brief_results

Summary/Abstract
Chiefly correspondence, veterans' reminiscences, clippings, and other papers, relating to Elwood's research and writing of Elwood's Stories of the Old Ringgold Cavalry (1914), a history of the Ringgold Cavalry, which subsequently became Company A of 22nd Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment; together with legal and financial papers, photos, and papers (1883-1904) relating to a controversy in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Beallsville, Pa. Includes family correspondence and military papers of Capt. James P. Hart.

The Twenty-second Pennsylvania cavalry and the Ringgold battalion, 1861-1865; written and comp. by Samuel Clarke Farrar ...Pub. under the auspices of the Twenty-second Pennsylvania Ringgold cavalry association.
by Samuel Clarke Farrar
Book; English
Publisher:
[Akron, O. and Pittsburgh, The New Werner company] 1911.
OCLC:
166631584
Related Subjects:
Pennsylvania cavalry. -- 22d regiment, 1864-1865. Pennsylvania cavalry. -- Ringgold battalion, 1847-1864. United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories -- Pennsylvania cavalry -- Ringgold battalion.

This is another book that is now in the public domain and can be found in reprinted versions. This too gives detailed accounts of the battles and activities on the Ringgold Cavalry and the history of how the original company was eventually joined by several companies composed of men that came from many of the communities that surrounded the Beallsville area. In the back of this book, there are roster listings of the various companies. These include, names, rank, muster in dates, muster out dates.

The author of this book Dr. Samuel Clarke Farrar, became a well known principal in the Pittsburgh School district. He kept a diary while he was serving in the war and this diary is now housed in the archives at the Heinz History Center. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/hswp/hswpbibl-idx.pl?type=fulbib&byte=6910861&rgn1=record While I was working there as an intern, I had the pleasure of transcribing the diary into electronic format. It was so interesting to read of the daily activities, skirmishes, battles, leaves of absences and trips home, Samuel's service as a trumpet player in the company band, etc. during the war. One of the most interesting excerpts described the reaction of the men in the camp when the death of President Lincoln was announced and the memorial ceremonies that the soldiers held in honor of their president.

Dear Esther : the Civil War letters of Private Aungier Dobbs, Centerville, Pennsylvania ...
by Aungier Dobbs; Ralph Haas; Philip Ensley
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Apollo, PA : Closson Press, ©1991.
ISBN:
1558560890 9781558560895
OCLC:
26764706
Related Subjects:
Dobbs, Aungier, Dobbs, Esther Ann Smith, United States. -- Army. -- Ringold Cavalry Regiment (1861-1864) More Subjects ...

I have not had a chance to read through this whole book but it appears to be very interesting. It consists of photos, transcripts of about 300 letters from Aungier Dobbs to his wife Esther during his service in the Ringgold Cavalry, supporting historical commentary and history of the Ringgold and other Civil War related information. Again, many veterans now burind in Beallsville are mentioned in these letters as is my GG Grandfather Joseph and his father George Hill. This book is on my to-read list. This book may be hard to find. It is out of print and not in the public domain so can not be reprinted. It took me a year to finally find a used version online and I have to say, I spent way too much on it. Probably the best thing to do is go to the WorldCat listing to find a library near you that has a copy of the book.

There are many other sources of information for Civil War research. Below are just a few:

1. Samuel P. Bates wrote History of Pennsylvania Volunteers 1861 - 1865.
2. The War of the Rebellion records are now available on line at http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/moa/browse.monographs/waro.html
3. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors database at http://www.civilwar.nps.gov/cwss/

Life in Western Pennsylvania website

Life in Western Pennsylvania website has recently added film clips to accompany their vast collection of still photos. About a year ago I worked part time at the Heinz History Center as the project coordinator for this film digitization project. I didn't get to see the project to the end as I left for a new full time job at the University of Pittsburgh. This was a fun project to work on so I am thrilled to see the final results are up and running and I hope you enjoy this sampling of the large film collection that is housed in the Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center.
http://www.lifeinwesternpa.org/

Washington County wills

Index to Washington County, Pa., wills, 1781-1900
by Bob Closson; Mary Closson
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Apollo, PA (R.D. 2, Box 373-A, Apollo, PA 15613) : B. and M. Closson, [©1981]
Editions:
2 Editions
OCLC:
7786796
Related Subjects:
Washington County (Pa.) -- Genealogy. Wills -- Pennsylvania -- Washington County.

Abstracts of Washington County, Pennsylvania willbooks 1-5, 1776-1841
by Bob Closson; Mary Closson; Genealogical Record Group of Citizens Library.; Citizens Library (Washington, Pa.)
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Apollo, PA : Closson Press, ©1995.
ISBN:
155856196X 9781558561960
OCLC:
32895078
Related Subjects:
Washington County (Pa.) -- Genealogy. Wills -- Pennsylvania -- Washington County

Both of these books can be purchased at http://www.clossonpress.com/index.jsp . This is a publishing company in Apollo, PA. They have a wide variety of genealogy publications.

Register of Wills, located on the first floor of the Washington County PA courthouse. You can find:

Indexes to Office Records; Wills, Will Books (1781 to present); Administrators Bonds-aka Applications for Lettersl or Administrator's bonds, or Letter of Adm & Bond Docket; Orphan's Court Records (1781 to present); Partitions (1890 to present).

Even if your ancesor did not leave a will, there may be some other documentation that was created at the time of death. There may be an accounting of their estate, their minor children may have been appointed a guardian, etc. So don't get give up if there was no will. That just means you have to dig a little deeper.

Finding your Revolutionary War Ancestor

If you have an ancestor that served in Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War, here are some tips on how to find some information. First go to the Pennsylvania Archives website at http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp. You can find information on other war veterans as well but for the Revolutionary War scroll down to Revolutionary War Military Abstract Card FileRevolutionary War Military Abstract Card File. You can search for your ancestor. If you happen to be able to find who you are looking for you will find a card that is either typed or handwritten. Above is the card for my 5th Great Grandfather George Hill. In the bottom right hand corner you will see A (6), II, 123. This stands for Series 6, volume II, page 123 of the Pennsylvania Archives series. Once you have this information, you can go to http://www.footnote.com/. This is a relatively new genealogy website that has a lot of scanned original documents. Some of the content you have to pay to see but the Pennsylvania Archives series is free. Hit the browse button, under Category, click on Revolution 1775 - 1815, under Title click Pennsylvania Archives, then find the series that matches your ancestor card - for me it was series 6, then the volume. The battalion that your ancestor served in should also have been listed on the card. Click on the correct battalion, then the page number that was on the card. This should bring you to the scanned image of the page that contains your ancestor information. It would be a good idea to look at a few pages before and after the one listed on the card as there could be information about other people that were associated with you ancestor that served with him.

To the left is the page from Footnote.com that shows the information for my ancestor George Hill.

Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh

When I was getting my Masters Degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh a few years ago I was introduced to the wonderful resources in the Library and Archives at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. I served my field placement at the library and archives from Sept to Dec in 2006, liked it so much that I went back as a volunteer. I was then hired in May to work on a film digitization project that was being funded by a grant. I worked there until this past January when I went to work at Pitt in the LIS program where I got my degree. It was during the time working in the L&A that I learned what a great place this is for doing genealogy research on families in Western PA. The Library and the museum itself actually fall under the heading of the Western Pennsylvania Historical Society (HSWP). The L&A has as it's main focus, to collect materials that are representative of life in Western PA. This includes areas from Centre County west to the Ohio Border. They have some records from the nearby areas of Ohio and Virginia and West Virginia because they were all so intertwined with the history of PA.

They have maps, manuscripts, photos, postcards, books, periodicals, personal papers, famliy collections, diaries, newspapers, films, church records, cemetery transcriptions, Pittsburgh City Directories, files of newspaper articles about the city and surrounding areas, great sports collections, and so much more. They have such a wide variety of things. While I was working there I looked through their finding aids and found a family collection with a name that I recognized as being from the Centerville area of Washington County (very near Beallsville and the town where my Grandfather was born and raised). I looked through the file and found a letter that actually mentioned my Great-great grandfather being appointed to the School Board of that area! You just never know what you might find.

The collection at the Library and Archives is non-circulating. Nothing leaves the reading room but if you live near Pittsburgh and have ancestors from that area, it might be worth a trip. The library catalog can been seen online at the Historic Pittsburgh website. http://digital.library.pitt.edu/hswp/
In the upper right hand corner you will see the tab HSWP. You can do keyword searches and title searches of the catalog. The catalog on this website is a few years behind so not everything is available here but it will give you a great idea of what they have. You can also contact the library reference desk by phone or email if you have any questions. They do have research services for hire as well. Depending on the item, they can make photocopies of things and send them to you for a very reasonable price.

This is one of Pittsburgh's hidden treasures and one that I highly recommend checking out.

Your Guide to Cemetery Research

Your guide to cemetery research
by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack
Type:
Book; English
Publisher:
Cincinnati, Ohio : Betterway Books, ©2002.
Edition:
1st ed
ISBN:
1558705899 9781558705890
OCLC:
49285451
Related Subjects:
United States -- Genealogy -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. Cemeteries -- United States. Cemeteries -- United States. United States -- Genealogy -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

My sister gave me this book as a Christmas present and although I haven't had time to read the whole thing yet, what I have read is very informative and entertaining. The author interlaces her instructions on how to do cemetery research with some wonderful humor that is so close to home. Just to give you a glimpse, here are a few quotes from the intro to her book:

" The fence around a cemetery is foolish, for those inside can't some out, and those outside don't want to get in. --Arthur Brisbane

This quote isn't entirely true. There is one group of people that wants to get into cemeteries: genealogists. Some of them have been known to climb fences and scale walls in order to get in and locate an ancestor's grave.

Did you know that scientists have isolated the gene that makes certain people predisposed to an interest in genealogy and cemeteries? It's true. It's called the cemetery gene. That's the one that makes you unconsciously turn your head and slow down when you drive by a cemetery. Non-genealogists don't do that. And you don't even realize that you've begun doing it. Just one day, after you've become addicted to climbing your family tree you start to look at cemeteries in a new light. All of a sudden, the cemetery is your favorite place to be outside of a research repository or in from of the computer. Pretty spooky, huh?......

I quickly learned that for genealogists, cemeteries are not frightening or gruesome places. In fact, we often hope ghosts or spirits will appear while we are searching. We would love to ask them some well-placed questions about those missing wives and parents."

I don't know about you, but I find that both of these comments hit pretty close to home and I can't help but chuckle to myself because they are so true. I don't know how many times I've carried on conversations with those buried in the cemetery wishing I would get an answer to a mystery that I've encountered while researching. My husband is one of those that doesn't understand. He only shakes his head when on a nice spring day I'll say I'm off to the cemetery. To his credit, he has tagged along on some trips, transcribing tombstones with me and taking photographs, searching for elusive stones.

There is another reason that I try to document cemeteries. Each of the people buried in a cemetery had lives at one time, had families and people who cared for them. Sometimes one of the only records of that person's life is the tombstone on their grave and those are constantly being worn away by the effects of nature and by human actions. Many of the photos that are on the tombstones in Beallsville (and I'm sure other cemeteries as well) have been used as target practice for bb guns. Many of the tombstones have fallen over. Those that fall face first are actually well preserved but can't be read as the stones are often too heavy to lift. The ones that fall face us are very susceptible to the effects of weather.

These two photos are of the same tombstone in the old section of Beallsville Cemetery. They were taken two weeks apart. The one on the left was taken before the remnants of hurricane Ivan came through Western PA. The one on the right is the result of the storm - the whole face of the tombstone just slid off. Those pieces are now gone too and you can not read the stone. There are no written records at the cemetery for this oldest section. All that remains to let anyone know that there are people buried here and who they were, are the tombstones that are left. Now the only record that I know of that Margaret Greenlee,who was 23 years old, died Oct 1st, 1840, and is buried in Beallsville, is this photo and the record I've been able to create and give to the cemetery office and include on the website. I don't know who Margaret was but I feel bad for her but am glad that I was able to help preserve her memory.

There are so many small family cemeteries nestled in the countrysides across the country, some have been covered over to make way for parking lots (before there were laws protecting them). Some have been forgotten and neglected. It's a shame that so much personal history has been lost to us because these cemeteries and burial grounds have not been documented. I thank all those who have made an effort to preserve or document even just one stone and then share that information with others. Keep up the good work - it is appreciated by all of us genealogists who drive slow past all those cemeteries and wonder if any of our ancestors are there waiting to be discovered.