Nekom

Local History, Research Paper

May 2002

Introduction

Family Cemeteries

Church and Public Cemeteries

Conclusions

Appendix A The Horner Site

Introduction

In this paper, I will attempt to tie together research from printed sources, cemetery research, and oral sources to explore the burial options that were used by my ancestors. A passage in Our Horner Ancestors by Virginia Horner Hind led me to an old family cemetery and also led me to this research idea.

There have been a number of burial options available over the centuries in the United States. Although these are by no means the only ones, I intend to look at the following three and attempt to explain the use and disuse of these:

1. The Family Site. These cemeteries, an example of which is detailed below, are the most foreign to us today. When I visited this example site I tried to imagine the lifestyle that existed at that time.

2. Church Cemeteries. Near the Horner Site is West Bend Cemetery in which many of the latter Horners were buried. These deaths were from the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century. I might add that I found older graves of people that may or may not be related to me.

3. Public (for profit) Cemeteries. An example is Lafayette Cemetery on Route 40 which contains several thousand graves. Buried here is John Ritter (My maternal grandfather), and two of my fathers grandparents.

I hope to explain the evolution from Family Cemeteries through Church and Public cemeteries.

Family Cemeteries

Although church and public cemeteries are everywhere, the family plots of the type described below are becoming more and more scarce as the ravages of time take their toll.

Prior to the trip to the cemetery, I had a very good idea about the Horner side of my ancestry. Much of this was gathered from both oral history, and the book Our Horner Ancestors, which was compiled in 1974 by Virginia Horner Hinds. This book listed a nearby family cemetery they had on the corner of their farm, now nothing more than on overgrown and undeveloped wooded area.

Sunday, April 14, 2002. My father, my girlfriend, and I parked my car near a quad trail and made an attempt to find the old Horner family cemetery. I had been there once before on a quad years ago. It was relatively easy to find, but the rain made the journey a bit less than pleasant.

This cemetery is written about in a book called Our Horner Ancestors. “The William Horner Cemetery, in Luzerne twp., Fayette Co., near East Millsboro, Pa. Was laid out the 15 of June 1870 as a private burying ground for the Horner family. This was done 41 years after the death of William, so many were buried here before this date.” (Hinds, 201.)

The cemetery sits atop a hill overlooking the Monongahela River, and the town of East Millsboro. It is roughly 1000 feet from the main road, and there are no nearby houses. The cemetery is just as I remember it, unmaintained and in a state of disrepair.

Very many of these types of cemeteries existed throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as evidenced by not only the Hinds book (which lists dozens of other small plots) but by a myriad of internet compilations. For instance the site http://www.interment.net has assembled transcriptions of graves throughout the US and the world by various researchers. Many of the cemeteries described here consist of only a handful of (apparently) related family members.

Church and Public Cemeteries

There is a considerable overlap in dates between family plots and church cemeteries. In fact the date ranges shown in these family graves I found seem to be a subset of those you would find in church cemeteries. The only difference being the continuation of burials at the church sites up until the current years. Later I will try to explain why burials took place in family sites when nearby church cemeteries were available and vice versa. Burial of the dead is, after all, a religious rite and one would think a church association would have been desirable. West Bend Cemetery, connected to West Bend United Methodist Church, was less than a mile from the site of this Horner Site. The church existed (as the Redstone Presbytery) throughout the nineteenth century, the Horner’s were Methodists and yet did not avail themselves of this location. In fact in later years some of their descendents were indeed buried at the cemetery. And an inspection of some of the older West Bend tombstones demonstrates that West Bend Church was in the burial business while the Horner site was being populated.

The twentieth century has seen the proliferation of for-profit Public Cemeteries. My example of this is Lafayette Cemetery on Route 40 just east of Brownsville, Pa. I chose this to typify these cemeteries for a few reasons: It is proximate to the other two sites I have spoken of (Horner & West Bend), I have a grandparent (John Ritter) and a few great grandparents buried there , and with thousands of graves it is big business. The cause of the rise of these business is obviously a profit motive however I think the question here would be why has the opportunity for profit presented itself.

Conclusion

What I would like to do is to go over some of the factors that led to the rise and fall of these types of burial options I have previously discussed. I think one trend that is pervasive over the last 200 years or so is the increasing modernization of our society. There is no reason to believe that this trend has not applied to the burial of our ancestors and this goes a long way towards explaining the evolution from Family Site through Church Cemeteries and to Public Graveyards.

Family Sites .

• These burial sites probably began of necessity. The oldest graves at these sites could predate the widespread availability of organized church cemeteries. This does not seem to be true at the Horner site however because the earliest burial (1812) would have allowed burial at the nearby church site. It is possible though that there are older graves that are unmarked and unrecorded.
• Once a family had began this habit of burying ‘on the farm’ it would have been a hard habit to break. The desires of the elderly would have been to be laid to rest near their loved ones and this would have perpetuated this burial option.
• The clannishness or secrecy of some families could have discouraged them from using more public facilities. I don’t think that was a major factor but in some instances might have obtained.
• A family needed the real estate for this. Although a huge holding was not necessary, it seems to me enough land to support three or four generations of people, many of whom would stay and work and live on the homestead, would be necessary.
• The decline of these gravesites in this instance was caused by the destruction of homestead and scattering of descendants. I think that is a cause that would be common to many family gravesites. Also in this instance the inaccessibility in the twentieth century rendered this site unusable and unmaintainable.
• Finally the laws and regulations associated with this modern society would prevent this type of interment.

Church Cemeteries

· It is not hard to understand how cemeteries became associated with churches. The religious aspect makes this a good fit. However it is not obvious that this was inevitable. In fact nowadays it is not unusual for a pastor to be involved in a funeral at a secular establishment and a burial at a public cemetery.

· Until the twentieth century church cemetery burial was probably one of the few options available to many people. The unlanded families were left with little else.

· The more widespread church attendance in past centuries created an atmosphere of community which was an extension of the family gravesite to a larger scale.

· Family areas can exist within cemeteries. In fact at West Bend there is an area enclosed with wrought iron fencing that separates the family members buried there from the cemetery proper.

· Even a family that had the resources and land to create their own farm gravesites may not have done that with the first few deceased ancestors. Then perhaps that might have created a family dynamic in which the habit of a church cemetery burial has been established and ‘farm burial’ disappears as an option.

Public Cemeteries

· Primarily this burial option provides for two types, those who have no church affiliation, and those who have no church cemetery. As the years go by this will become more and more prevalent. The modern work climate has allowed, and even forced, family members to separate by hundreds and thousands of miles. This lack of an intergenerational cohesiveness renders family burial plots less meaningful.

· With church cemeteries filling through the years, profit motivated organizations must rise to take their place. Although new churches are being build, the reasons are never because more cemetery space is needed.

· A side effect of modern society is the inevitable (I think) decline in church attendance. This may not coincide with a decrease in spirituality but it does serve to make church organs (and the cemetery is one) less and less relevant.

Appendix A Horner Site

Figure 1: The trail we followed to the cemetery.

Figure 2: The Horner family cemetery. This angle

is taken from the grave we called #1, and faces the

cemetery diagonally.

(See the rough layout on the next page.)

We proceeded to make a map of the gravestones, and gather the information on the graves that we could read. Here is the rough relative layout:

à Path (quad trail.) à

20

19 21 22 23

14 15 16 17 18 19

10 11 13

12

7 8 9

2 3 4 5 6

1

(River) à (Town of East Millsboro)

Figure 3: A rough relative layout we produced on-site, showing the location of the graves and relavant land features.

Some of the graves could be read; others could only be partially read. Others still were completely ruined, either tipped over or composed of limestone, which had been weathered illegible. We were able to gather the following information about some of the graves:

1. This stone is polished granite, and seems to mark 4 people, 2 of which were unnamed (at least on the stone) infants with the same born/died year, possibly stillborn. Yet another died the year after birth. The word Horner appears written on the top of the stone. This stone looks unusually new and in excellent condition. In a bit, I will explain my theory about this. The following names were on this stone:

a. Lizzie 1858-1888

b. Infant 1886

c. Blanch 1888-1889

d. Infant 1896

2. Priscilla Horner. Died January 23, 1816 at the age of 42
3. William Horner. Died June 9^th, 1829 at the age of 79
4. Broken.
5. Nancy Consout [wife] of Amos Horner. Died February 20, 1839.
6. Unreadable.
7. This grave says only W. H.
8. Unreadable
9. Unreadable
10. Nancy Horner, wife of Calvin. Died May 23^rd 1836 at the age of 22
11. Horner. All else unreadable.
12. Unreadable. Possibly a marker.
13. Elizabeth H. Bower. Born May 12, 1831. Died December 1876.
14. Unreadable
15. Mary Horner, wife of William Horner. Died August 3, 1845 at the age of 60.
16. William Horner. Died June 9, 1829 at the age of 79.

The two graves above (#15 and #16) were husband and wife. On each of their graves were the words “Made by S. Rinehart and Co. Waynesburg.” I assume this is Waynesburg, PA.

17. Pedestal only
18. Pedestal only
19. Ellen J. Daughter of J. & E.A. Horner. Born August 12, 1873. Died March 29, 1874.
20. Elizabeth A. Horner. Born 1829, Died 1922. I am assuming that the above (#19, Ellen J.) was her daughter, as that stone says daughter of E.A. Horner, and they were found adjacent to one another.
21. Pedestal only
22. Hiram J. Horner. Born March 31, 1854. Died July 28, 1914. This stone was found, knocked off its pedestal and partially buried, but in very good condition. Appears to be polished granite. Because of its location, I cannot be sure which pedestal this stone originally sat on.
23. Pedestal only

This matches the names found in the book I have which mentions this cemetery.

Although they number it in a different manner than I did, it seems to match my personal research. In the book, the author explains that “Since it has not been physically possible for the writer to go to the cemetery due to overgrowth and the copperheads, we have listed the graves in their locations, as remembered by Helen Horner Levick…Should the location be other than shown here, at least we have the record of those who are buried here.” (Hinds, 201.)

What I have been able to add to the work of Virginia Hinds is to confirm the actual existence of the cemetery itself. It seems unusual that Levick (above) would be able to remember the amount of information contained below but perhaps she could. More likely she resorted to written information she had at the time of the Hinds interview. At any rate, the data seems very good and is probably better than our physical inspection because since the time of Helen Horner Levick’s remembrances, much of the cemetery has fallen to the ravages of time.

My ACTUAL inspection of the site ties in to and parallels the published data I have found.

Here is how the book lists the graves:

Row One:

1. Hiram Horner, son of John and Elizabeth Ann (Dilley) Horner. Born 3-31-1854, Died 7-28-1914

2. John S. Horner, son of Amos and Nancy (Snively) Horner. Born 6-13-1822, Died 1-17-1900

3. Elizabeth Ann Horner, wife of John S. (nee Dilley) Born 1829, Died 1922

Row Two:

1. Illegible. Perhaps Elizabeth Horner Pringle, daughter of William and Anne (Pierce) Horner. Born ca. 1812, died 11-29-1844

2. Illegible. Perhaps Anne Horner (nee Pierce), wife of William.

3. James Horner, son of William Horner. Stone down. Died in 1816?

4. Priscilla Horner, wife of James Horner. Died 1-23-1816 at age 42.

5. William Horner, son of Thomas and Grace (Preston) Horner. Died 6-9-1829 in the 79^th year of his age.

6. Susanna Horner, wife of William (nee Mitchell). Died 11-7-1810 in her 57^th year.

7. Amos Horner, son of William and Susanna (Mitchell) Horner. Stone down. Died 1843

8. Nancy Horner, wife of Amos Horner (nee Snively) Died 2-20-1839 age 40 y 26 d

Row Three:

1. Elizabeth Horner, wife of Joseph Horner (nee Crouch). Born 1858, Died 1888

2. Infant (Bertha), daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Crouch) Horner. Born and died 1886

3. Blanch, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Crouch) Horner. Born and died 1888-1889

4. Infant (Gladys), daughter of Joseph and Belle (Gladden) Horner. Born and died 1896

It’s very interesting that these are listed as four graves in the book. These graves were not there when I visited the cemetery. They must have been destroyed or removed. These names all appear on stone #1 (on my numbering system), with the exception of the two infants, who are listed only as INFANT, but with the same year. It is also interesting that the forth name on that stone, and the forth in the third row (by the book’s numbering) has the same father, but different mother. Furthermore the mother of the first two children died in 1888, eight years before the birth of Gladys. I would guess that this man remarried, and buried his first wife and three of his children. Perhaps he, or one of his descendants, placed the new stone to honor their memory at a much later date than their deaths. As I had mentioned before, in my description of this grave when I observed it, it appeared unusually new and in excellent condition.

To continue the listing of row three:

5. Calvin Horner, son of William and Mary (Keys) Horner. Died 4-25-1843 at age 30.

6. Nancy Horner, wife of Calvin Horner. Died 5-23-1836 at age 22.

7. Elizabeth A. Bower, daughter of Amos and Nancy (Snively) Horner. Born 5-12-1831, Died Dec. 1876

8. William H. Horner, son of Amos and Nancy (Snively) Horner. Died

3-22-1871, at age 46y 11m 7d.

9. Elizabeth A. Horner, wife of Wm. H. Horner. Died 4-13-1876 at age 52y, 2m, 10d.

10. George A. Horner, son of Wm. H. and Eliz. (Swingler) Horner. Born 1-25-1856, Died 11-25-1856

11. Henry Amos Horner, son of Wm. H. and Elizabeth (Swingler). Born 12-15-1852, Died 12-28-1852

Row Four:

1. Ellen J. Horner, daughter of John S. and Elizabeth Ann (Dilley). Born 8-12-1873, Died 3-28-1874

2. Hiram Horner, son of Wm. And Mary (Keys) Horner. Died 11-20 or 28-1873, age 62y 1m 22d

3. Malinda Horner, wife of Hiram Horner (nee Reynolds). Born 2-2 or 21-1812, Died 7-20 or 28-1873

4. William Horner, son of William and (unknown), Died 1-11-1859 age 75y 7m 3d

5. Mary Horner, wife of William Horner (nee Keys), Died 8-3-1845 age 60y

6. George W. Horner, son of Amos and Nancy (Snively) Horner. Died 1-17-1919 at age 82y 6m

7. Martha Jane Horner, wife of Geo. W. Horner (nee Mobley). Born 5-7-1842, Died 12-22-1882.

8. Infant M.J.H. – probably of Geo. And Martha (Mobley) Horner

Row Five: Never had stones.

1. Joseph Horner, son of Amos and Nancy (Snively) Horner.

2. Julia Horner, wife of Joseph Horner (nee Shields).

3. William Horner, son of Joseph and Julia (Shields) Horner.

4. Clara Horner Bumgarner, daughter of Joseph and Julia (Shields) Horner.

In addition to this cemetery, the book speaks of a Thomas Horner Cemetery near Carmichaels.

Raw data gathered from Hinds, 202-204.

The book vs. my research

There are some discrepancies between the cemetery research I have done first-hand, and that of the book. Besides the difference in numbering, there are graves listed in the book that do not even exist there. I believe this, however, to be a factor of time. This book was compiled in 1974, and this particular cemetery was “remembered” by an old woman, who possibly had it written down some years before then.

Even with these differences, though, I can confirm from several sources, the book, oral testimony, and now, even my own two eyes, many of the people buried there.

My Ancestors at the Horner Cemetery

Many of my ancestors are buried at the Horner Cemetery I have researched. The Horner Lineage goes back to my Paternal Grandfather’s Mother, Clyeda Horner. She is not buried here, but rather at West Bend cemetery, not more than a mile or two from the Horner graveyard.

Amos Horner, son of William and Susanna (Mitchell) Horner, died 1843, and his wife Nancy (Snively) Horner, died 2-20-1843 at the age of 40 years and 26 days, are both buried there. They are the grandparents of Clyeda Horner, who is my father’s paternal grandmother, thus my great grandmother. This makes Amos and Nancy Horner my great³ grandparents. On Nancy’s tombstone, she is listed is Nancy Consout, which leads me to believe that she was (at least) twice married. Their daughter, Elizabeth A. Bower, is also buried there.

Amos was married once more, when Nancy died. He had 12 children to Nancy Snively, and 2 to Mary Thomas. “It is tradition that Mary said, “There was no one she knew whose children she would rather mother than Nancy’s.” What a big heart!” Hinds, 55.

The book also says of his first wife that “The first Snively ancestor was born in Switzerland in 1659, came to this country in 1715.”, Hinds 55.

Amos himself was killed in a wagon accident at Searights. “He was a Wagoner on the Old National Pike and a newspaper clipping says “He was killed on the hill east of Searights. His wagon ran over him.” This was before June 1844, when a guardian was appointed for his children. ((See Fayette Co. O.C. Docket 3, item 7, page 432, June 1844 Court)” Hinds 55.)

William Horner, who is the son of Thomas Horner, who is the man at the top of the lineage in the book I have, is buried here. He was born around 1750 and died June 9^th, 1829 at the age of 79. His wife is also buried there. They are the parents of Amos Horner, and thus my great⁵ grandparents.

“William Horner was born ca. 1750 in Baltimore (now Hartford) Co., Md., and died 9 June 1829 in Luzerne twp., Fayette Co., Pa., in the 79^th year of his age.” Hinds, 48.

“He was born a British subject, being before the formation of the United States, and also under the Old Style calendar, in which the new year started on March 25. (The new Style of the Gregorian calendar, as we know it today, became effective on 1 Jan. 1752.) He was also a resident of Maryland when it was admitted to the Union as the seventh state in 1788.” (Hinds 48-49.)

The book also tells us that it is tradition that he may have had three wives, though the names are known of only two. In 1787 his wife was Susanna Mitchell. Both are buried at this cemetery.

Figure 4: The grave of William Horner, my great⁵ grandfather.

Bibliography.

Hinds, Virginia Horner. 1973. Our Horner Ancestors. William of Fayette County, PA. Son of Thomas of Baltimore County, MD. Family Genealogy Ca. 1700-1973. Chicago: Adams Press

http://www.interment.net/us/pa/fayette.htm