Crawford County, Pennsylvania
Cemeteries
The Barber Cemetery
© Thomas L. Yoset
On 6 September 1836, Aaron Stewart conveyed about two acres of his farm near Conneaut Lake
“for the citizens of Sadsbury for a burying ground,” pursuant to an 1827 or 1828 agreement. The
parcel measured fourteen by twenty-one and a half perches, or roughly 230' x 355', and included
a forty-foot access strip from the northwest corner to “the road leading from Evansburg [now
Conneaut Lake] to George Town [Sheakleyville],” today Legislative Route 20016. The cemetery
was then “called and known by the name of the ‘new burying ground’” (Deed Bk. Q-1:509).
James J. Barber acquired title to the surrounding property by an 1870 deed which reserved the “Grave Yard” of “about two acres … together with a road about forty feet wide from said
Georgetown road” (Deed Bk. V-3:584). The 1876 county atlas shows J. W. [sic] Barber owning
thirty acres, but omits the burial ground (p. 88). This land remained partially in the Barber family
until 1957, and the graveyard has been known as the Barber Cemetery for at least a hundred years
(see Crawford Journal 16 March 1893, p. 1, col. 2).
The access road has all but disappeared, and the place can best be reached via a dirt road posted “No Outlet” at the intersection of Front and Richmond streets in Conneaut Lake. The road ends at the municipal waste plant, with the cemetery on a knoll off to the right. Members of the Jacob Lindsey family were buried here as late as 1918, but the site was otherwise abandoned prior to
1900. Sporadic efforts have been made to clean out the overgrowth, by the Billy Paris family and others. Nature and vandalism, however, have left no more than one or two footstones
(“f.s.”) in its original position.
The inscriptions presented here were copied in April and September 1994. Introductory notes indicate the approximate width, shape, composition, and condition of each marker. Material
inside scrolled brackets { }, mostly missing footstones, is taken from an index prepared in 1973
by Eugene F. Throop.
10" square-top marble: GRACIAN E. / son of John / T. & Mary / Backenstose, / DIED / June 28,
1842 / Æ. 11 mo. 5 ds. / --
19¼" square-top marble: In / Memory of / JOHN T. BACKENSTOSE / WHO DIED / April 23,
1842, / Aged 43 years / 7 mon's. [f.s.:] J. T. B.
24¾" square-top marble: JOSEPH / CYRENUS, / Son of / J.T. & Mary / Backenstose, / DIED / May
2, 1841 / Aged 2 years / 2 ds. [beside:] AN / INFANT. / Son of / J.T. & Mary / Backenstose /
DIED / June 3, 1838 / Aged 6 weeks / 1 d. [f.s.:] J. C. B.
12¼" square-top marble, toppled: ENSIGN P. / Son of / J.J & L. BARBER / Died / Sept. 21, 1851 / Æ.
3 mo 13 ds / -- {[f.s.:] E. P. B.}
12" square-top marble, leaning: LURETTA / daughter of / Morgan & / Harriet B. / BARBER. / died
May 20, / 1843: / aged 2 weeks. {[f.s.:] L. B.}
11" arch-top marble: GEORGE / [rose] / Son of / A. & E. BOSSARD / DIED / Aug. 21, 1872
/ AGED / 10 y's 4 m's / & 1 d. [f.s.:] G. B.
8" square-top marble, toppled: JAMES S. / Son of / W.P. & M. BURDICK / Died / Aug. 7, 1846 /
Aged 10 Months
18" square-top marble, toppled: MARIA / WIFE OF / W. P. Burdick / Died / Oct.28,1845, / Aged 24
Years / --
12¼" flat-top marble, toppled, broken: JOHN PARK / Son of / Joseph / & Jane / CHAMBER-LAIN /
DIED / April 14, 1843 / of Scarlet Fever / Æ 3 yrs. 10 ds. / - {[f.s.:] J.P.C.}
11" marble obelisk, with "CONVER" on 24" base, three sides blank: AMELIA W. CONVER(1) / BORN /
May 17, 1836, / DIED / May 14, 1883. [f.s.:] A. W. C.
18¼" square-top marble, toppled: MARY / wife of / Benjamin Culver, / DIED / Feb. 27, 1846 / Aged
/ [blank] [f.s.:] M. C.
23" square-top marble, toppled: SARAH / CUMMINGS / died / Oct. 2, 1828 / Æ 53 y'rs. [beside]
JOSEPH T. / CUMMINGS / died / Sept. 24, 1828, / Æ. 50 y'rs. [f.s.:] J. T. C. [beside] S. C.
11¾" square-top marble: GEORGE P. / Son of / Wilson & Mary J. / DEARMENT / Died / June 9,
1843, / Aged11 mo's. / --
15¼" square-top marble, broken: [rose] / MARIA / Daughter of / W. & M. J. / DEARMENT / Died
/ Sept. 20, 1855 / Æ. 11 Y's. 3 m's. / -- [f.s.:] M. D.
19½" square-top marble, broken: [hand pointing to heaven] / MARY J. / Wife of Wilson
/ DEARMENT / DIED / Sept. 28, 1855 / Aged 30 Y'rs. / 6 M'os. 12 D's. / -- [f.s.:] M. J. D.
20" arch-top marble: JESSE DENNIS / DIED / MAY 24. 1877. / AGED / 85 y's 7 m's / & 6 ds.
20" square-top marble: [hand pointing to heaven] / MARGARET / Wife of / JESSE DENNIS
/ DIED / Sept. 20, 1854, / aged / 57 y's. 4 m's. / -- / Daughter of / B. & H. Birch[?]
20½" square-top marble: [hand pointing to Heaven] / MARGARET ANN / Daughter of / J. & M.
DENNIS, / DIED / Jan. 10, 1850, / aged / 24 y's. 7 mo's [f.s.:] M. A. D.
11¾" square-top marble, toppled: JAMES R. / son of / James R. & / Eliza / FINLEY / died Sep. 24, /
1846, / Æ 7 y'rs & 10 / mo's. / -- [f.s.:] J. F.
21" square-top marble, toppled: JAMES R. FINLEY / DIED / July 20, 1846, / Aged 50 Years /
-- [f.s.:] J. R. F.
12" marble (top missing), toppled: AUGUSTUS / Z. son of / James & / Harriet / FREEMAN, / died
May / 14, 1844. / -- / [blank] {aged 11m}
21¼" sandstone, toppled; near Polly Hitchcock: SACRED / To the / MEMORY / of / MARY
FREEMAN / Consort of James Freeman / Who Died Septr 3 1829, / In the 58 year of her age /
-- / Her flesh shall slumber in the ground, / Till the last trumpet's joyful sound; / Then burst the
chain with sweet surprise / And in her Savior's image rise. [f.s.:] M. F.
11¾" arch-top marble; beside Eugene H. Nichols: SACRED / to / THE MEMORY OF / ALMA / Dearly
cherished[?] / child of / ATHELSTON[?worn] & THANKFUL / GASTON / departed this life
/ Dec. 5, 1865 / AGED / 2 Yrs 7 Ms & 15 Ds / --
12¼" marble obelisk with cap, toppled, two sides blank: EPHRAIM H GASTON / DIED / IN SADSBURY
PA. / Mar. 6, 1867, / AT THE AGE OF / 26 Y'rs / & 8 Mo's / -- / He died as he lived a firm /
and honest spiritualist [next side:] Our Mother / PHYLINDA GASTON / DIED / IN ATLANTIC
PA. / Apr. 22, 1878 / AT THE AGE OF / 70 Y'rs / & 6 Mo's / -- / We mourn not her happy /
transition from earth / to spirit life
12¼" square-top marble: CHARLES W / Son of / John & Eliza L / GELVIN / DIED / Oct.16, 1848,
/ Ag'd. 6 y'rs. 2 mo / 18 d's. / --
28½" marble with two pointed-arch tops, toppled; beside George P. DeArment: ELIZA L GELVIN / WIFE OF
/ JOHN GELVIN / DIED / Jan. 8, 1879 / AGED / 73 Ys. 7 Mos. & 24 Ds. [beside:] JOHN
GELVIN / DIED / April 18, 1880 / AGED / 84 yrs. 7 mos. / & 23 dys. / [epitaph, worn]
12½" square-top marble: GEORGE L. / Son of / JOHN & ELIZA L / GELVIN / Died / Dec.29,
1848, / Ag'd. 14 y'rs. 3 mo / 1 day. / -- [f.s.:] G. L. G.
12" square-top marble: JOHN P. / Son of / JOHN & ELIZA L / GELVIN / Died / Dec.13,1848,
/ Ag'd. 8 yrs. 16 d's / --
10" arch-top marble, toppled: [rose] / MARCELLA / Daughter of / JOHN & ELIZA L / GELVIN
/ DIED / Dec. 26, 1855 / AGED / 4 y's & 9[?] d's / -- [f.s.]: M. G.
28" square-top marble, toppled, broken: MARIA E. / daughter of / John & Maria / GELVIN / DIED /
Sept. 5, 1854 / Aged 25 Y's. / 9 mo. 26 d's / -- [f.s.:] M. E. G.
[f.s. only, near Alma Gaston, possibly Elizabeth (Lindsey) Hinkley, b. Sadsbury Twp. 14 Feb. 1812, d. Meadville 9
March 1893, bur. Barber Cem. (CJour. 16 March 1893, p. 1, col. 2)]: E A H
14" sandstone: In memory of / HENRY son of / Rufus Hitchcock / who died August 5 / 1829 / in
the 4 year of his age / -- [f.s.:] H. H.
20¼" square-top sandstone, toppled, in three pieces: [weeping willows] / Joseph. / died / Sept. 25, 1836, /
Æ. 1 yr. & / 2 m's. [beside] Ritner, / died / Apr. 15, 1838, / Æ. 8 m's. [at bottom:] Sons of Rufus
& Polly / Hitchcock. / They rose and shone a little while / Like wild flouers of M[ay?] / But
death came like a [broken] / And took these flowers away. [f.s.:] J. & R. H.
18" square-top sandstone, toppled: [geometric design with stylized rose] / In memory / of Po[lly(2)
broken] wife / of Rufus / Hitchcock Died / Sept 17th 1838 / Aged 38 years {[f.s.:] P. H.}
[f.s. only:] R. H. [Rufus Hitchcock?]
16" square-top marble: CYNTHIA C. / Wife of / Doct. Z. M. Jenings / & Daughter of / Samuel &
Lucy / CRISSEY, / DIED / Oct. 5, 1836 / Aged 23 years. / -- [f.s.:] C. C. J.
18" arch-top marble: [willow] / JACOB LINDSEY / DIED / Apr. 2, 1854 / In the 65 yr / of his
age. / -- [f.s.:] J. L.
10½" marble obelisk, toppled; "LINDSEY" on base, one side blank: JOHN / LINDSEY / APR 22 1830 /
OCT. 16 1846 / -- / NANCY / LINDSEY / JAN. 23 1814 / AUG. 22 1870 [second side:]
JACOB / LINDSEY / DIED / APR. 2, 1854 / AGE 65 YRS / SARAH / HIS WIFE / DIED
/ SEP. 22 1871, / AGED 80 Y'RS [third side obscured, evidently {Mary} Lindsey, b. {16
March 1818}, d. Sadsbury Twp. {6 Nov. 1892} (see Crawford Journal 10 Nov. 1892, p. 5, col.
4), and {Laura} Lindsey, d. Conneaut Lake 27 Dec. 1918 aged 81, bur. Barber Cem. (Meadville
Daily Messenger 28 Dec. 1918, p. 5, col. 4)]
17" arch-top marble, toppled: JOSEPHINE / wife of / A. LINDSEY, / DIED / Sept. 1, 1865, / Aged
/ 48 y's 17 d's. [f.s., blank]
16" square-top marble: CAROLINE / Dau of / J. & E. McKay / Died / Oct. 23, 1845 / Agd 2Y's
10M's / 12 d's / Allso 2 infants [f.s.:] C. M'.K
13" arch-top marble, toppled; beside James S. Burdick: [angel] / GEORGE C. / Son of / Wm. & PHEBE
J. McNAMARA / Died / June 17, 1851 [or 1854], / Aged 1 Yr. 16 d's. / -- / Farewell thou
smiling little babe / Thy sufferings here are ore / No tear shall dim thine eye / Nor pain molest
thee more.
17" square-top marble: JOHN MELEN, / DIED / June 23, 1844, / Aged 82 yrs. / -- [f.s.:] J. M.
15" square-top marble: ANDREW MELLON / Died / June 14, 1848 / Aged 66 years / 2 mo 28 days
18¾" square-top marble: ARCHIBALD MELLON / Died / Jan. 29, 1841, / AGED / 27 Y'rs. 1 mo &
/ 4 days [f.s.:] A. M.
21" square-top marble: ELEANOR, / Wife of / JOHN MELLON / Died / March 31, 1847, / Agd 80
years {[f.s.:] E. M.}
20" arch-top marble: JOHN MELLON / Died / MAR. 5, 1871 / In the 85 year / of his age. [f.s.:] J.
M.
18" arch-top marble, toppled, broken: MARTHA / Wife of / ANDREW MELLON / DIED / Dec. 25,
1872 / AGED / 78 y's. 2 ms / & 7 d's.
20¼" square-top marble: [willow] / ROBERT MELLON / BORN / Apr. 12, 1817, / DIED / Mar. 29,
1843. / -- [f.s.:] R. M.
20" arch-top marble: ROSANAH / Wife of / JOHN MELLON / DIED / Aug. 27, 1841, / AGED /
48 years. [f.s.:] R. M.
18¼" square-top marble: MICHAEL MILLER / DIED / July 30 1860 / In the 80 yr of / his age / --
/ His end was peace
12" marble obelisk; three sides blank: ASA G. NICHOLS / PASSED AWAY / Jan. 10 1880 / Aged
63 years / -- / Death is but a kind and faithful / servant who comes with quieted[?] / tread, to
open life's flower / encircled door, / and show us those we love.
11¾" arch-top marble, toppled, between Charles Rawson and Alma Gaston: PASSED TO / THE / SUMMER
LAND / Feb. 9, 1869 / EUGENE H. / Son of / Asa G. & Hannah / NICHOLS / [four line
epitaph, worn]
18" arch-top marble, toppled: [willow] / CHARLES RAWSON / DIED / Feb. 8, 1867, / Aged 48 Y'rs
& 5 D's
18¾" square-top marble, toppled: [willow] / LUCRETIA A / Dau of / John & Eliza / HAMMOND
/ Wife of / JAMES RAWSON / DIED / NOV. 13 1853 / Agd 30ys 4ms 26ds / -- / Afflictions
sore ten days she bore / Physicians all in vain / Till god did please to give her ease / And called
her home from pain
14" square-top marble: ELEANOR J. / daughter of / Samuel & / Margaret / RHOADES, / DIED
/ May 19, 1841, / Aged 5 years / 6 mo. 20 ds. / -- [f.s.:] E J R.
24" granite: JOHN SCOTT / MAY 26, 1805 / MAR. 2, 1866
11" square-top marble: LOUISA / Dau. of / John & Sarah / SCOTT / DIED / Oct. 9, 1849 / Agd 7
yrs 5 mo. / 8 ds. [f.s.:] L. S.
24¼" square-top marble, toppled: SARAH: / WIFE OF / JOHN SCOTT(3) / DIED / Nov 18, 1849
/ Agd 46 yrs, & / 7 mo's
24" granite: SUSANNAH SCOTT / DEC. 26, 1825 / SEP. 7, 1918
11" government issue: OSCAR F. SEE / CO. A. / 211 PA. INF.
34" table-top sandstone: In memory of / MARIA STANFORD / Consort of James Stanford and
daughter / of Adam Stewart, Esq. / Born the 14th January, 1795, and departed / this life. August
16, 1819. She was a mother / 5 days, and named her son David, who lived / 11 days, and now
lies by her side. / The holy triumph of her soul / Did death itself out brave / Left dull mortality
behind, / And flew beyond the grave.
15¾" square-top marble, toppled, broken: [tree] / MARTHA L. / Wife of / JAMES B. STANFORD
/ died / April 8, 1869, / Aged / 68 Y'rs 8 mo's & / 17 days. [f.s.:] M. L. S.
23" pointed-top marble: AARON STEWART / BORN / OCT. 11, 1801. / DIED / OCT. 5, 1871,
/ -- [f.s.:] A. S.
24" granite, toppled, "STEWART" across top: DAVID / 1791 - 1838(4) / MARGARET / 1775 - 1838
17¼" square-top marble, toppled & broken: MARGARET / WIFE OF / Aaron Stewart / DIED / Mar'h
21, 1847, / Aged 44 years / 9 mo. [f.s.:] M. S.
20" square-top marble, toppled, broken: [willow] / JAMES C. / STRATTON / DIED / MARCH 9,
1854 / In the 41 year / of his age / --
18¼" square-top marble: HENRY / STRATTON, / Born Nov. 11, 1806, / Died April 13, 1836,
/ AGED / 29 years 5 mon's / & 2 days. / --
20" square-top marble, broken: JAMES C. / STRATTON / DIED / MARCH 9, 1854 / In the 41
year / of his age / --
25" square-top marble, toppled: [willow] LOV[{ILLA L.}broken] / Wife of / JAMES C.
STRATTON / & Daughter of / Ira & Huldah Jenings / DIED / Sept. 27, 1850 Aged / 32 Years 9
mo. & 10 days. / -- / Happy soul thy days are ended, / All thy mourning days below, / Go, by
angel guards attended / To the side of Jesus go!
19" sandstone with ears, broken: [willow & urn] / In / Memory of / [MARY?(5)missing] B.
VOSBURGH / [and?] Infant / CONSORT & SON / of / DOCT. / DAVID J. VOSBURGH / they
departed this life / June 5 AD 1828 / Aged 26 years 7 months 4 days / -- / [REVEL]ATION 14th
Chap. 13th verse / [Blessed ar]e the dead which / [die in the] Lord &c. [f.s.:] M. B. V.
20" square-top marble, toppled: CORNELIUS / G. VROOMAN, / Died / Oct. 6, 1850 / Agd 36 Yrs /
6 M's 25 d's [f.s.:] C. G. V.
20¼" marble, broken: ELIZA[BETH?missing] L. / wife o[f?] / C. G. VROOMAN / Died / Feb. 19,
1852 / Agd 32 ys 2 ms. / 14 ds [f.s.:] E. L. V.
12¼" marble, broken; between Cornelius G. Vrooman and Elizabeth L. Vrooman; name missing: died [No]v. 1,
1850 / Agd 6 Yrs 8 M's / --
11" square-top marble: CHARLES. / Son of / Benjamin & / Esther / Willson, / died / July 6, 1842 /
Aged 1 year / 10 mos. / -- [f.s.:] C. W.
16" square-top marble, toppled, in three pieces: In memory of / ANNABELL, / wife of / Benjamin
Wilson / who died / Feb. 27, 1829, / Æ. 41 years.(6)
20" square-top marble: BENJ. WILSON / DIED / Sept. 24, 1845. / AGED / 62 Years / 3 mo. 18
ds. [f.s.:] B. W.
18" arch-top marble: IN GOD IS OUR TRUST / [hand pointing to Heaven] / ESTHER, / Wife of
/ BENJ. WILSON / DIED / Oct. 16, 1867. / AGED / 69y's 3m's & 22d's. / -- [f.s.:] E. W.
1 Miss Amelia W. Stewart m. Hartstown 11 March 1871 P. O. Conver of Tionesta (Crawford
Journal 23 March 1871, p. 2, col. 3).
2 "DIED–At Evansburg, on the 17th of Sept. Mrs. Polly Hitchcock, wife of Mr. Rufus
Hitchcock, in the 38th year of her age." (Crawford Democrat & Meadville Courier 16 Oct. 1838,
p. 3, col. 4).
3 "MARRIED–on the 10th ult. by the Rev. Mr. Hassinger, Mr. John Scott to Miss Sally
Mellon, of Sadsbury." (Meadville Courier 12 April 1836, p. 2, col. 4).
4 "DIED--... On the 8th ult. at his residence in Sadsbury township, Col. DAVID STEWART,
in the 48th year of his age." (Crawford Democrat & Meadville Courier 7 Aug. 1838, p. 3, col. 4).
5 "MARRIED–On the 4th inst., by S. Sherwood, esq., Dr. D. J. Vosburg, to Miss Mary
Richards, both of Sadsbury." (Crawford Messenger 19 Nov. 1822, p. 3, col. 3).
6 Maiden name Gardner; see CCG 17[1994]:65, 77-80 for an account of these Wilsons.
