A Little piece of Paradise… College Hill, Ohio - SELFCRAFT

Chapter 6 CemeteriesDuring rush hours, thousands of cars pass within yards of one of Cincinnati’s earliest cemeteries.Gard Cemetery holds the stones and bones of early pioneer families, soldiers, and farmers. With the latestburial in the 1860’s, it has been abandoned for more than a century, shielded from view by being locatedin what is now a wooded area. Periodically it has been “rediscovered” and sporadically cleared ofundergrowth. In 1939 the WPA platted this cemetery, then called McCrea Cemetery, and estimated thatup to 384 plots could be this parcel. However, there are no records actually listing those buried and weknow of only 30 names.No one seems to know exactly when the graveyard was established. The earliest marked grave weknow of is that of Captain Gershom Gard from New Jersey who died in 1807. Richard Hankins, who builtthe first log cabin in College Hill, came here through his Revolutionary War land warrant. New Jerseyborn Captain Ephraim Brown, a son-in-law of Gard, fought another war, that of 1812. His was the firstwill to mention the burying ground, originally three acres. Another 1812 veteran, Thomas B. Smith, hasone of the few upright stones. Isaac Sparks (1768-1834) like many settlers held two jobs, a weaver withloom house and Justice of the Peace in Colerain Township. The children of Albert Arnold, tanner andshoemaker, lie there a testament to a time when children died young.Most of the stones are plain and of limestone, which may have been quarried locally. A few havethe weeping willow/urn pattern and more elaborate script. A marble marker was uncovered under severalinches of soil with a traditional open Bible. One stone, as yet not located, reportedly had the harshinscription: She followed the ways of the devil, and the Lord smote her down. Iola (Flannigen) Chace,who remembered this stone from childhood said, “My girlfriend and I couldn’t imagine what she haddone. We decided she must have talked back to her mother.” Fragments of headstones have beenrecovered and others located under inches of soil. The stones have weathered well and are legible, a fewhaving the stone mason’s signature.On March 14, 1898 the Village of College Hill in ordinance #763 the banned: the interment in aburying ground or cemetery within the corporate limits of the Village. It specifically mentioned thecemetery on the property owned by Adaline B. McCrea. Violation carried a fine of $50. and costs ofprosecution.GARD CEMETERYA listing compiled from the records made by Ruth J. Wells (1964),Laura Chace (1976), Betty Ann Smiddy and Karen Forbes-Nutting (1988)Row 11. Broken stone, blank2.Ephraim Brown/born Feb. 26, 1768/died June 23, 1835/aged 67 yrs 3 mo. & 27 days3. (Eunice Brown-wife of Ephraim - part of stone missing)/1771/April 11, 1857, aged 86 years, 1 mo &24 days4. In memory of/Luther Wetherby/Born May 16th 1799/Died March 5 1851/In life beloved/In deathlamented (K. Grindrod, stone cutter)5. In Memory of/Thomas B./son of Luther &/Julian Wetherby/Born/Oct 8, 1843/died/Oct 16 1844(K. Grindrod, stone cutter)6. In memory of/Mahlon, son of/Luther & Julian/Wetherby/Born June 91823/died/August 9 1845/In life beloved/in death lamentedRow 21. Broken stone, blank2. Ethan H. Brown/Born/Oct. 24 1806/departed this life/Nov 26 18423. Sacred/To the memory of/Judith Brown/daughter of/Israel and Elizabeth/Brown/who departed thislife/July 17th 1838/in the 26th year/of her age35