Steubenville Twp
Jefferson County, Ohio
CEMETERY PUBLISHES STEUBENVILLE HISTORY
- Calls the Community to Submit Information about the Lives Lived in Steubenville -
Click Here To Read More!
Largest cemetery in Jefferson County. The cemetery is listed on the National Register. It is a beautiful cemetery to visit, especially in the spring and fall. It has many problems as well. Many early burials and re-interments from former pioneer cemeteries have gone unrecorded or some were placed in mass burial locations. There is also a large area of what is known as the paupers section with many unrecorded, unknown or too poor to purchase headstones.
B.W. Mettenberger (center) at Union Cemetery Front Gates about 1896
Record requesting contact information:
Steubenville Union Cemetery – Phone 740-283-3384, 1720 Sunset Blvd., Steubenville, OH 43952. As October of 2005 the cemetery will send printouts of interment records. The first page is free and 2 or more pages, add .50 cents per request. You may want to contact the cemetery to check about price increased before sending your request.
Boy Scout Saves Civil War Cannon
{Chapter member, Linda Hilty, submitted the following article, fall 2006} “The cannon was taken from the Steubenville Union Cemetery. The barrel has been in the cemetery since the GAR donated it sometime after the Civil War. We were able to find a postcard dated 1907 {shown below} that shows the GAR section and you can see the cannon on it’s carriage. History books tell that this cannon was used locally by the 500 man Steubenville Militia that formed quickly to fight the Morgan’s Raiders in 1863. They took the cannon out the plank road (now Sunset Blvd.) where they had a skirmish with the tail end of Morgan’s men at Fernwood Road and another fight in the area of Two Ridge Church where the cannon shot several times loaded with nails and horseshoes.
Eric Hilty, center with cannon
“My son, Eric decided to rebuild the cannon carriage after he saw the barrel lying on the floor of the maintenance garage. Its carriage had long since rotted and the barrel had been sitting on a concrete slab until it deteriorated too. Of course he was also interested in outdoing his older brother Devin’s Eagle Scout project. Devin refurbished almost 300 cast iron Union Soldier emblems for the Union Cemetery.
Our family was able to purchase blueprints (copies from original archives) and found an Amish man who makes cannon wheels. These wheels were not cheap ($950 for wheels and axles) and part of the project was fundraising. DeNoon lumber donated the oak which was glued together to make the large trail piece. Also the thick pieces on the sides of the trail hold the barrel. One of the most interesting experiences was when we took the barrel to Cryogenic Construction. They were instrumental in helping Devin sandblast all of his GAR emblems and had agreed to sandblast the barrel of the cannon. We found that day that the barrel was stamped with the words STEUBEN ARTILLERY meaning that the possibility was very strong that this barrel was made in Steubenville. Also, inside the barrel was a wooden tampion…something that all cannons had to plug the end after cleaning for fire. The barrel weighed in at 775 pounds.
When the wheels finally came at the end of May 2006, the work of building the carriage started. Eric’s dad is a welding instructor at the Joint Vocational School and the school donated much of the steel. We tried to make the carriage as original as possible and the process of “heating and beating” the metal was time consuming. But finally the barrel was sitting on its new carriage. There are still a couple of bugs to work out and some small items to add to the carriage. The wooden parts have two coats of linseed oil and the metal parts are painted with Hammerite paint. We are building a metal harness to lift the axle off the ground so the wheels do not rot. The cemetery is unsure where they are putting it but have agreed to pull it in for the winter. The carriage rolls nicely on its wheels and was used in some parades. The bulk of the summer was spent showing off the cannon to raise funds. Money was raised to recoup the original expenses. Any further money that is collected will be used to buy a bronze plaque to tell about the cannon’s history.
Eric has now started his senior year at Indian Creek High School where he plays soccer and is the kicker/punter on the football team. He is a member of Troop 87 Two Ridge Church in Wintersville. The troop was very helpful in this project doing much of the painting and oiling as well as the grunt work of taking the cannon to various events.”
Soldiers and Sailors Monument as it appeared in 1907.
Note - The cannon above in the post card photo right corner.
In the front of the monument is Civil War veteran tombstones.
October 2005 – Our chapter went on a field trip to the Steubenville Union Cemetery - Our tour guide was Jeff Evans II. Our group toured the Civil War section of the cemetery and other military areas throughout the beautiful historic cemetery.
The photo above was taken by Flora L. VerStaten during the tour at the Union Cemetery – The memorial states, “By an act of the general assembly in 1902 it is made the duty of the county commissioners to provide for the proper care of the graves of soldier and sailors buried here."
Click on the following to read more about this cemetery!
Steubenville Union Cemetery is A Historical Land Mark in the City
John Lawrence Lawson in Union Cemetery, Steubenville, Ohio
Submitted by Anna Metcalf
My Grandfather John Lawrence Lawson (on left) in the historic Union Cemetery in Steubenville, Ohio. He was a caretaker there for many years.
The man on the right is unknown.
Found at familyoldphotos.com
http://www3.familyoldphotos.com/photo/ohio/2609/union-cemetery-steubenville-ohio
Union Cemetery, Steubenville, Ohio
Submitted by Teri
Photo from an early 1900s postcard.
