Hopewell Church & Cemetery
Warren Township
Jefferson County, Ohio
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Category: Ohio physical, cultural and historic features; Feature Name: Hopewell Methodist Cemetery, Type: Cultural, Class: Cemetery, County: Jefferson, FID: 1961692, Coordinates: Latitude 40.2236817 and Longitude -80.7117467.
Pioneer section is about 1 acre in size. The pioneer section of this cemetery is in very poor condition. For many years, all the attention it receives is an occasional mowing. Many of the oldest tombstones are missing or gone or in very poor condition. The old Hopewell Church sits in the right corner in front of the pioneer cemetery, where is it slowly falling to pieces, we are very sad to report.
Our Cemetery Volunteers worked in the Hopewell Methodist Church Cemetery in the spring of 2004. The Warren Township trustees maintain the cemetery. Several clean ups have taken place beginning with the first which included Jennifer and Chris Millhorn, Larry Creamer and Flora L. VerStraten. Other visits included help from Flora, Gail Komar, the Creamers and the township trustees. A few tombstones were located, sunken in the ground but many tombstones are just gone. Mr. Robert Richardson has an old photo of the old Hopewell church with the cemetery in the background. It then appeared to have many large obelisk style tombstones.
As of March 2008 Larry and Jan Creamer will be reading tombstone inscriptions and also taking digital photo's of tombstones. The Creamer's have discovered that the pioneer section of the cemetery was orginally 1 acre in size. This cemetery has suffered neglect over the years. When the Creamers first visited the cemetery several years ago, they couldn't even spot their ancestor's tombstones because the grass and weeds were so high. The township is now mowing the grass and maintaining the cemetery since the chapter cleanup took place in the spring of 2004.
Our chapter began documenting the pioneer section of the cemetery in November of 2003 and there are two tombstones already missing since that date.
Note - Several family stones documented by Mr. John Cusick, approximately ten years ago are all missing from the pioneer section of the cemetery. Mr. Cusick was quite upset about this. He came up and visited us while we were cleaning the cemetery. A cousin of his, chapter member Gail Komar, who is also a descendant of the pioneer Cusick family, walked with Mr. Cusick to the area where he told us he last visited and saw the large tombstones of the Cusick family. They would have been right where we were currently working and removing large bushes.
(Photo Courtesy of Chris & Jennifer Millhorn)
The photo above is a tombstone that was found when probing. It was dug up and uncovered by Jan Creamer & Jennifer Millhorn. The letters “wrap” and continue just like a sentence on the stone reading: Mary Jane Miller, daughter of Camel Miller, 1855. It was an exciting find, buried in the Hopewell pioneer section of the cemetery!
Update - A bronze marker was installed by the SAR, Ebenezer Zane Chapter, St. Clairsville, Belmont County, OHio. The chapter worked directly with George Livingston, (then SAR President) to install a military bronze marker for Jeremiah Tingley. He is a Revolutionary War Soldier proven to be buried in Hopewell Cemetery’s pioneer section. The marker sits inside the only existing family stone wall. We believe the wall to represent the family plot of the Tingley Family, as noted in the WPA book at the Jefferson County Courthouse. They has been some confusion that this wall and area may belong to another veteran, but to date we have found no evidence of this. If you would like to know more about the Revolutionary Patriots buried in Jefferson County, check the SAR section on our homepage, and/or the military sections to learn more. )
Update - No one from the church is interested in saving and/or restoring the old historical Hopewell Methodist Church. A new church/cemetery is located beyond the bounds of the old church/cemetery area.
January 2008 - On the front of the old church, now, with it's roof falling in, states, "the oldest Methodist Church in the East Ohio Conference" and should be an official National Historic Site. According to an article written by Ben Polis in 1976, “The average total collection (for the early 1800’s) for a Sunday meeting was approximately five cents with no more than ten people attending the service.”
If you have any information in regards to this cemetery and church, please contact us.
(The Hopewell Church as it appears today)
(Photo Courtesy of Chris & Jennifer Millhorn)
Herald Star Posting Decoration Day 1897 -- Hopewell Cemetery
Rush Run News
(Steubenville Herald Star, newspaper, May 21, 1897, pg. 4)
Decoration Day 1897 – Hopewell Cemetery: A number of people of the neighborhood met Tuesday at Hopewell and proceeded to clean up the old cemetery, which was badly needed. It will now look nice for the Decoration Day services. Rush Run and Hopewell Sunday Schools will unite and observe Saturday, May 29th, as Decoration Day with services to be held at the Hopewell Church. Rev. Peregoy will deliver the address at half past ten. The program will begin by the two choirs singing “America” followed by prayers and more songs. The audience will be dismissed for a short time, when the comrade’s graves will be strewn with flowers, and then the audience will reconvene at the church.
The following soldiers are buried at Hopewell Church Cemetery, pioneer section:
PECK, David Sr. – who was Captain of a Company in the War of 1812
MILLER, Jacob – also of the War of 1812
ASHBY, Abel
BLAZER, George
BROWN, John Y.
BROWN, Lorenzo D.
CARPENTER, Jerome
CHEFFY, William
FLEMMING, John
LITTEN, John Jr.
PECK, Franklin
August Gerke, Civil War Veteran
Hopewell cemetery
For more information about this cemetery, visit the following links.
Hopewell Cemetery graveside service for Revolutionary Patriot, Jermiah Tingley
The photos below are of a glass marker that was buried in the ground.
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