april 2017 cemetery of the month - monroe county history...
TRANSCRIPT
April2017CemeteryoftheMonth:SmithvilleChristianChurchCemeteryWrittenbyVanitaBellSmithvilleChristianChurchCemeteryislocatedontheeastsideofSouthFairfaxRoadattheintersectionofE.RampCreekRd(E.SmithvilleRdonwestofS.Fairfax),andithasalongdry-stonewallalongE.RampCreekRoad.Thelatitudinalandlongitudinalcoordinatesofthecemeteryareapproximately39°04'15.2"N86°30'09.9"W.TheSmithvilleChristianChurchissituatedontheoppositesideofSouthFairfaxRoad,adjacenttothecemetery.TheSmithvilleChristianChurchwasestablishedonMay24,1858onlanddonatedbyMansfieldBennett,whowasfromNorthCarolinaandanearlypioneerofMonroeCounty.WilliamLeonardhelpedleadthechurchbuildingeffortsandremainedinvolvedwiththechurchduringhislifetime.WilliamLeonard’sparents,alsonativesofNorthCarolina,arrivedtotheareain1825.Williamwasbornin1817andwasafarmerandstockdealer.WilliammarriedLucindaGrimes,andtogether,theyhad11children,includingDr.JohnHenry(JH)Leonard.WilliamandLucindashareaheadstoneinthecemetery,whichstandsprominentlyneartheentrysteps,whichfaceSouthFairfaxRoad.Interestingly,twofamilieswhoareburiedinthecemeteryarrivedtotheareainthe1830sfromWytheCounty,Virginia.ThefamiliesarethatofJacobDeckardandJamesHarrell.Itisunknownwhetherthefamilieswereacquaintances,butbothappearinthe1830WytheCountyVACensusandagaininthe1840CensusforMonroeCounty,Indiana.JamesHarrellandhiswife,MaryCatherineThrasher,had13childrenallofwhomwerelivingtogetherin1850,accordingtotheMonroeCountyCensus.Oneson,JosephHarrell,whoisburiedintheSmithvillecemetery,diedOctober29,1899attheageof73.Joseph’sdeathcertificateliststhephysicianasDr.JHLeonard,sonofWilliamLeonard.SmithvilleCemeteryremainsactivewithapproximatelyhalfofthelandremainingavailable.Thereareapproximately520interments,andtheoldestheadstonesarelocatedinthenorthwestcornerofthecemeterynearesttheintersection.Theearliestburial(thatIcouldfind)isthatofMaryE.Leonard,a4-yearold,whowasburiedonDec.21,1858.Withanamazingmixofthefamiliesofrailroadworkers,farmers,andquarrymen,theshortdrivetoSmithvilleCemeterypromisestopleasethehistorybuffsinourcommunity.
Figure1:WilliamandLucindaLeonard