Source: Newsletter
of the North Manchester Historical Society, Inc.
Volume XXI Number 4 November 2004

The Cemeteries of Chester Township, Wabash County, Indiana

(With thanks to the Revised Edition of Lester H. Binnie's Cemetery Records for Chester Township, Wabash County, Ind.)

1. Concord Cemetery is located south east of the intersection of Wabash County Road ll00 N and 700 E or about six miles southeast of North Manchester. It is enclosed with a fence and is about 200 feet square, and well kept. It can be reached by taking a lane going east from road 700 E. Common names found in this cemetery are Brookover Culler, Jenks, Bitner, McCutchen, Conde, Bolinger and many others. Noted for a fine specimen of conglomerate, weighing maybe 500 lbs at the north end of the cemetery between the last two rows. It has no inscription.

2. Daniels Cemetery is at the northeast corner at the intersection of Wabash County roads 700 N and 500 E or two miles south and two miles east of Servia. It is a plot about 100 feet square, not consistently cared for and many stones are on the ground, many are broken, some in several pieces, and some collected in a pile. Common names are Daniels, Kellogg, and Dillon. One stone for Margaret Dillon, a daughter of G. and E, probably represents the second white death in Chester township. See Helm's History of Wabash County, 1884, p. 275.

3. Fairview Cemetery is located on both sides of County Road 300 e near the intersection with County Road 1000 N. The section on the west side of the road is the oldest part. One section of this cemetery was the site of the former Fairview Church of the United Brethren in Christ, A.D. 1871 and there is a sign showing this near the highway. Another significant inscription can be found on the stone of Christian Mylin, "This ground was donated to the United Brethren in Christ for a Church and Cemetery b. C. Mylin, Feb. 24, 1871. Some of the stones that bear dates prior to 1871 were moved here from the Holderman Cemetery in North Manchester. Common Names Hippensteel, Krichbaum, Winesburg, Fannin, Frederick, Aughinbaugh, Bowers, Frushour, Hoover, Kennedy, Morford, Wright, Geyer, Schroll, Krisher, Stands, Coble, Steller, Allisbaugh and others.

4. Greenwood Cemetery, sometimes called the Comstock Cemetery because of the large number of the Comstock family buried here, occupies a hilltop about a half mile west of Liberty Mills or a short distance west of Highway 13. It is on the south side of County Road 1450 N. It is about one half acre, well fenced and cared for. The Comstock family is grouped generally by generations beginning with a double pillar arch on the hilltop, and a circle below and a second circle of foot stones. Other Comstocks are in the near rows.

Krisher Cemetery located about one and a half miles south of North Manchester at the intersection of State road 113 and County Road 1100 n. About 75 x 200 feet, usually well keep. Appears to be a very early cemetery established before Henry Heeter owned this land in the early 1850s. The southwest corner of the plot is low and no graves are there. Some common names: Frederick, Walters, Fanning, Heeter, Kirsher. David Walters marker here but body lies in Hampstead,Texas.

Oaklawn Cemetery, located on Beckley Street, south of ninth street in North Manchester, First burial here in 1878 and currently in frequent use. At least 86 stones here are known to have been removed from the abandoned Holderman Cemetery on Market Street and at least 16 stones removed from the Harter Cemetery, abandoned and now a parking lot.

The South End of Oaklawn Cemetery is the oldest part and that section has a large number of mature hardwood trees.

Most of the names in Manchester's history are represented here including Maple, Messmore, Harter, Heckathorn, Strickler, Eichholtz, Wells, Wagner, Roadarmel, Kuhnle, Heeter, Flook, Noftzger, Bonewitz, Lautzenheiser, Kircher, Kyler, Cowgill, Burge, Church, McFann, Strauss, Ballenger, Sellers, Miller, Switzer, Young, Baker, Keesley, Sincroft, Lower, Grossnickle and many others. It should be noted that two Manchester College Presidents - David Howe, the first president and his lst wife Delilah, and Vernon Schwalm and his wife, Florence are buried at Oaklawn. Also Andrew Cordier and his wife Dorothy Butterbaugh Cordier are resting at Oaklawn.

Swank Cemetery is just north of North Manchester on the east side of Highway 13, overlooking Swank Creek. Is is about 100 by 200 feet in size and contains several large trees. It is well kept. Common names are Swank, Auker, Shively, Smith, Cook, Stoneburner, and others.

Union or Pleasant Grove Cemetery lies at the intersection of County roads 1300 n and 400 e about two miles east and a mile north of North Manchester. There is a small brick church on the north side of Road 400 e. The cemetery was likely begun by the Simonton family. It is very old and the stones are worn and often broken. Common names are Parrett, Ruse, Calhoon, Simonton, Hidy, Tilman, Baugher, Feagler, Abbott, Banks, Naber, Dunbar, Baublett, Liggett, Flinn, Cook, McCutchen, Halderman, Heeter, Shock, Seymor, Pinney, Rinehart, Boocher, Sellers, Hogmire, Houser, Simpson, Kitterman, and Simpson. There are many Civil War soldiers buried in this cemetery.

Holderman Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in North Manchester, located on the East side of Market street. North of Fourth Street established about 1840 by Allan Holderman, included burials to the 1890s. It was not incorporated and did not receive consistent care. The use of the cemetery was likely free to the public. About 1955 the stone were removed for safety reasons and placed in a pile in the northeast corner of the plot. In September 1969, Lester Binnie recorded the inscriptions from the 185 stones he found there. Other stones were found in 1982 when the town of North Manchester began gathering data for the construction of a suitable memorial on the site. At that time intensive research in old newspapers and other old sources was conducted by Keith Ross, Ron Woodward and others yielded names of persons almost certainly buried there.

By crosscheck it was found that at least 86 stones for persons who were first buried in the Holderman Cemetery were removed to other cemeteries, including Oaklawn and Fairview and others. It is quite clear that some persons were buried at Holderman for whom no stones can be found.

A memorial which incorporates some of the stones found in the cemetery has been built. The plot - about 100 x 500 feet - is now a landscaped park and memorial area. At the south end is the site of the restored Thomas Marshall birthplace.

Some names found in this cemetery: Frame, Holderman, Helvey, Lavey, Lautzenheiser, Mowrer,Ogan, Place, Thomas, Weidner, West, Williams, Willis, and Marshall.