The Battle to Save
Stewart-Greisinger Cemetery
Continues . . .
Reprinted from the Noble News
The Cemeteries of Noble, Sparta, Washington & York
Townships, Volume 1, was compiled
by the Noble County Genealogical Society, Inc. in 1984. The Stewart or Greisinger Cemetery is located in the SE
1/4, NE 1/4 of Section 17 in Washington
Township, Noble County, Indiana between 1000W and 1050W, south
of 200 S at 245S & 1020 W on ground donated by Harry Stewart.
In 1984, when the Genealogy Society did the
reading, seven rows of stones were found
marking about twenty-five graves. Surnames of those buried include
McEachran, Wolf, Fordyce, Gordon, Bull, Greider, Longfellow,
Galloway, Hardsock, Town, Wead, Tingley,
Stewart, Ullery and Sroufe.
On June 14, 1936, the Frances Dingman Chapter, National Society
Daughters of the
American Revolution placed a DAR marker on the grave of one of
only two Revolutionary
War Soldiers buried in Noble County, that of Joseph Galloway in
the Stewart-Greisinger Cemetery. On Flag Day, a very impressive service was held dedicating a bronze marker at his
grave. There was an estimated crowd of three hundred persons,
among them were many descendants of Joseph Galloway. The speaker
was attorney Ross Adair of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The marker was unveiled by Mrs. Eaton, a granddaughter
of Joseph Galloway.
On May 27, 1974, Sparta Post #421 American Legion held Memorial
Day Services in Steward-Greisinger Cemetery
after placing a new gravestone marking Galloway's grave. The group
for this event assembled at the Legion Post in
Cromwell at 10:00 a.m. and was transported to Stewart-Greisinger
Cemetery by a West Noble School bus. J. Tom
DeBrular was Post Commander and chaired the
event. The featured speaker was Reverend George Bennett of the
Cromwell-Indian Village United Methodist Church. Historical
background of the Revolutionary War veteran was presented. The
unveiling and placing of flowers on the grave were done by
Auxiliary President Wanda Stout and Legion
Adjutant Greg Moore. Post Chaplain Darrell Hursey gave the
benediction which was followed by the Salute to the Dead and Taps.
Today Stewart-Greisinger Cemetery is in serious jeopardy of
being lost to encroaching fields due to the fact that there is no
longer a legal easement from the current
road to the cemetery and the surrounding fence has been removed.
This property, including the easement, was intended to be protected
forever by the original deed transactions. The original deed of
this property is as follows: "Recorded in Noble Co. Deed
Record Vol. 16, Page 532 on May 21, 1861,
Henry & Mary Stewart conveyed to the inhabitants of Sparta
and Washington Townships of Noble Co. & Tippecanoe Township of
Kosciusko Co., in the State of Indiana, for $10, the land to be
held and used by said inhabitants for a
burying ground forever and also a right of way to and from
said burying ground of twenty feet in breadth commencing at the
Oswego and WolfLake Road and running in a South eastern direction
to the said burying ground."
However, when the roads were redirected, changed and squared
off to run in true directions and given
numbers to serve as mile markers by Noble County,
the legal access to the cemetery was jeopardized, allowing the
easement to stop in the midst of a field rather than continuing on
to the newly laid out road. Therein lies the
problem for public access to this cemetery. Today,
permission must be gained from Noble County Trustee Allen Miller
and the property owners Longville Farms, Inc. of Kimmel, Indiana,
before the public can visit the graves of
their loved ones. Permission is granted only when there are no
crops in the fields. Presently, access is gained by driving along
the fence row at the edge of the field from Co. Rd. 1050 back
approximately ½ mile to the cemetery. Automobile access is
impossible, and even truck access is not
possible when the soil is wet or planted. Families
have been forced to lay memorial flowers ½ mile away, along the
road.
At a Noble County Commissioner meeting held 19 June, 2000, an
easement from Co. Rd. 1000 was promised to
replace the old easement which diagonally crossed the field,
stopping before reaching the current road. Upon inspection, it was
discovered that the land offered as a replacement for the
original easement crossed a swampy area. As of January 2002, a
survey has not been done, no culverts or fill were placed near the
area. Since that time, appeals have been made to the commissioners
and the county attorney to enlist their
support in providing legal access, but only supportive words are
voiced - no action has been taken.
To correct the problem, a suitable access must be deeded,
exchanging the original twenty - foot wide access which now juts
diagonally across the field, to a single-lane solid vehicle path
along the fence back to the cemetery from Co Rd 1050. This means
entering along the same route as has been done for years, not
crossing a swamp which further complicates the access. However, a
survey must be completed and legal documents must be filed to
insure access to future generations. Public access to the cemetery
could be easily and simply provided along the fence row from Co.
Rd. 1050 by not planting a row or two of crops along the fence and
a securing a survey by the county surveyor and having it properly
recorded.
My original intent, more than two year and a half years ago,
was to enlist aid to clean up the cemetery and repair broken and
fallen tombstones. There are several groups
available to work on cleaning and restoring this abandoned burying
ground. However, before work can begin, gaining legal access to
the cemetery both for doing today's necessary work and securing
access for future generations, a legal easement must be surveyed,
deeded and recorded. Crossing private land
is not a viable option as verbal permission
could be revoked at any time.
In writing the details of this struggle to preserve Noble
County of history, my aim is to enlist the
support of Noble County Genealogists, Historians and
Preservationists in saving this abandoned cemetery, the final
resting place of a Revolutionary Soldier and
ancestors of many local residents. An abandoned cemetery invites
vandals. Fences have already been removed. Cleanup and repair must
begin soon or it will be too late. Before we can begin, Noble
County public officials must step up to their responsibilities
and respond to the demands of its voting public. Longview Farms,
Inc. does not need to farm the land that was
originally deeded to the public.
Please get involved by making your individual voices heard.
Martha Barnhart
Great-Great Granddaughter of Robert Henry Bull, buried Stewart-Greisinger
Cemetery 1858
