HAMILTON COUNTY OHIO - Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by non-commercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgenwebarchives.org ************************************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by (This is a compilation of information and newspaper articles submitted by Sam Boyer and transcribed by Gerri Gornik gerrigornik@yahoo.com) http://www.usgwarchives.net/oh/medina/history/ July 2002 *********************************************************************** Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery List of all legible names and dates from tombstones in the old Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery, Columbia Avenue, Reading, Ohio. Copied by junior classes of Mount Notre Dame High School under the direction of Sister Agnes Immaculata, May 7, 1963. Recorded dates – 216 COMMENTS Because of the age of the headstones, many names and dates are no longer decpherable. Others are very indistinct. It is highly probable, therefore, that there may be many errors in names and dates in this list. The fact that perhaps the majority of the earlier graves of persons of German ancestry were in German script made the spelling of names very difficult and this may well account for spelling inaccuracies. Most of the students who copied the inscriptions knew no German. Notwithstanding, nearly every name is to be found in the telephone directory of the current year – 1963. Some observations are of interest: ? The oldest person buried is Herman Benner 1825-1919 – 95 years ? The youngest may be Margaretha Souller (Spelling?) b. Nov. 23 d. Nov. 24, 1863 – one day old ? The first burial date appears to be that of Anna Ashbrook, an infant 1858-1858 ? The last recorded burial date is that of Julia Kennedy 1864-1953 – 89 years ? The only person buried who appears to have been born after 1900 is Clayton Mathys 1924-1924 ? It is of interest that seven persons were born before 1800. They are: G. F. Baudinot 1798-1882 84 yrs. Ann Mary Ferding 1787-1867 80 yrs Georg Goetz 1797-1859 62 yrs Mary Ann Groh 1794-1861 67 yrs Theresa Serman (Lerman?) 1790-1867 77 yrs Johann Valentin 1794-1861 67 yrs Jacob Zapp 1788-1863 75 yrs ? Catherine McArdle – another veteran 1800-1878 In keeping with the vital statistics of the 19th century, the number of deaths in childhood and early youth is clearly evident. On the other hand it is amazing to note the number who managed to live to ripe old age. The names indicate immigrants from various foreign countries. It is interesting to note that those from Ireland usually had this state on the tombstone. A typical entry is: Sarah Ryan – A Native of County Clare, Ireland 1815 – 1876 Others, too, were proud of the land from which they came as: Sophia Neuman – Age 90 years – Born in Holland 1815 – 1905 Mary Clement 1802 – 1866 – Born in France Many of those buried here were doubtless soldiers in the Civil War. Of wars, however, there is no evidence except for the following: Pvt. Julius Meiser 1894-1918 Killed in Action – 127th Infantry 32nd Division Catholic Telegraph, Friday June 28, 1963 Students Search Tombstones For Clues to Local History History students at Mount Notre Dame high school, Reading, recently undertook a local research project and came up with some grave observations. Site of investigation was the old cemetery of Sts. Peter and Paul on Columbia avenue across from Mt. Notre Dame convent. Names, dates, and other information found on 207 headstones of this historic burying ground were tabulated by members of two junior history classes at the school. Carla Dabney, Rosalind Leugers, Mary Ann Hill, and Zina Barresi were chief secretaries for the group. The students unearthed many fragments of local history. Most of the persons buried in the cemetery were born, live, and died in the 19th century. Seven headstones, however showed birth dates in the 1700s. Earliest birth date of anyone buried there was that of Ann Mary Ferding who was born in 1787 and died in 1867. Although a score of persons lived into the 20th century, only one was born in this century – Clayton Mathys, an infant whose birth and death dates were 1924. Oldest person buried in the cemetery was Herman Benner (1825-1919); the youngest, Margaretha Souller who lived one day. She was born Nov. 23, 1863, and died Nov. 24. Regular burieals were begun there in 1858 although two earlier burieal dates are recorded. The earliest was that of a child whose first name is no longer legible, but whose family name was Mohr (1850-1854). Last person interred there was 89-year-old Julia Kennedy who was buried in 1953. Tombstone data in the pioneer graveyard offer material for a comparative study of vital statistics of the 19th and 20th centuries in this country. The average life span for males buried there was 29 years, for females, 27 years. Among the 207 recorded burials nearly one-half of them – 91 – did not reach 20 years of age. Of these, 76 died before the age of 10 and 58 did not live to be two years old. Forty of the 207, however, lived for more than 70 years, nearly 20 of them living into their 80s, and two surviving beyond 90. Busiest years for burials were the national cholera epidemics, with 1868 having the largest number of burials for one year. Names on many of the headstones indicated German ancestry, though there were about 20 Irish names, some French, and a few Dutch and English. Those who were born in Ireland had this information included on their headstones. Most of the names found in the old cemetery can be found in the Cincinnati Telephone Directory and on the lists of persons in Reading parishes and schools.