Craig Cemetery

Originally located on the Craig Farm, Section 19 Town 5N Range 10E.
Monroe Township, Jefferson County, Indiana.

Relocated in 1942 to make room for the JPG,
to Michigan Rd., south of the Fairmount Cemetery.

Craig Cemetery. Photo by Ruth Hoggatt, Oct 11, 2000.

Surveyed by Ruth Hoggatt, October 20, 2001.

The Craig Cemetery appears to have started as a community burial ground for early pioneers, who lived in the western part of Monroe Township. On Dec. 27, 1816, William Richey obtained a land patent for the southwest quarter of section 19. According to the earliest tombstone inscription, the first burial was that of Jane Kerr, who died on Jul. 16, 1819. However, it is possible that there were others buried here before her, as there are several field stones located throughout the cemetery. On Feb. 26, 1831, William, and his wife Mary Richie, and William Wallace, and his wife Sarah donated 0.3674 of an acre to William G. Anderson, James Richie, and William Wallace, trustees. The deed does not specify what the latter three men were trustees of, but that the land was “for the use and purpose of a burying, for ever.” It would seem plausible that they were cemetery trustees. The deed describes the land as being located on the section line between sections 19 and 30, mostly lying in section 19. When the DAR surveyed the Craig Cemetery in the 1930s, they recorded it as being on the Craig farm in section 19. Ethel Spann Craig-Bland, widow of J. Garfield Craig, and wife of Robert M. Bland, owned the west half of the southwest quarter of section 19, and also 23 acres of land in section 30, north of Middle Fork Creek.

There are nearly 100 field stones and creek rocks throughout the cemetery marking unknown burials. I compared the D.A.R.'s Craig Cemetery list from the 1930s against the tombstones.

[On the north side of path, in the 1st row past the front tree are 3 field stones;
 2nd row, 4 field stones.]

Alexander, Rev. James, d. Nov 30 1843, in the 82 year of his age
  [Inscribed near the bottom of the stone: "Dean"]

Anderson, Anna, d. Jun 1 1863, age 76y 4m 1d
Anderson, Wm G., d. Dec. 27 1862, age 74y 6m [plain fs]
Anderson, Levi, d. Jan 2 1853, age 26y 10m 8d [Stone broken]
  [In front of the above Anderson stones, are modern funeral home markers
  by Bovards from Milan & Versailles:
  Anna Anderson, 1787-1863
  Wm G. Anderson, 1788-1862
  Levi Anderson, 1826-1853]
Anderson, Wm. J., Dec 18 1841 [Grave marked by a creek rock.
  Bovards' funeral home marker placed later giving name & date.]
Anderson, Elizabeth, 1847-1852  [Grave marked by a broken footstone.
  Bovards' funeral home marker placed later giving name & dates.]

Baxter stone -  "Our Father and Mother"
  James Baxter, Jun 6 1769 - Aug 31 1828, Aged 59y 2m 23d
    [Not on stone, but added by DAR: Rev. Soldier]
  Rebecca Baxter, Nov 24 1765 - Mar 5 1859, age 93y 3m 11d
  [Stone is broke in half.]

Baxter, William, Aug 1 1804 - Aug 25 1861 [fs - W.B.]
  [Wives are on either side of William]
Baxter, Jane, w/o Wm., Dec 29 1812 - May 27 1855 [Stone broke at base]
Baxter, Margaret, w/o William, Oct 1 1817 - Nov 24 1892 [plain fs]
Baxter, Emlona H., d/o Wm. & J., Aug 28 1854 - Jan 2 1856 [Stone broken]
Baxter, Erastus V., s/o Wm. & M., Feb 3 1859 - Nov 25 1861
Baxter, Daniel T., Oct 1 1833 - Jan 5 1859
  [Carving of I.O.O.F. chain. Stone broken, propped up against a tree.
   Base tilted into tree. Daniel & sons]
Baxter, William A., s/o D.T. & M.R., Jul 24 1856 - Jan 1 1859
Baxter, George E., s/o D.T. & M.R., Jun 26 1858 - Apr 23 1859

Boon, Willis, Mar 8 1795 - Feb 6 1844
  [Small piece of an unreadable white stone at base of Boon's stone.
  Also, a few feet to the north, same row, is a large bottom section
  of a stone, which is the same type of stone as Willis Boon's stone,
  with no inscription. There are 5 field stones south of Boon's stone,
  and the appearance of one grave not marked.]

Burns, Elizabeth, d. 1838, age 69 yrs
  [Sarcophagus lid is cracked in two, lower section open. A field stone
  is beside this grave. The Winchester burial is on the other side.
  *See Mrs. Burns' epitaph at end of page.]

Caldwell, Elizabeth 1846 - 1851
Caldwell, Elizabeth Graham, w/o David, d. Jul 4 1846, age 27y 11m 28d
  [Caldwell stones listed by DAR, but not found during current survey.]

Chambers, Mary J., d/o H.E. & A. Patton, May 15 1820 - Oct 7 1857
  [There is a field stone south of this stone, in same row]
Chambers, Jessie F., "Our Sister" d/o A. & M.J., Apr 27 1855 - Sep 14 1863
Chambers, Catherine C., d/o A. & M.J., Sep 26 1853 - Apr 16 1864
  [Stone is broken at base]
Chambers, Jephthah S., Apr 5 1840 - Feb 21 1869 "Our Dear Beloved" [plain fs]
  [Base of stone is tipped over; stone is leaning against the base.]
Chambers, Hannah, d/o Isaac & Mahitabel, d. Aug 4 1846, age 22y 4m 14d
  [Field stone north of this stone, same row]
Chambers, Isaac, d. Jul 21 1860, age 65y 1m 23d
Chambers, Mahitabel, w/o Isaac, d. Nov 15 1854, age 57y 8m 7d
  [Stone broke in two. Two field stones south of this stone, same row]
Chambers, Lena L., d/o R.W., & S.E., d. Oct 15 1864, age 4y 1m 7d [plain fs]
Chambers, George L., s/o R.W. & S.E., d. Nov 1 1864, age 2y 8m 4d [plain fs]
  [Lena & George Chambers, and Nancy Mayfield's stones are next to each other & alike.]

Cook, William C., d. Jan 21 1867, age 78 yrs [plain fs]
  [Same row as Craig stone. Three field stones north of the Cook grave.]

Craig, Catherine, 1816 - 1874 [ss - Emily]
Craig, Emily, 1826 - 1915 [ss - Catherine]
  [Plain foot stones mark both graves. Five field stones in same row.]
Craig, Sarah A., [No dates. May be a foot stone]
Craig, Wm., [Next to Sarah A.'s marker; no dates, may be a foot stone.]
  [Only Sarah & Wm in this row, and one field stone on down.]
*Craig, James, Co. C, 6th Ind Inf. [Military stone]

Craig stone
  *James H. Craig, Jul 19 1833 - Jul 16 1899
   Allie, his wife, Sep 15 1859 - Oct 12 1937
   Benjamin, infant son, Sep 14 1885 - Oct 17 1885
   Thomas L., Sep 14 1885 - Sep 27 1905
  [South of this stone are four graves marked by field stones.]

[The following 3 stones were recorded by the D.A.R., but not found during this survey]
Craig, James (Junior)
Craig, John C., d. Oct 7 192_
Craig, Sarah A., w/o John C., d. Sep 4 1904, age 71 y

Elliott, Robert, 1784 - 1872
Elliott, Mary, First w/o Robt., Mar 17 1788 - Aug 1 1822, age 34y 4m 14d
Elliott, Martha, Second w/o Robt., Mar 22 1784 - Sep 10 1835, age 51y 5m 18d
  [Original stones replaced. Field stone about 6' away, same row.]

Franciss / Francis stone
  James Francis, Dec 27 1805 - Aug 23 1874
  Mary Franciss, Jun 21 1805 - Dec 22 1887
  Walter Franciss, Jun 27 1836 - Feb 22 1887
  Ellen Franciss, Mar 5 1840 - no death date
  [There are 7 field stones south of this stone,
  then Rev. James Alexander's stone,
  then 1 field stone]

Goldsborough, John, d. Mar 25 1850, age 61 yrs
  [Stone broken, laying on ground. Year & age per DAR.
  Nearby footstones - J.G. & A.G.; Appears that A.G.'s grave is marked
  by a field stone. 1 other field stone is located beside A.G.'s foot stone.
  The next row west has 7 field stones.]

Hamilton, Joseph R., 1815 - 1895 [ss - Lydia E.]
  [Behind J.R.'s stone is a lot marker - H.H.]
Hamilton, Lydia E., 2nd w/o Jos. R., 1840 - 1917 [ss - Joseph R.]
  [Partially buried fs - L.E.H.]
Hamilton, Margaret, w/o Joseph, d. Sep 15 1863 [fs - M.H.]
  [Stone is laying flat, half buried. There are 6 field stones in this row.]

Kerr, Josiah, d. May 1823 [ss - Jane]
Kerr, Jane, d. Jul 16 1819 [ss - Josiah]
  [1 foot stone for this marker. 4 field stones south of this stone, same row.
  Kerr stone in foreground, Wm. Baxter & wives next row back.

Kegerreis  [Appears to be a misplaced lot marker, laying on its side,
  under the tree at the entrance of the cemetery.]

Large, Saml, d. Aug 20 1829, age 53yrs [ss - Jane]
Large, Jane, w/o Sam^l, d. Sep 27 1858, age 76 yrs  [ss - Samuel]
  [Stone carver: Thompson & Crozier, Madison]

Lloyd, Elizabeth Cook, Sep 28 1825 - Mar 27 1908
  [Field stone between her & Wm. C. Cook. Same row as Baxter graves.]

Original Loh stones:
  *Loh, George, d. Jul 19 1892, age 79 yrs
   [Stone broken from base. A broken piece of stone placed at base of George's
   stone, last two letters of Loh, probably belongs to Jane's stone.]
  *Loh, Jane, w/o Geo., d. Jan 30 1879, age 78y 9m 27d
   [Top of stone containing name is broke off.]
  *Loh, John G., Dec 19 1788 - Mar 31 1863 [fs - J.G.L.]
  *Loh, Catherina, d. Feb 15 1869, age 82y 6m [stone broken; fs - C.L.]
  [Next row east, is a stone broken off at the base & missing; also a field stone.]

Newer Loh stone:
  *Loh, John G., Dec 19 1788 - Mar 31 1863
  *Loh, Catharina, Aug 13 1786 - Feb 15 1869
  *Loh, George, July 19 1813 - Jul 19 1892
  *Loh, Jane, Apr 13 1800 - Jan 30 1879

McKay, Sidney S., Sep 22 1813 - Oct 19 1882 [plain fs]
  [Stone worn; 1 foot stone to the south, same row.]
McKay, Mary Ellen, consort of Sidney S., d. Jan 30 1844, age 24y [fs - M.E. McK.]

Mason, Roselius, s/o Margaret, d. Oct 5 1848, AE. 1 y. 11 days

Mayer, John G., May 22 1810 - Apr 30 1883 [plain fs]
  [In same row, south of this stone are 2 field stones, then James A. Pollock.]
Mayer, Elizabeth, Dec 29 1820 - Jan 2 1897
  [1 field stone north of this stone, same row.]

Mayfield, Joshua, Oct 22 1797 - May 14 1873, aged 75y 6m 22d [fs - Joshua]
Mayfield, Lucinda P., w/o Joshua, Apr 1 1800 - Sep 6 1869 [fs broken - L.P.M.]
  [Dates per D.A.R. as they are now below ground level]
Mayfield, Eunice, d/o J. & L., d. Sep 12 1842, age 4y 3m 9d
Mayfield, Nancy F., d/o B. & M., d. Oct 13 1864, age 5y 1m 18d [plain fs]

Mooney, Mary, consort of Isaac, d. Aug 20 1826, age 30y 11m 2d [plain fs]
  [Stone is deteriorating, top corner broken off. Number "6" per D.A.R.
   1 field stone on north side of this stone, same row.]

Morgan, T.O., Co. H. 10th Ind. Cav.
  [Two field stones south of this stone, then the Large stone.]

Mower, Agnes, w/o Jacob F., Apr 22 1810 - Jul 13 1880, aged 70y 2m 22d
  [One field stone north of this stone, same row.]
Mowerer, William H., s/o Jacob F. & Agnes, Sep 30 1840 - Oct 4 1865
  [Carving of two crossed American flags.]
Mowerer, Caroline, d/o J.F. & A., Apr 13 1833 - Dec 24 1837
  [Tombstone not found. Information per D.A.R.
  Footstone with initials C. M. on Mowerer lot.]
Mowerer, Palestine, dau. of J.F. & A.G., born Jul 17, 1837.
  [Not listed in D.A.R.'s records. Appears to be the other half of
  Caroline Mowerer's stone. Top of stone missing, and inscription
  begins with "Also." Stone was embedded in the ground up against
  Margaret Hamilton's stone.]

Patton, Hezekiah E., Jul 25 1796 - Jul 16 1856, aged 59 yrs [plain fs]
  [Stone is broken off. 2 field stones south of this stone,
  little space, then 7 more field stones]
Patton, Ann, w/o H.E., d. Sep 17 1846, aged 55y 5m [fs - A.P.]
Patton, Susan, d/o H.E. & Ann, d. Aug 31 1846, aged 24y 2m 5d [fs - S.P.]
Patton, Sarah A., d/o J.M. & E.M, Jun 6 1853 - Sep 30 1854, aged 1y 3m 24d
  [fs - S.A.P.]

Pollock, James A., s/o Samuel & Rebecca, d. Sep 1 1850, aged 13 years [plain fs]

Smith stone
  Henry C. Smith, Jan 1 1843 - Aug 17 1876
  Fred T. Smith, Jan 19 1873 - Oct 10 1874
  Annie Smith, Nov 14 1863 - Nov 14 1863
  George A. Smith, Mar 11 1870 - Jan 12 1872
  [Foot stones: Father, Fred T., George A., Annie]

Spann, Jesse, Scout, Rev. War
  [Leaning on this marker is another stone: "Jesse Spann"]

Stearns, Charles Alfred, 1890 - 1958
  [On the south side of this stone, and about 4' away, is a field stone.
  Same row as Mrs. Mooney.]

Stout, Jephthah, Apr 26 1824 - Jan 28 1827
Stout, Daniel A., Apr 21 1812 - Jan 17 1831
Stout, James, Oct 9 1809 - Oct 1 1834
Stout, Nancy, Dec 8 1785 - Dec 6 1837
Stout, Albert G., Aug 22 1819 - Aug 10 1838
Stout, Emily, Sep 27 1839 - May 20 1841
  [Blocked creek rock between James & Nancy; another, north of Emily.]

Walta, Joseph W., Apr 18 1838 - Dec 22 1879
  [Listed by DAR, not found during current survey.]

Williams, Remembrance J., Feb 13 1822 - Jul 25 1908, Co. D. 6th Reg. Ind. Vols.
Williams, Emily C., w/o R.J., Feb 21 1824 - May 19 1895 "Our Mother"
  [Eight field stones south of this stone, same row, then the Smith stone.
  One misplaced foot stone & 1 rock between the two Williams' stones.]

Williams, Robert A., Jul 4 1847 - Jul 12 1902
Williams, Havana Baxter, w/o R.A., Jul 25 1852 - Dec 15 1935
Williams, George J., s/o R.A. & H.S., Jan 13 1876 - Feb 8 1877
Williams, Marble Roy, s/o R.A. & H.S., May 5 1882 - Nov 20 1886
  [Above 4 stones per DAR. Not found during this survey.]

Winchester, Lucretia H., w/o John, d. Oct 27 1874, age 63y 8m 25d [plain fs]
  [Stone is worn & crumbling. In same row are 2 field stones.]

Wood stone
  Co. D, 6th Ind. Reg.
  Isaac W. Wood, 1833 - 1910
  Charlotte Wood, his wife, 1835 - 1918
  Hannah Wood, 1861
  Albert Wood, 1871
  Lizzie Wood, 1875
  [Foot stones mark graves: Mother, Lizzie, Albert, Hannah]

  [A foot stone with the initials T.L.C. (probably Thomas L. Craig)
  is in same row as the Wood family foot stones. In line with the
  head stones, are 2 field stones, and then at the end of this row
  is James Craig's military stone.]

*Epitaph on Elizabeth Burns' sarcophagus:

In memory of a Christian just,
We pay this tribute to her dust,
Elizabeth Burns was sixty nine,
When her spirit did resign;
She trod the toilsom road of life,
As a daughter mother, widow, and wife,
Nine children she in credit fair,
Did raise, who now all Christians are,
Her kindred friends a numerous train,
Some cease to mourn none dare complain,
They hope to meet her in the skies,
When death restores its captive prize.

[Jefferson County Cemetery List]