Journey to the Past: Walnut Grove Cemetery


I was feeling a sense of accomplishment in photographing the grave stones for my family members. I had one more cemetery to visit and then I would call it a day.

I was hoping to find things easily at Walnut Grove Cemetery. Walnut Grove is managed by the City of Worthington and all of the burial lot information is easily found on their website. When I arrived at the cemetery, I found a nice man named Tom outside the office. He said he was willing to help me find the places as no maps were available for the cemetery. When he unlocked the office to grab a burial map book, I realized the office was actually closed and he was headed off for the day. Tom, I can't thank you enough for helping this crazy Iowan.

Without Tom's help I wouldn't have found the two stones I sought.... Jane Fickle GORDON and Ollie Smith GILBERT. Jane is my 3rd Great-Grandmother on my mother's side of the family. (me -> Mom -> Lewis Brown -> Sherman Lewis Brown -> Martha Gordon -> Jane Fickle). Ollie Mae is my mother's cousin twice removed (granddaughter through Philip Smith's second wife Mary and their son Orlando).

Jane Gordon wife of Charles
Walnut Grove Cemetery

Ollie Mae Gilbert
Walnut Grove Cemetery


I didn't take many photos as Tom was personally guiding me to each section. Additionally, I needed to return home to meet with my aunt and her cousin. So I only took 6 photos in this cemetery.

A fawn in Walnut Grove Cemetery
But as I was packing up my stuff from the final photos, Tom found a cute sight that he had to show me. A baby deer. I snapped the cute sight and learned that although they're really cute, they're a pain to Tom and fellow workers at the cemetery. The deer come and eat all the flowers and plants people place around relative’s stones. Tom and his crew have the joy of 'dealing' with the deer. 

That's so cool that the deer are such a cute pest and Tom had to show me this sight. So, this cute baby was the last cemetery photo I had anticipated taking on my journey to Ohio. 

After this cemetery stop, I hadn't planned on visiting any further cemeteries. The one thing that was great about today was that it was overcast and fairly chilly. It was great weather to be driving around taking pictures in. I didn't have nearly as many volunteer photos as I had from Green Lawn Cemetery. However, I had made a dent in my personal quest. Plus, I had some volunteer photos that hopefully others might enjoy.  It was time to leave the cemeteries and visit with the living.

This is another installment in a lengthy mutli-series post about the fantastic research trip I took to Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. If you're just joining the this series, you'll be able to see every post under the label Research Trip.

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