W.P.A. Cemetery Survey - Ayersville Cemetery, Highland Township

In this series, some of the general surveys of Defiance County cemeteries will be shared, transcribed as written on the original W.P.A. reports, with a few punctuation and/or spelling changes for readability.  The surveys were probably done around 1936.
For more up to date information on the cemeteries, check out this chart on our website:
 http://defiancecountygenealogy.org/cemeteries.html)

 Ayresville Cemetery

1. Name of Cemetery:

The Ayresville Graveyard, Highland Township, Defiance County, Ohio.

2. Location; how reached:

This cemetery is located in township of Highland, in section three at the Richland - Highland line and on the Ayresville Overhead bridge road.  It is one mile north of the village of Ayresville on the last named road, where it is easily reached by automobile.  From Defiance, Ohio, it is five and one half miles out on Route #18 and then straight south of route #18 at the High overhead bridge across the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

3. Name and address of caretaker:

There is no regular caretaker of the cemetery, it is kept up by the Highland Township Trustees and persons who own lots in the graveyard.  Mr. Al Logan is one of the trustees and a Mr. Lero hired to dig graves and mow the grass.  Both men live in the village of Ayresville.  For information, write Mr. Al. Logan, R.R. #6, Defiance, Ohio or Ayresville village, Defiance County.

Photo from www.findagrave.com

4. General description, size, appearance, etc.:

This graveyard is the largest and best kept up in Highland Township; it contains four acres.  It is surrounded by an iron and wire fence and has red brick pillar posts at its two gateways and at each corner of the four acres; there is a gravel driveway.  The land is soft sand and gravel of the south ridge as all this land in this vicinity is.  There are a few nice large old trees of cedar, ash and oak and maple of very stately appearance along the road in the front of the cemetery.

There are around two hundred graves in it.  The graveyard is Protestant, but of no particular church, however most of the persons buried here happen to be Methodists; it is considered as the third nicest rural cemetery in Defiance County and also one of the oldest still being used.

It really consists of two parts, the old part which is called the Pleasant Bend Cemetery, not kept up by the township trustees but by individuals; the other part being the new graveyard, kept up by the township.  It was started in 1838 and is used as much today as it was then.

 

5. Name and date of first burial recorded:

Oldest grave is that of Ida May Ashton, 1838.  Oldest lot owned is that of the Brechbills, the first one Henry born in 1799 and died in 1844.

Henry Brechbill at www.findagrave.com

6. Names of important persons buried there:

Ayresville Cemetery is noted for the number of old Civil War veterans buried in it.  I am told that seventy five are buried there, and all of them died in the last twenty years.  There are the Mix's, Breechbills, Ashtons, all early pioneers coming to this township in the 1830s and mentioned in Beers History of Defiance County.  Also Boyds, Logans, Blues, Henrys and Davises, all early settlers who have many descendants living in and around Ayresville and Defiance, Ohio today.

7. Markers of unusual appearance:

The tombstones, markers and memorials are all very fine, mostly of granite, most of the relatives have in the last few years put up new markers to the memory of their people.  A few of the old markers still stand in the Pleasant Bend side of the graveyard, in the new part the markers are new.  
The tomb of Wm. Morse is the finest.  It is an underground cement top sealed tomb, over it rests a large heavy Roman style granite marker of gray color.  It is different than any run across yet.
 

William Morse at www.findagrave.com

8. Unusual epitaphs: 

The most of the people buried in this graveyard are of a very religious nature and their markers are inscribed with many and various passages from the Scripture and verses from the old Religious songs.  It seems as if this graveyard has more old people buried in it than ordinarily, an over percentage of them being past their full age of three score and ten. Perhaps the reason is that this is nice, dry country on a sand ride through here and also that the people took are of their bodies and many of them had no bad habits at all.  They lived peaceful, happy lives with their fellow men.

9. Is cemetery used for new burials?

This cemetery is used as much today as ever before, many graves are to be found made in the last year.

Topic #624
Defiance County.
District #13
Cemeteries
C. Cadwallader and C. Gish.

Consultant: Mr. Al. Logan, R.F.D. #6,Defance, Ohio.

(The Works Progress Administration was formed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in reaction to the Great Depression as a means of employing Americans and stimulating the economy.  Established in 1935, one of the projects of the W.P.A. was to conduct Historical Records Surveys, one of which included finding information on cemeteries and the graves of veterans.  The W.P.A. was disbanded in 1943, but the historical information provided on these surveys continue to be of interest and are, thankfully, preserved.)