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Forest Home Cemetery
1. Name of cemetery:
Forest Home Cemetery, the city graveyard of Hicksville, Ohio
2. Located at the most northwest corner of Hicksville, Ohio, on state route #193, called the Auburn Road. This route runs into the main business district of Hicksville. The graveyard is about one mile northwest of the business district and High Street, the main thoroughfare of the town.
3. Name and address of caretaker: (unanswered)
4. (Description):
Forest Home Cemetery of Hicksville, Ohio, is the second largest cemetery in Defiance County, Riverside at Defiance, Ohio, being the only one larger than it. It is divided into two parts, the older part lies on the west side of the state route and the new part across the road.
Both cemeteries are enclosed and surrounded by a six foot high evergreen hedge which is kept trimmed in box style. There are two gates to each cemetery and winding drives through each.
The old part contains 26 acres and is well kept and shaded by all kinds of trees, oak, elm, pine, cedar, maple and others. Much evergreen shrubbery is also planted around the drives and in between the lanes.
The new part contains twelve acres and is not quite so shaded although green shrubbery is in perfusion. Both the old and new are laid out in plots and owned personally by the relatives of persons buried here.
The graveyard is municipal, is controlled by the Hicksville Village Cemetery Board and is kept up by them. There are two stone vaults in the old part and in the center is the Soldiers' memorial, a twenty foot high stone statue erected in memory of the Civil War dead.
There are all sorts and kinds of markers, ranging from small, white, Mosiac slabs to magnificent granite and marble tombstones. In the new part of the cemetery, the stones are all new and all very large and costly. I would say that many of the stones are more costly than any in the graveyard at Defiance, Ohio. The people, especially the old timers of Hicksville, are wealthy. Some of the lots are fixed up at probably thousand dollars cost.
5. Name and date of first burial records:
The oldest marker to be found was that of Burton Rakestraw who died in 1850; however the graveyard was not officially started until during the Civil War. The new part was bought and added just fifteen years ago.
6. Names of important persons buried there, for what noted:
John Swilley, 1830-1882, the founder of the first Hicksville Hotel, and father of the late Amelia Bingham, noted actress is the most noted man buried there.
The Ainsworth are the richest; their tombstone is ten foot high, four foot thick, solid marble, marker gray in color, in the new modernistic, sweeping curve styled, faced with vines in relief.
Carl Hart, 1869 - 1927, world famous Girls' Band leader, whose band traveled all over Europe and played before the crowned heads of Europe in 1925, is also buried there.
Then there is W. A. Maxwell, 1847 - 1896, one time recorder of Defiance County and grandfather of Grover C. Maxwell, Defiance County's representative to Columbus, Ohio.
Enoch Farmer, 1828 - 1902, pioneer settler and co-founder of Farmer Township, Defiance County.
Edward W. Crook, 1847 - 1932, rich manufacturer of Hicksville and owner of the Crook Factory.
Isaac Boon, 1842 - 1913, well known merchant of the firm of Boon and Bevington.
7. Markers of unusual appearance:
The Ainsworth marker mentioned before is the outstanding one in this graveyard - a huge, gray, marble marker, ten foot high and four foot thick and wide. It is made in the new modernistic, sweeping style effect.
Also the high pedestal marker of John Swilley stands out above all the rest. It is old and one of the first fine monuments placed in the cemetery. There are numerous fine ones in the new part of the cemetery, all costly, and all modern, but none outstanding.
8. Unusual epitaphs:
Again, no epitaphs of oddity or note, the people of Defiance County seems not to have believed in inscriptions on their tombstones.
9. Is cemetery used for new burials?
The older part of the cemetery is sold out as far as new lots go. Anyone owning a lot can bury on it. In the new part across the road, there is still much room and lots still to be sold.
C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters
Consultants:
Mrs. Mort Hartzler, High Street, Hicksville, Ohio
Elizabeth Johnson, Owner of Palm Hotel, Hicksville, 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.
Forest Home Cemetery, the city graveyard of Hicksville, Ohio
2. Located at the most northwest corner of Hicksville, Ohio, on state route #193, called the Auburn Road. This route runs into the main business district of Hicksville. The graveyard is about one mile northwest of the business district and High Street, the main thoroughfare of the town.
3. Name and address of caretaker: (unanswered)
 |
| Photo from www.findagrave.com |
Forest Home Cemetery of Hicksville, Ohio, is the second largest cemetery in Defiance County, Riverside at Defiance, Ohio, being the only one larger than it. It is divided into two parts, the older part lies on the west side of the state route and the new part across the road.
Both cemeteries are enclosed and surrounded by a six foot high evergreen hedge which is kept trimmed in box style. There are two gates to each cemetery and winding drives through each.
The old part contains 26 acres and is well kept and shaded by all kinds of trees, oak, elm, pine, cedar, maple and others. Much evergreen shrubbery is also planted around the drives and in between the lanes.
The new part contains twelve acres and is not quite so shaded although green shrubbery is in perfusion. Both the old and new are laid out in plots and owned personally by the relatives of persons buried here.
The graveyard is municipal, is controlled by the Hicksville Village Cemetery Board and is kept up by them. There are two stone vaults in the old part and in the center is the Soldiers' memorial, a twenty foot high stone statue erected in memory of the Civil War dead.
 |
| Photo from www.findagrave.com |
5. Name and date of first burial records:
The oldest marker to be found was that of Burton Rakestraw who died in 1850; however the graveyard was not officially started until during the Civil War. The new part was bought and added just fifteen years ago.
6. Names of important persons buried there, for what noted:
John Swilley, 1830-1882, the founder of the first Hicksville Hotel, and father of the late Amelia Bingham, noted actress is the most noted man buried there.
The Ainsworth are the richest; their tombstone is ten foot high, four foot thick, solid marble, marker gray in color, in the new modernistic, sweeping curve styled, faced with vines in relief.
 |
| Photo from www.findagrave.com |
 |
| Photo from www.findagrave.com |
Then there is W. A. Maxwell, 1847 - 1896, one time recorder of Defiance County and grandfather of Grover C. Maxwell, Defiance County's representative to Columbus, Ohio.
Edward W. Crook, 1847 - 1932, rich manufacturer of Hicksville and owner of the Crook Factory.
Isaac Boon, 1842 - 1913, well known merchant of the firm of Boon and Bevington.
7. Markers of unusual appearance:
The Ainsworth marker mentioned before is the outstanding one in this graveyard - a huge, gray, marble marker, ten foot high and four foot thick and wide. It is made in the new modernistic, sweeping style effect.
Also the high pedestal marker of John Swilley stands out above all the rest. It is old and one of the first fine monuments placed in the cemetery. There are numerous fine ones in the new part of the cemetery, all costly, and all modern, but none outstanding.
8. Unusual epitaphs:
Again, no epitaphs of oddity or note, the people of Defiance County seems not to have believed in inscriptions on their tombstones.
9. Is cemetery used for new burials?
The older part of the cemetery is sold out as far as new lots go. Anyone owning a lot can bury on it. In the new part across the road, there is still much room and lots still to be sold.
C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters
Consultants:
Mrs. Mort Hartzler, High Street, Hicksville, Ohio
Elizabeth Johnson, Owner of Palm Hotel, Hicksville, 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.
How would I find out the burial date of my great great grandmother in six corners cemetery in hicksville ohio? The date is not readable. My email is artistdove7@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI am also looking for the same information about a relative. It would be great to have an address for an office we can contact.
ReplyDeleteIf I can do a look up for either of you for Six Corners or Forest Home, please email me at defiancegenealogy2002@yahoo.com. I also have access to a death records index that may be helpful.
ReplyDelete