W. P. A. Cemetery Survey - Riverside Cemetery, PART 4 (Final)

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)

Riverside Cemetery

6.  Names of important persons buried there (continued):

- Captain John B. Ury, Defiance physician and surgeon, born in 1877, died while on duty during the World War during the "flu" epidemic in 1918 in Georgia at Atlanta.  A large granite stone marks his last resting place.

- Hon. Charles J. Thompson, Congressman from the Fifth District of Ohio, former newspaper man and postmaster of the city of Defiance, born in 1862 and died in 1932, after being beat in the primaries for his fifth consecutive term.  Buried in new graveyard in the Thom(p)son family plot. 

- Fred Thien, sailor on the U.S.S. North Carolina, died in service in 1910, a large monument erected to his memory by the crew of the North Carolina. 

Fred Thien on www.findagrave.com

- Dr. Wm. S. Powell, beloved physician and surgeon of Defiance and vicinity for over sixty years.  Born in 1850, died in 1935, after breaking his leg at the age of eighty-five years.  Buried in the Powell plot in the new cemetery.  Large tombstone erected to his memory. 

- Captain E. P. Rhodes, 1833 - 1914, noted Civil War officer and writer of stories, buried in Soldiers' Field in the G.A.R. Bishop Post plot of the new cemetery.  Died somewhere in the east and was not known in Defiance until his death, leaving here soon after the Civil War.

- Dallas Hamilton, 1890 - 1918, killed in action in France during the World War.  Monument to his memory in new cemetery.

- Lieutenant Herbert Anderson, 1896 - 1918, killed in action on the front in the World War. American Legion Herbert Anderson Post of Defiance, Ohio is named in memory to him.   

Herbert E. Anderson at www.findagrave.com

- Wm. Kirtley, 1858 - 1914, hotel owner and politician, ran for Secretary of State of Ohio on Progressive ticket in 1912.  W. Guy H. Kirtley, owner of the Crosby House in Defiance, is his son.  Buried in new cemetery where a large boulder marker is erected to him. 

Dr. J. J. Burns at www.findagrave.com

- Dr. J. J. Burns, scholar, historian, and first superintendent of Defiance City Schools, born in 1838 and died in 1911.  Buried in new part of cemetery where a large square marker is erected to his memory.

  
- Dr. Chas. W. Butler, 1853 - 1921, also superintendent of Defiance City Schools for ten years.  Buried next grave to Dr. Burns on the Butler plot.

- Peter Kettenring, 1836 - 1919, founder and owner of the Defiance Machine Works at Perry Street and Third, Defiance, Ohio.  First foundry in northern Ohio erected by him.  Peter Kettenring was Defiance's only millionaire.  The Kettenring family owns four lots in the new part of the cemetery in the first section back of the chapel and have three large, red, granite markers.

Peter Kettenring at www.findagrave.com

7. Markers of unusual appearance:

- The beautiful, modern, unique and costly Italian marble markers and benches and flower urns, setting in evergreen landscaped grounds, on the burial plot of Dr. Chas. M. Zeller.  The most costly and finest plot in Riverside Cemetery.  (Authority: John Sherry, cemetery superintendent)

- The stately and oddly inscribed statue like monument of Dr. Chas. E. Slocum with its front side portraying the likeness of the doctor, the back telling his genealogy, one side a dove of peace, on the other a sheaf of wheat and on its top a tall obelisk shaft raising to the heavens.  This marker is directly back of the Riverside Chapel.

- The large, unnatural boulder that marks the grave of Dr. J. J. Burns, weighing over a ton.

- The Latty, Holgate and Houghton vaults in the old part of the old cemetery.

Latty at www.findagrave.com

- The chapel, itself, as described earlier

- The Mausoleum, also described earlier. 

8. Unusual epitaphs:

That of Dr. Chas. E. Slocum giving the genealogy of his whole ancestry is the only strange epitaph found.

9. Is cemetery used for new burials?

Riverside Cemetery is used today, kept up by the City of Defiance, Lodges of Defiance, The St. John's and St. Mary's Catholic Churches and by selling lots to private individuals.

C. Caldwell (Cadwallader) and Chas. Gish, Reporters 

Consultants: 

John Sherry, superintendent of grounds, Wilhelm St., Defiance, Ohio

John Scheurman, Defiance City Clerk, Defiance, Ohio

Bibliography:

Defiance Crescent News

Beers History of Defiance County, published in 1883

A History of the Maumee River Basin by Dr. C. E. Slocum, 1905

(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.)