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)
(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.)
For more up to date information on the cemeteries, check out this chart on our website:
http://defiancecountygenealogy.org/cemeteries.html)
Riek Cemetery
(Tuttle Cemetery, Bercaw Graveyard, Shoemaker Cemetery)
1. Name of cemetery:
The Rekk (Riek) Cemetery, commonly called a few years back, The Bercaw Graveyard. Takes the name of Rekk from the man who owned the farm.
2. Location, how reached:
Four miles west of the City of Defiance, Ohio, on U.S. #24, a quarter mile north of White's Mills, crossing over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and Winchester's Camp. It is on the north side of the highway and half mile south of the Maumee River at this point. It is about the same distance from the Old Stone Indian Dam which was mentioned in "Points of Historical Interest" in Defiance County for the American Guide.
3. Name and address of caretaker:
William Berndorf, R. R. #5, Defiance, Ohio
4. General description, size, appearance, etc.:
This cemetery is in denomination Methodist, but is partly kept up by the trustees of Defiance Township, since there is no church here now. It consists of about half an acre of ground, fenced in with an ordinary wire fence and has a gate but no driveway. It is not very well taken care of, being mostly overgrown with weeds. Most of the markers are in fair shape and some of them have been recently reset. It is laid out in lots. The markers are a variety of sizes and descriptions, none of them very large or costly. The pedestal type predominate, all of them are gray or white.
5. Name and date of first burial recorded:
John Fellerson was the first stone marked grave. He died in 1857.
6. Names of important persons buried there:
Browns, Foeklers, Bercaws and Krouses are the known names of interest to people today, being the ancestors of well to do farm people living in the vicinity today. An ancestor of the Colwells is also buried here, but is only a distant relative of the very prominent Colwell families around Defiance today.
7. Markers of unusual appearance: None
8. Unusual epitaphs: None
9. Is cemetery used for new burials?
This graveyard is still used today. Bolkes, Berndorfs, and Haases all have empty graves on their lots. A burial was made here last year.
C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters
Consultant: Mr. William Berndorf, R. R. #5, Defiance, Ohio
3. Name and address of caretaker:
William Berndorf, R. R. #5, Defiance, Ohio
 |
| Tuttle/ Riek/ Shoemaker Cemetery/ Bercaw Graveyard at www.findagrave.com |
This cemetery is in denomination Methodist, but is partly kept up by the trustees of Defiance Township, since there is no church here now. It consists of about half an acre of ground, fenced in with an ordinary wire fence and has a gate but no driveway. It is not very well taken care of, being mostly overgrown with weeds. Most of the markers are in fair shape and some of them have been recently reset. It is laid out in lots. The markers are a variety of sizes and descriptions, none of them very large or costly. The pedestal type predominate, all of them are gray or white.
5. Name and date of first burial recorded:
John Fellerson was the first stone marked grave. He died in 1857.
6. Names of important persons buried there:
Browns, Foeklers, Bercaws and Krouses are the known names of interest to people today, being the ancestors of well to do farm people living in the vicinity today. An ancestor of the Colwells is also buried here, but is only a distant relative of the very prominent Colwell families around Defiance today.
 |
| Thomas Bercaw, died 1860, at www.findagrave.com |
 |
| Another early stone - John F. W. Mehring, died 1861, at www.findagrave.com |
8. Unusual epitaphs: None
9. Is cemetery used for new burials?
This graveyard is still used today. Bolkes, Berndorfs, and Haases all have empty graves on their lots. A burial was made here last year.
C. Cadwallader and C. Gish, Reporters
Consultant: Mr. William Berndorf, R. R. #5, Defiance, Ohio
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