The Mail-Journal, Volume 26, Number 20, Milford, Kosciusko County, 1 July 1987 — Page 42

THE MAIL-JOURNAL —Wed., July 1,1987

Samual Crosson donated land

One acre of land was donated to the community by Samuel Crosson for burial purposes in 1835. This was two years before

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Syracuse was platted and named. The land was located to the northwest of the original town plat on a hill overlooking Turkey Creek.

The first person buried in the cemetery was Jeremiah Dennis, the son of Joseph and Sarah Dennis. Jeremiah died in March of 1835. Six months laser, three-year-old William J. Veneman became the second person laid to rest in the new cemetery. He was the son of Harvey and Margaret Veneman and departed this life September 24,1835. It was almost a year later when John Cory, the 11-month-old son of S. M. and M. A. Cory, became the third child to be interred in Syracuse Cemetery. He died August 5,1836. Over one year later, on August 28,1837, the fourth burial and the first adult to be buried in Syracuse Cemetery was 49-year-old David Hendreckson. He was the husband of Elizabeth Hendreckson. There wasn’t another burial until August 5, 1838. It was when Mary B. Spangle, age 58 and wife of Andrew Spangle, became the first woman laid to rest on the hili. The title of being the earliest born to be buried in the old section is shared by Robert Sulsar and Catharine Bearman. Both were born in 1779. They narrowly edged out Andrew Guy and David Hendreckson who were born in 1788 and Lydia Kline, in 1789. The highest mortality rate occurred during the four-year period from 1849-1853 when a total of 40 deaths are recorded on gravestones. This was probably 20 percent of the community population. Overlooking the Turkey Creek valley is the grave of Samuel Crosson, who donated the land so Joseph and Sarah Dennis could bury their infant son. Crosson died April 28, 1844. His stone is

barely legible. Just to the north is wife Nancy Crosson’s stone which is broken in half. North of Mrs. Crosson’s grave are three graves containing the remains of two daughters and a son of the Crossons. Four more stones mark the resting place of the Crossons’ grandchildren. A temporary marker at Mr. Crosson’s grave explaining how he and Henry Ward founded the town, built a dam and operated a flour mill, is now missing. This marker had there by Ronald Sharp a number of years ago to pay tribute to the founder of the town. Fence For Cemetery In the Syracuse Public Library is an old, old book. It contains the records of the Syracuse Union Sunday School at its inception in 1857. This book is in bad shape with many pages missing. Included between the covers of this book are the minutes of a meeting called for the purpose of erecting a fence around the Syracuse Cemetery. The minutes are in long hand in the familiar writing of Zebidee Widner. Widner, a wagon maker by trade, served as a town assessor and a town trustee for Syracuse. He was also secretary and recorded all the business meetings for the Syracuse Church of God, from its beginning in October 1867 until December 1900 —a period of more than 30 years. Widner had his own way of spelling. He is found to be consistent in misspelling the same words time after time in all of his clerical endeavors. Everyone should be forever grateful he did record many pages of what is now part of the history of the town of Syracuse. This is an attempt of copying the minutes of a meeting that was held in 1872: March 23rd 1872 Cording to previous Notic Some of the Sitisans of Syracus and Serounding Visinity met at the meeting house for the pirpus of making the nessary arrangements for to Bild a fence a round the grave yard at Syracuse Indiana the meeting was organised by appointing Z.Widner to act as Charman of the meeting. Ist aggreed that the fence in front be a picket fence post to be 5 inchs Squar sawed out of good strait graind white oak timber with the raling 2 by 5 inches good sawn white oak pickets V/2 inch Squar with a Base Bord all to be dressed thick 8 inches wide of good yellow poplar or white oak and to be painted with Coats of Pure White lead.

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fence to be 4 feet high Post to be painted and drove two feet and one half in ground the North and South Sides to be a bord fence with the post 5 inchs Squar Sawed out of good Strate graind white'qak Bords to be of good yellow poplar 1 inch by 6 inches wide 5 bords to the panal with a Cap Bord all to be well nailed West End to be post 5 inchs Squar Sawed out of good oak as hertofor with Raling 2X5 Borded up and down with the old line the interfence to be supertended by the trustees C. W. Strumbeck to Sirculate the Subscripion to Rase money to Defray the Expense of the Same So far, no records have been located to show if this fence was ever built around the cemetery. Description of Syracuse in 1844 In an article taken from the Syracuse Journal, dated Thursday, April 2,1914, P. M. Henkel of Goshen describes Syracuse as he remembers it 70 years before in 1844 — “where the beautiful town of Syracuse is now located, the place was deserving of little more than a name. A small mill was erected at the outlet of the lake which forms Turkey Creek. Here and there a small wooden building constituted what was then known as the village of Syracuse, —.” Sounds of Hope to give final concert The Sounds of Hope, a mixed choir of 60 voices, between the ages of 15 and above, plus a string ensemble, will have a final concert on Friday, July 10, at 8 p.m., in the Wawasee High School Auditorium. This final concert will conclude the 16th Annual Concert Tour and follow a 22-day European Tour in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, England, and Belgium. There will be an admission charge for the concert, to go towards scholarships in future Sounds of Hope Tours. Varner M. Chance is president and founder of Sounds of Hope and an active member of Rotary International and a past president of Syracuse-Wawasee Rotary Club.