Finding the Forgotten Dead

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Slate Run Cemetery

Located in New Albany, Indiana is a small plot hidden in plain sight. A few family members still occasionally visit, but for the most part both this place and its residents have been forgotten.

A group of worn and broken headstones sit in the decaying Slate Run Cemetery.

The front and back of this headstone show both the wealth of the deceased, and his ties to the Freemasons.

Trees have grown up through some of the graves. Cedars especially have a long ghistory of being found in and around graveyards, and sometimes they are purposely planted as a symbol
of eternal life.

"To the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth." - Voltaire

Unfortunately many of the headstones at Slate Run Cemetery are similar to these. Either completely broken, or in some state of disrepair. Repairs to stones like these should only be done by a professional.

"There is no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never really get back to the way
they were." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

An unmarked gravestone at Slate Run Cemetery. Who is was for and when that person lived is lost to time. However, their grave deserves the same respect and attention as someone with a huge obelisk or intricately carved headstone.

Cool Springs Cemetery

This cemetery sits well off the beaten path in Cool Springs, Kentucky. While burials still occasionally still take place here, many of the older graves sit unvisited.

The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. -Marcus Tullius Cicero

A very rere find, a headstone with an intact portrait.

An intricately carved headstone for husband and wife.

An all to common find, especially in older cemeteries.

While most headstones are granite or marble; the very poor had to made due with wood, or in this case, sandstone.

Jessie N. Baggerly 1848 - 1908, he served in the Civil War and has one of the most unusual
graves in the cemetery.

Rosine Cemetery

Although this is an active cemetery it still deserves to be on this list, and is located on the edge of Rosine, Kentucky. Many of those buried here have stories to tell and have little or no family left to tell them anymore.

A peaceful morning passes in Rosine Cemetery.

Such a small memorial for someone who defied the average life expectancy of that time.

"Birth and death; we all move between these two unknowns." - Bryant H. McGill

PFC Wesley Phelps is a hero that should not be forgotten. His gravestone is one of the largest in Rosine Cemetery. Although it is doubtful he would hace wanted such a large monument.
He served in the Pacific theater during World War II, and committed the ultimate act of bravery. After a grenade landed amongst Phelps and his fellow Marines, Private Phelps threw himself onto that grenade and sacrificed himself to save the lives of the soldiers around him.
His bravery is a testament to the men and women of our armed forces that have fought, and still fight, for our freedom.

Adams Cemetery

This small yet peaceful plot of land sits just outside of Charlestown, Indiana. Inside its stone wall the atmosphere changes, and the heaviness therein commands your respect

upon entering.

The sun sets over Adams Cemetery.

Captain Blizzard was born in 1778, and probably served in the War of 1812.

The symbol of a willow tree has many meanings on a gravestone. Mourning is the most common, it can also indicate that the deceased was of Iroquois descent.

"Life is but the shadow of death, and souls departed but the shadows of the living."
- Thomas Browne

A small stone wall surrounds Adams Cemetery. This mortar free, stacked stone wall has stood the test of time.

Sarles - Hendricks Cemetery

This cemetery was active from 1812 - 1958 and was originally a family cemetery. Surrounded by woods it has an idyllic, quiet setting. In is located near Hamburg, Indiana.

"It was a time when only the dead smiled, happy in their peace." -Anna Akhmatora

"Only the dead have seen the end of war." -Plato

A small grouping of graves in Sarles-Hendricks Cemetery.

A broken cross lies beside a small chunk of sandstone.
We many never know who this memorial represents.

Many women married young, and as such died young. Usually from childbirth.

Although "consort" could be used instead of "wife" since the woman's parents are also listed, it's possible she wasn't married yet. Or that it was a common law marriage that hadn't reached its legal term of one year.

Broken headstone of an unknown infant.

"Pale death, with impartial step, knocks at the hut of the poor and the towers of kings." - Horace

Union Cemetery

This cemetery sits at the edge of a decomissioned powder plant outside of Charlestown, Indiana. It is a quiet spot, well off of the highway.

"In the democracy of the dead all men at last are equal. There is neither rank nor station nor perogative in the republic of the grave." - John James Ingalls

Union Cemetery is over two hundred years old, and is still actively being used.

"Tis after death that we measure men." - James Baron Hope

"How strange this fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset." - George MacDonald

Allen Cemetery

Recently the state of Indiana changed its laws concerning the relocation of inactive cemeteries. This one, located near Carr, Indiana was nealy moved a few years ago by a developer; but the public backlash and stiffer laws helped let those buried here continue to rest in peace.