Aboite Township Cemeteries

Aboite Township was organized in May 1836

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Click blue Aboite Township pins to see cemetery names

The city of Fort Wayne straddles the eastern township line in the increasingly suburban Aboite Township.

Active cemeteries still accepting burials usually have an office or sign near an entrance with a contact phone number. Most cemeteries originally had a sexton who kept the records for burials, maintained the cemetery, and lived close by. A local funeral home may know if original burial records exist for inactive cemeteries. Church cemetery records may be with the church if still active or its successor. Rural cemetery burial records are sometimes kept by a longtime local business nearby such as lawn tractor business or barber shop.

The Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR Allen County Indiana Cemetery Project made cemetery readings in 1932 that may contain information available no where else. In 1982 the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana updated the cemetery readings that revealed many tombstones from 1932 were missing. The results were published in Cemetery Township books available on their www.acgsi.org website and at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The NSDAR starting taking photographs in 2008 of every existing tombstone at over 147 cemeteries in twenty townships over several years and published them on their website stating: "there are over 165,000 photos on this web site. And transcriptions for over 219,000 people." "Member volunteers visited each cemetery and photographed each tombstone. The tombstones were then transcribed exactly as they were written. There is no other information on any person other than what is listed." They have a Master Name Index.

All known Indiana cemeteries have been surveyed by SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) and whatever information was found sometimes including history, maps, and photos is on their website.

  1. Go to:
  2. Branstrator Cemetery
  3. Bullard Cemetery
  4. Covington Cemetery
  5. Greenlawn Cemetery
  6. Hamilton Cemetery
  7. Oak Grove Cemetery
  8. Turner Cemetery
  9. Union Chapel Cemetery
  10. Vermilyea Cemetery
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Covington Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Home

Street View photo from Google Maps

Modern city cemetery, office at 8408 Covington Road, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 46804
Website: http://www.covingtonmemorial.com/, recent obituaries: https://www.covingtonmemorial.com/obits

Earliest date is February 1953. Records and maps are available at the cemetery office. On Covington Road west of Greenlawn Cemetery and west of I-69.

  1. Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR Allen County Indiana Cemetery Project photos
  2. BillionGraves nearly 20,000 burials
  3. Find-A-Grave over 19,500 memorials

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-2
  2. Latitude: 41.0633; Longitude: 85.2531
  3. 1953-present: Baptist, Catholic, Juduaism, Lutheran, Veterans
  4. CDP 160.pdf eleven page October 21, 2008 engineer report to State Archeologist with maps and photos
  5. 02-2 survey form.pdf two page Cemetery Registry Survey Form, 53 acres active cemetery
  6. 02-2 survey map v.2.pdf 2007 Indiana Geological Survey map
  7. 02-2 survey map v.3.pdf black & white aerial photo of the cemetery
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Greenlawn Memorial Park

Street View photo from Google Maps

Modern city cemetery, office at 6600 Covington Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46804, west of Time Corners and east of Covington Cemetery.
Website: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/funeral-homes/fort-wayne-in/greenlawn-memorial-park/0255.

Earliest date is 1932. Records and maps are available at the cemetery office.

Find-A-Grave Greenlawn Cemetery Entrance photo
Find-A-Grave Photo
  1. BillionGraves over 21,000 burials
  2. Find-A-Grave over 24,900 memorials
  3. Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR Allen County Indiana Cemetery Project photos

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-3
  2. Latitude: 41.0625; Longitude: 85.2283
  3. 1932-present; Baptist,  Catholic,  Episcopalian/Anglican,  Judaism,  Lutheran, Veterans, Masons
  4. Greenlawn.pdf four pages maps, aerial photo
  5. 02-3 survey form.pdf Cemetery Registry Survey Form, 44 acres
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Hamilton Family Cemetery

SHAARD general location Hamilton Family Cemetery

Hamilton Family Cemetery general location circled on SHAARD map

Earliest date was 1867. No longer exists. Was located on Aboite Center Road.

The rural family cemetery was transferred March 12, 1895 to Lindenwood Cemetery from the family farm according to the Klaehn Mortuary records.

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-4
  2. Section 17, Township 30N, and Range 11E
  3. Exact location unknown, 1867-1895, 4 graves moved to Lindenwood in 1895, unknown if all graves moved
  4. 02-4 survey form.pdf

Oak Grove - Bullard Family - Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Street View photo from Google maps

City cemetery near 3801 Sleepy Hollow Lane, East side of West Jefferson Boulevard near Aboite Center Road.
Oak Grove Cemetery was originally the Bullard Family Cemetery located on Bullard Family land in Aboite township copied from a January 26, 2024 post by the Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery on Facebook.

Earliest date is November 10, 1841.

  1. Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR Allen County Indiana Cemetery Project photos
  2. BillionGraves almost 190 records
  3. Find-A-Grave has over 650 memorials

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-1
  2. Latitude 41.0486 Longitude 85.2325.
  3. 1841-2007, Veterans, 303 stones
  4. Bullard.pdf four pages maps, aerial photo
  5. 02-1 survey form.pdf Cemetery Registry Survey Form: 2.216 acres, farmers fence, most recent burial 2003

December 3, 2023 post by SAR - Anthony Halberstadt Chapter is at Allen County Public Library on Facebook:

Presentation of the Oak Grove Cemetery Restoration Project (650 graves), by Aboite (Fort Wayne) Township Trustee, Ms. Kimberly Mills to the Anthony Halberstadt Chapter on December 02, 2023. The Chapter has agreed to partner with the Township and assist in the restoration. Pictured is Chapter President Jeff Jones, agreeing with a Chapter Motion, to donate $100 of initial “seed” money.

January 26, 2024 post by the Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery on Facebook:

Cemetery Restoration Workshops will be held at Oak Grove in the spring.

January 26, 2024 post by the Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery on Facebook:

Cemetery map of Oak Grove.

February 7, 2024 post by the Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery on Facebook:

The oldest known picture taken of Oak Grove Cemetery circa 1920's. Picture is of the original entrance sign. Courtesy of Mary Elaine Bowser Wilkinson.

Turner Family Cemetery

11780 Indigo Drive Bittersweet Moors housing development, Street View photo from Google Maps

Earliest tombstone date was 1834.

Tombstones with names matching the 1932 DAR readings were seen over the years away from the cemetery location. If you know what happened to the tombstones let authorities know.

  1. 1932 Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR Allen County Indiana Cemetery Project readings
  2. Only one stone is visible, shared by Richard and Caleb Clark shown laying on the ground in the photo by Glenn Rogers.
  3. Turner Family Cemetery Aboite Township Allen County Indiana Facebook page

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    October 1, 2015 post by the Turner Family Cemetery Aboite Township Allen County Indiana on Facebook:

    This concerns the Turner Family Cemetery and the site of the Friendship Church and School which both lie on common ground within the Bittersweet Moors subdivision north of Indigo Drive (see Photos - Timeline Photos). This defunct cemetery contains nineteen graves [1], including some of the first settlers of Aboite Township. This small group of pioneers, along with Jesse Vermilyea, arrived in 1833 and was known as the Maryland Settlement [2]. One couple buried here, Mary Ann and Martin Kelley, were the first to be wed in the township [3]. Mary Ann's parents, Richard and Sallie Andrew, are also buried here. Richard Andrew became a Justice of the Peace during the first election held in the township [4]. George M. Crouse, a Civil War veteran of the 5th Cavalry, Indiana Volunteers, died in Annapolis, Maryland in 1864 [5] (ref. Company D roster on p. 461) and was buried in this cemetery. The Friendship Church and School was a log structure that served as both a school and place of Methodist worship until approximately 1880 [6].

    Early in 2013, I began a campaign to clean up and preserve what is left of the cemetery with assistance from the Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology through their Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project. I had received offers to help from members of the Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter of the NSDAR. Due to opposition within our association board of directors, I failed to receive approval to proceed. The response that I received from the board president at the time was to stop contacting outside agencies or officials. With encouragement I received from a couple of such officials, I recorded my findings. In addition to this Facebook page, there are photos with references at www.findagrave.com [7] to help spread public awareness.

    As of August, 2015, we have several new members on our association board of directors [8]. Although, I believe, there is still little chance of receiving approval for any type of restoration, my goal is to simply prevent any future desecration of the graves and to recognize the site's historical significance. Only the large gravestone of Richard and Caleb Clark is visible in the cemetery. The overgrown woodlot has suffered through decades of neglect, vandalism, and yard waste from nearby resident properties. I was informed by a member of the Allen County Genealogical Society that in 2012 a number of gravestones from the Turner Cemetery were found in the back yard of the home at 3326 Oliver Street, Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Police Department became involved but let the issue drop when it was determined that the gravestones had been there for a long time. My hope is that some type of historical marker can be erected. From what I have been reading, this type of site would probably not be eligible for an Indiana State Historical Marker. Would it be possible to obtain a marker at a more local level? In addition to this, I would like to see some "No Dumping" signs erected to minimize the future use of this woodlot as a dumping ground by Bittersweet Moors residents as well as from the Eagle Creek subdivision that borders the north side. Of course, I would need to obtain board approval for the erection of any signs.

    Although Indigo Drive is a cul-de-sac, it has a significant amount of bicycle and foot traffic due to the abundance of sidewalks within the area. These are part of the Aboite Trails network [9].

    [1] http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inal.../aboite/turner.html

    [2] http://genealogytrails.com/.../twpbio/bios-aboitetwp.html

    [3] https://archive.org/stream/historicalatlasalle00unse...

    [4] http://genealogytrails.com/.../twphis.../hist-aboitetwp.html

    [5] http://www.civilwarindex.com/.../90th_in_regiment...

    [6] http://www.acgsi.org/genweb/churches/aboitech.asp

    [7] https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr...&

    [8] http://www.newcombgroup.us/community/BittersweetMoors.html

    [9] http://www.indianatrails.com/?q=content/aboite-trails-fort-wayne

  4. Find A Grave has 22 memorials
SHAARD map

SHAARD map of Turner Cemetery location

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-5
  2. Lists address as 11780 Indigo Drive
  3. Latitude: 41.0230; Longitude: 85.2965
  4. 1834-1882; Methodist/Wesleyan, Veteran
  5. SHAARD says moved to Bullard Family Cemetery, uncertain if all graves and all parts of graves moved; in Bittersweet Moors housing development
    [None of the Turner Cemetery names are listed in Bullard Cemetery on the DAR cemetery pages. Nancy Andrew mother of Enoch Turner who donated the land for Turner Cemetery are both buried in the Bullard Cemetery]
  6. 02-5 survey form.pdf Cemetery Registry Survey Form, north of U.S. 24 and west of Homestead Road, 11790 Indigo Drive. Under Bittersweet Moors housing development. At least 19 burials with no stones.

The first cemetery was donated by Enoch Turner in 1834, and the space allotted for interment is now nearly all occupied. The first corpse here interred was that of a young Irish boy, who had been adopted into the family of Jesse Vermilyea.

Copied from the second to last paragraph on the bottom of page 145 of the History of Allen County, Indiana. Publication date 1880 Publisher Kingman Brothers on Archive.org shown below. 

The first white settlers, names like Andrew, Clark, Gouty, Kelley, and Turner, originated from the state of Maryland. 

History of Allen County, Indiana, Publication date 1880, Publisher Kingman Brothers on Archive.org.

The burial ground is now located in the Bittersweet Moors housing development. The Indiana DNR SHAARD Cemetery Registry lists the cemetery location as 11780 Indigo Drive in Section 28, Township 30N, Range 11E, with GPS Latitude: 41.0230, Longitude: 85.2965 which describes the 160-acre parcel that Enoch Turner purchased from the General Land Office of the United States on 2 September 1834.

Enoch Turner donated the ground for a cemetery in 1834, and afterward gave land for a log church which was built in 1842, and used for that purpose and also for a school-house for many years. This structure, called the Friendship Church and School was built on land next to the cemetery.

Copied from page 284 in the book Valley of the upper Maumee River, with historical account of Allen County and the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana Volume 1, Publication date 1889 on Archive.org.

Enoch Turner's first gift to the community was a lot for a cemetery, the first burial made there being that of a little Irish lad whose pathetic story draws the tribute of a passing sigh. The son of an inebriate father who had drifted into the settlement, and whose fragile wife had died from neglect, Mr. Vermilyea befriended him, but the help came too late.

Copied from page 688 of the book The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River Volume 1 by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Taylor, Samuel R., Mrs, Publication date: 1917 on Archive.org.

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Union Chapel Cemetery

Union Chapel Cemetery map location

Possible location map image from SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

No longer exists. Formerly located on the Aboite Road, west of Scott Road. Was not located in 1982 for the tombstone readings. Indiana DNR location lists as Section 10, Township 30N, Range 11E. From Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR page.

If you know anything about the location and what happened to the tombstones of this cemetery please let us know.

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-6
  2. Covington Road exact location unkown
  3. Union.pdf
  4. 02-6 survey form.pdf Cemetery Registry Survey Form, November 11, 2006

Vermilyea Cemetery

Possble Vermilyea Cemetery location map

Possible location map image from SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

Formerly located on Redding Drive and Aboite Road, near U.S. 24 South. Earliest date was 1833. No longer exists.

See Jesse Vermilyea and the Vermilyea House.

  1. Vermilyea Cemeteryon Mary Penrose Wayne Chapter NSDAR website
  2. Jesse Vermilyea in Lindenwood Cemetery on Find A Grave.

SHAARD Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)

  1. Survey Number CR-02-7
  2. Redding Drive and Aboite Road exact location unknown
  3. 1833, moved to Lindenwood Cemetery, uncertain if all graves and all parts of graves moved
  4. Vermilyea.pdf
  5. 02-7 survey form.pdf Cemetery Registry Survey Form, April 2, 2002

Was near a lock on the Wabash and Erie Canal.

Page 168, Sixth Generation, Individual 434, Jesse Vermilyea 1809-1846 and wife Maria McTaggert 1812-1849, were buried on their land then moved to Lindenwood Cemetery, on page 169 of the 240 document THE VERMILYEA FAMILY (VERMILYA, VERMILYE, VERMILYEA, VERMILYER) DESCENDANTS OF JOHANNES VERMELJE NEW YORK 1662 - 2004 COMPILED BY SANDRA VERMILYEA TODD on The Vermilyea Family website archived on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

The Vermilyea Inn Historic District 003-021-70038, 1832-1876, dated October 20, 2005. Fort Wayne Transportation, Commerce is shown on an August 2007 Indiana properties listed on the State and National Registersat the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and shown on our Google Maps.

Jesse E. Vermilyea is on page 146 of Pioneers resting in historic Lindenwood by Paulison, Arthur Marion, 1905-1989 on Archive.org.

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Page updated: February 10, 2024