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Venango County Cemeteries

ASBURY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CEMETERY

In the northern part of Venango County, Allegheny Township, near Pleasantville, there is a small burial ground known as Asbury Cemetery. From old records we believe the first frame meeting house of the Methodist Episcopal Church of this area was erected about 1821. The meeting house was named Asbury Chapel probably in honor of Francis Asbury (1745 - 1816), an English-born American clergyman who broke with the English Methodists in 1787 and established the Methodist Episcopal Church in America.


The Asbury Chapel building was still standing in 1868. The structure was gone by the early 1900s and the only evidence of this sacred spot is the abandoned cemetery located there.


Ken Waddell of Pleasantville recently spent many hours cleaning up this cemetery. He removed numerous fallen trees and limbs, mowed and cut out briars and overgrown shrubs. His generosity enabled a group of Venango County Historical Society members and friends of the Society to go there on Oct. 31, 2010 to record the names on these beautiful markers. Jim and Donna Sheeley, Margo Mong, Jim and Rachel Ashbaugh, Cliff and Penny Minnick, along with Ken Waddell spent some exciting hours among the stones.


The earliest known burial is that of James Dawson who died March 13, 1814 at the age of 61 years. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1829 at age of 71 years. A tree has enveloped her marker. Many young children of the Dawson families are buried here.


Hugh McCullough, who served in the Civil War, died Sept. 8, 1863 age 36 years. Private McCullough left a wife, Hannah and at least 4 young children. The family had already lost a 6 month old child, Isaac Dawson McCullough, in 1861. Their 9 year old son, William, died in 1865.


Another pioneer family with burials at Asbury is the Siggins family. Nathaniel H. was born May 15, 1807 and died May 2, 1874. His wife, Emeline H. was born July 22, 1813 and died March 11, 1852. Nathaniel married Elizabeth after the death of his first wife. Elizabeth died January 15, 1864.


A beautiful white bronze monument is located here to mark the burial spot for Hugh Marshall who was born January 28, 1827 in Beaver County, PA and died in 1898 at the age of 71 years, 10 months and 21 days. This type of marker is actually made of molded metal and when left exposed to the elements rapidly forms a tough skin of zinc carbonate that protects the underlying metal and also gives it the characteristic bluish gray color. This type of monument was ordered from a sales agent and was much less expensive than the marble and granite markers. There were various shapes available and you could also choose symbols and panels for each side. These panels were screwed on and could easily be removed and replaced with new castings with updated information when other family members died.


Other interesting finds while recording the tombstones are the various epitaphs. Eliza Copeland, wife of Pareus T. Copeland, died February 13, 1852. The inscription on her marker reads: Friend nor physician could not save the mortal body from the grave, nor can the grave confine it here, when Christ shall call it to appear.


Mary Dawson, the 1 year old daughter of William and Sarah Dawson, died January 10, 1853. Her father, William, died the next day and their names are inscribed on one marker with the following epitaph: They were lovely in their lives and in their death were not divided


Martha A. Dunham died January 9, 1879, aged 17 years, 6 months and 7 days. She was the daughter of Thomas and Clarissa Haworth and the young wife of B. O. Dunham. Her epitaph reads: Sleep on dear girl and take thy rest, God carried you home. He thought it best.


harrisoncarpenter.jpgAnother marker tells us how one little boy died. His tombstone reads:
Harrison, Son of John G. and Clarinda Carpenter, Who was drowned in the Tionesta July 11, 1844. Aged 5 years and 27 days.


Within a badly rusted iron fence enclosure are the following headstones: Ann Gennett, wife of Perry Cleland, died July 3, 1845, aged 24 years; Anna, wife of Rev. Salmeron Smith, died Dec. 30, 1843, aged 52 years, 5 months and 6 days; Adaliza M, daughter of S. & E. Smith, died October 14, 1851, 1 year 10 months and 20 days; Flora, daughter of S. & E. Smith, died February 5, 1864, age 2 years 2 months and 2 days.


In 1932 Helen Morrison recorded many of the markers in this cemetery for an article she did for the Titusville Herald. In 1989 Glenn R. P. Atwell completed a survey which provided researchers with a list of stones still in existence at Asbury. Alice Morrison, Helen and Bill Ray and Charlotte Ward have also visited numerous old cemeteries during the past 50 years to record names and dates.


In the last few years Don Heeter and Jim Moltz have been visiting most of the rural cemeteries in Venango County paying tribute to the known Veterans buried there and making sure they are marked with a flag. Without the folks listed above and others like them who have taken the time to record the names and dates on the tombstones in our early burial grounds, so much of our history would be lost. We thank them and sincerely appreciate what they have done.


There are many cemeteries similar to this one in Venango County that are being cared for by people who live in the area. Our heartfelt thanks go to them for preserving these sacred burial grounds of our ancestors.

Contributor
Submitted by:Penny Minnick