Seceder Cemetery

Clover Family Research Compendium



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Seceder Cemetery, Clarion County, Pennsylvania


October 2009 note:
Dave Craig tells me that he was at Seceder Cemetery in October of this year. The tombstones of William Corbett and Hiram Clover, son of Philip and Isabella Clover had been broken and were on the ground.  He has since had them fixed and reset. Such vandalism is so very sad. This is such an old and important cemetery. I am sure all of us are grateful that Dave craig has taken on this task.  We all need to keep our eyes on old cemeteries.

On this Page
    1948 Reading of Cemetery from NGSQ
    1962 Newspaper Article on the Cemetery

Cemetery
Thanks to Dave Craig for sharing this picture.

Pictures of the tombstones in Seceder Cemetery can be found at the following site.  It also has links to some of the other cemeteries in Clarion County.
http://www.pa-roots.com/index.php/clarion-county/150-clarion-county-cemeteries/423-old-seceder-cemetery-clarion-county 
 Please note that the tombstones for Philip Clover Sr. and Mary Cooper Clover were installed in the 20th century.  You can tell the tombstones are not old by the type of stone used and the style.  The DAR plaques are dated June 1975 and I suspect all of these were put in at the same time. 

This is a picture sent by Deb Ciroli of the NEW stones.
New Tombstones


Clarion County Cemetery Record
 
  There are several versions of this cemetery reading floating around the internet.  Unfortunately, some misguided individuals have added names to the list because they thought other people were buried here.  It is quite possible that some of them were. Nevertheless, that is just a theory. To help with this problem, I am publishing here the entire 1948 reading of the Old Seceders’ Cemetery, Clarion County, Pennsylvania. I am told that this cemetery is located off Route 66 to the east about 1,000 feet I-80, just before you get to Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania. Abbreviations are from the original publication. 


National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 36, 1948, page 83.

Inscriptions from Old Seceders’ Cemetery, Clarion County, Pennsylvania
Copied by Mrs. John F. Kuhns and Miss Miriam Kuhns, 170 E. 35th St., Erie, PA.

Cochrane, Anna Catherine, dau of W. F. and S. M. Cochrane, d. 2 Sept 1863, aged 4 years.
Cochrane, Joseph, d. 19 Nov 1871, aged 64 years, 9 months.
Cochrane, Catherine, w. of Joseph, b. 18 Apr 1800, d. 26 Sept 1885
Cochrane, Mary Elvira, dau ofJ. L. and C., d. 17 Nov 1847

Cochran, I. M. Co E 188th PA Inf   (No dates given.)
Cochran, John (old stone, undecipeherable)
Corbett, William d. 16 May 1831, aged 80 years
Corbett, Sarah, w. of William, d. 24 Nov 1828, aged 72 years.
Corbett, John C., d. 30 March 1853, aged 74 years, 5 mo. 1 da.
Corbett, Theodore, s. of S. T. And P., d. 4 Feb 1837, aged 22 mo.
Clover, Hiram, s. of Philip and Isabella b. 26 June 1853; d. 21 Mar 1878 [picture clearly shows Hiram H. Clover.  See page on Philip Clover, son of Philip for photo]
Clover, Rev. Philip, b. 6 June 1795, d. 12 Apr. 1888
Clover, Isabella, w. of Rev. Philip, d. 18 Sept 1886, age 68
Clover, Frances w. of Rev. Philip no dates given
Cuthrie, John d. 23 Sept 1839, aged 64 yr 9 mo 6 da [I am told these should have read Guthrie.]
Cuthrie, Jane 18 July 1833, aged 64 yr.
Gibson, William d. 12 Jan 1843, aged 60yrs
Gibson, Margaret b. 21 Oct 1794 d. 11 Dec 1868
Gibson, Jane b. 3 Dec 1806; d. 15 Aug 1880
Galbraith, Caroline wife of William d. 3 June 1818 aged 21 yr 7 mo.
Jones, John d. 24 Dec 1858, aged 77 yr 10 mo 14 da.
Jones, Catherine, w. of John, d. 14 Sept 1861, aged 68 yr 12 da [Reading below gives 1851 death date.]
Jones, Peter, died 17 May 1829, aged 77 yr
Jones, Rebecca, d. 27 June 1832, aged 73 yr.
McGarrah, Eleanor, w. of Joseph, d. 6 Jan 1827, aged 34 yr
McGarrah, Jasper, s. of R. And L. S., d. 1840, aged 27 years
McGarrah, Agatha dau of of J. G. And A. L., d. 3 July 1840, aged 8 yr.
McGarrh, Alexander s. of R. And L., d. 26 June 1825, aged 3 mo.
Mitchell, Margaret, w. of John, d. 11 Oct 1856, aged 77 yr 3 mo 10 da
Mitchell, Elizabeth w. of William, d. 25 Apr 1827, aged 69 yr
Maffett, Nancy, w. of John, d. 3 May 1830, aged 26 yr
Maxwell, Robert, d. 17 Mar 1847, aged 79 yr
Maxwell, Ann, w. of Robert, d. 15 July 1882, aged 36 yr
Potter, James d. 14 Feb 1855
Potter, Mary w. of James d. 4 Oct. 1819, aged 45 yrs.
Potter, Eli, d. 20 June 1832, aged 23 yr
Potter, LeBurn H., s. of J. And B., d. 13 Aug 1843, aged 3 yr
Potter, James, s. of John and Nancy, d. 20 Feb 1836, aged 10 yr
Potter, Adam, d. 20 Jan 1834, aged 20 yr
Potter, Robert, s. of John and Nancy, d. 14 May 1834, aged 26 yr
Speer, James, d. 22 Jan 1873, aged 72 yr
Speer, Sarah, w. of James, d. 2 Feb 1892, aged 81 yr
Speer, James, Sr., aged 101 yr 6 mo.
Speer, George and Samuel, (New stone, no dates)
Williams, Joseph d. 2 Feb 1830, aged 17 yr
Wilson, Robert, d. 21 May 1832 aged 58 yr
Wilson, Sarah w. of Robert, d. 25 Mar 1823, aged 41 yr
Wilson, Mark, d. 1 June 1849, aged 74 yr 7 mo 20 da
Wilson, John 1791 to 1841. “He served his country in the War of 1812.” (New stone)
Wilson, Nancy, infant dau of Samuel and Jean Love Wilson, who left Ardstraw, County Tyrone, Ireland, in the year 1798 to accompany her parents to the USA She d. and was bur at sea, aged 4 yr. 

There were two later readings of this cemetery. 

Oil City (Pennsylvania) Derrick, 1963--Newspaper Clipping sent by Dave Craig.  He also transcribed this for us. The transcription is after the clipping.  It does not include age information as does the previous reading.  However it does include some corrections and a Clover not found on the above list:
Catherine Clover, died April 12, 1823.  
Margaret Clover, died Feb. 1, 1846
Right now, I don't know who they were because they did not include age at death or birth date.
The big advantage to this reading is that it appears that the tombstones were listed in order where the original list was alphbetized.  That makes it easy to read but it is hard to tell who belongs with whom.


Newspaper Clipping
Clarion County's Oldest Burial Grounds Dates Back Many Years

Editor's Note. We are grateful to Mrs. Pearl Ion Miller of Clarion, for her efforts, spending many hours in making the survey of the cemetery monuments at old Seceder Cemetery, as well as supplying the basic facts for this feature story on Clarion's County's oldest burial plot

by John P. Baker Derrick Staff Writer

Oil City Derrick Newspaper 1963
        Clarion-- It is now just 162 years ago, dating back to the years of 1801 and 1802, that a number of men and women with a courage beyond belief, left their well organized homes in eastern Pennysylvania to come to a point near here, identified as "Brush Run" to settle and earn a livelihood and to rear their families.
        When they arrived in the Brush Run area only a few miles from Clarion, the area was nothing less than a vast wilderness, unbroken and inhabitated only by indians and wild animals, and the by-ways for travel through the then dense forest were only narrow trails formed by the indians population.
        According to history, two groups of these early settlers came to the Brush Run district, one group from Centre County and the other from Westmoreland County. Although migrating in separate areas, they settles quite close to each others, without knowing of each others presence, so dense was the forest.
        In this area where these sturdy pioneers settled it is said the first church was built in the year 1808, and it was identified as the "Reboboth Presbyterian Church". It was said to have been a rather crude edifice, constructed of round logs cut down in the forest area where it was construced, the bark peeled from them, and then the logs joined to form the church building. The building was said to have been 20 by 30 feet in size, and for interior lighting, window openings were provided. however greased paper was used in the opening, since glass was not available in that era.
        Then in 1822, the Presbyterians decided to leave this area, and they built a new church approximately a mile north east of where the origninal church stood and their structure was identified as the new "Rehoboth Presbyterian church". To be more exact of the location, this church stood just east of the present Owens-Illonis pumping station along route 66, near Mechanicsville.
        Then came another church identified as "Seceder Church", built by the associate Presbyterians, which were organized in 1808. This new church was built near the orignial Rebohoth Presbyterian church, at the bottom of the grade from the orignial Presbyterians Church and close to the roadway.
        According to history, the building was constructed of two inch planks, was 40 by 70 feet in size and accommodated around 150 people in its seating capacity. It remained in use until 1877. The burial grounds on the hill above this church building has since been identified as "Seceder Cemetery", and it is said that it was the only place of burial for miles around in that era.
        After the inception of this cemetery, a fence was erected around the burial plot, however this fence has long since crumpled to ruin, and many of the beautiful grave stones that marked the resting places of the early pioneers who were buried there, have been broken, and many have fallen on the top of the graves.
        On August 1, 1959, however, when a survey of the markers of the cemetery was made, it was discovered that there were still more than 70 legible markers in the burial plot, while it was also discovered that many of the graves were marked with a common field stone, erected in an upright position.
        At this point, it is well to mention that the area of ground where the old Seceder cemetery is located, was property owned by the Late Judge Theo. L. Wilson, and in his last will and testament, he bequeathed to the First Seneca Bank and Trust Co. 50 shares of Standard Oils stock, together with any stock dividends, which may later be declared, for such part of the income, therefrom, as may be required to clean up and maintain the old Seceder Cemetery.
        This declaration concerning the Seceder cemetery project, was stipulated in the last will and testament of the Late Judge Theo. L. Wilson, and since that time, Morris J. Baldwim, trust officer of the local banking istitution has carried out the wishes of Judge Wilson and the cemetery has been well groomed and a new roadway constructed to the burial plot from route 66.
        It was noted in a section of the late Judge Wilson's will, that his great-great grandmother, Jean Wilson, his grandparents, Robert and Sarah McConnell Wilson and John Wilson, an uncle of Judge Wilson are buried in the Seceder Plot.
        A roadside sign, in addition to the cleaning up and roadway project, has been placed along route 66 bt Mr. Baldwin, identifying the entrance to the old cemetery, and Mr. Baldwin said that people of the area interested in visiting the scene of old Seceder cemetery are welcome to do so.
        In other information concerning the churches and Seceder cemetery, it was discovered in the memories of the late Judge, Peter Clover born in the Brush Run settlement in 1804, that the first death was James McFadin, an infant son of Philip and Sarah Roll Clover. The child was christened "Paul". Child and parents were buried in Seceder cemetery
        When a survey of the Seceder cemetery was made by an interested party in 1959, before the renovation program to the burial spot, it was grown up with many wild bushes, weeds and the sort of growth that develops in wooded areas over a period of years.
        The party making the survey pointed out that while looking over the graves at Seceder, two deer arose from between grave stones, gazed at the person momentarily, then treked away into the deeper woods.
         The Surveying individual also remarked that the only graves in the burial plot that gave forth any signs of being attended, were those of the family of the late Judge Theo L. Wilson. Many of the names on the markers, it was said, had been hidden by green moss which had formed on the faces of the markers.
        In looking over the memorial stones, the individual making the survey remarked in the survey notes, that the oldest stone with a legible name was that of Mary, wife of James Potter, died Oct. 4, 1812, at the age of 45 years. But the individual making the marker survey stated that "it is well known that there were earlier burials in Seceder cemetery, however no markers were placed at the burial plots.
        Here we will give the listing of the legible markers in old Seceder cemetery, from the survey made as of August 11, 1959:
Mark Williams, died June 5, 1849.
Mary and Elvira Cochran, died Nov. 117, 1842
Mary Catherine Cochran, died Sept 2, 1863
Catherine Cochran, died Sept. 26, 1885
J. M. Cochran, died 1865
Joseph Cochran, died Nov. 19, 1871
James Speer, died Jan. 22, 1873
Sarah Speer, died Feb. 2, 1892
James Speer, no date of death
George and Samuel Speer, no death date
Samuel Kady, died Nov. 12, 1854
Margaret Mitchell, died Oct. 11, 1856
Elizabeth, consort of Wm. Mitchell, died April 25, 1827
W. C. Mitchell, died Oct. 13, 1851
Rev. Philip Clover, died April 12, 1888
Margaret Clover, died Feb. 1, 1846
John M. McCormick, died July 4, 1810
Walker (No first name) died Oct. 25, 1815
Theodore Corbett, died Feb. 4, 1837
Rt. Alexander McGarrah, died June 26, 1825
Elenor McGarrah, died Jan. 6, 1827
Huddah McGarrah, died 1826
Twins Joseph and Elenor McGarrah, died Feb. 29, 1823
Nancy E. Maffett, died May 3, 18--
Jane Guthrie, died Sept. 23, 1839
Robert E. Potter, died May 14, 1834
Eli Potter, died June 30, 1832
Adam Potter, died Jan. 20, 1834
Lebrum H. Potter, died Aug. 12, 1843
James M. Potter, died Feb. 20, 1836
William Gibson, died Feb. 20, 1836
Margaret Gibson, died Oct. 21, 1784
Joseph Williams, died Feb. 2, 1850
James Potter, died Feb. 14, 1855
Mary Potter, died Oct. 3, 1812
Sarah Wilson, died May 21 1849
Frances Clover, died Aug. 7, 1842
Catherine Clover, died April 12, 1823
Frances Clover, first wife of Rev. Clover, died Dec. 28, 1817
Hiram Clover, died March 21, 1878
Isabelle Cathcart Clover, second wife of Rev. Philip Clover, died Sept. 18, 1888
John Q. Port, died July 6, 1851
Ann Port, died March 9, 1842
Margaret Ann Port, died Jan. 16, 1846
Lavellon Port, died Dec. 1, 1851
Smith Whiteman, died Dec. 17, 1923. Note this person was the last individual burined in old Seceder cemetery.
John Jones, died Dec. 24, 1858
Rebecca Jones, died March 20, 1831
Catherine Jones, died Sept. 14, 1851
Peter Jones, died May 12, 1829
Robert Maxwell, died March 17, 1877
Ann Maxwell died July 15, 1859
Margaret Dunlap died April 20, 1817
John C. Corbett, died March 20, 1853
Sarah Corbett, died Nov. 25, 1828
William Corbett, died May 13, 1831
Joseph M. McCormick, died Dec. 7, 1840
John Wilson, no death date on stone
John Roll Jr., died Jan. 15, 1816
Samuel George, died Aug. 10, 1884
John M. Guthrie, no death date on stone
Adam McConnell, died June 21, 1842
        It is interesting to note that a Nancy Wilson, infant daughter of Samuel and Jean Love Wilson, who left Ardstraw County, Throne, Ireland in the year 1798 to accompany her parents to the USA died and was buried at sea at the age of four years. A memorial stone was erected for her in the Seceder cemetery in the Wilson plot.
        It states of John Wilson, an ancestor of the late Judge Theo L. Wilson, who bequeathed money in his will to care for the Seceder cemetery, that he served his country in the War of 1812. However, there are no birth or death dates shown.
        Another interesting inscription on a monuments lists John Roll Jr. 7-Co. 8 Bn. Cumberland C. Penna., Rev War. Born Jan 12, 1725, died Jan. 15, 1816. This monument was placed at the Roll burial spot in his honor April 12, 1950.
        As stated previously, in the last will and testament of Judge Theo. L. Wilson, he named the First Seneca Bank and Trust Co., of Clarion, to have the direction of the care and maintenance of this burial plot, thought to be the first in what is new Clarion County.
        Through the efforts of Mr. Baldwin, Henry M. Amsler, Robert Walter, Clarion township supervisors and Fred S. Port and Son, who deeded over land adjacent to the cemetery property, an approach and driveway was established from highway Route 66 to the cemetery area.
        The road project has been completed. It has been surfaced with limestone chips, making it accessible to travel at any time of the year. The roadway makes a complete circle of the burial spot.
        This marks number two of cemeteries of the early history of Clarion county to be brought to the limelight by the clearing of heavy underbrush and weeds; so that the general public may have an opportunity to visit these Clarion county historical spots. The one besides Seceder, is St. John Lutheran, located at the edge of the Village of Fryburg.