Helen L. (Steele) Lehman, wife/o Joseph Lehman of Dayton, Ohio, a Michel Lehmann descendant
C. J. Egetter, descendant of Joseph Zinck

"The first burying ground of the Catholics of Dayton bore the name of St. Henry's Cemetery. In September 1844 one-half of out-lot No. 27 was purchased by Archbishop Purcell of Thomas Morrison, for $305.

March 2, 1853, the south of the same lot was purchased of E. W. Davies, for $800. These two pieces of ground constituted St. Henry's Cemetery. This was the only burying place for Catholics for many years, and by 1872 had became so crowded as to lead to the establishment of Calvary Cemetery.

On April 10, 1901, by decree of the court, $15,412.48, the amount received from R. P. Burkhardt, treasurer of St. Henry's Cemetery, for the sale of said cemetery, was devoted to the erecting of a mortuary chapel, on the lot donated by the directors of Calvary cemetery for the 4,013 unclaimed remains buried therein from St. Henry's cemetery. ....and dedicated November 1, 1902 by the Rev. Carl J. Hahne (pastor of Emmanuel Church), president of the board of directors of Calvary cemetery, and will stand as a fitting memorial ...."
(Source: 1999, Helen L. (Steele) Lehman: Drury, Rev. A. W., History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio 1909, pp. 602-603)

1999, Helen L. (Steele) Lehman wrote:

"My husband's elderly aunts remember the remains of the old St. Henry's. It was located in the near south side of town very near the county fairgrounds, off South Main Street. It's hard now to imagine a cemetery in that area because it is so heavily populated and the houses are so close together."

Many of our ancestors worshipped at the Emmanuel Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati with the very early priests being sent to Dayton from Cincinnati, Ohio. The Church is located at 149 Franklin Street in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. The early records (mainly burial/funeral) at Emmanuel are in a combination of Latin, German and old style English. In recent years the parish records have been closely guarded.
(Source: Feb 1999, Helen L. (Steele) Lehman) who also says: Drury, Rev. A. W., History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio 1909 "gives very good details about Emmanuel Church and various other churches and cemeteries in Montgomery County."

"One more item of interest that occurred during one of my visits to Emmanuel [Catholic Church], back in the late 1970's or early 1980's, is when I questioned Father McKay about St. Henry's he told me that Emmanuel had an account book from the very early burials at St. Henry's. This book included monies paid for 'keeping a body in the crept.' Evidently, when someone died too late in the day to be buried that day, they would store the bodies in the crept until proper burial the next day. The charge was one cent!"

2007, Helen L. (Steele) Lehman wrote concerning the process of removing remains from St. Henry's Cemetery to Calvary Cemetery:
"Notices were actually put in newspapers, church bulletins, diocesan publications, etc. informing families who had loved ones buried at St. Henry's of the removal of all remains. From what Joe's aunts (Thelma F. Lehman b 1911 & Luella Lehman b 1910) told me years ago, most families bought plots at the 'new' (Calvary) cemetery, usually 6-8 graves. They then moved remains to the plots. Almost all the families I've researched have subsequently buried a later generation on top of the St. Henry's removals. As for the Calvary records, the actual plot maps is where I first found Michael & his wife, "Belinda". Heaven only knows how the original recordings were made. If memory serves me correctly, several thousand bodies were transferred and any unclaimed remains are buried under the chapel on the hill. It was actually dedicated to the unclaimed remains of St. Henry's Cemetery. I think it's the cornerstone that I've read the dedication engraved on."

2007, Helen L. (Steele) Lehman sent this latest information.
"...Miami Valley Hospital, National Cash Register, the University of Dayton, and National City Bank have been buying-up older homes in the area bordered by Main-Brown-Wyoming-Stewart Streets. They refurbish, sometimes very extensively, and sell these homes to people like our daughter, a nurse, who works in the area and to people who will improve the neighborhood. I told our daughter when she took us to see the house, before she bought it, that I was almost sure it was on the old St. Henry Cemetery ground. ... I went down to the Montgomery County Library/Archives and pulled out the old maps. ...her house sits on her ancestors' burial ground.

... She joined the neighborhood association right after she moved in. About a year later, they were excavating for an addition to the hospital. Attending the neighborhood meeting one cool fall evening, the big topic was that human bones were found during a recent excavation. So, being the daughter of the family genealogist, she begins to tell them about the cemetery that was moved in 1877, etc., etc. I set her straight (My family wasn't around Dayton that early.)... 'those are your and your father's ancestors.' Need I say she believes me when I tell her that her G-G-G-Great Grandfather Michael Lehman[n] (who was originally buried at St. Henry's) is watching her every move!"

2007, Helen L. (Steele) Lehman note about Section 10 in Calvary Cemetery:
"Section 10 was not necessarily the 'potter's field'" as some may think. "I remember my Grandpa Magoto/Magoteaux telling me that 'many years ago' they buried some people in the 'top' of Section 10 if they died of something that wasn't identified (kind of like a quarantine) and the bottom of Section 10 was always called the Baby Section. I actually have a brother who died in infancy (1947), before I was born, buried in Section 10. At one time, Calvary Cemetery had very definite divisions. Mixed marriages (a Catholic & a non-Catholic) had a section. Clergy (priest, brothers, nuns) had a section. It's obviously not that way any more...but then neither is the Catholic church and that's who owns Calvary Cemetery, the Catholic parishes in the Dayton area."