Shelby Township's Seven Historical Cemeteries.

I live in Shelby Township in SE Michigan and we have seven historical cemeteries here. 

I've visited all of them and enjoyed them all. 

Conner-Price

I just realized I never wrote a post about this one!  I'll have to remedy that.  

This was a hard place to find, since it's in the middle of a residential area and back behind houses far off the street.

Also known as Disco Road Cemetery, this is the resting place of some of the township’s earliest settlers. All 17 memorials belong to members of the Conner and Price families. The oldest monument dates back to Oct. 1, 1838.

Curtis

I have written about this cemetery, but it was in a post with 5 other cemeteries.  

I think it deserves it's own post one day. 

Curtis Cemetery is home a variety of early settlers and also a veteran of the War of 1812. It's also home of the official Shelby Township tree, a 250-year-old white oak. The last burial took place in 1931.

This is the official Shelby Twp tree, a 250+ year old white oak.

I took this picture May 2019. 

If if would let me use the snip tool, I'd copy the township logo here - it's pretty cool right now. 

Ewell

Ewell Cemetery was only active for 39 years. This is a very small cemetery with 20 markers in what looks like someone's side yard and is on a somewhat busy intersection. The oldest marker belongs to one of the original settlers of the area and the last burial was in 1874.

Prestonville

The first burial was in 1828 and the cemetery is still active today.  My VFW post "adopted" it and regularly has ceremonies and puts out flags and wreaths in the veteran's section where there are 32 Civil War vets.

This is how you know there are 2 cemeteries here.  Prestonville has the green fence and St. John's has the black.  

St. John's

A lot of early German and Prussian settlers were buried here. 

St. Lawrence

St. Lawrence dates back to 1878 and is still active today.  It's affiliated with St. Lawrence Catholic Church that originally served the Irish Catholic settlers in the area. 

Utica 

This is a large and still active cemetery that has a Revolutionary War vet buried here. 

In the pamphlet I was sent from the Historical Society, there are also 2 "lost" cemeteries.  One is only noted on an 1859 plat map and then there are no other records of this cemetery.  The other was first noted on an 1875 plat map.  While there are no records of any burials here, that area is still maintained by the apartment complex that now owns the land.

Halfway to Halloween!!

Happy Half-o-ween!  

It's funny how different people have different ideas of what the halfway point is.  

Half of 365 is 182.5.  Today is 182 days - so close enough! 

I made up a "perpetual calendar" so I can always see right at a glance how many days to go.

 Moving on! 

I ordered a few things a while back, and the Spouse would put the boxes in the garage.  So, by the time I got home from work, I'd forgotten about them!   So, they stacked up and I got to open them all at once.  Now we're all caught up. 

First - I didn't think I needed any more skeletons (HA!!)

but I was poking around HalloweenCostumes.com and happened to see a 6' Frankenstein's monster skeleton on clearance!  

Regularly $90, on sale for $40, plus 15% off and some rewards?  Couldn't pass him up! 

Hey there!

My only issue is that his head is loose and spins around very easily. I'll have to fix that somehow.

And I don't even remember seeing IRL all the colors on the skull, but they're clearly there.  The picture on the website showed them much brighter. 

Next was this guy from Michael's. 

Had a $10 voucher that I needed to use and an online sale. 

He's 5' tall with the stake, so fairly substantial. 

Lastly - a couple years ago I got a white wooden cross from the dollar store.  You know, the kind you see on the side of the road, etc?   I wanted to get a couple more to add to the cemetery, to spruce up the look some.  Do you think I've been able to find any???   I looked at a couple different dollar stores last year, concentrating especially on the weeks leading up to Memorial Day and nothing.  

Then I searched & searched online and couldn't find any for less than $20!!

I don't know if I was using the wrong search words or what, but suddenly I found them for $7 at Walmart.   I grabbed them up in case they disappeared again!

I actually really like the sunflower one.  

I got 2 of each flower design.

I had planned to put them back in the box for storage, but 

Hurricane Grandson happened. 

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Thoughts to ponder..... 

Halloween is on a Friday this year.

Normally, the Spouse and I both take November 1 off work so we can take the cemetery down, move everything to the back yard and get the yard cleaned up.  Then we can put everything away at our leisure.

Do we continue that trend?  Or do we leave the cemetery up for the weekend and take Monday off work?  Not that we need any excuse to take time off work, but it would be easier because the Spawn and grandkids will be at daycare / school. 

OOooooooo - speaking of.....the grandson will be starting kindergarten this fall!  I wonder if his school will be having a Halloween party & costume parade?  Is that still a thing?  I sure hope so!  He'll be going to the same elementary school that his mom (aka the Spawn) attended, and I went to all of her's.  Can't wait to find out!

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I thought this was kind of funny.  I volunteer on a search & rescue team and each week our K9s train at different parks around the county.   This was found in a pavilion.  Somehow, I don't think this is the variety of human remains they were searching for! 

Since they all know about Chuck, 

I immediately commented back that all of my skeletons were accounted for!

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OH!  and let's acknowledge that May is also Cemetery Appreciation Month! 

 

Doing a quick Google search, it looks like Iowa is the only state that actually acknowledges it - good for them!  Iowa legislators created the State Association for the Preservation of Iowa Cemeteries in 1996 and their governor signed the proclamation.    Rhode Island also has an Advisory Commission on Historical Cemeteries... and apparently the town of Warwick gives you the opportunity to go on a cemetery scavenger hunt...????  That would be AWESEOME!!!! 

I wrote a post back in 2021 about the Seven Historical Cemeteries in the town where I live.  

Maybe it's time to revisit them? 

I found a nice post from the NecroTourist listing 30 ways to celebrate. 

So get out there and appreciate!! 

Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston SC

So, yes I did make it to Magnolia Cemetery!  I was actually slightly disappointed after being in the Bethany Cemetery with all the beautiful perpetual care plots, Magnolia seemed run-down.  I shouldn't have been surprised - I really can't expect stones 150+ years old to be perfect!  There was still plenty to see and admire. 

Anyhoo.  I was excited to be there, I couldn't wait to see what I'd find!  

...which caused me to do this....

I did actually want to SEE an alligator, so I went and stood here for a bit. 

It was a garden dedicated to a cemetery trustee. 

This was quite fantastic.  A whole section dedicated to SC military from the Civil War. 

This was a whole row of CSA Navy Unknowns.  

The one with the flag stood out, so I checked it out. 

"Unknown Child of the Confederacy"

Call me weird, but in my heart, I feel as tho it was a little girl and 

she's in the middle of all these sailors who are protecting her.  

More unknown sailors. 

It was very beautiful, if overgrown. 

The 3 photos following this are detail shots of the angels at the top of this enormous & beautiful monument. 

The Palmetto Guards, from what I found, were the 2nd Regiment of the South Carolina Infantry during the Civil War and was one of Robert E. Lee's elite 'shock' troops. 

I saw a Lockwood Blvd in my travels around town, so maybe he was a local?

The color of these side stones caught my attention....

...then I noticed the fire plugs at all 4 corners.....

Now that makes sense!

This fence is beautiful!

I was stepping out from peeking inside this pyramid when I literally almost ran into an elderly couple from Mobile, Alabama.  I had a nice chat with them.  He pointed out the where the H.L. Hunley Memorial was, and told me that I wasn't likely to see any alligators because they'd be tucked in the reeds where it was cool. 

This one was shaped like a shell.  I wonder what had been in the center?

This mausoleum was very run down. The corner pieces had fallen off that front right corner.

...Looking inside

Nope.  Not going in! 

The family name is White.  Wonder where they are now? 

These faced the tidal area, so it surprised me that the door is open.  

The back part is covered in mud, but the front still shows the checkered tiles. 

I saw several of these, with the rings at each corner.  But the words on this one appear to be backwards!

The H.L. Hunley memorial section. 

I was surprised at first at how small it is, but a Civil War submarine wouldn't have as large a crew as today's subs do! 

There is a large stone for each of the 3 original crews. 

How unusual!

Close up of the crest with a knight. 

The trees here, too!

This is similar to the view that the White & Vanderhorst Mausoleums above had. 

What a view!

I'd love to know the reason behind the design of this one. 

The sign reads about "the Seven To Save", raising funds to stabilize the original 7 receiving vaults in the cemetery. 

I'd only seen pictures of stones like before and had never dreamed to see one in real life!  

I was so intrigued with this, that I didn't get a good look at the 2 on the other side.  They look interesting, too. 

This was for a 3 year old girl.  

I tried to get a picture of the inscription on the book, but it didn't turn out. 

I don't recall seeing a name on this, just scripture around the edge. 

Love the tree. 

Beautiful!

I'm pretty sure these following stones were actually part of the neighboring St. Lawrence Cemetery.  There was no fence separating them, but you could kind of tell they were apart. 

All the nuns' stones kind of gave it away!

Sad.

Baby Section.  Even more sad.

I would have liked to explore all the other cemeteries right in that area, but the hours in the heat & humidity were really getting to me and stupid me hadn't taken anything to drink.  As it was, the last half of these pictures were taken from the car.  

Guess that means I have a reason to go back to SC!  We really didn't get a chance to explore the historical areas at all or see any plantations, so....next time!