Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Haunted Beech Grove

Beech Grove, Indiana (October 24, 2017) — Lick Creek Cemetery, sometimes called Blackwell Cemetery, or even the 13th Street Cemetery, was located at the intersection of Churchman Avenue and 13th Street, in Beech Grove, Indiana.

The current location of what is now Sarah T. Bolton Park was the site of The Lick Creek Baptist Church and it should be noted that this was also the first church in Perry Township. It was organized at the house of David Fisher (now the Ritzinger Farm), in the spring of 1826, by Abram Smock.

Sarah T. Bolton Park Entrance

The square area upon which the church stood was leased on June 23, 1849 to the Lick Creek Baptist Church for a period of ninety nine years, with certain restrictions enjoined. A simple, one room, two-front-door church had been erected about 1850, on the brow of the hill, east of Lick Creek and near the center point of the east boundary line.

By reason of deaths and by the removals of members, the Lick Creek Church was disbanded in 1866. Its building was torn down and the material removed to Indianapolis around 1867. There it was rebuilt for the use of a Black Baptist church.

The Lick Creek Baptist Cemetery (13th Street Cemetery) adjoining the church, abandoned at the dissolving of the church, was located at what is now the entrance to the Beech Grove Park at Churchman and 13th Streets.

Sarah T. Bolton Park may still have bodies buried

Sometime in the 1930's the city of Beech Grove approved and purchased the cemetery property from the estate of Sarah T. Bolton. In hopes of "cleaning up the image of the area", the overgrown, often vandalized, wooden and slate markers were removed, and allegedly all those interred were relocated to another unknown location.

Sarah T. Bolton

In recent years, evidence has surfaced that this relocation might not have happened and there is creditable proof that the bodies are still buried at this location and the gravestones were removed and simply placed on top of the bodies. The property was converted to a park - first named Beech Grove Park, later Sarah T. Bolton Park.

Partial list of those possibly still buried at the park 

Adair, George W., d. Sep 10, 1841, 6y 6m 9d, s/o W. C. & M.
Barnes, Mrs, d. Sep 29, 1838, 33y 6m 27d, w/o George A.
Bentley, Sarah E., b. Jan 26, 1830, d. Dec 23, 1865, w/o Joseph
Bodkin, Margaret, d. Oct 26, 1845, 53y
Bodkin, Mary E., d. Nov 12, 1846, 14y 2m 13d, d/o Alex & I.
Bodkin, Sarah A., d. Feb 7, 1847, 7y 11m, d/o Alex & I.
Bryan, Elizabeth, d. May 31, 1872, 63y 2d, w/o Thomas
Bryan, Thomas, d. Nov 28, 1857, 70y 8m 8d
Coffman, Henry L., d. Oct 5, 1811, 36y 11m 9d
Coverdill, James N., b. Mar 12, 1846, d. May 26, 1867, s/o Purnil & Mary
Coverdill, Lavinia, d. May 15, 1838, 60y, w/o Richard
Coverdill, Mary, b. Nov 22, 1809, d. Mar 24, 1847, w/o Purnil
Coverdill, Purnil, b. Aug 8, 1808, d. May 1, 1851
Coverdill, Richard, d. Dec 4, 1880, 23y 11m 8d
Coverdill, William A., d. Oct 13, 1856, 18y 11m, s/o Purnil & Mary
Evans, Margaret, d. Dec 5, 1883, 85y 3m, w/o William
Evans, William, d. Dec, 1871, 73y 4m 8d, h/o Margaret
Evens, Clarindia, d. Oct 15, 1864, 18y 1m 8d, d/o W. & M.
Fisher, Cynthia A., b. Dec 4, 1838, d. Dec 4, 1838, d/o Owen & Sarah
Fisher, David K., d. Feb 5, 1854, 2y 1m 28d, s/o John D. & Mary
Fisher, Elizabeth, d. Sep 28, 1855, 27y 10m 13d, w/o David
Fisher, Esther (Harris), d. Dec 28, 1869, 27y 7m 1d, w/o J. P.
Fisher, Mary J. (Wright), d. May 6, 1856, 23y 6m 6d, w/o J. P, d/o Adam & Sarah
Garle, Nancy A., d. Aug 29, 1851, 26y 1m 4d, w/o William E.
Gilbert, David, d. May 9, 1876, 7y 2m 9d, s/o N. & Parthina
Gilbert, Dotia A., d. Oct 2, 1865, 23y, w/o Nelson
Gilbert, Sally, d. Sep 17, 865, 11m, d/o N. & D.
Graham, John, d. Oct 10, 1829, 27y 8m 22d
Graham, Phanuel C., d. Feb 18, 1880, 82y 1m
Graham, Sarah M., d. Jan 27, 1873, 42y
Graham, Thomas W., d. May 7, 1858, 28y 11m 17d
Hobart, Emmeline, d. Dec 9, 1844, 15y 2m 4d, d/o John & Naomi
Jennings, Mary E., b. May 9, 1845, d. Apr 4, ?, d/o A. S. & F.
Jordan, Andrew J., d. Aug 16, 1838, 22y
Judd, Phineas, d. Oct 3, 1827, 27y
Lewis, Martha, d. May 24, 1872, 63y 2d, w/o John W.
Marrtin, Eliza, d. Jan 27, 1867, 63y
Martin, Alfred, Sr., d. Oct 7, 1855, 60y 5m 12d
Martin, James, d. Mar 5, 1865, 36y 8m
McCollum, Emma Ora, d. Jul 11, 1868, 4m 27d, d/o James F. & M.
McCoy, Hannah B., d. Jan 30, 1862, 18y
McCoy, Richard P., d. Oct 15, 1862, 24y
McFall, Catharine, d. Sep 30, ?, d/o J. S. & Mary
McFall, Martha, d. Jul 13, 1838, 2y 7d, d/o James S. & Mary
McFall, Mary E., d. Jan 20, 1865, 62y 3m 21d, w/o J. S.
McFall?, James?, d. Jul 18, 1863, 59y 9m 11d
McFarland, Benjamin, d. Apr 11, 1860
McFarland, Mary, d. Apr 7, 1855, 81y 9m 1d, w/o Benjamin
McFarland, Thomas, no dates, 16y 10m 12d
McLaughlin, James, b. Feb, 1799, d. Dec, 1837
McLaughlin, Mary Ann Kimberly, b. Jan 11, 1809, d. Jan 26, 1854
McMullen, James, d. Feb 19, 1852, 77y
McMullen, Mary M., d. Apr 4, 1857, d/o J. & O.
McMullen, Mary, d. May 29, 1845, 67y, w/o J.
McMullen, William L., d. Jan 10, 1850, 1y 4m 23d, s/o J. & O.
McMullin, Hubbard F., d. Apr 13, 1900, 26y 4m 24d
McMullin, John, d. Sep 30, 1869, 58y 9m 11d
McMullin, Olive, d. Apr 18, 1882, 69y 7m 8d
Minteeth, Mary E., d. Dec 22, 1854, 64y, w/o William
Minteeth, Wesley P., d. Apr 3, 1850, 23y 4m 7d
Monroe, Lilly, b. 1896, d. 1901, d/o Phillip & Catherine
Montugue, Martha C., d. Dec 17, 1848, 2y 5m 15d, d/o William & Martha
Montugue, Martha, b. Feb 29, 1823, d. Mar 26, 1880
Montugue, William, b. May 7, 1811, d. Sep 2, 1861
Reynolds, Alice Mae (Crider), b. Jun 20, 1856, d. May 31, 1897, d/o Lewis & Mahala (Hammans), w/o James Robert
Reynolds, Charles Edward, b. 1896, d. 1896
Reynolds, Gilbert Otto, b. Oct 3, 1880, d. Apr 16, 1903
Schwert, Mrs, b. Apr, 1802, d. Dec, 1876, m/o Adam
Sears, William, d. Mar 8, 1859, 42y 8m 27d
Shuemaker, Martha J., b. May 12, 1845, d. Dec 12, 1886, w/o O.
Thomas, Edward, d. Mar 18, 1836
Thomas, Eliza, b. Jan 17, 1811, d. Jul 24, 1895, w/o Thomas N.
Thomas, Elizabeth, d. Oct 13, 1851, 11y 6m 3d
Thomas, John S., d. Mar 30, 1856, 13y 11m 16d
Thomas, Thomas N., d. Jul 2, 1861, 53y 11m 2d
Thompson, Adoniram J., d. Aug 2, 1851, 11m 24d, s/o John H. & Martha
Tucker, A. Ellen, b. Mar 22, 1851, d. Dec 12, 1885, w/o William J.
Tucker, Lemuel N., b. Mar 6, 1883, d. apr 4, 1887, s/o William J. & A. Ellen
White, Margaret, b. Nov 20, 1772, d. Sep 12, 1838, 66y
Woodruff, David D., d. Aug 22, 1850, 32y, w/o David D.
Yarbrough, Margret, d. Feb 2, 1842, 39y 5m 26d, w/o Primrose

SOURCE:
Find A Grave
Southside Times (February 29, 2012)
Indiana Newspapers, Full Search (1804-1992), 150 titles - GenealogyBank.com
Indiana Obituary Search, (1988-current) - GenealogyBank.com
Indiana Funeral Notices - GenealogyBank.com