Brown Family Cemetery - Monroe Twp., Allen Co., Indiana

Brown Family Cemetery
Monroe Township, Allen County, Indiana

Brown Family Cemetery sign installed by the Allen County Commissioners, Apr. 2006

Adam Barrone by a Mary Brown stone
News-Sentinel photo by
Ellie Bogue December 1998
Published: 17 February 1999 Marking history

News-Sentinel photo by
Ellie Bogue December 1998
Published: 17 Febraury 1999 Brown Cemetery (1998) -- View from road

5 photos above were taken by me
on Memorial Day, 1998 Brown Cemetery (1972)-- Mary Shaffer

Brown Cemetery (1972)-- Margaret Shaffer

6 photos above were taken by
Warren & Betty Fitch in 1972 Brown Cemetery (2004)

3 photos above were taken during Betty Fitch's trip to the cem., 2004
This is the gravestone of my ancestors who owned the cemetery land originally.

Click above for the number of burials by decade

Click above for the distribution of ages at death

Photo by Angie (Lee) Ness, Jan. 2005

Cemetery Description

The Brown Cemetery is on one acre of public land on Whittern Road one half mile south of Hoagland Road in Monroe Twp., Allen Co., Indiana. It is the southwest corner of the old Henry Brown farm. The first known burial, that of Jabez Shaffer, occurred in 1849. Sophia Friedline Black Rider, the last known person to be interred, was buried in 1906.

Land History

Henry A. Brown purchased the farm in 1846 and sold it to his son John H. Brown in 1875. For more information, click here.

Cemetery Recollections

My Mother's Grandparents' name was Brown. Pioneers they settled on land near Monroeville, Ind. They are buried there. Their graves are fenced in with an iron fence. Their son John lived there after their deaths...
- Eva (Ebersole) Wise (1887-1973)

...My first memories come from the farm on Hoagland Road...I imagine we moved to the farm about 1926 ...Our trips to the graveyard were seldom more than about twice a year. Some sort of veteran outfit used to put 15 or so flags on the graves every year...[We would] gather walnuts from a huge tree inside the fence. They were the best walnuts.
- Bill McArdle, 1999

My dad was raised on the farm right in front of the Brown cemetery. It was across the road from the Klinker farm. Suppose dad was well acquainted with the cemetery although it would have been at the back of their farm. But he has never talked about it.
- Betty (Brown) Fitch, b. 1930

Cemetery Ownership and Responsibility

Brown Cemetery has been on public land since 1875 when Henry Brown excluded a 1/2 acre plot from the farm deed to his son. By Indiana State Code 23-14-68, the Monroe Twp. Trustee is responsible for its care. The current Trustee, Max Meyer, has been aware of the cemetery's condition since I notified him in May 1998. He, in conjunction with Eagle Scout candidate Glen Miller of Fort Wayne, orchestrated a cleanup project on June 19, 1999. After that time, the cemetery conditions were allowed to deteriorate.

Restoration Efforts

Plans are underway at the county and township levels to restore Brown Cemetery. County Commissioner Linda Bloom, County Grant Writer Lin Wilson, and Monroe Township Trustee Max Meyer are the government officials involved in the project.

These tasks have been completed during 2005:

Authorized by Mr. Meyer, the Monroeville American Legion Post 420 summoned their "Sunday Soldiers" to clean brush away. They did a tremendous job, clearing a larger area than had been cleared in 1999. They also reset the marker for Civil War veteran Andrew D. Kemp.
The Allen County Highway Department, led by foreman Mike Stiffarm, installed a culvert in Brown Ditch west of the cemetery to allow access from Whittern Road. The culvert was delivered and installed Nov. 10, 2005. It weighed 9,000 pounds and the total project cost was about $25,000. This project was funded by the county.
View culvert installation photos.

These tasks have been completed during 2006:

American Legion Post 420 Sunday Soldiers have cleared brush in the area between the cemetery and Whittern Road.
Allen County Commissioner Linda Bloom dedicated an Indiana Cemetery Heritage Sign at Brown Family Cemetery on 25 Apr. 2006. This was funded by county government.
American Legion Post 420 Sunday Soldiers have reset some of the largest markers, constructed a gravel lane, and hung a porch swing from a large tree.

Upcoming events:

The American Legion Post 420 clean-up work will continue. They plan to reset markers as they have done at other area cemeteries.
A grant of $500 was awarded to the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana from the Indiana Genealogical Society to be used for improvements at the cemetery.

Descendants and relatives of those buried in Brown Cemetery are invited to provide contact information to Adam Barrone at adam@barrone.net. He will provide news about preservation progress and opportunities to help.

News Stories

News-Sentinel:
"Man hopes to restore family cemetery"
(News Story of 17 Feb 1999 with photos)
Monroeville News:
"Forsaken graveyard will get facelift"
(News Story of 26 May 1999)
Monroeville News:
"Scout troop clears forgotten cemetery"
(News Story of 21 July 1999 with photos)
News-Sentinel:
"Dignity for our area’s pioneers"
(News Story of 25 Apr 2006 with photos)
Journal-Gazette:
"New life for old cemetery"
(News Photo of 25 Apr 2006)

Endangered Cemeteries in Indiana

Visit Indiana Pioneer Cemeteries Restoration Project

Arial Photograph of Cemetery Site

Reading of the Brown Cemetery

from Madison-Monroe Township Cemeteries (1980) pp. 126-128
by the Allen County Genealogical Society
PO Box 12003
Fort Wayne, IN 46862
It combines an old DAR reading and their own reading.
This book is available for purchase from the Society.

	Name	Death Date	Age or Birth Date	Marker Notes	Annotations by A. Barrone
1	- - - - , MALINDA			near Friedline: stone old unreadable	Bottom part of stone located: "...John and Margaret Friedline, died Jan. 10, 1863, aged 11y 5m 26d"
2	BARKER, EVALINE	MAY 21 1855	4Y 8M 6D	dau. of S. C. & H. E.	marker reads: "Evaline Dau. of S. C. & M. Barber..."
3	BARNHART, PETER	SEP 26 1854	59Y 11M 11D
4	BARRONE, JOHN H.	AUG 17 ~~1851~~	10M 8D	son of M & P	census: N/A 4^th son of Michael Barrone and Polly Brown who lived in Monroe Township. Polly is daughter of Henry & Mary Brown Death year was 1854 - worn 4 appeared to be a 1.
5	BARRONE, OSCAR M.	SEP 06 1882	11M	son of -- & A.	census: N/A The second photograph taken at an angle when damp reveals that he is son of I. F. & A. Barrone and lived 11 Ms. 8 ds. His parents were Isaac & Abigail Barrone. His grandfathers were Oscar Curtis and Michael Barrone. On the 1900 census of Monroe Twp., Abigail was shown to have had 11 children with 6 living. See Oscar's sister Hester Jane Barrone in the additional burials section.
6	BAXTER, ELIZA	FEB 13 1881	20Y 3M 7D		census: 1880, Union Twp., Adams Co., as 19 year old wife of Davis Baxter, age 21 born: IN
7	BAXTER	FEB 26 1881		infant son of D. & E.G.
8	BLACK, CHARLES W.	APR 05 1873	43Y 1M 24D		census: Union Twp., Adams Co., 1860 born: VA
9	BLACK-RIDER, SOPHIA	1906	born 1832		census: 1860, Union Twp., Adams Co., as wife of Charles W. census: 1880, Union Twp., Adams Co., as widow with dau. Nancy nee Friedline, daughter of John (#24)
10	BOWER, ELIZABETH	NOV 21 1854	32Y 1M 12D	wife of David	marker reads: "Elizabeth.S Wife of David Bower..."
11	BROWN, HENRY A.	APR 13 1876	70Y 3M 20D		born: PA original owner of cemetery land
12	BROWN, JACOB R.	DEC 08 1861	30Y 3M 21D		census: Monroe Twp., 1860 born: PA son of Henry & Mary husband of Lavina Hoskman marker appears to say "& 8 Days"
13	BROWN, JAMES S.	OCT 21 1860	73Y		Marker reads "James Brown"
14	BROWN, JOHN	APR 06 1899	~~23Y 6M 17D~~		actually 76Y 11M 23D - see Weekly Breeze, p. 4, col. 1, 13 Apr. 1899 born: Carroll Co., OH husband of Mary Marsh
15	BROWN, JOHN W.	NOV 27 1884	28Y 6M 17D
16	BROWN, MARY	SEP 21 1860	68Y
17	BROWN, MARY	MAY 31 1872	61Y 3M 21D		born: PA nee Hoffman, wife of Henry Brown, original owner of cemetery land
18	BROWN, MARY	JUL 27 1892	67Y 5M 25D	wife of John	born: Ohio nee Marsh, wife of John Brown (#14)
19	BROWN, PERRY N.	APR 16 1879	9M 23D	our baby; son of J.W. & L.A.
20	CULLY, JAMES	MAR 19 1858	60Y 17D		census: Monroe Twp., 1850 born: PA husband of Martha purchased SE qtr. of SW qtr. of Sec. 31, Monroe Twp., 1847 see deed book K, p. 400
21	CULLY, SARAH	NOV 25 1855	7Y 11M	dau. of J. & M.
22	DANKS, JOHN	APR 17 1863	75Y		census: Madison Twp., 1850, 1860 born: Scotland
23	DANKS, PHOEBE	NOV 27 1872	67Y		census: Monroe Twp., 1870, with John & Susan Anderson born: OH nee Drake, married 13 May 1845 in Allen Co.; Jacob & Rachel Drake, aged 77 and 71, lived with them in 1850
24	FRIEDLINE, JOHN	MAR 16 1897	84Y 11M 2D		census: Monroe Twp., 1860 born: PA
25	FRIEDLINE, MARGARET	APR 04 1873	61Y 1M 29D	wife of John	Margaret's orignal marker was found some distance from the large granite marker which names John & Margaret.
26	GRAHAM, CLYDIE	MAR 19 1887	21Y 9M 16D	wife of Samuel E.
27	GRAHAM, IVY	OCT 21 1858	16Y 3M 20D	dau. of S. & N.
28	GRAHAM, NANCY	NOV 04 1885	64Y 5M 2D	wife of Samuel
29	GRAHAM, NEVA ANN	OCT 02 1886	born Jul. 16, 1884
30	GRAHAM, SAMUEL	JUN 02 1903	82Y 11M 20D		census: Monroe Twp., 1900 b. OH see Weekly Breeze, p.1, col. 3, 4 Jun 1903
31	HARKLESS, EMALINE			stone illegible	census: 1860, Union Twp., Adams Co., as 5 year old child of William & Barbara Harkless Marker in the photo is near Louisa & David Harkless and is presumably that of Emaline
32	HARKLESS, LOUISA	DEC 04 186_	5Y 6M 25D	dau. of Wm. & Ba.	census: 1860, Union Twp., Adams Co., as 4 year old child
33	KEMP, A. D.			INDIANA INF CO. C. 35	Andrew David Kemp census: Monroe Twp., 1850, as son of Martin & Catherine Kemp born: c1846 in Indiana d. May 20, 1894 see Headstones Provided to Deceased Civil War Veterans
34	KEMP, CATHERINE	DEC 21 1861	40Y 3M 6D	wife of M. W.	census: Monroe Twp., 1850, as wife of Martin Kemp
35	KEMP, JULIA ANN	JUL 06 1862	~~43Y 5M 3D~~		census: 1850, Monroe Twp., Allen Co., with Martin & Catharine Kemp, at age 7 age actually reads 19Y 5M 3D
36	RABBITT, HANNAH	SEP 1854	56Y 3M	wife of Joseph
37	RABBIT, INFANT	APR 08 1854	4W	child of J. & M.
38	RABBITT, JOSEPH	SEP 16 1860	29Y 7M 16D		census: Monroe Twp., 1860 born:MD
39	RABBITT, MARY	OCT 09 1861	39Y 9M 24D	wife of Joseph	marker reads "Mary. wife of Joseph Rabbit."
40	RIDER, SOPHIA BLACK			[DUPLICATE OF #9]
41	ROBINSON, ADAM	DEC 26 1872	72Y 10M 11D		census: Madison Twp., 1860 born: VA
42	ROBINSON, ALEXANDER	SEP 23 1854	29Y 6M 2D
43	ROBINSON, SUSANA	JUL 25 1863	64Y 9M 2D	wife of Adam
44	ROBINSON, SUSANNA	JUL 30 1854	13Y 1M 30D	dau. of A. & S.
45	SHAFFER, ALICE	AUG 14 1854	22Y	wife of William
46	SHAFFER, JABEZ	NOV 07 1849	56Y 5M 13D
47	SHAFFER, JOHN	MAY 25 1854	born Aug. 19, 1827		marker reads "John Shafer BORN Aug. 29, 1821..."
48	SHAFFER, MARGARET	SEP 07 1854	56Y 10M 7D	wife of Valentine
49	SHAFFER, MARY	MAR 04 1905	born Aug. 19, 1827
50	SHAFFER, MATILDA	JUL 13 1851	33Y 1M 5D	wife of Amasa	marker reads "Shafer"
51	SHAFFER, SUZANNA	NOV 10 1883	82Y 8M	wife of Jabez	marker reads "Susanna"
52	SHAFFER, VALENTINE	SEP 27 1874	79Y 4M 16D
53	VAN BUSKIRK, JAMES	FEB 15 1869	59Y 5M 11D		census: Union Twp., Adams Co., 1860 born: PA
54	WHIPKY, SUSAN	SEP 08 1864	24Y 6M 11D	wife of Peter	nee Cully see Peter Whipkey in "additional burials" section below photograph of partial stone identified by age from previous readings
55	WYER, SARAH	JUL 08 1882	44Y 4M 14D	wife of D.	census: Monroe Twp., 1870 born: Ohio nee Fleck, married 1856 in Crawford Co., Ohio, to David (born: PA) who remarried to Sarah A. Whipkey in 1884 in Allen County. David and the 2^nd Sarah are buried at Flat Rock Luth. Cem. David was a Civil War veteran Six stones with initials on top were found in line with Sarah's marker. Three of these are legible: S E W, C E W, and O A W
Additional Burials and Markers from other sources The following information does not appear in the ACGSI or DAR readings.
	Barrone, Hester Jane	DEC 24 1879	2Y 24D	dau. of I. F. & A Barrone
	Barrone, Ida J.	AUG 20 1870	4M 23D	dau. of M. & P. Barrone	census: 1870, Monroe Twp., Allen Co., as daughter of Michael & Polly Barrone born: IN
	Barrone, Peter B.	JAN 29 1865	6Y 11M 20D ?	son of M. & P. Barrone	census: 1860, Monroe Twp., Allen Co., as 2-year-old son of Michael & Polly Barrone born: IN
	Black, Margaret E.	JUN 12 1863	1Y 5M 15D	dau. of C. W. & S. Black
	Bluffer	FEB 15, 1870		Infant dau. of J. & M. Bluffer
	Bower, Frederick	JUL 28 1867	90Y		same marker as Hannah C. Bower
	Bower, Hannah C.	JAN 28 1848	62Y		same marker as Frederick Bower
	Brown, Margaret Martha J. Susanah	JUL 21 1854 JUL 10 1847 APR 5 1853	4Y 2Y 10Y		single marker with 3 inscriptions 1847 seems to predate the cemetery
	Foss, William M.	JUN 23 1866	[stone broken]	son of J. M. & M. Foss
	Friedline, Alexander	JUN 26 1849	1Y 3M 8D	son of J. & M. Friedline
	Harkless, David J.	DEC 16 1861	11Y 5M 4D	son of Wm. & B. A. Harkless	census: 1860, Union Twp., Adams Co., as child brother of no. 31 and no. 32 above
	Harris, Mary	NOV 17 1870	19Y 9M 28D	dau. of J. & M. A. Harris	census: 1870, Monroe Twp., Allen Co., with John & Matilda Harris, at age 19 born: OH
	Long, Susanna	SEP 19 1865	OCT 20 1850		census: 1860, Monroe Twp., Allen Co., in the household of Andrew & Elizabeth Long
	Magner		FEB 19 1884	Infant son of I. & M. D. Magner
	Ramsey, Henry B.	APR 30 1859	1Y 3M 8D	son of W. J. & M. L. Ramsey
	Robinson	AUG 23 1854	19Y 12 D	wife of Alexander Robinson	marker broken
	Robinson, Adam G.	SEP 07 1854	16Y 5M 8D	son of A. & S. Robinson
	Robinson, Cora E.	AUG 07 1870	5Y 11M 4D	dau. of J. & S. J. Robinson
	Robinson, E. C.	JUN 05 1851	1M 15D	son of J. & S. J. Robinson
	Robinson, Martha E.	AUG 19 1854	5M 28D	dau. of A. & EJ. Robinson
	Robinson, Oliver R.	JAN 13 1859	23Y 3M 5D
	Robertson, Willie	JUL 10 1860	5M 18D	son of A. W. & M. Robertson
	Shafer, Adam R.	JAN 24 1853	3Y 11M 13D	Son of J. & M. J. Shafer
	Shaffer, Hariet	MAR 27 1856		Infant dau. of J. & M. J. Shaffer
	Shaffer, John	JUL 01 1869	1Y 9M 3D	son of J. & M. J. Shaffer	same marker as Martha J. Shaffer
	Shaffer, Martha J.	NOV 02 1868	1M 13D	dau. of J. & M. J. Shaffer	same marker as John Shaffer
	Shaffer, Matildah	JAN 22 1858		dau. of J. & M. J. Shaffer
	Shaffer, Margaret Ellen	NOV 14 1857	3Y 3M 12D	dau. of J. B. & J. Shaffer
	Shaffer, Rosa	SEP 01 1859		Infant Daughter of J. & M. J. Shaffer
	Weiler, Martin Luther	AUG 06 1861		son of James & Sarah E. Weiler	census: 1860, Madison Twp., Allen Co., with James & Sarah, at age 0 This marker was damaged by fire.
	Whipkey, Peter				died 21 October 1881 from inflammation of the lungs see Monroeville Democrat 27 October 1881 page 3 column 3 married: Sarah Ann Burger 26 Jun 1855 in Allen County married: Susan M. Cully 8 Mar 1864 in Allen County married: Cecelia Kemp 6 Aug 1865 in Allen County census: Monroe Twp., 1870 Fort Wayne Sentinel 20 Apr 1881, Monroeville items: After an absence of 8 years, Peter Whipkey returned from Minnesota
	Wormcastle, Samuel				died 7 February 1879, aged 72y6m26d see Monroeville Democrat 13 February 1879 page 3 column 2 census: 1870, Union Twp., Adams Co.