Ohio group searches for war graves

TALLMADGE, Ohio (AP) — Some members of the Ohio Genealogical Society are fanning across the state to document the graves of all Revolutionary War veterans in their counties.

The goal is to put together an accurate account of the men who helped create the United States, said Kelly Coghan Holderbaum, president of the group’s Summit County chapter. About a dozen volunteers from her group are walking county cemeteries this summer.

On a recent visit to Tallmadge Cemetery, the group — using genealogical information and government records — found the graves of nine veterans. On most of the graves, there was no mention that the men were veterans of the American Revolution.

“There is no family left to take care of it and look after it — or if there are family members, they don’t realize it is here and he is related to them,” said volunteer Judy Davis, 68, of Stow.

E. Paul Morehouse, president of the Ohio Genealogical Society and a part-time history teacher at the University of Akron, said there are probably thousands of Revolutionary War veterans buried across the state.

Most of the graves are more than 150 years old, and many of the headstones have disintegrated, he said. In other cases, old cemeteries no longer exist.

According to legend, one veteran, Conrad Boosinger, was buried under what became a portion of Interstate 76 in Tallmadge, Davis said.

In nearby Medina County, Terry and Marcia Hart of Valley City have been documenting 64 graves throughout the county.

Terry Hart, 63, a National City Bank retiree and an Army Vietnam veteran, said searching for graves has become an act of patriotism for him and his wife.

“These people ought to be memorialized somehow,” he said.

Hart said the Department of Veterans Affairs will pay for a headstone or a plaque for a veteran of the Revolutionary War if there is no marker on the grave already.