1,800 people to be memorialized at Tod Homestead Cemetery

YOUNGSTOWN — Sallie Tod Dutton, Tod Homestead Cemetery Association president and Tod family descendant, announced the Tod Homestead Cemetery Association will be erecting a sign in honor of 1,800 seemingly forgotten burials.

A two-acre potter’s field – a burial place for unknown or indigent people – is along a bumpy pathway now overtaken by overgrown plants, adorned with several low-hanging trees.

The bumps are mounds of earth outlining coffins weakened by time that have caved in. The divots between the mounds hold people’s ancestors.

According to Tod Cemetery records, the abandoned section once belonged to Youngstown Township.

Paul Dutton, Tod Homestead Cemetery’s attorney and Sallie’s husband, said he was grateful the issue was brought to the board’s attention by The Vindicator. He credited the lack of knowledge about the field to the age difference between the section of land and the board members.

“Honestly, none of the board members are old enough to remember, but after some searching we found we do have documentation saying that Youngstown Township could use the section for indigents.”

For the complete story, read Sunday's Vindicator and Vindy.com