WPA Graveyard Search in County
Uncovers Many Historic Facts


The search for graves of soldiers of Kosciusko county has uncovered some interesting facts. During the year a WPA project, sponsored by the American Legion, has been carried on to locate and record the grave of every soldier in the county.

Roy Gard, of Etna Green foreman of the project, said the only Revolutionary war soldier buried in Kosciusko county is William Leazenby, who died in 1818 at the age of 79. Leazenby is buried in Leesburg.

Oldest soldier to be laid to rest in this county was John Tusing, who died at the age of 105. He is also buried in the Leesburg cemetery.

Drummer Boy at Oakwood.
Youngest soldier in the Civil war from Kosciusko county was Thomas L. Hubler, who enlisted as a drummer boy a year after his father, Major Henry Hubler, was called to arms. Hubler was a member of Company E of the 12th Indiana Infantry. He was an uncle of Logan H. Williams, publisher of the Warsaw Times and Union. Hubler lies buried in Oakwood cemetery.

Delving into the records, the WPA workers found that one of the four men who captured Jeff Davis, president of the confederacy, is now buried in the Leesburg cemetery. The man was Preston W. Brown, born on May 6, 1854. Brown died on April 20, 1910. He was a corporal in the 5th Michigan Cavalry.

Story of Indian Mound.

The story of the grave on Indian Mound at Winona Lake was recalled through the digging into the archives. Buried on the top of Indian Mound is said to be John Hamilton, a native of Ohio, who came to Kosciusko county in 1837. Legend has it that Hamilton died at the age of 32 because of a broken heart after a love affair. In his will, Hamilton set out that a lane should be cleared through the trees from the top of the hill to to the lake shore, to provide a clear view from the grave to the crystal waters.

The survey of the cemeteries located the grave of Arthur F. Griffith, of Milford, the wizard mathematician who made appearances at universities, including Yale and Harvard. Griffith was born in 1880, died in 1911 and his grave is marked in the Lake View cemetery on the south side of Wabee lake. Griffith was not a soldier.

74 Cemeteries Studied
The project consists of making surveys of all of the 74 cemeteries in the county and plotting the location of graves on cemetery blueprints. Quimby Elkins of Milford is the draftsman. He has prepared the plots of all the cemeteries from which photostatic copies will be made for filing with the state and county. A copy will also be kept on hand at the American Legion hall in Warsaw.

In search of information on soldiers the WPA workers perused copies of old newspapers, went through old county death records and examined soldiers' discharge papers.

An index of all cemeteries in the county has been prepared. A map of their relative location is also included in the project. The report showed that Turkey Creek and Jackson townships each have nine cemeteries, the most, and Scott township has the least number, one.

1,520 Soldier Graves Platted
Graves of 1,520 soldiers have been platted. According to Foreman Gard, the survey failed to locate the graves of 28 soldiers, which are located in the county, according to records.

The following are the names of cemeteries in Kosciusko county and the number of soldiers buried in each:
Clay township -Graceland, 9; Grove Chapel, 3; Mt. Pleasant, 24; Packerton, 4.
Etna township-Jackson, 9; United Brethren, 45.
Franklin township Mentone, 78; Nichols, 15.
Harrison township-Cook, 10; Highland, 6; Old Palestine, 1; Palestine, 43; Union, 24; Wooden, 16.
Jefferson township-Brumbaugh, 6; Island, 6.
Jackson township-Baer, 1; Eel River, 8; Old Order, 1; Sidney, 5; Spring Creek, 17; Wheeler, 1.
Lake township-Center, 3; Gospel Hill, 3; Lake View, 40.
Monroe township-Circle, 1; Red Bush, 1.
Plain township-Leesburg, 68; Monoquet, 2; Oswego, 39.
Prairie township-Clunette, 15; Pleasant View, 14; Stony Point, 33.
Scott township-Scott, 10.
Seward township-Bethel, 2; Franklin, 4; Germain, 2; Yellow Creek, 1.
Tippecanoe township-Mock, 20; North Webster, 55; Oak Grove, 8.
Turkey Creek township-Boner, 1; Byers, 14; Cable, 5; Lake Bethel, 6; Mock, 3; McClintic, 2; Syracuse, 92; Union, 16.
VanBuren township-Concord,4; Hoover, 1; Lake, 1; Milford 71.
Washington township-Catholic, 2; Firestone, 1; Ryerson, 116; McNeal, 3; VanCuren, 2; Washington Union, 41.
Wayne township-Ford,1; Groves, 1; Oakwood, 460; Pleasant Grove, 24.

Warsaw Daily Times Thursday November 13, 1941

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