Photographs and History compiled by: Kathy Dahl, Cincinnati Park Board Naturalist Wesleyan Cemetery was chartered in 1843 as the areas first integrated cemetery and built in a park- like fashion predating Spring Grove Cemetery by 2 to 3 years. The cemetery had gone thru years of derelict conditions and the previous owner had been convicted (there were many TV and news articles about this). It is believed that more than 1000 Civil War Veterans are buried here. If you wish to view more of the military burial history and maps, visit the free website: www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohhamcem/main1.html
Grand Army of the Republic Memorial near the front entrance of the cemetery
William Steinmetz was in the Battle of Vicksburg and one of 150 volunteers for General Grant s Forlorn Hope on May 22, 1863. He was 15 years old at the time. Col. John Halliday Patrick was in the Battles of Chattanooga and Gettysburg. He was killed in action at the Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia during the Atlanta Campaign.
Colored Grounds (1939 Works Progress Administration military burial maps and Hamilton County Grave Registration Cards) was used as a funeral decoy for the Cincinnati Underground Railroads Escape of 28. There are seven Black Civil War Veterans buried here. Only one marker exists. No other black veterans (Civil War) had received grave markers. Copy of the map for this section is below. The Veterans, without markers, are: John Yates Co. A 114th U.S. Col. Inf Taylor Bowen Co. F 100 th U.S.C.V.I George Washington Co.G 27 Reg. U.S. Colored Troops Hanry Clay Unassigned 72 U.S. Col. Troops Richard B Gordon Co. B 27 th U.S.C.T George Washington (#2) Co. D 15 th U.S.C.T
From the above site; the only Black Civil War Veteran to have a marker A woman named Joy Benison has a great grandfather (Joseph Fox) with a traditional Civil War shield marker buried at this cemetery. During my research, I had discovered William Fox s name; it was her great-great uncle. She applied to the Veterans Administration and this marker was placed in July 2010. According to records, he was killed in action at the 2 nd Battle of Winchester, Virginia and his Regiment surrendered to the Confederates on June 15, 1863.
1939 Works Progress Military Burial Map showing the Colored Grounds
1939 Works Progress Administration Map showing Civil War Veterans from Colored Grounds in upper right hand corner
Wesleyan Cemetery and the Underground Railroad connection In 1842, abolitionist John Van Zandt was caught transporting a wagonload of escaping slaves near his house in Glendale, Ohio, which has an Ohio Historic Marker. He was defended by Salmon P. Chase in the Supreme Court, dockets Jones vs. Van Zandt and died (1847) a pauper before the trial was over. He is said to be the character of John Von Trompe in Harriet Beecher-Stowe s Uncle Tom s Cabin. In 2005, the Van Zandt Family and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center held a memorial in his honor.
Abolitionist Zebulon Strong from College Hill had two homes on Hamilton Ave. that were stops on the Underground Railroad. He would take slaves, hiding in a ravine, by wagon to the next stop. His most notable home is today s Six Acres Bed and Breakfast.
Reverend Henry Hathaway- built Hathaway Hall in Covington, Kentucky which was reputed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad and hosted many functions for the Abolitionists of the time.
Cincinnati s Escape of the 28 in 1853, John Fairfield brought a group of 28 slaves across the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg, Indiana and traveled with them to the outskirts of Cincinnati. He left them hidden to go get help. He contacted John Hatfield, (Deacon at the Zion Baptist Church) and, with Hatfield s family and church friends, assisted Levi Coffin in transporting slaves from Cincinnati. The story has Hatfield getting a coach and taking a group of slaves pretending to be free blacks in a fake funeral procession, traveling to the Methodist (Wesleyan) Cemetery, an integrated cemetery in Northside/Cumminsville. Instead of going to the cemetery they traveled up to College Hill. Harriet Wilson s letter picks up the time the group stayed in College Hill where one of the women s infant had died. This child was buried somewhere in College Hill in either the Gard or Cary Cemetery. The group made it to Canada. This escape was documented by several known abolitionists at the time. References to the 28 can be found in these works: Levi Coffin, Cincinnati, Ohio Reminiscence Laura Haviland, Detroit Michigan and Windsor Canada, A Woman s Life Work Harriet N Wilson, College Hill Ohio, 1892 letter to Wilbur Siebert Wilbur Siebert, Slavery to Freedom and Mysteries of the Ohio Underground Railroad