Fowler-Mundy Cemetery

formerly called the Sutton Farm Cemetery

 

Written In Stone…Not!

Or, Use Caution In Using Cemetery Readings

by Ron Darrah, 1999

 

            Have you ever found a cemetery reading in a journal or book, been delighted to discover an ancestral record, copy it into your genealogy database, and feel that you have done what was required?

            Unfortunately, you might have compounded an error. Did you visit that cemetery in person to verify that second or third hand information? Consider the example of the Fowler-Mundy Cemetery here in Marion County.

            Fowler-Mundy is in the western part of Perry Township, east of Rt. 37 and south of Southport Road. It is currently on our watch list, since it now sits in lonely isolation in the middle of a huge single-family housing project under construction. We're watching it to insure that it doesn't "accidentally" disappear, like Duke Realty caused the Rhoads Cemetery to do in Wayne Township.

            When we checked in the Indiana State Library to verify that the Fowler-Mundy stones had been read, we discovered three different readings on file.

                 - One reading, which we will call "A", was done by Mrs. Ransom Griffin in 1940. It contains 15 names.

                 - Reading "B" was done by Mrs. Leo Hoyt in 1964 and contains 13 names.

                 - Reading "C", which is undated and unsigned, contains 15 names.

            The problem is that they are not all the same names and not all the same data.

 

Let's look closer at the three lists:

 

1A.      In memory of Susannah Bell who departed this life May 17, 1847 in the 65^th year of her             life (B-1782)      [These birth dates seem to have been added by Mrs Griffin.]

1B.       Bell, Susannah              5-17-1847       65y

1C.      Bell, Susannah              D. 17 May 1874          age 65 years

[Did she die in 1847 or 1874?]