52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 17 - Cemetery

The 52 Ancestors prompt for this week is "Cemetery". Do you have a favorite tombstone of one of your ancestors? Maybe you could share how you found where an ancestor is buried or a clue that you got from a tombstone or cemetery records.

I live far away from the cemeteries where my ancestors are buried and haven't visited any of them. A few years ago, the Genealogy Society of Mercer County, Ohio offered to take tombstone photos for a $5 donation, so I took them up on getting a photo of Timothy Creeden's tombstone. Timothy is my 2x great-grandfather was was the first ancestor that I researched.

My family got a big surprise when we saw the size of the monument. My father had never seen it even though he grew up and attended the church there. I thought maybe one of Timothy's children had put up the monument, but later found probate records showing that his wife Mary purchased it.

The grave is located in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Celina, OH and has the following inscription:

Timothy
Creeden
Died
Dec 14, 1899
Aged
53Y 8M 19D

Mary A.
1851 - 1925

CREEDEN

The inscription helped to confirm Timothy's date of birth in 1846 and the date of his death in 1899. Timothy's wife Mary Ann Matson is also buried there.

#52Ancestors is a series of weekly family history prompts developed by Amy Johnson Crow.