Macedonia #1 - Macedonia Freewill Cemetery

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Currently named the Macedonia Freewill Cemetery, this is actually the original cemetery for the Macedonia Church which began in 1813. The cemetery is located 1/2 mile north of the church on CR 120 and about 3 miles north of the Ohio River. The cemetery is about five acres in area and, before this study in 2020, only 68 burials are currently identified. A US Forest Service study has recovered the names of an additional 18 Civil War veterans, as well as other burials. Most of the stones are gone or beyond reading, except for the 8 Civil War Veteran stones. The soldiers mostly belonged to Co H 5th USCI. (Company H 5th United States Colored Infantry.)

Images

Aaron Shelton Co H 5th USCI

A Civil War Memorial stone at Macedonia Freewill Cemetery

Cedar trees beside the road at Macedonia Feeewill Cemetery surrounding the Bryan/t graves.

George W. Bryant - Co H 5th USCI and a decendant of Rosanna Bryant

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Macedonia Church (identified elsewhere) was the first African American Baptist Church in the Old Northwest Territory and the state of Ohio. The Macedonia Freewill Cemetery is the current name for the church's original cemetery. It is located 1/2 mile north of the church (from the junction of CR 144 and CR 120) on the right side (east) of CR 120. It can be identified by the four large cedar trees which stand in the center of the cemetery les that 10 yards from the county road. The attached map shows the locations of the Civil War veteran burials. Five of these men belonged to Co H 5th USCI (United States Colored Infantry) J. Brassfield, Geo. W. Bryant, John Reed, W. H. Roberts, Aaron Shelton. R. H. Stewart was with Co E 5th USCI and R.S. Beatty belonged to Co F 27th USCI. The Briant family was in Fayette Township by 1820. The Roberts were part of the Ward manumission of 1827 and Brassfield married into that group. Shelton was related to the "37" Twyman manumission of 1849. Most of the identified tombstones and burials are of 2nd and 3rd generation of the original settlers.

Many stones were probably regional sandstone which did not stand the test of time and weathered badly. Others have been damaged.

In 2020, the cemetery was added to the national register of historical places.

Sources

www.lawrenceregister.org - cemetery locations and readings

Federal Census - 1820-1860 Lawrence County, OH

Federal Census - 1890 Veterans Census - Lawrence County, OH

Pennsylvania County, VA - Register of Free Negroes and Related Documents by Alva H. Griffith

Ohio, Soldier Grave Registrations 1804-1958 (www.Ancestry.com)

Roster of the Co H 5thUSCI - National Archives

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Carrie Eldridge

Alicia Spears 2019

Carrie Eldridge 2020