Hendren Cemetery
(AKA Barnhart Cemetery)
Groveport, Madison Township,
Franklin County, Ohio

Gravestone Photographs

July 18, 2005:  When George F. Bareis published his History of Madison Township, Including Groveport and Canal Winchester, Franklin County, Ohio in 1902 he listed gravestones commemorating thirty-five people (page 448).  When, in 1981, the members of the Franklin County Genealogical Society returned to re-read the gravestones there were no stones standing.  When Mr. Bareis published his gravestone readings he noted that one stone represented what was believed to be the first death in Madison Township; that of Joseph Flemington who died in 1801 at age 30 years.  Mr. Bareis only included the name, year of death, and age in years; so exact dates and ages cannot be determined using his list.

According to the Franklin County property tax records, Hendren Cemetery is a tiny twenty-two hundredths (.22) acre in a thirty-two (32) acre plot owned by the village of Groveport.  Sometime between 2000 and 2004 the cemetery was "capped" as some of the graves had collapsed and presented a safety hazard to visitors.  When we visited the site on July 16, 2005 it appeared that the grass on the cap had been recently cut, but there were no gravestones visible.  When we found the gravestones and some of the extremely heavy foundation stones it appeared that they had been bulldozed to one side to allow the cemetery to be capped.

Recently I have received several Email messages asking about this cemetery, and over a period of three days I learned that plans are being made to further improve this site.  Perhaps those plans will include restoration and repair of any gravestones that can be located.  If this hoped for restoration takes place we will try to document it here.

Locating and photographing some of the gravestones was a bit of an adventure for a couple of senior citizens who haven't ventured into the Ohio summer underbrush for many years.  We were very fortunate not to come into contact with poison ivy or any similar plants.  After our trip I discovered a tick who hadn't found a good spot to dine before being removed from my hair.  The photos on this page are all that we found of the thirty-five names mentioned in the History of Madison Township, though we found at least two gravestones that don't appear on Mr. Bareis' list.  There may be additional gravestones in some of the other patches of undergrowth surrounding the cemetery, but looking for them would have required more effort that we were willing to expend in the above average heat and high humidity.

NOTE:  The photos of this cemetery will be presented a little differently than on most of the cemetery pages.  Some will have a link to the photo as on all the pages of this site, but there might also be at least one additional link to a high resolution version of the same photo.  The high resolution photo files will be quite large and it is possible that it will take extra time for them to download to your computer, especially if you have a dial-up connection to the Internet.

December 2010 Update:  Once in a while a group of concerned citizens can make a difference. The restoration of a cemetery, any cemetery, is almost always low on anyone's list of priorities. But Hendren Cemetery has been restored as much as possible. (See Newspaper report)

Aerial Photo of Cemetery,
Spring 2004
(The actual cemetery is covered by the tiny yellow diamond shape)

Finding gravestones:

(329KB)	(307KB)	(358KB)
(339KB)	(381KB)	(266KB)
(320KB)	(252KB)	(204KB)

Gravestones and More:

(Click on the underlined text to view the photograph)

• Perrin, Martha, wife of William, [died (broken)]5th 1845, aged [broken]s 2mo (Whole Stone and High Resolution 330KB)
  • NOTE: Bareis gives her age as 49 years

• Kile
  • Rubbing: In Memory of, ????, daughter of ???? W & Mary Kile, died July [11], AD [?] 1843, aged 1 year 9 mo & 1[6] days (Gravestone)
  • Israel J., son of Wm W & E W, died Oct 1, 18_7, aged __ y, 10 [?] m & 19 d (High Resolution 142KB)
    • This name does not appear on the Bareis list.
  • John, died Nov 5, 1846, aged 71 yrs, 1 mo 3 ds
  • Father & Mother; John W., died Nov 15, 1845, aged 34 ys & 8 ms; and on same stone Mary, died Aug 9, 1881, aged 72 ys 2 ms & 28 ds (Upright view)
  • Rachel, daughter of Robert & Sarah, died Feb 6th, 1848, aged 4 years, 11 mo & 14 days (Higher Resolution)
    • This name does not appear on the Bareis list.
  • Sarah, wife of Robert, died Oct 19, 1863 [looks like], aged [63 ys 6 mo & 16 ds] (Higher Resolution 88KB)
    • NOTE: Bareis lists her age as 50 years
  • Wm. W., died March 30, 1870, aged 66 yrs 2 ms 13 ds and, on same stone, Elizabeth W., wife of Wm W, died March 14, 1848, aged [4]2 yrs 10 ms __ ds (High Resolution 187KB)
• Kiles, Jacob W. [?], son of John W. & Nancy [?], died ___ 29, 1851, aged 2 y 7 mo & 19 d [?] (High Resolution 193KB)

• Swisher, [Ma]ry, daug of Fred[e]rick & Lydia, died [___ __] 1836 [illegible] (Higher Resolution)
  • We used shaving cream to bring out the inscription and washed it off using a full gallon of water that we carried in for just this purpose.

• Whitmore, John E., born, Oct 16, 1844, died Jan 29, 1876 [looks like 1826] (High Resolution 158KB)

• Unknown
  • Broken
  • Illegible, weather worn
  • Illegible, weather worn
  • Broken
  • Possibly a footstone
  • Illegible, weather worn

On November 28, 2007 I received the following E-mail from James Murphy, :

In the late 1970s or early 1980s I transcribed several cemeteries in Franklin Co., including Hendren Cemetery. In comparing it to your list online, I find 14 additional stones that you do not list and am wondering if you want to add them to your list, . . .

• -- Doherty d 9 23 1861 ae 34y 11m 15d (broken stone)
• Thomas Feathengill d 9 13 ? ae 47(?)y
• Elizabeth Feathringill ?
• Infant son of William & Mary Swisher d 6 ? 1822 ae 1y (broken stone)
• ? Swisher d ? (fallen stone)
• Nancy wife of William D. Hendren d 1 21 1849 (broken stone)
• -- ae 49y 10m 13d (broken stone)
• Rachel wife of John Kile d 11 21 1819 ae 40y 9m 14d
• John W son of Jacob & Ruth Miller b 8 29 1830 d 9 19 1831
• -- d 4 12 1833 ae 11y ?m ?d
• Jasper Campbell d 4 12 1833 ae 1y ?m ?d
• Robert Hendren d 4 8 1864 ae 42y 4m 15d
• Alice R dau of Robert & E. Hendren ae 4m (same stone as Robert Hendren)
• Phebe K. dau of Fredrick & Lidia Swisher d ? ? 1842
• John L. son of F. & L. Swisher d 7 8 1856 ae 18y 9m 26d
• Matilda H. Rider wife of Mordecai G. Hendren d 11 6 1862 ae 27y 2d
• John Updegraff d 4 15 1831 ae 52y 4m 8d

All gravestone photographs taken by David K. & Leona L. Gustafson