Week 22: At the Cemetery

There's a cemetery in the little town of Pierceton, Indiana where eight of my ancestors are resting.  Hillcrest Cemetery is located on the west side of Indiana State Highway 13 between E County Road 350 S and E County Road 365 S. 

The oldest of those graves holds Elijah Bird, one of my 3x great-grandfathers on my paternal side.  Elijah was born 217 years ago in Frederick, Virginia on 13 Nov 1805 to Sarah Butler Bird and Thomas Bird.  Elijah married Eliza Williams on 8 Dec 1825 in Holmes County, Ohio. Together they had ten children in 21 years. Elijah died on October 5, 1876 in Pierceton at the age of 70, just ten months after he and Eliza celebrated 50 years of marriage.  Eliza was born on 12 Jan 1805 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Jehu Williams and Sarah Arbuckle.  She died eight years after Elijah on 7 Feb 1884 when she was 79 years old. The headstones for Elijah and Eliza are weathered and the inscriptions are hard to decipher.  Eliza's stone cracked and broke at some point and is sinking lower and lower in the ground.  

Elijah and Eliza's son Albert Arbuckle Bird was my 2x great-grandfather.  Albert isn't buried in Hillcrest Cemetery but his wife, Sarah Ann Norris Bird, is.  Sarah Ann was born on 6 Aug 1851 in Kosciusko County, the daughter of Luther Norris and Elizabeth Banghart Norris.  A month before her 16th birthday Sarah Ann married Albert.  During their eighteen years together they had six children.  Sarah died of typhoid fever when she was just 33 years old.  

Ruth Ann Bird Zook, the youngest of Elijah and Eliza's children, is also buried at Hillcrest.  Ruth Ann was born 9 Apr 1847 when Eliza was 42 years old.  Ruth Ann was my 2nd great-grandaunt.

                                                                   Ruth Ann's headstone

Sarah Ann Norris Bird

Sarah's parents, Luther Norris and Elizabeth Banghart Norris, are also buried in Hillcrest Cemetery.  Luther was born on 24 Aug 1824 in Holmes County, Ohio.  On 17 Jun 1843 when Luther was 18 he married 16-year old Elizabeth Banghart in Holmes County.  Together they had four children; their only daughter, Sarah, was their youngest.  Their first son, John Thomas, died at 4 months old.  Stephen and Albert, the second and third sons, both lived to adulthood. However, both Stephen and Sarah died before their parents did.

Elizabeth and Luther nearly made it to fifty years of marriage before Luther passed away on 4 Jan 1893.  Elizabeth lived for seven years after losing Luther.  It's hard to tell from the headstone pictures but I think Elizabeth and Luther share the same stone, with each having their story carved on opposite sides. The monument looks to be in beautiful shape after standing for over 130 years.

                                                                    Elizabeth and Luther

Luther and Elizabeth's son Stephen B Norris, my 2nd great-granduncle, was a Civil War veteran.  He was born on 7 Feb 1846 and died on 17 Dec 1878.  

The last ancestral grave I know of at Hillcrest is that of James Norris, my 3rd great-granduncle. James was an older brother to Luther.  Unlike Luther, he was born on 19 Apr 1814 in New York before the Norris family left there to relocate in Holmes County, Ohio. This picture of James gives a good look at his "unique" hair style and beard.  

I'm pretty sure that if I kept looking and branched out just a little farther on my tree I'd find plenty more relatives buried here in Pierceton.