Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - December 22 - Christmas and Deceased Relatives

This is a reprint of the Advent Calendar post written for December 22, 2009.

                                                      The luminaries at David's Cemetery

Today's post is a response to the Geneabloggers.com Advent Calendar prompt which asks, Christmas and Deceased Relatives
Did your family visit the cemetery at Christmas? How did your family honor deceased family members at Christmas?

When I was a child, I don't remember visiting the cemetery at Christmas. We usually took my grandmother to place flowers on the gravesite of my great grandmother around Memorial Day, but for the most part, the only time I stepped foot into any cemetery was for a funeral service. I guess most people don't enjoy being in one unless they absolutley have to. Up until a few years ago, I had no idea how many of my ancestors burial places are located in David's Cemetery in Kettering. Once I began my research, I "found" them and I have been visting them regularly ever since.

But, Christmastime visits became more important after my grandparents passed away and especially after my father went home to Heaven almost 17 years ago. The cemetery provides the service of allowing the purchase of Christmas wreaths that are placed on the gravesites on December 1st. A few years ago, they began the practice of placing over 4,000 luminaries throughout the cemetery grounds on Christmas Eve. They begin at 5:00 pm and are kept lit until midnight, weather permitting. I can't tell you how beautiful it is or what an incredibly peaceful feeling it gives me to go to the cemetery on that night. It's not that I believe that my loved ones remain in the cemetery, but being there gives me the freedom to stop and remember and shed a few tears as I think about all the wonderful Christmases I spent with them.

Tombstone Tuesday - Edmund S. Ensey

While visiting the cemetery last Friday, I discovered this very striking and unusual monument and I thought it would be an interesting one to investigate and share.

It is the gravesite of Edmund S. Ensey.  1868-1915.  The circular inscription for the "Woodmen of the World" appears at the top of the stone.

According to the 1880 US Census, Edmund was living in Dayton, Montgomery, County, Ohio with his parents, Abram and Harriet Ensey and his brother, Elmer.  His father was a wagon maker.

He appears in the 1900 census where he is now the Chief Tipto of the 3rd Cavalry at Fort Meyer, Virginia. According to the record, he listed his address as Main Street, Dayton, Ohio.  At that time, he had been married for 8 years.

Upon locating Edmund's death certificate, I discovered that he had been born to Abraham Ensley and Harriet Hines on 23 January, 1868.  He had passed away from a cerbral hemorrhage at the age of 47 on 28 August, 1915.  His death occured while he was at Fort Moultrie Army Post, South Carolina.  His listed occupation was "Musician" and "Soldier".  He had enlisted in the Army several times, but had also worked as a brass moulder in Dayton.

I haven't looked any farther into his life, but according to the stone, he had children. I'm sure some of his descendants are still in this area. I wonder if I know any of them?

He was laid to rest in David's Cemetery, Van Buren Township, (now Kettering) Montgomery County, Ohio, where I "met" him on May 29, 2010. 

Tombstone Tuesday - Samuel and Caroline Routsong Swadner

This is the gravesite of Samuel and Caroline Routsong Swadner, located in David's Cemetery, Kettering, Montgomery County, Ohio. Samuel was the brother of my great great grandmother, Clarinda Swadner Routsong. Samuel's wife, Caroline, was the sister of my great great grandfather, Henry Mathias Routsong. Brother and sister married sister and brother.

The following short biography of Samuel Swadner appears in the book, "The Centennial History and Biographical Report of the City of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio" published by A.C. Bowen and Company, 1897. It appears on page 1309.


SAMUEL SWADENER, one of the successful farmers of Montgomery county, Ohio, was born in Van Buren township, this county, October 23, 1821, his farm lying in section 4, of the township. He is a son of Henry and Ellen (Suman) Swadener, the former of whom was a native of Maryland. Henry and Ellen Swadener were the parents of nine children, three sons and six daughters, six of whom are still living, as follows: Daniel; Samuel; Sarah, widow of Joseph Brown; Henry; Clarinda, wife of Henry Roussong; and Lavina, wife of Riley Shank.
Henry Swadener was a mechanic, and while yet a young man located in Montgomery county in its early pioneer days, and bought a small farm in Van Buren township. Here he died in 1858, at sixty-nine years of age. His father died in Maryland, The maternal grandfather of Samuel Swadener, Mr. Suman, located in Van Buren township as one of the earliest of the pioneers, and lived here all his life.
Samuel Swadener lived with his parents in Van Buren township until he was twenty-two years of age. He was married, February 11, 1847, to Miss Caroline Roussong, daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Flook) Roussong. To this marriage there have been born seven children, three sons and four daughters, five of whom are now living, as follows: Michael J., Frances G., Ida Belle, Margaret A., and Samuel C. Those that died were named William H. and Julia A. Michael J. married Miss Joanna Miller, by whom he has one child living, Royal. Frances G. married William Cress; they have two children, Clarence E. and Edna May. Ida Belle married Perry Saylor; they also have two children, Goldie May and Samuel Roscoe. Margaret A. married Joseph Saylor, and they have two children Otho and Clifford. Samuel C. married Miss Elnora Michaels, and they have one child, Harry LeRoy.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Swadener are members of the German Reformed church, and in politics Mr. Swadener is a democrat. He is a most industrious and prosperous man, owning a farm of 100 acres, which is well improved. He has lived in Van Buren township during his entire life, a period of seventy-five years. His wife’s people came to Montgomery county from Maryland in the early pioneer days, and settled in Van Buren township, where they have always been held in high esteem. They have contributed largely to the growth and prosperity of the county, and have done well their part in life. Too much cannot be said in honor of the pioneer settlers of Ohio, who laid well the foundations of the commonwealth, which now deservedly claims so proud a place in the long list of great states of the Union