The Kline Cemetery Oakland Township, MI

Transcription

1 The Kline Cemetery Oakland Township, MI Kristine Fuhr ANT 511 November 11, 2008 Introduction Hidden away behind weeds, overgrown bushes, scrubby trees, and a poor-excuse for chain-link fencing, there is a small cemetery forgotten and neglected by time. It is considered an inactive cemetery by the Oakland Township which has the responsibility of maintaining the grounds and the grave markers. Kline Cemetery is 120 X136 feet, but contains no more than forty markers. Many of them are in sorry shape, weathered by time, damaged by vandals, and cracked with age. There are footings where a grave stone probably once stood and a pile of stones, broken marker pieces mixed with rocks, along the edge of the cemetery most likely placed there by township maintenance men. Officially it is located in the NE corner of Section 15, Oakland Township, Oakland County, Michigan with major cross roads of Stoney Creek Road and Rochester Road. Unofficially, it is all that remains of ten families buried loved ones between 1841 and This area known as Oakland Township (founded in 1827) was one of the first regions to be settled by pioneers. Beginning in 1824 and for several years after, settlers arrived from the east, many from the Rochester, New York area, and began to clear the land for agricultural use. The rolling topography and area creeks, such as Paint Creek and Stony Creek, provided settlers with an available water power for operating grinding and saw mills. It didn t take very long for Goodison, the heart of Oakland Township, to become an economic and educational center for the agrarian community. Even today, this area, while boasting many country subdivisions, still retains its agrarian nature with the numerous cider mills and fruit orchards in the area. From 1831 to 1837, several prominent citizens of Oakland Township came from the east. Of particular note were Peter Kline, John Taylor, and Conrad Shoup. These early settlers are all laid to rest in Kline Cemetery. In 1836 they built a log school on Mr.

2 Kline s property, and in 1855 the Presbyterians build a church on the southwest corner of Kline s property. It is here that the churchyard was also established through the generosity of the Klines. The graveyard that was next to the church was actually laid out in 1855 which created a puzzling paradox until my research uncovered that those graves that were done before 1855 were actually moved from the Kline cemetery that was next to the school across Rochester Road. The Kline Cemetery is all that remains of the church, the school, and the original idea of the churchyard. On the Township Charter map of 1896 both the church and the cemetery are shown clearly, but the school is not, however, it does show on the 1872 map. While this assignment has been accomplished, my study of the Kline Cemetery defiantly is not. There are a few questions that have pulled at my social historian nature that need to be answered. One of the most notable is the lone gravestone in German that appears to have no connection to the other families interred. Another is where and when did the church and school disappear and whether they were ever excavated? Finally, there are the inhabitants of the cemetery themselves and the curiosity that one has about their lives and interaction in Oakland Township. Frequency Seriation with Grave Marker Data (Exercise 18) For this exercise I chose to look at five traits. Trait one is sandstone gravestones. Trait two is pillared markers. Trait three is symbols other than names and dates. Trait four is versed inscriptions other than names and dates. Finally, trait five has to do with markers which listed multiple names. The date ranges were set in sets of ten years beginning with 1840s and ending with 1890s. For each of those date ranges the following markers existed from those that were readable and, of course, dated. There were several stones that had either initials or names only. There were a total of thirty-four markers that fell within these criteria ( ) 4 markers 1850 ( ) 7 markers 1860 ( ) 5 markers 1870 ( ) 8 markers 1880 ( ) 6 markers 1890 ( ) 4 markers 2

3 Seriation Chart % Trait 1 Trait 2 Trait 3 Trait 4 Trait

4 There does not seem to be a clear pattern to any of the traits. Sandstone, trait one, was the most used stone throughout the decades. There are only three granite markers and one that is slate. There was not a heavy use of pillared markers, although they picked up as time marched on. The use of symbols, trait three, was fairly consistent in that half of the markers studied in all decades and as the photos will show were also consistent with the mid 1800s focusing on salvation and heavenly reward. Versed inscriptions other than names, increased toward the latter part of the century with 1880 being the greater range. Consistently, trait five, multiple names, ranged in all decades except Surprisingly 1890 showed the least of any traits, but one would also need to bear in mind that the cemetery was likely already inactive by the turn of the century. Demography (Exercise 19) The demography of Kline Cemetery is best examined using Task 2 of Exercise 19 due to the lack of ethnicity, variance of religion (Presbyterian cemetery), and assumption that most were descendents of white Euro-Americans, except perhaps for Heinrich Schmidt. Using average mortality rates it appears that those who were born prior to 1820 lived into their 60s or beyond. In contrast, those born between 1821 and 1840 lived approximately twenty years less on average than their predecessors. From 1841 on, those born died young, and only the years has an average age over 10. Of the dated and readable markers there were a total of seventeen males and eighteen females in the cemetery. There are eleven markers with either initials only or no marks. The oldest inhabitant lived 88 years, the youngest only 5 weeks. From 1841 on, except for one person, all of those born until 1874 were under the age of 13. In 1867 there was one male born who lived to be 23.At first glance, it looked like it would have been better to have been born in the early 1800s, but when one considers the fact that this church cemetery was not used after 1900 it is hard to imagine that there was a large mortality spike from 1840 until Historically from it would be safe to assume that perhaps many who died were not buried in Kline Cemetery but possibly on the fields where they died during the Civil War. It would also be safe to assume that not many children were born during those years as the men were away fighting the Civil War. During the early 4

5 1850s influenza outbreaks in the area were recorded which could account for greater number of childhood deaths during that period. However, in general children born in rural areas did not live as long for many reasons chiefly accidents and access to quick medical assistance. It would be interesting to take data from this cemetery and compare it to cemetery data closer to Rochester, Michigan or even Rochester, New York to be able to see a clearer picture of this community. AVERAGE AGE OF MALES AVERAGE AGE OF FEMALES

6 AVG AGE MALES & FEMALES Ideology (Exercise 21) It is safe to suggest that the religious group of the Kline Cemetery would have been Protestant Christian verses Roman Catholic Christian. This was a Presbyterian churchyard and, with the exception of the German marker of Schmidt, nothing would suggest otherwise. As shown in the section on seriation, there are not many markers with inscriptions and symbols, mostly just names and dates. However, those that do have inscriptions and symbols are clearly Christian in motif and ideology. For example on Debrah Kline s grave marker across the top is inscribed Shall We Meet in Heaven, other stones have Rest in Heaven, and even the German marker He Rests Safely with God. The symbols are also Christian in metaphor. A cross lies between Philip and Diana Kline, several wreaths, no skulls, which symbolize victory over death, a Bible, butterflies (resurrection-metamorphosis), and also a couple of hands with the pointer finger towards heaven (hand of God-reward for the righteous).on Eliza Taylor s marker there is a lovely set of weeping willow trees which symbolize earthly sorrow or human sadness which would be within reason considering she was only thirteen years old at the time of her death. (See photograph) Many of the inscriptions are difficult to make out due to the level of weathering on the sandstones; however, one that was almost complete was on Jacob T. Dernberger, who in my research I learned was a blacksmith by trade. It reads Beneath our feet and 6

7 over our heads this equal warning given Beneath us lies the countless dead above us is the heaven. Unfortunately on Jacob Kline s gravestone all that could be made out of his inscription was such a home as yet there is not.son of man cometh. Regardless of the lack of inscriptions, it was very evident that these dead were people of faith who believed they would be in heaven. The mysterious grave marker of Heinrich Schmidt is the only one out of place. After attempting several rubbings to get a better reading on the stone, I was finally able to get enough to have what was visible roughly translated from the German. The stone itself has a large dark stain that covers much of the inscription. What resulted in the translation makes his marker the only one for whom the cause of death is known. He drowned. Across the top was inscribed Hier Ruhef Samft in Gott or He rests safely in God. His birth and death dates were given along with his place of birth, which indicates that he was known and not a drifter. However, nothing that I could find at this time in the historical records of Oakland Township has resulted in his very existence. His is a puzzling case. In Closing In the past ten years, I have had to go through the action of burying loved ones which is part of the process of getting older. I have buried a child, mother, father, grandparents, and great-grandparents. The selection of gravestones is difficult enough without the added attraction of modern mechanisms that enhance the stone using laser technology. The stones that mark my own family members are simple, usually just a cross is added (in my mother s case a Celtic one) which is in keeping with our German sensibility of nothing frivolous. Studying how others interpret death and symbolize loss has always fascinated me and is something I have been involved in since my grandmother took me cemetery walking when I was ten. It is not a morbid hobby for me, but one that enhances my own ability to understand the history of an area or era. I am not closing the lid on Kline Cemetery at this time, but will continue the research into the graves that are there in order to give them a place of record, even if it be only in my own files. *Historical background from the limited archives of the Historical Society of Oakland Township, Goodison, MI 7