The Carpenter Family in Butternut Ridge Cemetery

     John Carpenter and his wife Lucena Thompson came to Olmsted In about 1829 with 7 of their 9 children from Vermont. Two of their children were born in Olmsted.  Their children consisted of eight boys and one girl were as follows:  William Sears (1813-1877), Barlow Green (1816-1868), Lydia (1819-1832), John Jr. (1821-1839), Jonathan T (1824-1904), Richard (1826-1892), Charles (1827-1883), George W. (1830-1896), Unnamed Infant(1833-1833).  John Sr. and 8 of his children are buried in Butternut Ridge Cemetery.  Barlow Green is buried in Wellington Ohio.

     Barlow and William S married sisters from Wellington area with the last name of Horr. Barlow’s wife was Lucinda.  Lucina was William’s first wife.  

     Richard and Jonathan were married to daughters of Rev Solomon and Claracy Dimock. Richard married  Augusta and Jonathan married Mary Jane.  Rev Dimock was a prominent circuit preacher in the Buffalo and Northern Ohio area. He and his wife retired to the Olmsted area and are buried in one of the Carpenter plots in Butternut Ridge.

     Lydia died in 1832 at the age of 13.  John Jr. died at the age of 18. There was an infant that was only alive for about 3 days. It must have been a rough birth as Lucena was about 41 years old at the time. Charles was married to Helen O Bennet in 1848. We can’t find any information on her parents there is a possibility from the 1850 census that Nathaniel and Elinor of Lagrange might be them.    

     George was the youngest brother. He married Mary Jane Thompson the daughter of Levi and Ann Thompson. She was born at Kelley’s Island another connection to the island and Olmsted. Her parents are also buried In Butternut Ridge Cemetery.

     The Carpenter Home has been restored and preserved in the Frostville Museum on Cedar Point Road in the Cleveland Metro Parks.  It is open on Saturdays and on special function days in the Summer.  Contact the Olmsted Historical Society for more information.  www.olmstedhistoricalsociety.org  for information on the Cemetery www.OHSGenealogy.org

Kelley's Island

A Neighbor of mine who lives in the North Olmsted Historical District told me that the person who built his house was Daniel Kelley Huntington and  wondered if he is buried in Butternut Ridge Cemetery he also knew that Daniel was born on Kelley’s Island. I found that he and his wife Emily Farr are both buried in Butternut. That started my research.

        Kelley’s Island was originally known as island #6.  Later it was called Cunningham Island.  In 1833 Datus and Irad Kelley started purchasing the property for about $1.50 per acre. By 1840 they had completed the purchase and renamed it Kelley’s Island. Datus Kelley was a successful business man from Rocky River and Irad had become a successful Real Estate investor in Cleveland. They created several businesses on the Island including Lumber and Quarrying. They also had many summer visitors from both Dover and Olmsted township. Datus Kelley’s’ daughter Emeline Married George C Huntington Daniel Kelly Huntington is one of their children. He Lived in Olmsted in the winter and on the island in the summer.  I have found a couple of other people in the cemetery that were born on Kelley’s Island.

        Daniel Married Emily in Cuyahoga but met her up at the Island her family spent summers up there. Emily’s sister Hannah Married Albert Stow Kelley a son of Datus Kelley They had a son Hermon A. Kelley who became a very prominent lawyer in Cleveland. He was also a board member of some of the big corporations in Cleveland. 
      Hermon and Daniel became friends Hermon bought 2 Lots in Butternut Ridge Cemetery. He sold one To Daniel Huntington into the other He moved the remains of the parents and family of Hannah and Emily Farr. I have not found out were they were buried before they were moved. Here is what might have happened.
       I was at Frostville today and found a reproduction of a 1878 map of Rockport township. It showed a farm on the border of Rockport and Dover Townships owned by Julius Farr at the back of the Property it shows a cemetery. Some of the old farms had family cemeteries in the back of the property. The family was moved in the early 1900's. I would have to assume that the farm was sold and to keep the family together they were moved to Butternut. Julius Farr died and was buried in Butternut in 1905. That is about the time everyone was moved by H. A. Kelley.