July 10, 2010

A Piatt Adventure

Posted by Megan-Marie under Logan, Piatt Family Cemetery, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , |
1 Comment 

Exciting developments here with the Headstoners this month. We’re up to eight fans on Facebook–thanks guys! I’m trying to take a little more interest in both the FB page and the Shutterfly account, which is where our main pictures are going to be posted just in the interest of viewability, which is officially a word now. Everything is a slow process, especially when you take into account the fact that the two of us are in fact knee-deep in trying to move to Indiana, so I hope everyone will bear with us until things get back to normal.

Actually what I would like to draw attention to this week is something that came to my attention in the last week of June and I ended up having to put it off for the Fourth of July post. In October, I posted about the Piatt Cemetery in Logan Co., which as I mentioned then, I visit all the time. This post attracted the attention of Jeff, who is engaged in a really fascinating quest that, as a Headstoner, I was pleased to get in on, and felt it was my duty to share with everybody.

Jeff has in his possession a headstone, a homeless headstone, if you will, and rather than simply dropping it off at the local graveyard or hanging onto it, he has been trying to figure out where it came from so he can return it. The headstone is a sort of tapering shape and matches others already in the cemetery (although to be fair, it’s a common enough shape for the time) . . . Click here for a slideshow of Piatt cemetery shots from the last three years.

Anyway, the stone lists the names of six Piatt(e) children; their parents are identified as “R.J. and Anna.” Abram–the builder of Mac-A-Cheek, if you weren’t paying attention–had a son named Riveroak John, and the names on the stone line up with records identifying their children. Jeff got into contact with me, and I put him in touch with Margaret Piatt, and I hope that pretty soon, the mystery can come to its desired conclusion and the stone returned to its rightful home.

I don’t want to post other people’s pictures here, or tell you too much of his story, because he can tell you himself. Check out this forum at GraveAddiction, and read all about Jeff’s fascinating headstoning investigation!

 

October 16, 2009

The View from Donn Piatt’s Tomb

Posted by Megan-Marie under Logan, Piatt Family Cemetery | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
[5] Comments 
The titular view on a stunning autumn day.

The titular view on a stunning autumn day.

I’m actually surprised to realize that I’ve never posted about the Piatts before, apart from the one where I combined it with a quick visit to Mt. Tabor. Mostly I’m surprised because I am a bit of an afficianado of all things Piatt. Why? Because I work there. At the Piatt Castles, that is. www.piattcastles.org. Come on by sometime ;)

Like most people, I feel a certain affinity for Donn Piatt. I don’t know why most people do and I cringe to be a cliché, but, well, I like him. One of my favorite locations is up on top of his crypt. There’s a great view of the valley, and it’s very quiet and peaceful. As far as climbing up on a mausoleum is concerned, well, as I told my (non-headstoner) friend the first time I did it, “If he didn’t want people climbing up here, he shouldn’t have put a poem up there.” (It’s illegible. But I’ll get to that.)

The Piatt family are, at present, chiefly of note because of the two houses, the eponymous Piatt Castles, Mac-A-Cheek and Mac-O-Chee, which are about a mile and a half apart outside of scenic West Liberty, Ohio. A lot of the houses in this area, at one time or another, were owned by a Piatt at some point. Abram Piatt had a number of kids, and it is his descendants now who own the Castles and maintain them.

Of course the business that concerns me today is the cemetery, which is a favorite of mine judging by frequency of visit alone. Working in the house that someone lived in while they were alive definitely makes one feel a lot closer to the person or persons interred; I’ve stood in either house and tried to imagine knowing the people who lived there, I’ve stood at the tomb and tried to imagine Donn and Abram as boys playing in the valley, as men coming up to the cemetery to bury their loved ones, and the funeral procession bringing them to their final resting place.

Colonel Donn Piatt's Tomb

Colonel Donn Piatt's Tomb

Donn Piatt’s tomb, like his house, is the more ornate and noticable of the two. It was constructed first, and is the final resting place not only of Donn, but of his and Abram’s parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth, of his son Charles, and of his two wives, Louisa and Ella. Donn’s life was filled with a lot of tragedy: he and Louisa were totally in love with each other; they were both writers and they traveled a great deal. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with “consumption” (not necessarily tuberculoses), and all through the Civil War struggled with bad health. Mac-O-Chee castle was originally a cottage he built for her so she could come out to the country where rest and fresh air might heal her; but she died two weeks after the cottage was finished. They’d had two children, the son Charles, who died at age 2 from cholera, and a stillborn daughter. The medallion atop the tomb features Louisa’s profile; on the verso is a grieving poem Donn wrote for her. (more…)

 

December 31, 2008

End of the Year Twofer

Posted by Megan-Marie under Champaign, Logan, Mt. Tabor, Piatt Family Cemetery | Tags: , , , , |
[2] Comments 
A lot of intelligent people, when they got off of work and it’s 20 degrees out, they would just go home, get off their feet, out of those shoes that make the whole side of their foot burn with an ungodly pain, but . . . I’m not those people.
So instead, you’ve got this post. What did I do after I got off of work today, for which I am still paying? I went to two cemeteries! My mother would not approve of it, ’cause I was out there without a coat on, and it was very cold! However, I didn’t want to miss the perfect afternoon light. So here’s the day’s take.

Last Day of DecemberCemetery 1: Piatt Family Graveyard, West Liberty, Ohio.

Well, as it will probably become apparent to some people, I work at the Piatt Castles [1] [2]. We’re open for the holiday season up until the fourth. So today as I was driving home, I noticed that the afternoon light was particularly alluring, and as I have to drive past the cemetery, anyway, I might as well stop in for a few shots.

My first visit to the private graveyard was in August. As is suggested by “private,” this is a plot for members of the Piatt family, and it is located on what used to be part of their farm. Before I went up the first time, I thought that the two main crypts, one for Abram Sanders Piatt and the other for Donn Piatt; this one also is the resting place of their parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth, as well as his wives Ella and Louise.

However, when I first went back, I was surprised by there being so many graves. In actually, there are more than 20 burials there. And today, without the foliage bordering it, I realized that there are even more buried back in the trees and bushes. I learned a couple of things doing that. First of all, my work clothes are not appropriate for getting through briars. Actually, that was basically what I learned. But I got some fantastic shots. (See the bottom of the post for more.) 

Mt. Tabor in Winter

Cemetery 2: Mt. Tabor Methodist Cemetery.

The light was really too much to pass up, so, even though I was frozen stiff, I nipped in for a few shots off before I completely dissolved in the face of the wind and ran off home.

Mt. Tabor is a country cemetery situated not far from Ohio Caverns. The last time I went was four years ago, though not much has changed since then. It’s a rather extensive cemetery, considering, and has a wonderful view of surrounding farmland. One of its more interesting and unique features, apart from the largely-deserted church that I have only ever seen in use once in eleven years, is the presence of steel tombstones. Over the last decade of driving back and forth by this cemetery, I have witnessed the struggles the caretakers have had with a particular iron obelisk, which cannot stand upright and is currently held steady by a series of wires and winches. 

I really have nothing else to say about Mt. Tabor . . . oh, one more incredible feature I have not seen elsewhere is a sort of grave covering, also made out of iron, which has a sort of “lid” which can be removed, presumably to plant flowers. “Oh, gross” was the reaction I had on our first visit. I still think it’s creepy.

That’s it for the commentary. Click for photos.  (more…)

 

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