Caledonia Cemetery, Randolph County, Illinois

The Caledonia Cemetery is located about 1/2 mile east of the town of Sparta on State Route 154, in Randolph County, Illinois.

Please note, these are only some, not all, of the Woodside graves in Caledonia.



This Woodside stone covers three burials:

David B. 1871 - 1936
Fannie S. 1872 - 1959
James Roy 1905 - 1906




Ralph N. Woodside 1907 - 1976






This stone is standing upright under a tree.

Mary A. Wife of J. J. Woodside
Born Oct 26, 1811
Died Feb. 18, 1892
Aged 80 Yrs. 3 M. 22 d.




The following three stones are flat in the ground:

Addison, Son of John J. & Mary Woodside, Died July 20, 1853, Aged 1 yr 3 mos. 9 ds.

John M., Son of John J. & Mary A. Woodside, Died June 21, 1848, Aged 1 year, 8 mos. 2 ds.

John S., Son of John J. & M.A. Woodside, Died Aug 26, 1850, Aged 1 yr. 9 ms. 26 ds.

PETTIT stones in the Caledonia Cemetery:

Jonathan Pettit, Died July 16, 1851, Aged 32 Yrs. 7 mo. 22 ds.

(Note: Randolph County, Illinois Information 1800-1850 by Randolph County Genealogical Society, Chester, Illinois, p.320, states this is husband of Mary)




Son of Jonathan & Mary Pettit, Died May 2, 1819, Aged 2 yrs.

(Note: Randolph County, Illinois Information 1800-1850 by Randolph County Genealogical Society, Chester, Illinois, p.320, states this is John Henry Pettit)

Map of Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey

In September of 2001 I contacted the cemetery office by phone with the names I was interested in. They were very polite and helpful and faxed to me a map similar to this one with the grave sites marked on it.

The Section and Grave Number are engraved on the back of the stones.

More on Elmlawn Cemetery

The following gravestones are for the Samcoe family. While this is not a direct line in my Woodside family, the Samcoes are related to Lillie B. (Samcoe) Woodside, wife of William J. Woodside. The Samcoe gravestones sit next to the Woodside gravestones in the West Chapel Lawn section of Elmlawn Cemetery. See the previous Elmlawn posting for the Woodside gravestones.

This photo is an overview of the layout of the Woodside and Samcoe stones. The darker stone on the left is the Woodside stone, as well as the flat in ground plaque in front of it. The second and fourth stones on the right are the Samcoe stones.


These two photos are of the front and back of the stone that sits under the tree in rear of overview photo (Lot 522).

Engraved on the lower edge of front of stone are three names: Charlotte B. 1886-1934; George A. 1887-1949; Elizabeth 1855-1928 (These are in graves 4, 5, and 6).

Engraved on lower edge of rear of stone are two names and a blank space: Ruth E. 1906-1907; Geda L. 1892-1963 (graves 10 and 11).


These photos are the front and rear of the second Samcoe gravestone (Lot 525).

Engraved on lower edge of front are three names: William H. Sr. 1848-1897; William J. 1891-1942; Anna Martin 1890-1954 (graves 4, 5, and 6).

Engraved on lower edge of rear of stone are three names: Stanley Czapla 1887-1956; Ruth A. Bogner 1913-2004; Earl Bogner 1913-1966 (graves 10, 11, and 12).

This plaque laying flat in ground is at the rear of the above gravestone. It reads: Beloved Husband, Stanley Czapla, 1887-1956. It would appear this plaque was put in place at time of burial, then later his name was engraved on the large stone.

Photographing Gravestones

When I visit a cemetery to photograph my ancestors gravestones I try to do it in the late morning or early afternoon. The sun is usually at a better angle at this time of day for photographing the stones. Just be sure not to throw your shadow onto a stone with a glossy surface or you will see yourself in the photo. (Yeah, I did this and, unfortunately, did not discover it until after I got home.)

I prefer to use a digital camera with a zoom lense and an LCD monitor. The monitor lets you know immediately whether or not you will be able to read the inscription. If it is an older, hard to read stone be sure to write the information down in addition to taking the photograph. In fact, I do this even when I can read the inscription in the monitor just to be on the safe side. After all, if I have traveled a long distance to get the photos I probably will not be going back anytime soon, if at all. Better to be safe than sorry.

With a large gravestone you may not be able to read the inscription clearly in the monitor, or on the photograph. This is where a zoom lense comes in handy; you can zoom in and photograph the inscription, in sections if necessary. Be sure to also get the full view of the stone.

Sometimes it is helpful to take a photograph at an angle in order to have some shadow in the inscription, which makes it easier to read. It depends on how the sun is hitting the stone. Be careful also with using a flash. A lot of the time it causes too much light and fades out the inscription making it unreadable.

Those bronze plaques that lay flat in the ground are harder to photograph well. It is difficult to read the dark lettering against the dark background. I have found, though, that you can deal with this in whatever photo program you have in your computer. I used Paint Shop Pro to lighten a plaque photograph so it is easier to read.

Another thing I like to do is make a sketch of the layout of the gravestones, especially when a family is grouped together. In the sketch I draw the shape of the stone and put a number on it; then further down the page, or on another sheet of paper, I write that number along with the inscription and a brief description of the stone. I also take an overview photograph showing this same layout. This can be very helpful if you ever need to go back to the site or another member of the family wants to visit the site.

Don't neglect the stones in the plots next to or near your ancestors. Take photographs of these stones and closeups of the inscriptions even if you don't recognize the names. You may find out later that they are extended family.

Take the time to stop in the cemetery office and look at the records. Sometimes there is more information than what is on the stone - such as a baby buried in a plot with another child or adult, or the name of a relative who is/was the owner of the plot. Also, if you can't find a stone for an ancestor but you know they were buried at that particular cemetery, the office can tell you if there was no stone at all.

Map of Greenmount Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

I contacted the cemetery office before my visit with the names I was interested in and they sent me a map similar to this one with the grave sites marked on it. This was in 1992, but I would hope the cemetery office would still be making the map available.

When writing to them be sure to enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope for their reply. The address is 4301 N. Front Street.

Greenmount Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

Greenmount Cemetery is located at 4301 N. Front Street, near Hunting Park Avenue, in Philadelphia. This is an older cemetery that was established in 1875. I visited it in 1998 and it was still in use at that time. I did not get a photo of the entrance, but did photograph the stone with the cemetery name on it near the entrance. If I remember correctly, the cemetery is surrounded by a green iron fence.

The following three stones are for my Dougan relatives, including my father. The first photo shows the two stones as they sit in the cemetery, side-by-side. Next photo is the family stone which reads as follows (parenthesis are my comments):

DOUGAN
Joseph R. 1877 - 1930 (my grandfather)
Joseph R. 1899 - 1956 (my uncle)
M. Evelyn 1905 - 1958 (my aunt)
George B. 1908 - 1960 (my father)
Mary J. 1877 - 1961 (my grandmother)

The third stone is for my grandparent's child that died very young. On top of the stone is engraved Our Baby. The front of the stone reads W. Mervin Dougan, Born 1909 Died 1912. Also in the plot, but not on the stone, is the grave of my aunt Erma's baby, Sheralyn Letton who died March 24, 1935, 1 month old. All these graves are in Section K, Lot 281.


This last marker is for my mother, Ida Blanche (Woodside) Trainer, formerly Dougan. She was the daughter of John Thomas and Ida May Woodside. It is a bronze plaque that lies flat in the ground in the Lawn Section, Lot 866.

TRAINER
Together Forever
John W. 1894-1969
Blanche 1908-1972

More From Beverly National Cemetery

This is an overview of cemetery layout showing husband and wife stones side-by-side.





These two pictures are relatives on my father's side of the family - my aunt Erma (Dougan) and her husband.

Erma D
May 21 1901
Aug 10, 1996
Wife of
SGT James M. Letton
USA
(Sec. J, Lot 1730)



James M. Letton
Pennsylvania
SGT MTC
World War I
October 18 1899
April 28 1957

(Sec J, Lot 1731)

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This stone is for a relative on my husband's side of the family. (No relation to my Smiths)

James Andrew Smith
New Jersey
S1 USCGR
World War II
April 5 1915
June 27 1957

(Sec. L, Lot 2932)