Cave Hill Cemetery, Again
The last few weeks, I have been going over the photos and info that I gathered a few years ago when we spent about 1 hour at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.
The Kentucky Death Records are very informative, that is how I could find the address of the last house that Henry lived in.
As I went through the records, the ties that bound the various people buried in the Kerlin plot became somewhat clearer:
Part Lot No. 2 Section A
Name Henry T. Kerlin SQ. Feet 540
Care
Sept. 28, 1876
—————————————————————————————–
Burial No. /Name Of Deceased /Date Of Burial
1. Henry T. Kerlin 10/25/1888
2. Mrs. Mary S. Kerlin 3/14/1880
3. Mary Eliza Kerlin…………../187-
4. Lizzie H. Kerlin………………/187-
5. Child Of Henry T. Kerlin./187-
6. William R. Kerlin…………../187-
7. Robert Kerlin 2/12/1877
8. Westley B. Kerlin 12/3/1876
9. James H. Kerlin 3/24/1895
10. Mrs. Della Macquaid Livingston 12/3/1897
11. Miss Irene Riddle 12/2/1902
12. Mrs.Mary Riddle Kerlin 7/5/1933
Now, if you look at the information, you can see that Henry bought the plot shortly before Westley died. I cannot find Westley’s death in the Kentucky records, perhaps he died elsewhere.
There is a lovely monument on the plot ( one of the first plots as one enters the cemetery). Henry and Mary, his first wife, obviously had buried four babies ( burials 3, 4, 5and 6) in another cemetery and at this time had them moved to Cave Hill. Next to the babies, lies their Mother, the first Mary( burial 2). Next to this Mary, lies Henry ( burial 1). On his other side, lies his second wife, another Mary ( burial 12). And then two people I have yet to identify.
Across the plot lies Westley ( burial 8 ) . Perhaps Henry bought the plot to provide a more attractive place for his poor dead babies, but Westley was the first *fresh * burial made at the plot. Next to him, lies a certain Robert Kerlin ( burial 7) and next to Robert, Henry’s only surviving child ( ok, obviously at least for a while), James ( burial 9) .
Uh, wait a moment, Robert Kerlin ? Died 1877 ?
Uh, which Robert Kerlin is this ?
Well, it does not seem to be one of O.B.’s children, he had two Robert’s, but for the one listed in the Death Records, no match. Plus, while there was contact with Uncle Henry, I suspect that most of O.B.’s family was buried at Eastern, read : give up all hope of finding them, and that the family at this point was not close enough to be buried together.
Who is the Robert Kerlin buried next to Westley ? It’s not a child of Henry’s. Well….
Dead a year after Westley, buried next to Westley, across the plot from Henry’s wives and children and Henry himself, I have to wonder if this Robert Kerlin is Robert A. Kerlin, my great great great grandfather, a tailor, the older brother of Henry, the younger brother of Westley.
Could be, makes sense, is logical if one looks at the plot.
But what happened to Jane T. Carothers , his wife?
What happened to John W. Kerlin and William O. Kerlin , the sons left after little Henry ran off to St.Louis and married Maggie Carbis ?
Do you know, there is one of those Family history centers just about a 15 minute bus ride and a 20 minute walk away from here . I wonder if I could get US microfilms to view here.
I only have to wait a few more years and then Meggie will be old enough for me to look into this.
Pins and needles.