HENRY THOMAS

FAMILY BURIAL PLACE

   Aerial photograph indicated cem. is near south edge of S.W./4 of Section 24, T. 27 N., Range One East, in northern part of EEL Township , in central CASS COUNTY .

   Skirting the high north terrace-rim of Eel River , and looking down upon the broad and here densely populated river-bottoms, Logansport , Pleasant Hill Street runs in an east-southeasterly direction from North Third Street . ( State Road 17). Just west of the [huge Markert Bros.’ (gardeners’) hugh greenhouse and of the] modern home of George L. Markert (at 1529 P.H. Street and only about 500 feet east-southeast of North Third St ..). Pleasant Hill Street comes so dangerously near to the brink (of the drop into the bottom-lands) that nearly 300 feet of sturdy wooden guard-rail has been erected along the southwesterly side of said  Pleasant Hill Street, and to within about 200 feet of North Third St. About at the midpoint of this guard-rail, we may look southward from Pleasant Hill Street into a grassy, woodsy ravine, about 10 rods (or about the equivalent of half a city-block) to an odd looking, island-like knob measuring (roughly) 75 feet in diameter, a knob which seems to be a sort of westward projection from the (here curving) terrace rim (called Pleasant Hill) itself. This knob, or projection, is bounded on both the south and west by steep drops of about 20 feet and on the north and east by lesser drops. To the northeast of this knob, is a previously mentioned George L. Markert home (which is on the south side of Pleasant Hill Street , and lies east of the ravine). To the southeast of this knob, is the Markert barn (almost due south of the Markert home). About 200 feet south of this island like knob is a little used public thoroughfare officially known as Hillside Street (a short street which leads east from North Third Street ). Knob is about 20 rods almost due east of H.W. Wilson home at 1538 N. Third St .

   In this grassy knob are said to have been buried, during and before the Mexican War period, several members of the family of HENRY THOMAS (see sheet 2) and, according to historian Powell, “probably a few other people”.

   Sometime after 1855, perhaps decades after it, the Thomas’s are said to have all been removed to Mount Hope Cemetery [which the ever-growing and expanding city of Logansport opened (in 1856) on the North side of Pleasant Hill Street, and only about a third of a mile east of this little pioneer-day cemetery]. But it is said that there may today be a few unknown persons still lying here (on this knob) in entirely unmarked graves.

   On this knob today, we find a couple of sunken places which may be “heeled-over” disinterment-sores or perhaps sunken graves; but we find here no recognizable markers of any sort. Yet, many years ago, there are said to have been here four separate little old marble slabs, slabs which, according to local historian Powell, gave information concerning:

THOMAS, Henry… b:----   d:1845. In nearby Mount Hope Cem., about 200 feet E.N.E. of the County Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and not far north of the boundary line between Mt. Hope and St. Vincent cemeteries, and on what is known as Lot 62 O.P., the present writer finds a massive 6’x4-or-5’x4-or 5’) old monument, on the west side of which is “HENRY THOMAS  DIED MAY 18, 1845 AGED 59YEARS 4MONTHS.”--- a death which precedes (By ACTUALLY ELEVEN YEARS) the opening of the Mount Hope Cemetery , and hence indicates a removal, which we probably can quite safely assume is from the little Henry Thomas cem. (with which we are here concerned.

THOMAS , WASHINGTON …b: --- d: “About 1850”. On the above mentioned “Lot 62 O. P.” in Mt. Hope, we find no marker for this person unless he happens to be “one and the same person as the “G.W. Thomas, died 12-16-1847, aged 21years, 4 months, who is listed on east side of the previously mentioned massive Henry Thomas monument. (Question: Does this G.W. stand for “George Washington”?)

DOUGLASS, AMANDA (Mrs. Wm.)…b:--- d: “About 1852.”  “Maiden name was Thomas.)  Only about 85 feet northwest of the previously mentioned massive Thomas mon. (“Lot 62 O. P.” in Mt. H. Cem.), and facing that monument, but itself on Lot 48 O. P., and on an immense and very lofty (25 or 30’) old spire, I find “AMANDA THOMAS WIFE OF WILLIAM DOUGLASS, BORN JUNE 28, 1819, DIED MAY 28, 1852, and directly below her name, and listed as children of herself and William:

Sarah E. Douglass B:1-9-1838  D: 12-20-1847

Francis J. Douglass B: 5-4-1840 D: 3-20-1841

Alice A. Skelton B: 7-12-1842 D: 3—1877; at least 2 of whom MIGHT have been moved here from old Thomas Cem.

BOOTH, SARAH (THOMAS)  b:--- d: “About 1849”   “Wife of Isaac Booth”.

Anyone who may ever be interested in the Genealogy of this Henry Thomas, may find of interest the following random bits of information (which were gleaned in our efforts to make a satisfactory report on this little old family Cemetery.):

   From old court-records, sale-records, and deed records (found in vaults of Clerk of Cass County Circuit Court and of County Recorder at Logansport), we gather that this Henry Thomas’s widow seems to have been named SUSAN;  and very closely related to them, probably as sons, sons-in-law, etc., seem to have been persons named Sanford Thomas, John Thomas, John N. Thomas, William L. Thomas, Frances Maria Thomas, William Douglass and Alice Douglass, Harrison Thomas, James Thomas, Robert and Nancy (Thomas) Ryan, Isaac Booth, Eliza Booth, Susan Booth, and others.

   Search of city-records discloses that “Lot 62 O. P.”, was purchased from city by SUSAN THOMAS on 4-26-1865; and that “Lot 48 O. P.”, had been bought from city by WILLIAM DOUGLASS four years earlier, on 2-20-1861; so any removals to those lots must have occurred after those dates.

   On the massive stone (for Henry Thomas) on “Lot 62, O.P.”, (Mt Hope), in addition to the date for “G.W.”, I find (on the mon.’s South side) dates for H.H. Thomas, died 12-24-1870, aged 58 years; but I am unable to say whether he was, or was not, originally interred in Mt. Hope, or whether he was moved here from some other cemetery, such as the little one which we are at the moment concerned.

   On the stately spire on the previously mentioned and nearby Lot 48 O. P., Mt. Hope , I find some indication that William Douglass may have been married again (after Amanda Thomas Douglass’s death) for I note the following data: William Douglass, B. 8-4-1815, D. 6-11-1909; Rosanna Trapp (Mrs Wm.) Douglass, B. 8-19-1834, D. 4-15-1882; on a third (the North) side of mon., Children of Wm.& Rosanna Douglass:

 EMMA DOUGLASS, B: 10-8-1854, D: 5-28-1856

LAURA DOUGLASS, B: 9-30-1856, D: 6-13-1857

JESSA (SIC) DOUGLASS B: 6-11-1868, D: 8-17-1868

WILLIE DOUGLASS, B: 2-9-1872 D: 9-7-1872

HATTIE DOUGLASS, B: 8-18-1860, D: 10-18-1875

FLORA B. DOUGLASS, B: 5-12-1874, D: 8-24-1877

 [Especially as early deed records show that Wm. Douglass owned farm just north of the old Thomas Cemetery (in same ¼ section), and as the Douglass and Thomas families had intermarried, it seems entirely possible that some of these earlier Douglass children might have been interred in old Thomas Cemetery (with which we are here primarily concerned), and later moved to Mt. Hope.]

END OF REPORT.

This report, dated April 1, 1941, by

R.B. WHITSETT, JR.

500 FRONT STREET

LOGANSPORT , INDIANA

Chairman, Cemetery Research Committee for

L’ANGUILLE VALLEY MEMORIAL

ASSOCIATION

LOGANSPORT , INDIANA

This handwritten report was transcribed for the Cass County INGenWeb Project by Sadie Cunningham in September 2006.

Added 10/15/2006

Cemeteries of Cass County Indiana