Olive Branch Cemetery, Washington Twp, Warren County, Ohio
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Warren County, Ohio Virtual Cemetery Project
a project of the Warren County Genealogical Society a chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society
in partnership with the Warren County OHGenWeb Project.


  Olive Branch Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery
North side of Wilmington Road just west of Interstate 71
Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio
 

Index to Available Tombstone Photos
Name Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [no surname] [Olive Branch Cemetery Home page]



looking southwest from cemetery towards entrance
piled up stones to left of entrance - fence around the Drake family plot on right

The gravestones that had been located in a pile at the Olive Branch Cemetery have been cleaned, repaired and reset as an Eagle Scout Project in cooperation with the Washington Township Trustees.
See photos from the Dedication Ceremony that was held on Saturday, November 12, 2011.

Location:  
  • North side of Wilmington Road (County Road 7), just west of Interstate 71, Washington Township, Warren County, Ohio
  • "Ohio Cemeteries 1803-2003" by the Ohio Genealogical Society , Cemetery #12323, "Olive Branch Cemetery"
  • Coordinates: 39° 25' 48"N, 84° 04' 45"W
  • Virginia Military District: Survey #828
Links:  
  • USGS GNIS - Olive Branch Cemetery Feature ID #1044154
  • TopoZone map at coordinates 39° 25' 48"N, 84° 04' 45"W
  • Warren County Auditor for "Cemetery", Property Account # 7205902, Parcel ID 14364000010] - 1 acre
  • Aerial Image of the cemetery location from Windows Live Local
  • Virginia Military District Survey #828 from Warner's 1867 Warren County Ohio Wall Map
  • Beers History of Warren County
    page 691
    "On the hill east of the river, Joel Drake settled, in 1815, where John Wilkerson now lives; he was from Southampton County, Va., and was a soldier of the Revolution, taking part at Yorktown and witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis; he and his brother, Jordan Drake, left Virginia in 1807, and encountered a terrible tornado after crossing the Ohio. They arrived at Anderson’s Fork (they supposed at the time), in Clinton County, now Snowhill; but milk sickness prevailing, they disposed of their property and removed to Warren County and settled on the head of Olive Branch in 1815, Jordan Drake settling near by where Samuel Craig now lives. Jordan Drake raised a large family, his daughter in law, Mrs. John W. Drake, and his grandson, Henry M. Drake, remaining in this township. Joel Drake was an active and influential member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; his death occurred in 1841."
    page 705
    "There were a great many Methodists in the settlements, mostly in Clinton County, till about 1810, when Joel Drake and Jordan Drake settled on Olive Branch, where a society was organized and a log house built in 1821 or 1822. James Davidson and Adjet McGuire were preaching at different places before this time, and are spoken of as early preachers at Olive Branch. Some years after, a frame structure was erected, and, about 1843, was improved and finished in a comfortable manner.
    I have just been reliably informed that Leroy Swormstedt, while quite a young man, preached for some three years at Rev. Joel Drake’s house prior to the building of the church.
    The first person buried in the graveyard attached was Jordan Drake, aged about twenty one; the next, Mrs. Isaac Stutsel."

    page 706
    "Olive Branch Methodist Episcopal Church has a well-filled graveyard on the church lot, Jordan Drake, a young man, being the first one buried, about 1823; Mrs. Isaac Stutsel, about 1824; then a young woman named Almira Houston, who was killed by falling from a swing."
  • Capital University Law School, Law Review Vol. 32, Issue 2,
    "The Standing of the Dead: Solving the Problem of Abandoned Graveyards" by C. Allen Shaffer [link is to a pdf file] includes discussion of the Olive Branch Cemetery situation.
  • "Bodies Transferred," The Western Star (Lebanon, Ohio), Thursday, November 24, 1924
Transcriptions:  

Depression Era Plat Map of Olive Branch Cemetery (#78) for the Veterans Grave Registration Project by the WPA

Plat shows retangular grid of 20 graves by 40 graves with the "Drake Lot" shown as a 6 grave parcel.

The only burial recorded on the plat was for Civil War Veteran William Grey. Other veterans known to be buried here are John W. Barkley (died while serving in the Civil War), Rev. Joel Drake (Revolutionary War Veteran), and George Zentmyer (War of 1812 Veteran)


Entrance - looking east south side of graveyard. Bulk of stones are piled up here
   
looking west at fenced Drake family plot looking northwest
   
looking south - Drake family plot in foreground looking southwest

Index to Available Tombstone Photos
Name Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [no surname] [Olive Branch Cemetery Home page]
[To contribute your photos email them in jpg format to Arne H Trelvik with any other details that you would like to share]

NOTICE: All documents and electronic images placed on the Warren County OHGenWeb site remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with US Copyright Laws and Regulations. These documents may be used b anyone for their personal research. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or their legal representative, and contact the listed Warren County OHGenWeb coordinator with proof of this consent.

This page created 20 November 2007 and last updated 19 November, 2011
© 2007 Arne H Trelvik  All rights reserved