Background

Seceder Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 100 Seceder Cemetery Road in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. It was established in 1819 by members of the Seceder Presbyterian Church, a group of Presbyterians who broke away from the main denomination in the early 19th century over doctrinal differences. The cemetery is the final resting place for over 300 people, including veterans of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War.

The cemetery is located on a one-acre plot of land that was donated by John and Mary Boyd. The first burial in the cemetery was that of John Boyd’s son, Robert, who died in 1819 at the age of two. The cemetery quickly grew as more and more people from the Seceder Church were buried there.

In the early 1900s, the cemetery fell into disrepair. The headstones were covered in overgrown vegetation, and the grounds were littered with trash. In 1969, the Reynoldsburg Historical Society began a restoration project to clean up the cemetery and repair the headstones. The project was completed in 1971, and the cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Today, Seceder Cemetery is a well-maintained cemetery that is a popular spot for historical tours and genealogy research. The cemetery is open to the public year-round, and there is no admission fee.

Here are some of the notable people buried in Seceder Cemetery:

• John Boyd (1763-1843), a Revolutionary War veteran and founder of the Seceder Church
• Mary Boyd (1766-1847), wife of John Boyd
• Robert Boyd (1817-1819), son of John and Mary Boyd
• James M. French (1818-1895), a Civil War veteran and Ohio state senator
• John T. Cochran (1834-1912), a Civil War veteran and Ohio state representative
• Huldah Cochran (1835-1914), wife of John T. Cochran

This background was sourced from a request to Google Bard AI. Every attempt was made to cross check the information, but there may be some inaccuracies as the AI model is still in Beta.

Impression

This was our first time visiting the Seceder cemetery as well as attending the annual Memorial Day dedication.

Upon arrival, we took a quick stroll through the cemetery and checked out the locations of the names of the noted veterans interned here.

Around 10am, representatives of the local VFW started the ceremony.

After the ceremony, a 21 gun salute was performed by the VFW Color Guard.

While a short ceremony, it is a very poignant and moving one. Next memorial day, please consider attending a ceremony to remember and honor our war veterans.