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Merrillville Cemetery

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Region Civil War vets remembered with graveside Christmas wreaths

Region Civil War vets remembered with graveside Christmas wreaths

CROWN POINT | The holiday season of 1862 was anything but merry for Sgt. William Foster as he suffered through a bout of typhoid fever.

14 gravestones dedicated

14 gravestones dedicated

Though long dead, 12 Civil War veterans -- and two of their wives -- were remembered for their sacrifices by more than 100 people who attended Saturday gravestone dedication ceremonies in Merrillville and Crown Point.

Remembering the dead, preserving history

Remembering the dead, preserving history

Mabel Swisher's uncle helped produce one of the region's most recognizable historical landmarks, but his Crown Point grave marker is literally vanishing into history.

Reconstructing history

Reconstructing history

As a child, Alice Smedstad clipped weeds and tall grass away from the headstones of Merrillville Cemetery, wondering about the people buried in the shadow of her father's garden.

Daniel Underwood, 1827-1912

Daniel Underwood, 1827-1912

Daniel Underwod | Private | 151st Indiana Volunteers | 1827-1912 | Merrillville Cemetery | Underwood reportedly owned a farm a few miles east of Merrillville before his death.

Samuel White, 1825-1908

Samuel White, 1825-1908

Samuel White | Private | Company A | 99th Indiana Infantry | 1825-1908 | Merrillville Cemetery | Old newspaper clippings indicate White was born in England in 1825 and moved to the United States in 1840. Eight members of Company A reportedly acted as pallbearers at his Merrillville funeral.

Hiram Barton, 1839-1922

Hiram Barton, 1839-1922

Hiram Barton | Private | Company A | 99th Indiana Regiment | 1839-1922 | Merrillville Cemetery | In addition to the fellow soldiers Barton saw die in the war, his young son died at home while he was away fighting. His account, published in the Lake County Historical Association's History of …

James Frazier, 1827-1905

James Frazier, 1827-1905

James Frazier | Private | Companies B and H | 20th Indiana Regiment | 1827-1905 | Merrillville Cemetery | James Frazier served in the same company organized by Crown Point native Col. John Wheeler, the namesake of one of Crown Point's middle schools. Frazier survived the war, but Wheeler was…

Ebenezer Saxton, 1824-1865

Ebenezer Saxton, 1824-1865

Ebenezer Saxton Jr. (died in service) | Private | Company I | 153rd Illinois Infantry | 1824-1865 | Merrillville Cemetery (inscription) | Saxton, a Vermont native, moved to Merrillville with his family in 1837 at the age of 12. Though honored with this inscription on a family grave marker a…

Charles A. Knoll, 1838-1916

Charles A. Knoll, 1838-1916

Charles A. Knoll | Sergeant | Company K | 11th Illinois Infantry | 1838-1916 | Merrillville Cemetery | Knoll, a native of Canada, was 11 when he moved to Ross township with his father, a farmer. Knoll worked as a farmer until 1864, when he enlisted with Company K. He suffered gunshot wounds …

Ebenezer Saxton

Ebenezer Saxton

Ebenezer Saxton, a Vermont native, served with the 153rd Illinois Infantry during the final year of the Civil War. Though buried in Louisville, KY, where he died of illness during his service, Saxton is memorialized on a headstone at Merrillville Cemetery where other family members are buried.

Nehemiah Huntley, 1836-1896

Nehemiah Huntley, 1836-1896

Nehemiah Huntley, Private, Company D, 38th Indiana Infantry, 1836-1896, Merrillville CemeteryHuntley survived the war and returned to Ross Township, where he reportedly lived for many years before moving to the south side of Chicago. At the age of 60, Huntley died in a fire at a building h…

Benjamin Case, 1829-1918

Benjamin Case, 1829-1918

Benjamin Case | Private | Company G | 50th Indiana Infantry | 1829-1918 | Merrillville Cemetery

Solomon Zuvers, 1822-1898

Solomon Zuvers, 1822-1898

Solomon Zuvers, Private, Company D, 15th Illinois Infantry, 1822-1898, Merrillville CemeteryZuvers, a farmer, reportedly owned the second-oldest home in Merrillville during his era in the town. Local historical sources indicate Zuvers often trapped, traded and lived among Native American tribes.

Henry Undine, 1831-1899

Henry Undine, 1831-1899

Henry Undine | Private | Company H | 51st Ohio Infantry | 1831-1899 | Merrillville Cemetery | Undine's Ohio regiment participated in the Battle of Chickamauga, in which more than 34,000 men were either killed or wounded. After returning home from the war, Undine joined the post-war organizat…

Israel Vanness

Israel Vanness | Private | Companies B, D and K | 20th Indiana Infantry | Merrillville Cemetery

James D. Merill, 1846-1864

James D. Merill, 1846-1864

James D. Merrill (killed in battle) | Private | Company B | 20th Indiana Regiment | 1846-1864 | Merrillville Cemetery | James D. Merrill was the son of Dudley Merrill, one of the founding fathers of Merrillville. He died at the Battle of the Wilderness, a two-day engagement in 1864 that prov…

Jarius P. Jones, 1834-1896

Jarius P. Jones, 1834-1896

Jarius P. Jones | Corporal and Sergeant | Companies B, D and K | 20th Indiana Infantry | 1834-1896 | Merrillville Cemetery | Jones, now buried with his wife in Merrillville, fought in some of the bloodiest campaigns of the Civil War. His regiment fought in the Battle of Bull run in 1862, the…

Israel "Duff" Pierce, 1836-1885

Israel "Duff" Pierce, 1836-1885

Israel "Duff" Pierce | Sergeant | Company A | 99th Indiana Infantry | 1836-1885 | Merrillville Cemetery | Though he survived the war, Pierce's life was largely defined by tragedy. Twenty years after his service in the 99th Indiana ended, Pierce, a Merrillville farmer, hung himself in a stabl…

Region faces of the Civil War

Region faces of the Civil War

Sgt. Israel Pierce, left, poses with brother Wesley in his 99th Indiana Infantry uniform. Pierce, of Merrillville, survived fierce fighting but ended his own life 20 years after returning home from the war.

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