Blish Road (Verbsky Farm - Reynolds) Cemetery

            There was a cemetery on the east side of Blish Road (now King Memorial) which served residents around Little Mountain. When the farm on which this cemetery is situated was sold, burials of Little Mountain residents were made in Mentor Cemetery. Because this was not a dedicated public cemetery, stones were broken and removed. Today the area, now part of Kirtland Hills, is being allotted. John Reynolds, survivor of Valley Forge, is still buried there. The plat map for this cemetery is the first one in the Cemetery Book in the Lake County Archives, located in the basement of the Lake County Administration Building, Painesville.

            Since access is not being made available for transcribing stones, the readings come from the 1920s inventory of the D.A.R. A couple of the stones have been found and turned in to the Lake County Historical Society as noted in the readings.

            From their work we find this:

            “Note : This cemetery is entirely hidden from view by brush, locust trees and woods. It is in the extreme south east corner of Mentor, next Concord, Chardon and Kirtland boundaries and is 1/4 mile northwest of the mentor corner, 200 ft from road and on what is now the Verbsky farm”.

            Below that we find another handwritten note, much later:

            “Located on King Memorial (east side). After leaving Little Mt. Rd. going N. on King Memorial, the cemetery can be reached by jumping the field fence at the 1^st dip on King Memorial after leaving Lt. Mt. From the center of the Rt. 90 King Mem. over pass bridge South to the west spot to enter the cemetery- it measures .4 of a mile on the car speedometer.”

            Another note states that this was never the Verbsky farm, but was the Benjamin Hubbbell farm.

            The following readings were done by the DAR, and were not transcribed word for word. AE and age were interchangeable in their work, and line designations and rows were not given. The exceptions are the two noted at the Historical Society.

Mentor Township

Blish Farm Cemetery

Name

Sec-
tion

Row

Stone
#

Inscription

Symbols

Comments

 Norton, J. A.

1

1

1

J. A. Norton/ died/ July 17, 1851,/ AE 52 yr's.

old reading states, "stone lying on ground, but in good condition." Now at Lake County Historical Society.

 Norton, Rosetta

1

1

2

Rosetta/ wife of Isaac A. Norton/ died May 21, 1848/ aged ___

stone lying on ground, worn on age.

 Reynolds, John

1

1

3

In Memory of / John Reynolds, Esq., a Revolutionary Soldier,/ who entered the army in the year of 1778,/ and continued in the service of his country during the war./ He died Mar. 3, 1840/ aged 80./ "Here in this tomb beneath the sod/ Lies all that's mortal of the man;/ Who's soul ascended up to God/ To finish what he had began."

Stone erected 1840 is still good but the inscription is partly worn off.

 Reynolds, Mary

1

1

4

In Memory of Mary/ wife of/ John Reynonlds,/ who died Mar. 20, 1832,/ aged 70 yrs.

stone leaning, but in fair condition.

 Reynolds, Polly

1

1

5

In Memory of/ Polly wife of / John Reynolds/ who died June/ 1 1837 In the/ 63 year of her/ age

old reading says, "stone up, but leaning against a stump." This stone is currently at Lake County Historical Society.

 Green, Matthew

1

1

6

In Memory of Matthew Green,/ who died Nov. 26, 1839,/ ae 50 yrs., 3 mos.

 Johnson, H.

1

1

7

H. Johnson

small stone about 1 ft. sq. - nicely cut letters

 Johnson, Jane Ann

1

1

8

In Memory of Jane Ann,/ wife of Henry Johnson,/ who departed this life June 11, 1838,/ aged 53

urn and willow stone

beautifully carved and still standing.

 Hubbard, Roswell Randolph

1

1

9

Roswell Randolph,/ 4th son of Roswell and Chloe Ann Hubbard,/ died 1838,/ aged 7 yrs., 4 mo., 2 da.

 Hubbard, Helen Clarina

1

1

10

Helen Clarina,/ 2nd dau of Roswell and Chloe Ann Hubbard,/ died Aug. 16, 1838,/ aged 4 yr., 1 mo., 20 da.

leaning against above stone.

 Fox, Tamma

1

1

11

Tamma Fox,/ wife of William Fox,/ died June 8, 1840 in the 41st year of her age/ "A patern she through every scene of life/ A pious christian an a faithful wife/ A Neighbour kind, a sweet and pleasant friend/ It was thus she lived and peaceful was her end."

standing and in beautiful condition.

 Fox, George

1

1

12

George Fox,/ son of William Fox,/ died June 27, 1837,/ age 13 yr., 11 mo.

stone lying face down on ground

 Matthews, O.

1

1

13

O. Matthews

small stone like Johnson's

 Fox, H.

1

1

14

H. Fox - L.M.

top of stone gone

 Demerill, Louisa

1

1

15

Louisa,/ dau. of John & Polly Demerill,/ died May 28, 1837/ aged 11 mo., 10 days

stone leaning over

 Hendryx, William

 Hendryx, Mary

1

1

16

William Hendryx,/ died June 26, 1837,/ aged 83 yrs./ Mary Hendryx,/ died Oct. 2, 1837?,/ aged 34 [or 54 or 74]

double stone broken in 5 pieces and scattered about - difficult to read.

 Foster, Ruth Mariah

1

1

17

Ruth Mariah,/ dau. of Wm. & Mary Foster,/ died Aug. 25, 1838/ age 2 yrs. 5 mo.

stone lying on ground

 Gaylord, L__s F.

1

1

18

In Memory of L -- s F. Gaylord,/ who d---- 27th, 1838?

stone down and badly worn

 Rey___

1

2

19

REY

top left corner of a stone, small piece probably Reynolds family stone was at Bob Hawkins' house, not at Lake County Historical Society.