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The almost unknown Traxler Merritt Cemetery.

With Thanks Bill Finlay and Dorothy Fisher

There are times when we are so frustrated in trying to document things and this cemetery represents one of those times.

Around 1980, research done by others provided information on two possible stones for this family cemetery. No more were known. Those two stones had been removed, and had been placed inside of a barn. They have not been heard of since. They are no doubt fill for some ditch in the area, etc.

Later one more stone was found on the riverbank. It was likely on the NEXT farm to it's original location but such documentation is hard to confirm. The farm owner carefully stood it against a tree in a way that it would hopefully be preserved a VERY long time. Awhile later (a few years) he noticed the stone was not there. There was evidence of a campfire where some boaters had stopped. The stone was gone. He did a very careful search, and was extremely disappointed that it had been removed. Was it thrown into the water? Was it put in the boat and hauled away somewhere? We will never know. What we do know is that some totally unthinking and careless (I refuse to call them people) had removed the stone and thrown it in the river or taken it in a boat. Such times are so disappointing!

I do want to stress that we can almost 100% for certain confirm this as belonging to that old family cemetery. So we can at least verify that! We know that it was originally very close to that area. We do NOT know anything further, and probably now never will.

This information was formerly gathered from this cemetery.
Rebecca Blackburn 25 Sep 1817 -- 04 Jan 1865 [her uncle was John Traxler] her husband James H. Merritt 22 Dec 1820 -- 14 Sep 1874 and so we MIGHT suppose at least their young son might have been buried there also their son Nathaniel W. Merritt 08 Jul 1847 -- 03 Sep 1847

There certainly might have been others buried there also ... perhaps even the aforesaid "John Traxler"

Summer of 2013 - We received information from members of the Fisher Family from the Fisher farm roughly across from the International machinery dealership that the monuments for this farm have been destroyed and were buried on the farm for many years. Plows for instance were dragging over them for years, etc.

We have not been able to find any further information on this as to the location.