Kirkland Township Cemeteries

^*[Q: What do you do? A: I do genealogy.]

Pleasant Dale Cemetery (Steele Cemetery)

Kirkland Township, Adams County, Indiana

The Pleasant Dale Cemetery, formerly known as the Steele Cemetery, is located on the north side of County Road 300 North, between roads 400 West and 500 West in Kirkland Township, Adams County, Indiana. The coordinates are 40 degrees 47 minutes 15 seconds North Latitude and 085 degrees 01 minutes 26.42 seconds West Longitude. (Elevation is 826 feet.) A large monument in the cemetery has the inscription:

"Record of   Steele Cemetery   Martin Coffman       deeded to  James Russell   |  Wm. Brown      } trustees  Gideon Billman |       on Jan. 10, 1846  Sec.14,Tp.27,Range 13. 1/2 acre          Samuel L Rugg,                 Recorder."

From the Introduction in the Pleasant Dale Cemetery Association booklet of the Articles of Association, By-Laws, and Rules and Regulations, published in 1944: "January 10, 1846, nearly one hundred years ago, the pioneer citizens residing in Kirkland Township and vicinity, selected as a burial place for the departed dead of the community, a beautiful shady plot in the forest on the Coffman farm (known today as the Zimmerman homestead.)... The original one-half acre of land was purchased for a burial ground for the sum of $2.00, deeded January 10, 1846 by Martin Coffman to James Russel, William Brown and Gideon Billman -- Trustees of the Steele Cemetery (Later changed to Pleasant Dale Cemetery). Recorded in deed record C. page 287, by Samuel S. Rugg, recorder of Adams County. Other trustees who have served are Frank Arnold, William Arnold, Edward Arnold, William Zimmerman, Edward Zimmerman, Milton Zimmerman. Present trustees -- Fred Adler, Samuel Henschen and Oliver V. Dilling. Secretary -- Victor Byerly. Term of trustees -- Three years. Term of Secretary -- One year."

Improvements to this cemetery have been the addition of white vinyl fencing along the east and north property lines, a new white vinyl sign by the road, and most recently (blacktop/asphalt) paving of the circular drive, as well as other landscaping.

The Pleasant Dale Cemetery Association holds an annual meeting and operates under the 1944 Rules and Regulations. Most of the record keeping has been since this time of organization. Each officer has maps of the cemetery which identify ownership of each sold lot.

This extraction was taken from walking the cemetery during the month of May 1998 and was compared with the 1957 published reading done by the Mary Penrose Wayne, DAR Chapter from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Errors and discrepancies were noted in this typescript. The use of this record was helpful in interpreting a few older worn stones that were difficult to read in 1998. Then, a comparison was made with a copy of the two maps (the original older section and the newer addition) that are the cemetery association's official records. Earlier versions has been corrected, updated, and revised in August 1999 and April 2000.

Variations in this reading from most cemetery records are that a description of the stone is include and that personal and genealogical notes are mentioned with the gravestone inscriptions. This is part of a larger work in progress, Pleasant Dale Cemetery Families, which notes the interrelatedness of many of the Kirkland Twp. families buried in this cemetery. Apparent extraneous material is also included in this list, so that a researcher may gather clues for further investigation. Local newspaper obituary notices are now included. Newspaper obituary notices are used with permission.

Contact Thomas Liby for these or more photographs available as attachments to E-mail.

This reading follows the order of beginning at the south west corner (closest to the Pleasant Dale Church of the Brethren building across the road) and reading the stones from south to north. Whereas the 1957 reading copies the information from the stones starting from the first row north and then returns down row 2 reading toward the road (and basically reverses reading odd numbered rows one direction and even numbered from the other direction), each of the sixteen rows are started from the end closest to the road in this extraction.

The surnames in the index are grouped alphabetically and then individuals with the same last name are listed by row and lot sequence.

An Annotated Record of the Gravestone Inscriptions
of the Pleasant Dale Cemetery