Recently I had the opportunity to stop at the New Bethlehem Cemetery in Schnellville,
Dubois Co., IN, to look for some ancestors' graves. I was disappointed to find that
almost the entire cemetery is buried under dirt and grass. Only 3 or 4 stones are still
standing, although evidence of buried and broken stones can be seen. There is no cemetery
sign of any kind. We asked some residents about it, and while they didn't know what
the name of the cemetery had been, they knew that it was buried there. In contrast, at
the top of the same street, the Sacred Heart Church Cemetery, which is obviously still a
going concern, is neat and tidy and even the oldest graves can be found because someone
has put an index book in a little kiosk at the side of the cemetery.
I know that upkeep of old cemeteries that are no longer used is difficult, but I
wanted to share our experience with others who may be planning a similar trip. I
fortunately was able to get the grave inscriptions I was after from a book in the Indiana
State Library, but I would have loved to see them for myself. It wasn't a wasted
trip, though, because just seeing the countryside helped us understand why our ancestors
might have chosen to move there from Ohio and settle.
Joanne Gaudio