Born in Alsace-Lorraine, Mathias married Eve and their children were all baptised at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hagerstown, MD.
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's parents were Nicholas Reitenauer II and Maria Magdalena Arnet
Nicholas Reitenauer II's parents were Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I, bpt. 6/8/1651 and Susanna Windstein
Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I's parents were Hans Reitenauer circa 1612 and Catharina Schar
Hans Reitenauer's parents were Antony "Anton" Reitenauer circa 1586 and Margret Christen
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's siblings were:
Maria Barbara Reitenauer 1706
Johann Philip Reitenauer 1708
Johann Nicholas Reitenauer III 1711
Johann Henrich Reitenauer 1713
Anna Margaretha Reitenauer 1716
Anna Catharina Reitenauer 1718
Johann Daniel Reitenauer 1721
Johann Peter Reitenauer 1723
Anna Elisebetha Reitenauer 1728
All descendants of Mathias Ridenour [Matthias Reitenower] can join the DAR and SAR as he gave grain to the army and signed an Oath of Fidelity and Support (Allegiance) in 1778 - sworn by Henry Schnebely [Henry Schnebley]. Mathias' brothers Peter [Peter Rietenawer], Henry [Henry Reitenower], and Nicholas [Nicholas Rietenower/Reitenower] also signed oaths of allegiance - sworn by Henry Schnebely - Revolutionary Records of Maryland, by Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh and Margaret Roberts Hodges, pages 19-20 and Revolutionary Patriots of Washington County, Maryland 1776 - 1783, by Henry C. Peden, Jr., page 308.
http://www.paulridenour.com/ridfam.htm [Paul Ridenour's family with sources]
Over 220+ graves and gravestones were moved from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church and dumped into a mass grave in this cemetery. The church has the list of names but many of the stones were broken, unreadable, and in German. The large gravestone to the right of the tree is for Clarence W. Owen and this empty area [Section D, Plot 116] is the mass single grave for those moved graves. There is no marker of any kind in this area. The church wanted to build another building or a parking lot. The moving of the graves in the late 1700s split the church and half of the members left.
Mathias Ridenour and his father Nicholas Ridenour II may be buried at or under St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, in this mass grave at Rose Hill Cemetery, or perhaps on their own land. We will never know but this mass grave is the best bet.
Note: Marsha Fuller sent me (Paul Ridenour) an email in September of 2017. It appears that the gravestones were moved but not the bodies. She attached a Word document by George C. Varner that I will include below:
[Transcriber's note: This document has been transcribed exactly, including spelling and punctuation mistakes.]
Report: Tombstones Moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, Maryland in 1920 to Rose Hill Cemetery, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland
Disposition of Tombstones in Rose Hill Cemetery, October 1957
Compiled by George C. Varner, 2816 Pillsbury Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn. 55408, 1968-69
In the process of compiling a generation book on the descendants of Jacob Petery (Petry, Petre), I have learned of an interesting, but deplorable story. It concerns the near destruction of part of our family history, two tombstones belonging to Jacob Petery and his son, John Petery. Jacob Petery was born Sep., 1735, in Germany, and died in Washington County, Maryland Feb 15, 1812. John Petery was born April 18, 1779 and died Sep. 17, 1823. Both were buried in the former cemetery of Saint John's Lutheran Church, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland.
Through many months of research I have compiled as many facts as possible. There appears to be a few contradictions. I wrote to Rose Hill Cemetery in Sep., 1968 and asked them, "Did Saint John's Lutheran Church buy the lot where the tombstones were transferred in Rose Hill?" Their answer to this question was "No". However the answer was written in pencil and was unsigned. I consulted the Saint John's Lutheran Church in October, 1968 and received the following answer:
This is in answer to your letter regarding the gravestones of Jacob Petery. Jacob Petery was originally buried behind St. John's Lutheran Church at 141 South Potomac Street in Hagerstown, Md. About 1920 the gravestones behind the church were moved to Rose Hill Cemetery to make room for an adult education building. About 1942 the owners of Rose Hill Cemetery complained that the unsightly condition of the over one hundred and twenty-five gravestones of St. John's kept the graveyard from selling adjacent lots. The church then sold the grave yard land back to the cemetery. The old stones were removed and covered up.
This information came from one of the members of Saint John's Lutheran Church, Mr. Henry H. Startzman.
I also consulted Mrs Frank Schwartz from the Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. Mrs Schwartz talked with a superintendent of Rose Hill Cemetery in October, 1968. The superintendent informed her "…the ground on which the gravestones, removed from Saint John's Lutheran Churchyard, were placed in the 1920s, has always remained the property of the cemetery company and that there was no question of it's every having been bought by the church or having been sold by the church to the cemetery. He further stated that the gravestones removed nearly fifty years ago are still where they were placed at that time and that no stones have been removed to be used for road making."
In June, 1969, Mrs Schwartz visited Rose Hill Cemetery. Although a workman directed her to the place she thought they should be, she was unable to find any of the stones.
Following is an account of the actual discovery of Jacob and John Petery's tombstones a short time before the remaining 125 stones were covered up in Rose Hill Cemetery. This account is the exact words of Mrs Mary P. Remsberg as told in a letter to George C. Varner, Nov. 1, 1968.
In October, 1957, my cousin, John Petre from Erie, Penna., and his wife, came to visit with us. They were interested in seeing the stones of our first ancestors, so I took them to Rose Hill Cemetery to show them how they were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church Cemetery. When the auditorium was built in 1920, they bought several lots together and moved all the stones of everyone and placed them in a two row, large semicircle. When my cousins and I arrived there that morning the lots had been cleared of all the stones and nothing in sight. I went to the office immediately and asked about what had happened to the stones. The man at the office said they could not sell any lots in the immediate vicinity as everyone complained of the unsightly appearance and not conforming to the rest of the cemetery. They were taken up and all thrown on a pile in a hollow space where they were going to build a roadway and enlarge the cemetery. They said we could hunt out our stones and could take them if we wished. With my cousin's assistance we lifted off a number of large markers of others and finally found both of the Petery stones. Jacob's stone was still intact, but the dumping from the truck resulted in breaking a piece off of John's stone. We drove to the far part of the cemetery and found some of the men working. I happened to be acquainted with the foreman, and he said you just came in time as in a day or so they were going to throw the roadway in on them, and they were to be used as fill. He loaded them on his truck for me and took them to the tool shed and assured me they would be there when I came for them. Since Catharine Line Petery, wife of John Petery, was buried in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery, I contacted the director of that cemetery for permission to place the stones of Jacob and John Petery on her lot. It is a large lot and they said I could place as many stones there as I wanted. They told me of a man in Mapleville, not far from the cemetery, whom they thought would set them in concrete and sand, and he charged me $15.00, $5.00 of which my cousin, John Petre paid, five dollars paid by John Petre's sister, Mrs Arthur Daniel, and I paid five dollars.
I wrote to John Petre in April, 1969, sending him the above account of Mrs Remsberg. Mr. Petre's reply was, "The story by Mrs J. Edgar Remberg is true. I am the John Petre she referred to – a cousin of Mary Petre Remsberg, our Fathers were brothers. It is exactly as Mary related it and we were lucky to get to the cemetery when we did. We have seen the stones since they have been placed in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery."
Section 267, Article 27 from the Annotated Code of Maryland states in part "…Any person or persons, or his, her or their aiders or abetters, who shall willfully destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestones, or other structure placed in any cemetery…shall be guilty of a misdemeaner…" This information was sent to me on request from the Department of Legislative Reference, Annapolis, Maryland. It is mentioned here to inform the reader that a cemetery may not dispose of tombstones as it likes and there is a law on the restrictions as to such.
This report is not one of my personal opinions. It is a group of actual facts that happened and were sent to me on request from various sources. This report was compiled for two reasons. The first being for the Jacob Petry Generation Book as being an important part of our family history. The second reason is an attempt to clear up the various conflicting stories about the tombstones. It contains all the facts that I have been able to research. I have explored every possible source that I can think of. If anyone is aware of other facts not mentioned here, I would appreciate hearing from them.
A word of gratitude is certainly due those who discovered the near loss of an important part of our family history, namely the tombstones of the head of our family and his son. The tombstone of Jacob Petery's wife, Barbara has not been found. Before the stones were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church graveyard, according to reports a plain marker with no inscription was next to Jacob's grave. It is possible that this was the stone of Barbara's. The eldest list of those buried in Saint John's Cemetery, that I have been able to locate, was compiled in 1904 by M.A. Gruber. This list appeared in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol VIII, April-July 1919, No. 1 and 2. This list includes Jacob And John Petery, but not Barbara.
Many thanks to all who have contributed to this report.
George C. Varner
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's parents were Nicholas Reitenauer II and Maria Magdalena Arnet
Nicholas Reitenauer II's parents were Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I, bpt. 6/8/1651 and Susanna Windstein
Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I's parents were Hans Reitenauer circa 1612 and Catharina Schar
Hans Reitenauer's parents were Antony "Anton" Reitenauer circa 1586 and Margret Christen
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's siblings were:
Maria Barbara Reitenauer 1706
Johann Philip Reitenauer 1708
Johann Nicholas Reitenauer III 1711
Johann Henrich Reitenauer 1713
Anna Margaretha Reitenauer 1716
Anna Catharina Reitenauer 1718
Johann Daniel Reitenauer 1721
Johann Peter Reitenauer 1723
Anna Elisebetha Reitenauer 1728
All descendants of Mathias Ridenour [Matthias Reitenower] can join the DAR and SAR as he gave grain to the army and signed an Oath of Fidelity and Support (Allegiance) in 1778 - sworn by Henry Schnebely [Henry Schnebley]. Mathias' brothers Peter [Peter Rietenawer], Henry [Henry Reitenower], and Nicholas [Nicholas Rietenower/Reitenower] also signed oaths of allegiance - sworn by Henry Schnebely - Revolutionary Records of Maryland, by Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh and Margaret Roberts Hodges, pages 19-20 and Revolutionary Patriots of Washington County, Maryland 1776 - 1783, by Henry C. Peden, Jr., page 308.
http://www.paulridenour.com/ridfam.htm [Paul Ridenour's family with sources]
Over 220+ graves and gravestones were moved from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church and dumped into a mass grave in this cemetery. The church has the list of names but many of the stones were broken, unreadable, and in German. The large gravestone to the right of the tree is for Clarence W. Owen and this empty area [Section D, Plot 116] is the mass single grave for those moved graves. There is no marker of any kind in this area. The church wanted to build another building or a parking lot. The moving of the graves in the late 1700s split the church and half of the members left.
Mathias Ridenour and his father Nicholas Ridenour II may be buried at or under St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, in this mass grave at Rose Hill Cemetery, or perhaps on their own land. We will never know but this mass grave is the best bet.
Note: Marsha Fuller sent me (Paul Ridenour) an email in September of 2017. It appears that the gravestones were moved but not the bodies. She attached a Word document by George C. Varner that I will include below:
[Transcriber's note: This document has been transcribed exactly, including spelling and punctuation mistakes.]
Report: Tombstones Moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, Maryland in 1920 to Rose Hill Cemetery, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland
Disposition of Tombstones in Rose Hill Cemetery, October 1957
Compiled by George C. Varner, 2816 Pillsbury Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn. 55408, 1968-69
In the process of compiling a generation book on the descendants of Jacob Petery (Petry, Petre), I have learned of an interesting, but deplorable story. It concerns the near destruction of part of our family history, two tombstones belonging to Jacob Petery and his son, John Petery. Jacob Petery was born Sep., 1735, in Germany, and died in Washington County, Maryland Feb 15, 1812. John Petery was born April 18, 1779 and died Sep. 17, 1823. Both were buried in the former cemetery of Saint John's Lutheran Church, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland.
Through many months of research I have compiled as many facts as possible. There appears to be a few contradictions. I wrote to Rose Hill Cemetery in Sep., 1968 and asked them, "Did Saint John's Lutheran Church buy the lot where the tombstones were transferred in Rose Hill?" Their answer to this question was "No". However the answer was written in pencil and was unsigned. I consulted the Saint John's Lutheran Church in October, 1968 and received the following answer:
This is in answer to your letter regarding the gravestones of Jacob Petery. Jacob Petery was originally buried behind St. John's Lutheran Church at 141 South Potomac Street in Hagerstown, Md. About 1920 the gravestones behind the church were moved to Rose Hill Cemetery to make room for an adult education building. About 1942 the owners of Rose Hill Cemetery complained that the unsightly condition of the over one hundred and twenty-five gravestones of St. John's kept the graveyard from selling adjacent lots. The church then sold the grave yard land back to the cemetery. The old stones were removed and covered up.
This information came from one of the members of Saint John's Lutheran Church, Mr. Henry H. Startzman.
I also consulted Mrs Frank Schwartz from the Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. Mrs Schwartz talked with a superintendent of Rose Hill Cemetery in October, 1968. The superintendent informed her "…the ground on which the gravestones, removed from Saint John's Lutheran Churchyard, were placed in the 1920s, has always remained the property of the cemetery company and that there was no question of it's every having been bought by the church or having been sold by the church to the cemetery. He further stated that the gravestones removed nearly fifty years ago are still where they were placed at that time and that no stones have been removed to be used for road making."
In June, 1969, Mrs Schwartz visited Rose Hill Cemetery. Although a workman directed her to the place she thought they should be, she was unable to find any of the stones.
Following is an account of the actual discovery of Jacob and John Petery's tombstones a short time before the remaining 125 stones were covered up in Rose Hill Cemetery. This account is the exact words of Mrs Mary P. Remsberg as told in a letter to George C. Varner, Nov. 1, 1968.
In October, 1957, my cousin, John Petre from Erie, Penna., and his wife, came to visit with us. They were interested in seeing the stones of our first ancestors, so I took them to Rose Hill Cemetery to show them how they were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church Cemetery. When the auditorium was built in 1920, they bought several lots together and moved all the stones of everyone and placed them in a two row, large semicircle. When my cousins and I arrived there that morning the lots had been cleared of all the stones and nothing in sight. I went to the office immediately and asked about what had happened to the stones. The man at the office said they could not sell any lots in the immediate vicinity as everyone complained of the unsightly appearance and not conforming to the rest of the cemetery. They were taken up and all thrown on a pile in a hollow space where they were going to build a roadway and enlarge the cemetery. They said we could hunt out our stones and could take them if we wished. With my cousin's assistance we lifted off a number of large markers of others and finally found both of the Petery stones. Jacob's stone was still intact, but the dumping from the truck resulted in breaking a piece off of John's stone. We drove to the far part of the cemetery and found some of the men working. I happened to be acquainted with the foreman, and he said you just came in time as in a day or so they were going to throw the roadway in on them, and they were to be used as fill. He loaded them on his truck for me and took them to the tool shed and assured me they would be there when I came for them. Since Catharine Line Petery, wife of John Petery, was buried in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery, I contacted the director of that cemetery for permission to place the stones of Jacob and John Petery on her lot. It is a large lot and they said I could place as many stones there as I wanted. They told me of a man in Mapleville, not far from the cemetery, whom they thought would set them in concrete and sand, and he charged me $15.00, $5.00 of which my cousin, John Petre paid, five dollars paid by John Petre's sister, Mrs Arthur Daniel, and I paid five dollars.
I wrote to John Petre in April, 1969, sending him the above account of Mrs Remsberg. Mr. Petre's reply was, "The story by Mrs J. Edgar Remberg is true. I am the John Petre she referred to – a cousin of Mary Petre Remsberg, our Fathers were brothers. It is exactly as Mary related it and we were lucky to get to the cemetery when we did. We have seen the stones since they have been placed in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery."
Section 267, Article 27 from the Annotated Code of Maryland states in part "…Any person or persons, or his, her or their aiders or abetters, who shall willfully destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestones, or other structure placed in any cemetery…shall be guilty of a misdemeaner…" This information was sent to me on request from the Department of Legislative Reference, Annapolis, Maryland. It is mentioned here to inform the reader that a cemetery may not dispose of tombstones as it likes and there is a law on the restrictions as to such.
This report is not one of my personal opinions. It is a group of actual facts that happened and were sent to me on request from various sources. This report was compiled for two reasons. The first being for the Jacob Petry Generation Book as being an important part of our family history. The second reason is an attempt to clear up the various conflicting stories about the tombstones. It contains all the facts that I have been able to research. I have explored every possible source that I can think of. If anyone is aware of other facts not mentioned here, I would appreciate hearing from them.
A word of gratitude is certainly due those who discovered the near loss of an important part of our family history, namely the tombstones of the head of our family and his son. The tombstone of Jacob Petery's wife, Barbara has not been found. Before the stones were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church graveyard, according to reports a plain marker with no inscription was next to Jacob's grave. It is possible that this was the stone of Barbara's. The eldest list of those buried in Saint John's Cemetery, that I have been able to locate, was compiled in 1904 by M.A. Gruber. This list appeared in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol VIII, April-July 1919, No. 1 and 2. This list includes Jacob And John Petery, but not Barbara.
Many thanks to all who have contributed to this report.
George C. Varner
Born in Alsace-Lorraine, Mathias married Eve and their children were all baptised at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hagerstown, MD.
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's parents were Nicholas Reitenauer II and Maria Magdalena Arnet
Nicholas Reitenauer II's parents were Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I, bpt. 6/8/1651 and Susanna Windstein
Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I's parents were Hans Reitenauer circa 1612 and Catharina Schar
Hans Reitenauer's parents were Antony "Anton" Reitenauer circa 1586 and Margret Christen
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's siblings were:
Maria Barbara Reitenauer 1706
Johann Philip Reitenauer 1708
Johann Nicholas Reitenauer III 1711
Johann Henrich Reitenauer 1713
Anna Margaretha Reitenauer 1716
Anna Catharina Reitenauer 1718
Johann Daniel Reitenauer 1721
Johann Peter Reitenauer 1723
Anna Elisebetha Reitenauer 1728
All descendants of Mathias Ridenour [Matthias Reitenower] can join the DAR and SAR as he gave grain to the army and signed an Oath of Fidelity and Support (Allegiance) in 1778 - sworn by Henry Schnebely [Henry Schnebley]. Mathias' brothers Peter [Peter Rietenawer], Henry [Henry Reitenower], and Nicholas [Nicholas Rietenower/Reitenower] also signed oaths of allegiance - sworn by Henry Schnebely - Revolutionary Records of Maryland, by Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh and Margaret Roberts Hodges, pages 19-20 and Revolutionary Patriots of Washington County, Maryland 1776 - 1783, by Henry C. Peden, Jr., page 308.
http://www.paulridenour.com/ridfam.htm [Paul Ridenour's family with sources]
Over 220+ graves and gravestones were moved from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church and dumped into a mass grave in this cemetery. The church has the list of names but many of the stones were broken, unreadable, and in German. The large gravestone to the right of the tree is for Clarence W. Owen and this empty area [Section D, Plot 116] is the mass single grave for those moved graves. There is no marker of any kind in this area. The church wanted to build another building or a parking lot. The moving of the graves in the late 1700s split the church and half of the members left.
Mathias Ridenour and his father Nicholas Ridenour II may be buried at or under St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, in this mass grave at Rose Hill Cemetery, or perhaps on their own land. We will never know but this mass grave is the best bet.
Note: Marsha Fuller sent me (Paul Ridenour) an email in September of 2017. It appears that the gravestones were moved but not the bodies. She attached a Word document by George C. Varner that I will include below:
[Transcriber's note: This document has been transcribed exactly, including spelling and punctuation mistakes.]
Report: Tombstones Moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, Maryland in 1920 to Rose Hill Cemetery, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland
Disposition of Tombstones in Rose Hill Cemetery, October 1957
Compiled by George C. Varner, 2816 Pillsbury Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn. 55408, 1968-69
In the process of compiling a generation book on the descendants of Jacob Petery (Petry, Petre), I have learned of an interesting, but deplorable story. It concerns the near destruction of part of our family history, two tombstones belonging to Jacob Petery and his son, John Petery. Jacob Petery was born Sep., 1735, in Germany, and died in Washington County, Maryland Feb 15, 1812. John Petery was born April 18, 1779 and died Sep. 17, 1823. Both were buried in the former cemetery of Saint John's Lutheran Church, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland.
Through many months of research I have compiled as many facts as possible. There appears to be a few contradictions. I wrote to Rose Hill Cemetery in Sep., 1968 and asked them, "Did Saint John's Lutheran Church buy the lot where the tombstones were transferred in Rose Hill?" Their answer to this question was "No". However the answer was written in pencil and was unsigned. I consulted the Saint John's Lutheran Church in October, 1968 and received the following answer:
This is in answer to your letter regarding the gravestones of Jacob Petery. Jacob Petery was originally buried behind St. John's Lutheran Church at 141 South Potomac Street in Hagerstown, Md. About 1920 the gravestones behind the church were moved to Rose Hill Cemetery to make room for an adult education building. About 1942 the owners of Rose Hill Cemetery complained that the unsightly condition of the over one hundred and twenty-five gravestones of St. John's kept the graveyard from selling adjacent lots. The church then sold the grave yard land back to the cemetery. The old stones were removed and covered up.
This information came from one of the members of Saint John's Lutheran Church, Mr. Henry H. Startzman.
I also consulted Mrs Frank Schwartz from the Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. Mrs Schwartz talked with a superintendent of Rose Hill Cemetery in October, 1968. The superintendent informed her "…the ground on which the gravestones, removed from Saint John's Lutheran Churchyard, were placed in the 1920s, has always remained the property of the cemetery company and that there was no question of it's every having been bought by the church or having been sold by the church to the cemetery. He further stated that the gravestones removed nearly fifty years ago are still where they were placed at that time and that no stones have been removed to be used for road making."
In June, 1969, Mrs Schwartz visited Rose Hill Cemetery. Although a workman directed her to the place she thought they should be, she was unable to find any of the stones.
Following is an account of the actual discovery of Jacob and John Petery's tombstones a short time before the remaining 125 stones were covered up in Rose Hill Cemetery. This account is the exact words of Mrs Mary P. Remsberg as told in a letter to George C. Varner, Nov. 1, 1968.
In October, 1957, my cousin, John Petre from Erie, Penna., and his wife, came to visit with us. They were interested in seeing the stones of our first ancestors, so I took them to Rose Hill Cemetery to show them how they were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church Cemetery. When the auditorium was built in 1920, they bought several lots together and moved all the stones of everyone and placed them in a two row, large semicircle. When my cousins and I arrived there that morning the lots had been cleared of all the stones and nothing in sight. I went to the office immediately and asked about what had happened to the stones. The man at the office said they could not sell any lots in the immediate vicinity as everyone complained of the unsightly appearance and not conforming to the rest of the cemetery. They were taken up and all thrown on a pile in a hollow space where they were going to build a roadway and enlarge the cemetery. They said we could hunt out our stones and could take them if we wished. With my cousin's assistance we lifted off a number of large markers of others and finally found both of the Petery stones. Jacob's stone was still intact, but the dumping from the truck resulted in breaking a piece off of John's stone. We drove to the far part of the cemetery and found some of the men working. I happened to be acquainted with the foreman, and he said you just came in time as in a day or so they were going to throw the roadway in on them, and they were to be used as fill. He loaded them on his truck for me and took them to the tool shed and assured me they would be there when I came for them. Since Catharine Line Petery, wife of John Petery, was buried in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery, I contacted the director of that cemetery for permission to place the stones of Jacob and John Petery on her lot. It is a large lot and they said I could place as many stones there as I wanted. They told me of a man in Mapleville, not far from the cemetery, whom they thought would set them in concrete and sand, and he charged me $15.00, $5.00 of which my cousin, John Petre paid, five dollars paid by John Petre's sister, Mrs Arthur Daniel, and I paid five dollars.
I wrote to John Petre in April, 1969, sending him the above account of Mrs Remsberg. Mr. Petre's reply was, "The story by Mrs J. Edgar Remberg is true. I am the John Petre she referred to – a cousin of Mary Petre Remsberg, our Fathers were brothers. It is exactly as Mary related it and we were lucky to get to the cemetery when we did. We have seen the stones since they have been placed in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery."
Section 267, Article 27 from the Annotated Code of Maryland states in part "…Any person or persons, or his, her or their aiders or abetters, who shall willfully destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestones, or other structure placed in any cemetery…shall be guilty of a misdemeaner…" This information was sent to me on request from the Department of Legislative Reference, Annapolis, Maryland. It is mentioned here to inform the reader that a cemetery may not dispose of tombstones as it likes and there is a law on the restrictions as to such.
This report is not one of my personal opinions. It is a group of actual facts that happened and were sent to me on request from various sources. This report was compiled for two reasons. The first being for the Jacob Petry Generation Book as being an important part of our family history. The second reason is an attempt to clear up the various conflicting stories about the tombstones. It contains all the facts that I have been able to research. I have explored every possible source that I can think of. If anyone is aware of other facts not mentioned here, I would appreciate hearing from them.
A word of gratitude is certainly due those who discovered the near loss of an important part of our family history, namely the tombstones of the head of our family and his son. The tombstone of Jacob Petery's wife, Barbara has not been found. Before the stones were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church graveyard, according to reports a plain marker with no inscription was next to Jacob's grave. It is possible that this was the stone of Barbara's. The eldest list of those buried in Saint John's Cemetery, that I have been able to locate, was compiled in 1904 by M.A. Gruber. This list appeared in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol VIII, April-July 1919, No. 1 and 2. This list includes Jacob And John Petery, but not Barbara.
Many thanks to all who have contributed to this report.
George C. Varner
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's parents were Nicholas Reitenauer II and Maria Magdalena Arnet
Nicholas Reitenauer II's parents were Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I, bpt. 6/8/1651 and Susanna Windstein
Nicholas "Klaus" Reitenauer I's parents were Hans Reitenauer circa 1612 and Catharina Schar
Hans Reitenauer's parents were Antony "Anton" Reitenauer circa 1586 and Margret Christen
Johann "Mathias" Ridenour's siblings were:
Maria Barbara Reitenauer 1706
Johann Philip Reitenauer 1708
Johann Nicholas Reitenauer III 1711
Johann Henrich Reitenauer 1713
Anna Margaretha Reitenauer 1716
Anna Catharina Reitenauer 1718
Johann Daniel Reitenauer 1721
Johann Peter Reitenauer 1723
Anna Elisebetha Reitenauer 1728
All descendants of Mathias Ridenour [Matthias Reitenower] can join the DAR and SAR as he gave grain to the army and signed an Oath of Fidelity and Support (Allegiance) in 1778 - sworn by Henry Schnebely [Henry Schnebley]. Mathias' brothers Peter [Peter Rietenawer], Henry [Henry Reitenower], and Nicholas [Nicholas Rietenower/Reitenower] also signed oaths of allegiance - sworn by Henry Schnebely - Revolutionary Records of Maryland, by Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh and Margaret Roberts Hodges, pages 19-20 and Revolutionary Patriots of Washington County, Maryland 1776 - 1783, by Henry C. Peden, Jr., page 308.
http://www.paulridenour.com/ridfam.htm [Paul Ridenour's family with sources]
Over 220+ graves and gravestones were moved from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church and dumped into a mass grave in this cemetery. The church has the list of names but many of the stones were broken, unreadable, and in German. The large gravestone to the right of the tree is for Clarence W. Owen and this empty area [Section D, Plot 116] is the mass single grave for those moved graves. There is no marker of any kind in this area. The church wanted to build another building or a parking lot. The moving of the graves in the late 1700s split the church and half of the members left.
Mathias Ridenour and his father Nicholas Ridenour II may be buried at or under St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, in this mass grave at Rose Hill Cemetery, or perhaps on their own land. We will never know but this mass grave is the best bet.
Note: Marsha Fuller sent me (Paul Ridenour) an email in September of 2017. It appears that the gravestones were moved but not the bodies. She attached a Word document by George C. Varner that I will include below:
[Transcriber's note: This document has been transcribed exactly, including spelling and punctuation mistakes.]
Report: Tombstones Moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, Maryland in 1920 to Rose Hill Cemetery, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland
Disposition of Tombstones in Rose Hill Cemetery, October 1957
Compiled by George C. Varner, 2816 Pillsbury Avenue, Minneapolis, Minn. 55408, 1968-69
In the process of compiling a generation book on the descendants of Jacob Petery (Petry, Petre), I have learned of an interesting, but deplorable story. It concerns the near destruction of part of our family history, two tombstones belonging to Jacob Petery and his son, John Petery. Jacob Petery was born Sep., 1735, in Germany, and died in Washington County, Maryland Feb 15, 1812. John Petery was born April 18, 1779 and died Sep. 17, 1823. Both were buried in the former cemetery of Saint John's Lutheran Church, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown, Maryland.
Through many months of research I have compiled as many facts as possible. There appears to be a few contradictions. I wrote to Rose Hill Cemetery in Sep., 1968 and asked them, "Did Saint John's Lutheran Church buy the lot where the tombstones were transferred in Rose Hill?" Their answer to this question was "No". However the answer was written in pencil and was unsigned. I consulted the Saint John's Lutheran Church in October, 1968 and received the following answer:
This is in answer to your letter regarding the gravestones of Jacob Petery. Jacob Petery was originally buried behind St. John's Lutheran Church at 141 South Potomac Street in Hagerstown, Md. About 1920 the gravestones behind the church were moved to Rose Hill Cemetery to make room for an adult education building. About 1942 the owners of Rose Hill Cemetery complained that the unsightly condition of the over one hundred and twenty-five gravestones of St. John's kept the graveyard from selling adjacent lots. The church then sold the grave yard land back to the cemetery. The old stones were removed and covered up.
This information came from one of the members of Saint John's Lutheran Church, Mr. Henry H. Startzman.
I also consulted Mrs Frank Schwartz from the Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. Mrs Schwartz talked with a superintendent of Rose Hill Cemetery in October, 1968. The superintendent informed her "…the ground on which the gravestones, removed from Saint John's Lutheran Churchyard, were placed in the 1920s, has always remained the property of the cemetery company and that there was no question of it's every having been bought by the church or having been sold by the church to the cemetery. He further stated that the gravestones removed nearly fifty years ago are still where they were placed at that time and that no stones have been removed to be used for road making."
In June, 1969, Mrs Schwartz visited Rose Hill Cemetery. Although a workman directed her to the place she thought they should be, she was unable to find any of the stones.
Following is an account of the actual discovery of Jacob and John Petery's tombstones a short time before the remaining 125 stones were covered up in Rose Hill Cemetery. This account is the exact words of Mrs Mary P. Remsberg as told in a letter to George C. Varner, Nov. 1, 1968.
In October, 1957, my cousin, John Petre from Erie, Penna., and his wife, came to visit with us. They were interested in seeing the stones of our first ancestors, so I took them to Rose Hill Cemetery to show them how they were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church Cemetery. When the auditorium was built in 1920, they bought several lots together and moved all the stones of everyone and placed them in a two row, large semicircle. When my cousins and I arrived there that morning the lots had been cleared of all the stones and nothing in sight. I went to the office immediately and asked about what had happened to the stones. The man at the office said they could not sell any lots in the immediate vicinity as everyone complained of the unsightly appearance and not conforming to the rest of the cemetery. They were taken up and all thrown on a pile in a hollow space where they were going to build a roadway and enlarge the cemetery. They said we could hunt out our stones and could take them if we wished. With my cousin's assistance we lifted off a number of large markers of others and finally found both of the Petery stones. Jacob's stone was still intact, but the dumping from the truck resulted in breaking a piece off of John's stone. We drove to the far part of the cemetery and found some of the men working. I happened to be acquainted with the foreman, and he said you just came in time as in a day or so they were going to throw the roadway in on them, and they were to be used as fill. He loaded them on his truck for me and took them to the tool shed and assured me they would be there when I came for them. Since Catharine Line Petery, wife of John Petery, was buried in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery, I contacted the director of that cemetery for permission to place the stones of Jacob and John Petery on her lot. It is a large lot and they said I could place as many stones there as I wanted. They told me of a man in Mapleville, not far from the cemetery, whom they thought would set them in concrete and sand, and he charged me $15.00, $5.00 of which my cousin, John Petre paid, five dollars paid by John Petre's sister, Mrs Arthur Daniel, and I paid five dollars.
I wrote to John Petre in April, 1969, sending him the above account of Mrs Remsberg. Mr. Petre's reply was, "The story by Mrs J. Edgar Remberg is true. I am the John Petre she referred to – a cousin of Mary Petre Remsberg, our Fathers were brothers. It is exactly as Mary related it and we were lucky to get to the cemetery when we did. We have seen the stones since they have been placed in Beaver Creek Dunkard Cemetery."
Section 267, Article 27 from the Annotated Code of Maryland states in part "…Any person or persons, or his, her or their aiders or abetters, who shall willfully destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestones, or other structure placed in any cemetery…shall be guilty of a misdemeaner…" This information was sent to me on request from the Department of Legislative Reference, Annapolis, Maryland. It is mentioned here to inform the reader that a cemetery may not dispose of tombstones as it likes and there is a law on the restrictions as to such.
This report is not one of my personal opinions. It is a group of actual facts that happened and were sent to me on request from various sources. This report was compiled for two reasons. The first being for the Jacob Petry Generation Book as being an important part of our family history. The second reason is an attempt to clear up the various conflicting stories about the tombstones. It contains all the facts that I have been able to research. I have explored every possible source that I can think of. If anyone is aware of other facts not mentioned here, I would appreciate hearing from them.
A word of gratitude is certainly due those who discovered the near loss of an important part of our family history, namely the tombstones of the head of our family and his son. The tombstone of Jacob Petery's wife, Barbara has not been found. Before the stones were moved from Saint John's Lutheran Church graveyard, according to reports a plain marker with no inscription was next to Jacob's grave. It is possible that this was the stone of Barbara's. The eldest list of those buried in Saint John's Cemetery, that I have been able to locate, was compiled in 1904 by M.A. Gruber. This list appeared in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol VIII, April-July 1919, No. 1 and 2. This list includes Jacob And John Petery, but not Barbara.
Many thanks to all who have contributed to this report.
George C. Varner
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