Category Archives: Cemeteries

Peter Sunderland

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Samuel Spencer born on April 14th, 1698 in Yorkshire England. Born to the 3rd Earl of Sunderland Charles and his commoner wife Judith, Samuel was not entitled to any inheritance or title due to his mother’s status. This led Samuel and his family to immigrate to the United States in 1737 with his children, including son William. The family all took on the surname Sunderland upon their arrival in the United States. In 1770, William Sunderland married Sarah Barraclough in Burlington County, New Jersey. William and Sarah eventually came to Ohio in 1795 along with their 18-year-old son, Peter.

Peter went on to live a storied life in Centerville.

  • In 1799, Peter Sunderland married Nancy Robbins, the daughter of one of Centerville’s founders, Benjamin Robbins in what was the first wedding ceremony to be performed in Washington Township.
  • In 1802, Peter and his brother Richard bore witness to the first will filed in Montgomery County.
  • In 1803, Peter was the defendant/perpetrator in the first court case in Montgomery County, for assault and battery on a man named Benjamin Scott. The case was held on the upper floor of Newcom’s Tavern. He pled guilt and was fined $6. A year later Scott and Sunderland were back in court, but this time Scott was convicted.
  • Sunderland served in the War of 1812.
  • Around 1820, a stone house was built on Alex-Bell Road (where Fortis College and Cross Pointe Shopping Center are now). The house had a secret hiding place which was used as part of the Underground Railroad.
  • In 1826, a slave from Kentucky known as “Black John” took refuge in the Sunderland house. When a group of men came to “reclaim” John, Peter threatened them and yelled for Black John to escape. Black John ran into the nearby woods and disappeared.
  • After hearing a rumor of an Indian uprising, Peter built a large stone springhouse on his property to protect the area. When the land was being cleared in the early 1980s for development, the spring house was rediscovered and subsequently dismantled and reassembled in Stubb’s Park.

Peter Sunderland died October 2, 1841 at the age of 67 years old. He is buried in the Sugar Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Centerville along with his father, mother, and wife.

Allistair Dunn

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Allistair Dunn was born April 21, 1921 in Scotland. When he was five, his family emigrated to Detroit, Michigan, where he grew up and attended school. After graduation, Al enlisted in the Army Air Corps in the beginning of WWII. He performed as a radio operator in a B-29, flying in 128 missions and twice receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After being discharged, he returned to Detroit and his job at Ford Motor Company. He met with Marilyn, who he met as a teenager, and they married and had four children. He graduated in 1951 with a BS in Industrial Management.

Al moved his family to Dayton in 1964 so he could become President of Master Consolidated, a Division of Koehring Corporation. Later, Miami Valley Hospital Board Chairman Fred Smith asked Al to join the MVH board as a trustee. Fred felt Al could lead MVH to the next level as a leading healthcare organization in the region. After joining the board, Al became instrumental in creating the Care Flight air medical transportation program.

Al used his knowledge of the air ambulance programs used during the Vietnam and Korean wars and how many lives they saved. He had read studies that showed the higher probability of survival if they get to the hospital within sixty minutes of trauma or injury. In 1983, Miami Valley Hospital became the first air medical program in the region and the 65th civilian air ambulance in the nation.
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Katharine Wright Haskell

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The youngest of the seven Wright Children, Katharine Wright Haskell was an amazing person and she needs more credit.

When Katharine was 15, her mother Susan died of tuberculosis, leaving Katharine to care for her entire family on her own. Katharine was the only surviving daughter and the responsibility for caring for the household fell to her. Despite the amount of work she had to do at home, Katharine persisted in her studies at Central High School and attended Oberlin College. She graduated in 1898 as one of the few co-ed students in the US at the time and the only child of Susan and Milton to have a college education. She took a position teaching Latin at Steele High School and hired a maid to help with household chores.

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Roger Glass

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CEO and President of Marion’s Pizza Roger Glass passed away on August 24th. Roger’s father, Marion Glass, was the founder of Marion’s Piazza in 1965. Roger took over in 2006 when his father died. Roger wasn’t just known for his business, he was also a community leader and donated to many charities and causes.

Roger was well known in the community as a philanthropist. Most recently, Roger donated money to University of Dayton, his alma mater. His donations helped fund the future Roger Glass Center for the Arts and his donations to Chaminade Julienne funded Roger Glass Sports Stadium.

Roger split his time between Oakwood and Lauderdale-by-the-sea, Florida. In both areas, Roger was an active member of the community and philanthropist. He served on various boards, both charitable and professional. He was an avid fan of local sports, including the UD Flyers and Dayton Dragons.

Roger has been interred in Calvary Cemetery alongside his parents. He will be remembered and missed as a generous friend and a kind human being.

John H. Wartinger and Wartinger Park

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On Kemp Road, about a quarter mile from North Fairfield Road in Beavercreek, sits Wartinger Park. The designated historical park is owned by the City of Beavercreek and was named for John Wartinger. Building Codes at the time required that green space be set aside while plotting a development, and about 5 acres were set aside for a park – later 4.3 acres, as Beavercreek Fire Station #3 was built. The park was cared for by the Flower Trail Garden Club from 1976 until 1983, when it was turned over to the City of Beavercreek.

In 1975, Wartinger Park was named for John Wartinger, who served his community in several ways:
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Benjamin Robbins

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Benjamin Robbins is one of the founders of Centerville, along with his brothers-in-law, Benjamin Archer, and Aaron Nutt, Sr..

Robbins was born in New Jersey in 1760 and was a surveyor and farmer. He married Bathsheba Nutt (Aaron’s sister) in 1782. Throughout their marriage, they had a total of 12 children:

  • Nancy (1783-1858)
  • Richard (1784-1837)
  • Abigail (1787-1854)
  • Elizabeth (1790-1879)
  • Benjamin (1791-1792)
  • Rebecca (1793-????)
  • Samuel (1795-1862)
  • Aaron (1797-1825)
  • Levi (1800-1866)
  • twins Mary (1803-1833) and John (1803-1805)
  • Bathsheba (1806-1845)

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Fun Facts about the Van Cleves

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One of the first settlers to Dayton and one of the big names as well, how much do you know about Benjamin Van Cleve? Here are some facts about Benjamin, and his son John.

Benjamin Van Cleve (1773 – 1821)

  • His marriage to Mary Whitten was the first marriage registered in Dayton. They had one son, John.
  • Benjamin accompanied the first party of settlers to Dayton.
  • Benjamin established Dayton’s first library, post office, and school, all in his log cabin.

John Van Cleve (1801 – 1858)

  • He was a child prodigy. At 16, he was teaching Latin and Greek and translating plays from German and French.
  • He contributed collections to Dayton’s first natural history museum
  • Helped found Woodland Cemetery
  • Was reportedly over 300 pounds and very sensitive about his appearance. He refused to marry and would not sit for portraits or photographs.

Ida Weller

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Ida Evaline Albrecht (later Albright) was born in 1876 to farmer parents. Her father’s farm was located on the western side of State Route 48, where Bethany Lutheran Village now stands.

In 1893, At the age of 17, Ida graduated from the Washington Township High School on West Franklin Street. The building still stands today, and until recently, was the Las Piramides Mexican restaurant. Two years later at the age of 19, Ida earned her teaching certificate from Ohio Northern College and from 1895-1897, Ida taught at Schoolhouse Number 8, which was located at McEwen Road and State Route 725.
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William Walton

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While driving through Centerville, have you ever spotted a tiny sign – “Walton House Museum” and wondered what it was? So have we! As it turns out, this stone house was built in 1838 by Henry Reese, who bought the parcel of land from one of Centerville’s founders, Benjamin Robbins. Eventually, William Walton and his wife Miriam (known as Mary) bought the house in 1927.

William Walton was born April 1st, 1876 to Samuel and Mary Walton. William was the grandson and great-grandson of the founders of Spring Valley, Moses and Edward Walton. Also, William’s older sister Edith married Colonel Edward A. Deeds and later created the beloved Deeds Carillon Bells.

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Lewis Kemp and the Oldest House in Dayton

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Lewis and Elizabeth Kemp and their family of eight children moved from Frederick, Maryland to Mad River Township in 1806. Kemp bought 822 acres of land at $10 an acre, and settled on a piece of land that looks out over the modern-day Huffman Prairie. Shortly after their arrival in 1806, Kemp built a brick and limestone house with a stone foundation. A brick addition was added around 1832.

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