Many more buried in Washington County Potters’ Field than originally thought; database available
Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter
This leather-bound ledger contained many of the names of those who were buried at Potters’ Field.
Observer-Reporter
Potters’ Field at Washington County Health Center
Observer-Reporter
A stone with the number 196 marks the grave of an unidentified person buried in Potters’ Field at Washington County Home in Arden.
Observer-Reporter
The sun shines through a tree at Potters’ Field.
Genealogists, take note: If your family tree includes someone who may have died while in residence at one of the iterations of the Washington County Home in Arden, there’s a new resource available.
It was believed as many as 502 people were buried in the cemetery that bears the name Potters’ Field, a term for common graves, those for paupers, or unclaimed bodies.
Encompassing records kept for 66 years until 1945, it was recently discovered many more people were laid to rest there.
It is likely more than 1,300 people were buried in unmarked graves, according to research conducted at the behest of Washington County Commissioner Harlan Shober, who is about to complete eight years in office.
A searchable database is now available on the Washington County website, which includes a brief history of the Washington County poor farm, orphanage and homes for aged men and aged women.
The database is available through http://pottersfield.washcopa.org/PottersField/index.aspx.
Randi Ross Marodi, Shober’s administrative assistant, compiled this historical information:
On April 6, 1830, the state legislature mandated the county care for the poorest of its residents and this often included burial in unmarked graves when they passed away. As a result, about 299 white, grave markers dot the hillside on a field near the site of the old Washington County Home for the Poor in Arden, Chartiers Township.
There are no names on the markers, only numbers.
Although Washington County Health Center was sold in 2017, the county retained ownership of the cemetery at Old Hickory Ridge Road, and the county is responsible for its maintenance.
“Over the years, there have been inquiries about the names of those buried there. Some old papers, some microfilm documentation and a tattered ledger did exist, but a searchable list of names was not available,” Marodi said.
“Commissioner Shober’s interest in the project stemmed from the simple fact that everyone deserves to be remembered for the life he or she lived. Creating an online database of available names would give families, historians and genealogists a way to complete their research, thus giving those buried in the cemetery the dignity they deserve.”
All of the graves were photographed and the first set of records added to the database were from copies of a ledger titled “History: The Directors of the Poor, The County Home and Children’s Home of Washington County, Pennsylvania, from April 5, 1830.”
These pages contained the names of 57 people buried in a county cemetery from 1879 to 1882. Another list was found that contained information compiled from “Microfilm Roll 4: Washington County Home Deaths from 1912 to 1921.”
The remainder of the data was transcribed from an old, leather-bound ledger that contained a list of everyone who died at the Washington County Home for the Poor and everyone buried in Potters’ Field from 1912 to 1945.
The names of those who died at Washington County Home, but are buried elsewhere, were not included in the research.
Some of the folks buried in the cemetery died in other parts of the county, but their bodies were transported to the cemetery.
It is not certain when burials ceased at the county cemetery, according to Shober’s office.
However, documentation shows there are at least 1,328 people buried there. In many cases, several people are buried in a single grave, numerous graves are unmarked and therefore it is likely that more people are buried in the cemetery.
The database is linked to the Washington County website www.co.washington.pa.us and consists of a map, which shows the geographical location of the grave makers. The map also includes a digital marker for the graves with unknown locations.
Researchers can click on the square that represents a grave, revealing a photo of the marker, along with the names and information of everyone buried in that grave.
The map also includes a search bar that allows users to look up individual surnames, the originating community, cause of death, date of birth, or date of death. The link can also be accessed by visiting www.co.washingon.pa.us, selecting the Residents tab, and selecting the link for Genealogists and Researchers.
The elected office known as the county “director of the poor” appeared on Washington Countians ballots as recently as the mid-1930s.
The database project was completed over a two-year period, with help from the Washington County chief clerk’s secretary Paula Jansante, interns and Chris Jursa, geographic information system manager for the county’s Information Technology Department, assisted by Shober’s office.