This almost forgotten cemetery is seldom mentioned in any of the historical
reviews of the county, yet it deserved to be held in highest respect in memory of those
who lie here.  It is the property of the Methodist Church.  Richland Chapel originally
stood near the cemetery.  It was organized in 1845.  A church was built on land donated
by Isaac Baldwin who was the first settler of Richland Township.  According to the Grant
County History of 1886 the first person interred there "was the wife of David
Warrenburgh and the next a Mrs. Miller."  Drook's Creek flows at the foot of this
cemetery.  The large trees were cut away and used for firewood.  A thick tangle of wild
grape vines and young saplings make it almost impossible to find the stones that are now
scattered about.  Many are broken and those of any pretentiousness are fallen apart and it
gives evidence of no one caring.  Fifteen stones were all that could be pieced together
and read.  John Straney is mentioned in the Atlas of 1877 as coming to Richland
Township in 1847 - his child lies here.  The son of Jeremiah Stricler, an early settler and
others.  But the one to touch the heart is the grave of Jacob Sharp.  He was a soldier of
the 20th Indiana Volunteers.  His regiment was in action on the east coast.  He was sick
in the hospital with the measles.  They had orders to evacuate.  Many of the men were
sicker than Jacob who was a stalwart young man, or he thought they were more in need
of help that he was.  He got up from his cot and helped to carry his sick comrades to
safety.  He died shortly from the cold he took that night.  His comrades appreciated what
he had done for them so much that they made up a purse of money and bought a metal
casket and sent his remains home so that they might rest in Indiana soil.
	The above was written by the DAR in the 1940's.
	This cemetery is owned by Richland United Methodist Church, which was
organized in 1845 on land donated by Isaac Baldwin.  It is now located one mile from
this cemetery on 500 N and 900 W.  The church was moved a mile west in the early
1900's.
	The following article appeared in the Chronicle - Tribune 7 June 1990 concerning
a Civil War Veteran buried in the Baldwin/Richland Chapel Cemetery.

	"CIVIL WAR VETERAN'S GRAVE TO BE RESTORED
	By Sheri Conover CT
	Converse -- Jacob Sharp carried sick and wounded Civil War soldiers to safety
despite his own ailments.  He developed pneumonia and died in 1861.  He was 19 years
old.
	The soldiers, grateful for Sharp's heroism, chipped in to buy a metal coffin and
sent his body back home to Converse.  He was buried in the Baldwin Cemetery.
	Weeds have overgrown the paths and broken headstones lean against trees,
leaving some graves unidentifiable.  But thanks to that metal coffin, George Kilmer could
find Sharp's grave 128 years later with a metal detector.
	"He and his sister are buried side by side.  This casket over here is metal.  This
one is oak," said Kilmer, 4265 Wilshire Drive, Marion.
	A new generation will show its gratitude to Sharp's military service with a
ceremony at 3 p.m. Sunday starting at Richland Chapel United Methodist Church 900W
and 500N, which owns the cemetery one mile south.
	The grave will get a new headstone much like its original one, paid for by the
Veterans Administration.  A shield, which Kilmer said commonly appears on stones of
Civil War veterans, surrounds the name and military duty.
	The simple gray marble stone reads:
October 13, 1842
December 11, 1861
Jacob Sharp
Co. A Inf. Vol.
	The last of 14 people to be buried in the cemetery was Elizabeth Sharp, who died
in 1876.
	Kilmer had passed the country church as he toured the area on his bicycle.  Before
he joined the church a few months ago, he decided he wanted to know more about its
history.  That's when he stumbled upon Sharp and the cemetery.
	"I had to ask directions to get here."  Kilmer said, standing next to the grave that
is accessible only by walking along a fence row in a farm field and down a trail marked
by fallen trees.  "It was known by some of the old-timers in the church.  The old Richland
Township trustee Roscoe Prickett showed the location of the graves to the best of his
knowledge."
	Prickett, 67, remembered playing near the cemetery as a boy.  He lived on the
nearby farm.
	"Sixty years ago or longer, it was just like it is now.  I never remember any work
being done," Prickett said.
	Grave markers have been broken for years, so he didn't know which person was
buried where.
	"It took quite a bit of figuring because no one has found a plat book,"  Prickett
said.
	Earl Whitlock, the oldest member of the church, remembered seeing small flags
on the graves in the 1930's, Kilmer said.
	The Rev. Jonathan Singleton, pastor of the church, said the congregation has
looked into getting a path cleared and defined by stones or wood chips by inmate work
crews supervised by the Grant County Sheriff's Department.
	Singleton plans to propose to the church board further improvements, such as a
picnic area where the original log cabin church stood until it moved in the early 1900's.
	"It was really exciting for someone like George, who wasn't even a member, and
yet came to board meetings and investigated history.  It's been a contagious enthusiasm,"
Singleton said.

	*Asterisk denotes a stone not found at this time.


Baldwin Cemetery
Clester,
	Infant son of D. & B.E. Clester born & died May 4, 1861
Johnson,
*	Sarah dau of M. & M. Johnson died May 4, 1877 aged 5y.7m.6d.
Logan,
*	Samuel K. died Aug. 10, 1860 aged 44y.5m.15d.
*	William son of S.K. Logan died Nov. 19, 1858 aged 11 days
Mayn,
	Nancy J. dau of S. & S.A. Mayn died Aug. 24, 1858 aged 13y.11m.9d.
Mayne,
	Jane died Dec. 30, 1872 aged 77 years  S/S with John
	John died June 15, 1861 aged 69y.5m.5d.  S/S with Jane
McCullough,
*	Silas S. son of J.B. & M. McCullough died Oct. 31, 1858 aged1y.2m.11d.
Shackleford,
	______ died Apr. 24, 1866 aged 1y.1m.2d.  (Broken.  First name gone.)
Sharp,
	Amanda Kansas dau of Isaac & E. Sharp died Oct. 11, 1858 aged 2y.9m.13d.
			"Sleep little children.  Side by side.
			Not changes can ere divide."
	Dyantha Ann dau of Isaac & E. Sharp died Oct. 10, 1853 aged 2y.10m.21d.
			"Together in the dust you lie."
	Elizabeth wife of John Sharp died July 14, 1870 aged 72y.8m.1d.
	Jacob son of C. & S. Sharp died Dec. 11, 1861 aged 19y.2m.18d.
			"Co. A 20 Ind. Vol."
	Jasper Uen son of Isaac & E. Sharp died Oct. 7, 1853 aged 5m.1d.
			"Together in the dust you lie."
*	Martha dau of C. & S. Sharp died Oct. 3, 1866 aged 17y.11m.27d.
	Wilkerson  Pvt. Co. C   8 In. Inf.  Aug. 24, 1844 - Nov. 26, 1861
Straney,
	Infant son of J.B. & N.J. Straney born & died Sept. 28, 1854
Stricler,
*	George C. son of Jeremiah Stricler died Dec. 24, 1855 aged 3y.4m.14d.
Veach,
	Ann wife of Jeremiah Veach ____  (Broken.  No other information found.)
	Osker A. son of J.J. & C. Veach died July 23, 1856 aged 4y.3m.29d.

NOTE:  
	Also found were two identical tops of stones one marked Charlot-  dau of ___ 
	and the other marked Rebecca.  Nothing else to identify these two people,   
	and a bottom with the age of 2y.11m.10d. listed on it.  Footstones found, that I
	could not match with any of the readings, or wasn't sure of who they belonged
	to;  	S.A.J. - F.M.F. - R.J.S. - M.J.V. - C.S.

...Original page by Sheila D. Watson