Chapter 11: Miller Amish Cemetery
Reprinted with permission from "The History of the Newton-Jasper County, Indiana Amish Settlement and the Miller Amish Cemetery", written, compiled and published by Sharon Julia Leichty, 2011.
Cemetery History
"Show me your cemeteries, and I will tell you what kind of people you have." Benjamin Franklin
The Miller Amish Cemetery was plotted on land formerly owned by Benjamin D. Miller, who was an early Newton County Amish settler. It was deeded to the church by Benjamin's son, Bishop David B. Miller, who owned the land at the time of the first known burial. Bishop David Miller's mother, Veronica "Fannie" (Mast) Miller, lived in the "Dawdy Haus", south of her son David's home, at the time of her death on March 23, 1877. She was buried in what is now row #2. There is a possibility that other Amish were buried at this site at an earlier date; however, no earlier dates or records were found. Several markers are unreadable. The second known burial is the gravesite of Orestus Chupp, the one-year-old son of Nathan and Magdalena Chupp, who is in row #9, which lies west of Veronica's grave. Orestus died on December 12, 1877 in Jasper County, Indiana. Menno J. Anderson's wife, Amanda (Hochstetler) Anderson, died on April 24, 1971, and was the last person buried in the cemetery. During a typical funeral, the hand-made redwood casket was hauled on a wagon west down the Miller lane, around the barn and along the ridge about a quarter mile to the lot reserved by David for a burial plot.
The Miller Amish Cemetery rest on a peaceful knoll surrounded by flat beautiful farmland. There are 117 tombstones in seventeen rows, all facing west, with the bodies buried on the east side of the marker. It is believed that all of the original gravesites are still marked, although some tombstones are impossible to read. There are four Miller graves with slate markers used as the headstones in row #4 and three graves marked with fieldstones. The burial site of Catherin (Miller) Hochstetler in row #6 is marked by a large rock, which was carved by her son-in-law, Moses E. Chupp. It reads, "Catherine Hochstetler, wife of S. D. Hochstetler B. May 25, 1844, D. Feb. 1, 1908, Age 63 yrs. 8 mo. 7 d." Two graves with smaller rocks in row #5 have no markings and are the burial site of Ida and Jessie Miller, who died as infants and are the children of Benjamin B. and Susanna (Hochstetler) Miller. Benjamin was a brother to Bishop David B. Miller. The rows are numbered from east to west with varying widths, as less space was allowed for infants. The south edge of the cemetery is in alignment; however, the north edge varies widely. Adequate space was allowed to drive the circumference of the cemetery, with an area long the north border to hitch the horses and buggies. Currently, little traffic traverses the site except for a lawn mower or an Amish descendant attempting to view the site and pay their respects to those who have gone before them.
It is obvious that certain rows were designated as a family row. Usually, the body of the earliest death was buried at the south and continued to the north. There were several who reserved plots for burial of a husband or wife, therefore, not all were buried consecutively with the death date. A few rows have individuals who were unrelated. Usually, empty plots were allowed between different families, if space allowed. This usually occurred after a family moved from the settlement. Brothers, Benedict P. "Ben" Yoder (1890-1967) and Henry P. "Hank" Yoder (1893-1943), made the original pot map of the Miller Cemetery about 1934, prior to the time that both moved to Michigan. Ronald Allen and Sharon Julia (Callander) Leichty made the revised version, which was completed in 2001.
On December 8, 1893, Bishop David B. and Susanna (Yoder) Miller of Newton County officially recorded the cemetery when they sold the lot to the Amish Mennonite Church of Jackson Township, Newton County, Indiana for $50, which probably covered the survey and recording fees. The warranty deed was recorded January 5, 1894 at the Newton County courthouse in Deed Record Book 35, page 3. It conveys and warrants a part of the land "beginning at the North West corner of the South East quarter (SE 1/4) of the North East quarter (NE 1/4) of Section 21, Township 29, North of Range 8 West and running South . . . 37 rods, thence west 1 1/2 rods to place of beginning . . to be used as a place to bury their dead for all time to come.
On January 28, 1919, Noah D. Miller signed a commissioner's deed at the Newton County Circuit Court in Newton County, Indiana, with Noah D. Miller listed as the plaintiff and Manasses D. Miller and others as defendants. Noah and Manasses are sons of Bishop David B. and Susanna Miller. For $99, apparently the same plot with a slightly different description was conveyed to the "Amish Mennonite Church of Jackson Township, Newton County, Indiana." This was recorded on page 205-208 of Order Book 33. It is possible they did not realize that their father made the deed prior.
In 2009, the cemetery was turned over to the county. Today, it is under the supervision of the Jackson Township trustee.
In March, 2011, the county had the cemetery restored. The stones were cleaned and if needed, set upright and straight. Several original stones were found below the present tombstones and were placed on the backside of the present tombstone.