PENDLETON — Shirley Gerhart of Lafayette has long been interested in family history, specifically her father’s family, which arrived in Virginia in 1743 and was involved in the founding of Nashville, Indiana.
But about five years ago, she started looking into her husband’s family.
It was his family history that led her to drive to Pendleton’s Grovelawn Cemetery on Monday to attend the dedication of memorial markers in honor of two American Revolutionary War soldiers who had settled and died in Madison County.
Kikthawenund Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, conducted the dedication ceremony for William Wall and Philip Hobaugh. The latter is an ancestor of Gerhart’s husband, John, who died in 2018.
“I just found out about (the family connection and marker dedication) about a week ago,” Gerhart, 86, said following the ceremony that included speakers and color guard service. “I thought it was very nice. It’s very informative.”
About 40 people attended the dedication, most of whom were members of DAR, Sons of the American Revolution or Children of the American Revolution.
Cecilia Calvert, who serves as historian among other roles for the Kikthawenund Chapter, based in Anderson, presented biographical details about the soldiers being memorialized.
Philip Hobaugh was born in Pennsylvania in 1763, enlisted in the Pennsylvania militia in 1779 and served in the 8th Pennsylvania regiment until 1783, Calvert said. He and his wife, Christeny Huverin, and their 13 children were among the early settlers of Fall Creek Township. The couple and their five youngest children arrived in the township between 1821 and 1825.
Hobaugh served on the jury in a trial of one of the accused involved in the Fall Creek Massacre, Calvert said; the incident involved the killing of American Indians and the subsequent hanging of four white men found guilty, a first in the country’s history.
William Wall was born in Virginia in 1758, enlisted in 1777 and served in Col. Francis Taylor’s regiment for two years, Calvert said. He re-enlisted in the Virginia Line and served there until British Gen. Charles Cornwallis surrendered in fall 1781.
The markers were placed in the military section of the cemetery, one on either side of the last marker DAR dedicated to a Revolutionary War soldier in Grovelawn Cemetery. That marker was dedicated in 1940 to Nathaniel Richmond, who served in the Massachusetts 2nd regiment for four years and whose discharge in 1783 was signed by George Washington.
The decision to locate the markers in the military section of the cemetery was made in large part because the soldiers’ exact burial sites are unknown, Calvert explained previously.
“A lot of them are buried in unmarked graves because either they were poor, they didn’t have the money for gravestones, or because it’s been 200 years, almost, for a lot of them, the stones get buried down in the ground or washed away or vandalized, you know, or whatever.
“We know that these guys are buried in Grovelawn Cemetery, but we don’t know where, because their graves aren’t marked. There is a family section for William Wall, so we assume he’s buried there, but we don’t know the location.”
Calvert said previously that DAR is seeking to identify the gravesites of Revolutionary War soldiers leading up to the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
Monday’s dedication “is a big deal, for us — I feel like it’s a historic event,” Calvert said. “These markers will be there forever because our cemetery is well taken care of now. Back in the day, not so much, but certainly now it is.
“And they are right there in the military section so they can be viewed easily from the road that winds through the cemetery. We’re really excited about it.”
During Monday’s ceremony, there were several other speakers, including Madison County Historian Stephen Jackson. He described what the county was like at the time of the Hobaughs’ and Walls’ arrival, and how it was still part of the country’s frontier.
It was around the time John Rogers, the first non-native settler to the area, arrived.
Kikthawenund Chapter Chaplain Carole Miller spoke about the importance of remembering those of even long-ago wars.
“May we never forget those who fought for freedom for this new country,” she said.
Before the service, Shirley Smith with the Horseshoe Prairie Chapter of DAR said she was there to support the cause.
“Our chapter also commemorates patriots,” Smith said. “We wanted to come and also honor the patriots, for their service, for providing a free country for us.”
Gerhart said if her husband were still alive, he would have attended the dedication. “I would have made him,” she said with a laugh.
She said she has always liked learning about the Revolutionary War, but that has changed now.
“I’m more interested in it now that I’ve found a connection.”
