We reveal the history of the community through the stories of its dead
individual record

id
first
middle
last
dob
dod
cod
6AlonzoD.Beckwith3/6/1873

veteran
exhumed
purchaser
cemetery
FALSEAdams Street

lot
plot
Stone broken and down in 1934, top fragment moved to R23 during 2001 cleanup; lot 175 purchased by N. L. Beckwith; base in that lot matched to fragment by type of stone, grain size, and dimensions. Replaced at R5 G10 in 2007 by Dr. Indira Gesink (historian), Dr. Sabina Thomas (geologist), and Jeremy Feador (intern). 2 more exhumation scars on his lot, indigent burials 15 and poss. 16
relations
William W. Beckwith (father, b. c1793-4) Ann Beckwith (mother, b. c1798-9) William L. (brother, b. c1821) Ann (sister[in-law?], b. c1826) Seth (brother, b. c1831) Mary A. (sister, b. c1833) Mary A. (sister or niece?, b. c1849) Eyra (relation unclear, brother?) Amelia (married to Eyra) Arthur J (son of Eyra) Sarah E (daughter of Eyra)

comments
Alonzo was enumerated in the 1850 census in Bronson Twp, Huron County, with his family. His father was William Beckwith, age 56, a farmer with $2,850 property, born in VT. Wife was Ann, 52, born in NY. Children were Mary A (17), Alonzo (10), Seth (19) and William L (29). There were also Ann (24) and Mary A. (1), possibly wife and child of William L. All children except the youngest were born in OH; the younger Mary A. was born in MI. The three oldest were attending school. Seth and William L were farmers, and William L had $1600 property. Alonzo was enumerated in the 1860 census in Bronson Twp, Huron County, living with his family. His father was W. W. Beckwith, age 67, a farmer with real estate worth $4,000 and personal property of $700, born in VT. Wife Ann was 61, born in NY. Alonzo was 20, a student, born in OH. Another family was enumerated in the same household: Eyra Beckwith, 38, a farmer with $3200 real estate, born in OH. Wife Amelia was 37, born in NY. Children were Arthur J (7) and Sarah E (3), both born in MI. It is unclear why Alonzo came to be buried in Berea. Perhaps he was related to the only Beckwith family in Middleburg Twp, the family of Merwin Beckwith (see entry no. 292). Perhaps he was a student at Baldwin University. Berea's list of burials for 1873 says only "Mar. Beckwith". No mention was made of his death in the 1873 Grindstone City Advertiser. In 1904, his tombstone was recorded as saying "Alonzo D. Beckwith, d. March 6, 1873, ae 34". In 1934, his tombstone was transcribed as saying the same, with the notation "stone down." The 1934 survey placed his stone in between the Schneider monument and the Hulet/Hunt lot, which is about where lot 175 should be located according to the 2007 reconstruction of the cemetery lot grid. Lot 175 was purchased by N. L. Beckwith; there is no census data available for that name. In 2006, researchers located a broken stone base at that location, and a fragment with his name on it at the back of the cemetery. In 2007, researchers matched the fragment to the base in lot 175 by stone type, grain size, and dimensions and relocated the fragment to rest by its base.

sources
1850 US Federal Census, William Beckwith household, series M432, roll 697, p. 146; Ancestry.com 1860 US Federal Census, W. W. Beckwith household, series M653, roll 991, p. 317; Ancestry.com "List of Burials and Names 1856-1871," City of Berea Records E. S. Loomis and D. T. Gould, "Inscriptions from the Old Berea Cemetery," 1904, Berea Historical Society "Cuyahoga Cemetery Inscriptions," Vol. I, compiled by the Western Reserve Historical Society, 1934 "Number of Burial Lots and price," Adams Street Cemetery folder, Berea Historical Society. Adams Street Cemetery Map and lot grid, Dr. Indira Gesink and Jeremy Feador, August 2007; Berea Historical Society Cultural Geology survey and stone matching project, Dr. Sabine Thomas, Jeremy Feador, Dr. Indira Gesink, 2007. Additional information on the family may be found in "Beckwiths" by Paul Edmond Beckwith (Albany, NY: 1891). A reference to an Alonzo is on p. 210, but with a birthdate of 1820. (Ancestry.com, from American Genealogical-Biographical Index). Alonzo D. Beckwith tombstone photograph, Jeremy Feador, 2007.