The Engineering Genealogist
C. Russell Dole was a tenured civil engineer who, by the late 1950s, had already spent a career helping utility companies in Southwestern Ohio build and maintain their plants, substations, and offices. During World War II, he was an “essential” employee of Cincinnati Gas and Electric (now Duke Energy), working to keep the power grid working so that the Homefront industries could serve the allied forces spread across the world. Later, he joined Dayton Power & Light (DP&L now AES Ohio). As a civil engineer, the Dayton Power & Light Magazine explained, Russell’s usual business was “the utilization of materials and labor.” (1)
He also served as our family historian. Russell was my grandfather. His home office was a sight to behold, strewn with typed notes and half-filled-in Gibbs Publishing Six Generation Ancestral Charts and Family Unit Notes. I find myself drawn more to family history if it’s presented in an analog form rather than via the 3D digital rendering of an online database. Show me six generations on form 1 with a referral to form 23 to keep following the line! I have my own original pass on my mother’s side of the family on Russell’s surplus Gibbs forms. Russell’s office was also weighed down by massive books of birth, death, and marriage records — a bygone tool of the pre-internet era. There was a typewriter and the accompanying correspondence with potential cousins, family associations, and government clerks seeking new or more detailed information to fill in the charts. He always thought there was a likely Mayflower ancestor somewhere in his line, but he never connected the dots.
Russell’s office walls, where he did his research on his family tree, were covered with plaques and awards honoring his long career as an engineer. The engineer-genealogist made sense. Family history research and engineering both involve Sherlock Holmes-level deductive reasoning, logic puzzle-solving methods, the distillation of logistical chaos into rational parts, and, perhaps paradoxically, an artistic approach to creative problem-solving. So it was really no surprise that when DP&L ran into a genealogical roadblock on an engineering project along the banks of the Ohio River in Adams County, they turned to Russell.
The Compassionate Corporation
Consolidation had already begun to creep into the energy industry by the 1950s. In Southwestern Ohio, it started as a collaboration. Three companies — Cincinnati Gas and Electric, DP&L, and Columbus & Southern Ohio Electric — worked together to build and reap the energy from a power generating station at New Richmond, Clermont County, Ohio. This was a time of economic growth and prosperity in Ohio. More power was needed. In 1957, DP&L purchased 987 acres of land in Adams County, near the Brown County line between the Ohio River and U.S. Route 52, that might house a newer, bigger power generation plant. The land, in Sprigg Township, was traced by deed to General Nathaniel Massie as part of the Virginia Military District, which provided land in lieu of money for service during the American Revolution. Massie would survey and found 14 Ohio communities, including Manchester near the DP&L site in 1791 and Chillicothe in 1797. (2) Russell’s own ancestor, James Coe, was also a surveyor who assisted in the mapping of Ohio (in Coe’s case, at Granville and in Portage County).
The site was nearly perfect. Except that a 1958 survey of the property identified six family burial sites, ranging from two graves to three-quarters of an acre, on what had once been family farms. These burial locations were situated across the site, which covered nearly two miles from West to East and up to half a mile North of the Ohio River. These were the Ellis, Grimes, Bradford, Kimble, and Moore families. The sites had long been cared for, but as the family farms were broken up and descendants moved away, the burial grounds were left largely to nature. The last burials on the grounds ranged from the late 1840s up into the 1910s, leaving even the newest sites nearly 50 years old when discovered. Given the magnitude of the construction project — a massive power plant that involved multiple phases and an anticipated total investment of $200 million (nearly $2 billion in today’s dollars) — it would have been impossible to maintain access and proper care for the burial sites.
The graves needed to be removed from the site. It was DP&L’s responsibility. Credit must go to the company’s leaders, who dictated that it had to be done right. The project was imbued with a certain nobility. Not in the hereditary sense, but in the way that the project allowed a corporation to display empathy and community responsibility. They wanted to shine a spotlight on the families and history, not — quite literally — bulldoze the problem under the rug. Russell wrote, “These were the people, the kind of people, pioneering, hardy, kind, thoughtful, patriotic, religious people who brought the Northwest Territory and the State of Ohio out of the wilderness into the present state of development. These people knew that it was only through their own efforts that they could survive. The present generations have maintained the great spirit of their forbearers.” (3)
This set into motion an “unusual, peculiar project” (4) that involved lawyers, engineers, township trustees, health commissioners, undertakers, gravediggers, monument restorers, a genealogist, and the families themselves. It started with a meeting of DP&L’s corporate counsel, an outside lawyer, and Russell to figure out if the graves could be moved and how that process might work.
The Genealogical — and Archeological — Dig
The first step was to find any family members as an entry point towards finding the next-of-kin, or the closest family member to the person buried at each site.. Then the next-of-kin, with the company’s help, would work with local and state authorities to get permission to move the remains. Then they would need to work with a licensed undertaker to oversee the actual digging, moving, and re-burying. Along the way, they would need to clear the sites, undertake archaeological-level digging, carefully preserve remains and artifacts, record their findings, restore tombstones, find a suitable location for re-burial, and execute the entire operation in a way that showed respect and offered dignity to the deceased and their survivors.
Russell worked to navigate engineering challenges, the legal system, and the chaotic and confusing realm of building five family trees. This wasn’t logging into Ancestry.com and clicking a leaf for a hint. Information was gathered from family bibles, tombstones, monuments, family records, books, courthouse records, and conversations with family members. (5) In acknowledging the help he received, Russell reported doing research at the Dayton, Portsmouth, Georgetown, Cincinnati, State of Ohio, and Maysville, Kentucky libraries. Once the next-of-kin were identified, they had to file forms with the County Health Commission to disinter the remains. One form was required for each known grave, and a group form was submitted for the unknown graves. One family’s estimated group submission for unknown burials was 55, but the remains of 71 people were eventually found. The research could be perplexing. The Ellis family proved especially confusing until it was discovered that two distinct lines of the family settled in Adams and Brown Counties.
Russell worked diligently to track down the family histories. For this project, he often used regular notebook paper, graph paper, or DP&L engineering memo sheets. There were numerous copies of the family trees because often a new bit of information would require a do-over. As with any project like this, there were discrepancies among the sources, and Russell accepted what appeared to be the more reliable source. For the next twenty years, he corresponded with the families and continued to correct and add to his Notes on the Five Pioneer Families.
The genealogy was made exponentially more difficult because this wasn’t straight-line ancestry — brothers, sisters, cousins — the branches of the family tree soon resembled the tangled gravesites.
Indeed, the burial lots were overgrown with myrtle, tall grasses, corn, trees, brush, and weeds. Hardly distinguishable. The tombstones were in disarray. Some were crumbled and in pieces. Some were entangled with tree roots. Every single thing that could be restored would be restored. Many graves were marked only by rocks taken from nearby hillsides. Tombstones and stone markers were often found buried. DP&L worked with the families to ensure the entire process was undertaken in a “proper, decent, and reverent way to prevent deterioration or desecration of graves and monuments.” (6) Some graves had no distinguishable marker at all, other than by “relatively easy digging as the soil, even after 125 years or more, was not compacted to match the adjacent undisturbed earth.” (7)
Russell kept a journal of work on the site. One typical example, from June 29, 1962, recorded that they worked on the Ellis lot, “The work started at 10:30 am after having to explore the area for a road to the site. We ended up by driving through 2 rows of corn, which were not well developed, to get to the site. Four people were present.” (8) Eight graves were dug that day yielding traces of bone, nails, wood, stone headers and footers, pearl buttons, casket handles, and a metal plate stamped, “Our Darling.” Several of the graves had previously been removed to Maysville Cemetery.
Excavation of the graves was done using an archaeological style where the soil was removed in thin layers to minimize disturbance. In total, 160 graves were found. Some seemed to indicate a sort of natural burial without a casket or embalming. In these cases, small pieces of linen, that had wrapped a body, were found. One site in the Grimes lot featured a brick vault, into which a casket was laid. It revealed the metal work from a casket, including masonic insignia and a fully intact bow tie. Another lot, which had earlier been moved to the site from nearer the river, contained a more careful and orderly collection of remains and artifacts. Three graves featured cast iron caskets buried in the 1850s. Each grave’s contents were placed in boxes for reburial. If a grave featured a vault, it was reinterred in a vault. Once the graves were removed, excavation of each site was conducted down to the level of the deepest grave to ensure nothing was left behind, and each family signed off on a letter confirming that they were satisfied that there were no further remains.
The Pioneer Families
Ellis
Jeremiah Ellis was the son of Nathan Ellis, the founder of Ellis Ferry, which was renamed Aberdeen, Ohio as the settlement grew. Nathan was from Pennsylvania and traveled with his brother down the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers until they reached Maysville, Kentucky. Finding the land on the Kentucky side of the river largely worked over, the Ellis clan decided to cross and purchase land in Ohio, founding various towns along the river in the process. (9) Nathan is buried on the hill overlooking Aberdeen and the river. Jeremiah Ellis was born to Nathan and Mary Walker in 1780. Jeremiah fought during the War of 1812. He died in 1837 and was buried in the Ellis Family Burial Ground. Stones marking the graves of Jeremiah and his wife Nancy (Anna) Underwood were found buried during the excavation. One of Nathan’s daughters — Jeremiah’s sister — Nancy married into the Grimes family. She was buried with her husband at their burial ground and moved to the Manchester Cemetery as well in 1962. (10)
Grimes
The Grimes burial ground was established by William Grimes, the son of David G. Grimes, a Revolutionary War veteran. William married Nancy Ellis (see above) and they had seven children. A son, Samuel, took over the farm where the burial ground was located and reported the changes to the land in just the passing between generations. (11) From threats of wild animals and rudimentary huts in the heavily wooded area to cleared, bountiful farmland and beautiful homes overlooking the Ohio River whose vessels transformed from roughly hand-hewn canoes to steamboats speeding up and down the river. Little did they know that their land would serve as the foundation for towers sixty-five feet in diameter and turbine engines producing enough electricity to power the homes of hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.
Kimble
The Kimble burial ground was established by Elijah Kimble, Sr., who married Mary Stephenson, and they had five children. The area of the Kimble property was known as Kimble’s Landing during Elijah Sr.’s life. The first burial took place around 1830. (12) The Kimble family was the hardest of the group to track down, though a descendent, John, still lived in Manchester as of 1962 and helped with the family’s lineage.
Moore
The Moore burial ground was established by Joseph Moore, Sr. a Revolutionary War veteran and Methodist Minister who organized a Methodist Society in 1797 and then and then built the Northwest Territory’s first Methodist church building in 1800. Today, Moore’s Memorial Chapel is built on the site. Moore married Rebecca Foster, and they had 12 children. (13)
Bradford
David Bradford, a descendant of Sarah and Samuel Bradford, a Revolutionary War soldier, founded the Bradford burial ground. In one of those odd moments for the genealogist, Sarah’s father’s name was also Samuel Bradford, but they were not related. David’s ancestry goes back to Pilgrim settler Governor William Bradford. (14) This was the largest family group on the DP&L property and was, in fact, divided among two family burial lots.
The Cosmic Touch
As only an in-depth study of genealogy can do, Russell reported a feeling of kinship at the close of the project, “when we planned the work we knew very little about these people. We really didn’t care who they were. What we did know was that we wanted to do this work in the best way possible. We knew that infinite attention to detail would be necessary. We knew that the work must be done with thoughtfulness, feeling and care. Now that it is completed we feel almost as if these honored pioneers of Ohio were in fact our own ancestors, friends, and neighbors.” (15)
Those words were truer than Russell could have known. He was right about our own family’s connection to the Mayflower. What would have taken him many letters, and possibly even in-person trips then is now possible with the click of a button. In fact, we’ve identified two Mayflower ancestors: Degory Priest who died during the first winter at Plymouth, and… Governor William Bradford. That means that some of the people Russell was responsible for researching and shepherding from the family burial ground to a new resting place were his own, somewhat distant, relatives.
In Notes on Five Pioneer Families, Russell brushes past his own connection at a dead end. Pilgrim Governor William Bradford and his wife Alice have a son, Major William Bradford. Major William and his wife Mary give birth to a son, David, whose family descends down to Sprigg Township through Samuel and then another William. David also had a sister named Alice. The Notes indicate that she married “______ Fitch.” Unknown. That would be James Fitch. Alice and James descend through Daniel, David, and Olive Fitch. Olive married William Potter and had a daughter named Priscilla, who married Lynde Lord. They had a son named David, who had a daughter named Harriette. Harriette Lord married Alfred Dole and gave birth to Russell.
Isn’t genealogy glorious? I think grandpa Russell would be simultaneously thrilled to learn of the connection and irritated that he didn’t get there himself.
The Final Dedication
DP&L selected the cemetery at Manchester, OH as the re-burial location because all the families had relatives already buried there. Originally, five lots were purchased, but as the project progressed, a sixth was added. This entire endeavor wasn’t cheap. An accounting found in Russell’s records indicates that digging up, reinterring, monument restoration, new stones, and a family unit marker cost just over $20,000 ($200,000 in today’s dollars) for just one of the families.
One challenge of the project was to disinter and then re-inter the graves in as close to the same pattern as was found in the burial sites. The team sought to relocate each person adjacent to and on the same side as they first rested. This proved difficult given the unorganized farm burial grounds and limits of space in the new cemetery, but they did the best they could.
The genealogy and archaeology work took about five years from the 1958 survey until the dedication of the new lots at Manchester Cemetery on October 20, 1963. Construction of Stuart Station didn’t get under way until late 1965 and didn’t start generating power until 1970. It was decommissioned in 2018 and is currently undergoing remediation ahead of potential new development.
Endnotes
1 Hancock, Glee. “Grave Movers: Civil Engineer Russell Dole Relates Unusual DP&L Engineering Assignment.” Forward: the Dayton Power and Light Company Magazine, May 1963 pp. 4–8.
2 Hancock, Glee. “Grave Movers: Civil Engineer Russell Dole Relates Unusual DP&L Engineering Assignment.” Forward: the Dayton Power and Light Company Magazine, May 1963 pp. 4–8.
3 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
4 Dole, Russell C. “An unusual Engineering Project 1961–1964.” Unpublished Manuscript.
5 Dole, Russell C. “An unusual Engineering Project 1961–1964.” Unpublished Manuscript.
6 Hancock, Glee. “Grave Movers: Civil Engineer Russell Dole Relates Unusual DP&L Engineering Assignment.” Forward: the Dayton Power and Light Company Magazine, May 1963 pp. 4–8.
7 Hancock, Glee. “Grave Movers: Civil Engineer Russell Dole Relates Unusual DP&L Engineering Assignment.” Forward: the Dayton Power and Light Company Magazine, May 1963 pp. 4–8.
8 Dole, Russell C. “Project diary.” Unpublished handwritten notes.
9 “A History and Biographical Cyclopedia of Butler County, Ohio” (Western Reserve Publishing, 1882)
10 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
11 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
12 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
13 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
14 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
15 Dole, Russell C. “Some Notes on Five Pioneer Families of Sprigg Township, Adams County” (Dole, 1964)
