BROOKFIELD - For many years, Jesse Reeder, a War of 1812 veteran buried in the oldest section of Brookfield Township Cemetery, had no marker noting his burial there.
With the efforts of Reeder's descendants and members of the Brookfield Historical Society, a marker was dedicated and placed at the cemetery.
Melissa Cole, who is the fourth-great-granddaughter of Reeder, and Jake Carleton, her second cousin and fellow family historian / genealogist, who is Reeder's third-great-grandson, attended a dedication ceremony this month at the cemetery. Cole said the two did research to have Reeder's headstone placed.
The Trumbull County Honor Guard hosted a military ceremony with three-gun salute for the dedication attended by township trustees and historical society members.
Lois Werner of the historical society said there are many veterans from different wars buried in the older section of the cemetery. She said the marker is placed among 43 other veterans of the War of 1812.
Werner and Dan Briceland helped the family with the marker dedication.
Reeder was buried in the township in 1833.
Cole said the death certificate of Reeder's daughter Philena Reeder Hogue is where she first saw her fourth-great-grandfather's name. In researching, she found herself at the Brookfield Library, which had a small journal / book titled ''Brookfield's Sleeping Soldiers,'' a list of soldiers of the area from wars "buried in Brookfield or elsewhere," dated 1925.
''On one of the typewritten lists for the War of 1812 was the name Jesse Reeder. If I had not found this bit of information, I would have no idea he was in the War of 1812,'' she said.
In January, she contacted the Brookfield Road Department, which was said to hold the records for the Brookfield Township Cemetery, to see if Reeder was buried there in an unmarked grave.
''My hunch was that Jesse was buried in an unmarked grave next to his daughter, Philena Reeder Hogue, since there is a large section next to her without any headstones,'' Cole said.
In April, she called Elizabeth Boozer of the historical society and received a call from Werner, who, through her research of a 1923 military map of the cemetery, found where Reeder was buried.
Reeder is buried in the same row as his daughter and his son, Thomas.
''I felt it very important to get him a headstone, especially with this being the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. And since he was a veteran of the war, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs would provide him with a headstone,'' Cole said.
She said in order for the VA to provide a headstone, she had to send proof he was in an unmarked grave, where he was buried and proof of his service.
To acquire proof of his service, she went to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) site and ordered his pension records and then received the records.
''I received eight pages of his records which, along with other information, contained how long he was in the militia, who he served under, his age in 1871, his wife's name, their wedding date, and the day he died. The most special item in the packet was to see his actual signature on a few documents,'' she said.
Cole said it is important to remember our ancestors.
''Their decisions and sacrifices brought us to where we are today. Their blood runs through our veins,'' she said.
Reeder's wife, parents and grandparents are also buried in Brookfield Cemetery. Jesse's grandfather, Jacob Reeder, who was in the Revolutionary War, also is in an unmarked grave.
Those with information on relatives of Reeder can email colefamily@fairpoint. net.