Lancaster Wiseley - Bright Cemetery

To find Bright cemetery go downtown Findlay and take E Sandusky St. (Rte 568 or Carey Rd) east a few miles. The actual cemetery is off the road about 1/4 mile or more on the north side of the road.



Look closely and you can see the headstones
in the distance just above the entrance marker.

  In this weeks blog we will follow the "William" line. John Wiseley came to the Lancaster Ohio area about 1800.  He most likely traveled on the new Zane's Trace which ran from Wheeling across the southeastern part of Ohio. The trace was little more than an area where the trees had been cut down in a wide path through the woods.  It was quickly completed in 1796-97. More on the trace and other means of transportation available to settlers in a future blog.

     John had 5 children, William, James, Edward, George and Ann. It is William and one of his descendants we wish to look at this week.
      William was the first child of John and Mary Ann Wiseley. He was born in Pennsylvania about 1780 in or near York County. He most likely was named after his Uncle William, John's brother, who would remain a bachelor and live his entire life in York Springs.


Look for these attractive stone structures
that mark the entrance to Bright cemetery



        John's son William married Rachel Thomlinson, Leah's sister, in Fairfield County, Ohio, 1801. They had a couple of girls and within 5 years Rachel died. William next married Sarah Cole and they had 9 children.  One of the youngest girls was named Rachel, the same as William's first wife.  The oldest boy was named Allen.

        A side note. When you read of an Allen Wiseley be aware that there were dozens and dozens of people named Allen Wiseley. I once received a letter from a direct decendant of  the Allen we just mentioned and his name was ....ready for this.....Allen Wiseley V (the fifth)   Yes every generation named at least one kid Allen for five generations. Talk about making genealogy work harder! 
       Anyway, we are dealing with Allen son of William, grandson of John.  He would settle 120 miles north of Fairfield county in a wilderness that became Findlay, Ohio. There is a lot of information about Allen which should be in a future blog. He was very much involved in business, education, farming etc. At one time he owned 3000 acres of prime farmland.  His descendants still cover the part of Ohio south of Toledo and around Findlay.

      For several years there was a Bright-Wiseley reunion in Findlay. The two families had a joint reunion because the they were so often connected in marriage. Allen married Ameliah Bright, daughter of Major Bright. (That was his name..not his rank!)  All three of them are buried in Bright cemetery just east of Findlay OH.
   Allen and Amelia have a unique combined stone. The two sides are connected with an arch on which are written "father" and Mother"  The two pillars
have their individual information.
There are several other headstones of interest to people doing genealogy. I have them pictured below.










Allen (20 Feb 1809 - 25 April 1888
and Amelia Wiseley (20 Feb 1809 - 9 Dec 1878)



Close up of both side of the arched stone above. Birth dates are correct. Both were born on the same day!

 
 



Keziah Wiseley
Dau of A.M. & M.M.
age 19Y 5M 27D

   Note the stone to the right of Keziah. It is Amos, her father. Not shown is her mother. Both stones are shown below.  The addition of "dau of.." helps to identify them.

 

 Below find the stone of Major Bright -senior.

One of several Bright tombstones in this cemetery.

An overview of the Bright cemetery with
the location of some of the Wiseleys
who are buried here.