Found…sort of

About a month ago, I wrote about my great-grandmother’s brother, Ralph Allis.

Today we went to East Cleveland Township Cemetery armed detailed maps, but I knew what we were going to find. When I marked his grave on the map from the scanned burial records on the cemetery website, I saw that it was right next to the road. I’d been past that spot on every visit to the cemetery.

But we checked anyway. We startled a few members of the cemetery association who were mowing the grass and clearing branches when we drove in. I found the two family plots that are supposed to lie at my uncle’s head and feet. No marker with the surname Allis on it. We walked a little away from the area and checked nearby stones to make sure that the headstone hadn’t been moved over time. No Ralph.

I know, within a matter of a few feet, where my uncle Ralph Allis lies. Next time I go to East Cleveland Township Cemetery, I will take him flowers.