This new marker at Franklin Sq. Cemetery chronicles the Civil Battle service of John M. James of Leetonia. (Photograph by Mary Ann Greier)
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LEETONIA — A brand new grave marker at Franklin Sq. Cemetery this Memorial Day honors the service of Leetonia space Civil Battle veteran and Union infantry soldier John M. James — almost 150 years after his dying.
“He was type of forgotten,” Salem Township Trustee Invoice Heston mentioned.
A veteran himself, serving with the U.S. Navy in the course of the Vietnam Battle, Heston took on the venture of securing the brand new grave marker for James. He oversees the 4 cemeteries which can be the accountability of the Salem Township trustees, so he’s very conversant in the graves.
“I at all times felt it was unhappy that he didn’t have a stone. You didn’t know what outfit he was from,” Heston defined.
The analysis journey to seek out the data mandatory to use for a brand new free navy marker from the U.S. authorities for James took almost two years. The grave for James was marked with a Civil Battle normal along with his identify on it to carry a flag, however his stone was small and damaged and there was no details about his unit or rank.
Heston credited his discoveries about James to quite a lot of assist from the volunteers on the Columbiana County Archives and Analysis Heart in Lisbon and Veterans Service Officer Lance Ritchie of the Columbiana County Veterans Service Workplace in Lisbon.
Because it seems, there have been many troopers named John James from Ohio and Pennsylvania, making the search troublesome, however not unimaginable. Heston shared the story about James that he was in a position to put collectively.
Born in 1834 in Wampum, Pennsylvania, James enlisted within the Union Military on March 20, 1863 and served till his discharge in 1866. He served within the infantry with the rank of personal and in the course of the struggle, his E5 firm was stationed within the New Mexico Territory.
“When he got here again from the struggle, he was dwelling in Leetonia,” Heston mentioned.
He had a spouse, Kate, and a son named Robert and labored as a coal digger. He died on Feb. 28, 1875 from what was described as “hemm of lungs” and was buried at what’s now often known as the Franklin Sq. Cemetery in Salem Township off of Salem Grange Street. There was a file that his spouse utilized for Widows of Union Advantages in 1890. He was solely 41 when he handed.
As soon as his navy data was confirmed, Ritchie was in a position to order the grave marker. The concrete base was bought at Richardson Monuments and personnel from Salem Township put in the bottom and marker.
In line with Heston, the cemetery serves as the ultimate resting place for a number of Civil Battle veterans. On the McCracken Street cemetery, he mentioned there’s a Revolutionary Battle veteran and one from the Battle of 1812. Different cemeteries cared for by the trustees embody the Hart Cemetery on state Route 45 earlier than what’s often known as the ski slope between Salem and Lisbon and the Burger Cemetery on Lisbon-Canfield Street.