Olde Methodist (Lincoln Street) Cemetery

Olde Methodist Cemetery, 66 West Lincoln Street, is the final resting place for two of Westerville’s pioneer families, the Sharps and Westervelts. It was established in 1849 when Garrit Sharp and his son William sold the plot for $1 to the Methodist Episcopal Church for use as a burying ground. Garrit and Anna Goodspeed Sharp came to Ohio circa 1810-1812. They, and their sons, were abolitionists and known Underground Railroad operatives. The Sharps, five of their children, and other relatives are interred in Olde Methodist. The Westervelts arrived circa 1818. Westerville, originally known as Sharp’s Settlement, took its name when brothers Matthew and Peter Westervelt donated land to establish both the village and a Methodist college in 1839. Peter Westervelt is buried in Olde Methodist alongside other Westervelt family. (Continued on other side)

[Side B]: (Continued from other side) A Methodist ministry was established in Westerville by 1815, and a log church built 1818-1821. Olde Methodist Cemetery includes the graves of circuit rider Reverend Nathan Emery, his wife Clarissa, and such church organizers, and families, as John Bishop, Thomas Ingalls, Ezra Sammis, Garrit Sharp, and Peter Westervelt. While burial records and headstones have not survived the centuries, approximately 200 adults and 50 children were interred in the cemetery between 1849 and 1956. Veterans of the War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American War, and World War I also rest in the hallowed plot. Some Union soldiers have memorial markers, as they likely lie where they died in battle or prison. Thomas Alexander, who transported slaves hidden in his rake factory wagon, is also buried in Olde Methodist Cemetery.