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Honoring history

Marietta ceremony salutes colonists who left their mark

With wind rippling through the flags posted in Mound Cemetery, representatives of 20 chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered Thursday in honor of those who fought for the freedom of the American colonies and the freedom of all.

“Some people say that the Revolutionary War was fought over tea and taxes, but the way I look at it, it was fought over the Ohio Valley,” said Keynote Speaker Jean Yost, member of the Marietta chapter of the SAR. “This was the area for freedom, it was a land of opportunity for all people, for mixed race families.”

Yost told those in attendance that the northwest was more than just payment for those who served in the rebellion– it was a symbol of development and equality.

“The Northwest Ordinance was the most important document, more important than the Constitution because it prohibited slavery… for that fact alone, if there was nothing else in the Northwest Ordinance it gave a start to equality,” said Yost.

Yost said many mixed-race families with Native American, British and African-American blood in Washington County can tie their ancestry back to a patriot who served in the Revolutionary War.

“Their grandfathers served in the American Revolution,” he said.

Of the 292 patriots of the American Revolution that are buried in Washington County, 37 are laid to rest in Mound Cemetery.

Lila Hill, 95, of Marietta, can trace her family line back to a young recruit to the American Revolution, who was buried in a private plot in Whipple.

“Richard Doan was in his teens when the war broke out…he was living in Connecticut,” explained Hill. “He had enlisted young and was probably a flag-bearer. Then after the war he settled in Salem Township. That’s where I grew up, where my grandparents had a farm.”

Hill, whose family dates back several generations of men serving to protect the country, said the importance of remembering oft-forgotten wars lies in the need to pay homage to freedom.

“We should keep the memory alive of the sacrifices people made for us,” she said. “When I was doing genealogy the DAR peaked my interest and they helped me to learn why (Doan) enlisted and where he served.”

Attendees Thursday were also treated to a tour of the cemetery’s Revolutionary War soldier grave sites and snippets of history from Marietta’s founders’ lives before learning what’s next in history commemoration.

On July 13 representatives from Arlington National Cemetery will join local historians at the Start Westward Monument in Muskingum Park for a memorial commemorating the 230th anniversary of the signing of the Northwest Ordinance.

What’s next

¯ July 13: 230th anniversary of the signing of the Northwest Ordinance.

¯ Spring 2019: expected publication of author David McCullough’s book about Marietta’s pioneers.

Source: Jean Yost and Linda Showalter.

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