I did a bulk of my early research in the summers of 1996 and 1997 and am now in the midst of another major effort starting in 2006. Over Memorial Day weekend 2006, I was upset to discover that a large number of the oldest graves at the Spangsville Churches have been uprooted and relocated in favor of a brand new one-story building at the church. This is despite hundreds and thousands of bare acres of land visible in almost all directions as far as can been seen. Among the graves are those of Johannes Schön, his wife Catharina, and their daughter Sarah. Along with dozens of other local and church pioneer graves, bones, and personal affects, they have been relocated to a mass grave with freshly landscaped surface including a circle of their loose headstones lying flat on the ground. It seems the family plots have been split up and intermixed, including the aforementioned Schön family which is now scattered about.

I will soon seek as much rectification to the situation as possible. First to reorganize the stones such that family stones are reunited and such that all stones are possibly more securely seated and more safely positioned in interest of their long-term survival. Secondly, I plan to erect a new and significant monument to the Schön family that used to be under the new building, and to their ancestors. This page and site will be updated with this information as soon as it is available. In the meantime, if you happen upon this page and have contact with the cemetery board, etc., or know more about the relocation/construction project that took place there, please contact me at the e-mail below.

• Photo of new circle of stones.
• Photos of old and new Johannes Schön headstone locations.

The photos to the upper right show the new building as seen from a different Shane burial plot afar (the Morris Shane - great grandson - family plot).

© Copyright 1978-2008 Andy Shane. For all inquiries, please contact andy@andyland.com.