YOUNGSTOWN — A small group of residents is seeking help with the ongoing maintenance of a private cemetery established in the 1880s.

The family cemetery off McCollum Road near Mill Creek Park has a cemetery association that does what it can, but its numbers are small.

Donna Hageman of Youngstown, who lives a few blocks from the cemetery, said there have been efforts to get the cemetery added to the Ohio History Connection’s list of historic places to visit, but that hasn’t happened. place.

Wayne Hageman of North Jackson said the association tried to find someone buried in the cemetery from the Revolutionary War period.

Grace Hageman of the Berlin Center said that for the past 22 years she had worked as a sexton maintaining the cemetery, but she noted that solid foundations were not under the headstones, with some collapsing and d others needing to be reset.

“We want to maintain the financial stability of the cemetery, but it is difficult. We have two funerals a year, so there are few funds coming in. We don’t get any money for maintenance,” Grace said.

She said someone was paid to cut the grass and rake the leaves.

Grace and Donna’s husbands, Charles and George, are buried in the cemetery, as are other relatives. Grace is a retired superintendent’s secretary and Donna is a retired teacher.

The cemetery has between 300 and 400 graves bearing monuments dating from the First and Second World Wars.

Grace said there were people buried at the cemetery who did not have a headstone.

“We would like family members of those buried here to be willing to help,” Donna said.

Many members of the association have since died or left the region.

“We want to be able to keep the cemetery solvent,” Grace said.

Donna said that as the association’s members age, someone is needed to oversee the operation of the cemetery. Wayne said if a tree were to be cut down it would eat up all available funds.

He added that donations would also help maintain the cemetery.

The cemetery is surrounded by a white fence broken into sections due to falling trees and branches from neighboring properties. Wayne said a fencing company has come to repair some fences, but there is still more to be done.

Wayne said he was doing what he could to help straighten the cemetery markers, but was limited in what he could do.

“It often takes a lot of digging to find the markers,” Wayne said.

He also helps mark graves and arrange for burials and cremations.

“I am always ready to help; I just can’t do all the work that needs to be done,” Wayne said.

Grace said some of the vaults were sunk 6 inches or more. She said space is available for people wishing to be buried in the historic cemetery, which features monuments dating to the 1880s and 1890s.

Grace said she will work with someone to fulfill her sexton responsibilities, noting that the cemetery records are up to date.

Donna said veterans groups help place flags on veterans’ graves for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

The association has a perpetual care fund for donations. Anyone who can provide assistance can call Grace Hageman at 330-547-6207.