In Lyra, Vernon Township, Ohio, we visited the small stone-wall-enclosed family burying ground of Reuben Chaffin. For years, the low wall had shielded the three graves from animals and the elements, and on this day, it protected us from the cold wind cutting across the open fields.
The stark reality revealed by the headstones is that Denis L. Chaffin, the son of Francis Marion Chaffin and Sarah McGhee, was the first to find rest here. His life was cut short just three days before his first birthday on January 15, 1859. In the autumn of that year, Francis and Sarah bid farewell to Ohio, leaving behind the grave of their infant son for a new journey in Iowa. It remains uncertain whether Denis’s grave stood alone in the open expanse for years or if the enduring stone blocks, still marked by the stonecutter’s tools, were brought up the hillside and fitted soon after his untimely passing. What we do know is that four years later, on February 11, 1863, Denis’s grandfather, Rueben Chaffin, would join him in eternal rest, their graves side by side.
Sarah Smith Chaffin, wife of Reuben Chaffin, Jr endured through the somber years, she witnessed the culmination of the American Civil War and the heart-wrenching loss of her daughter Saran Ann Chaffin McFann, along with several more of her grandchildren. The headstone, meticulously carved by Cyrus G. Powers of Portsmouth, bears witness to her departure from this life on January 29, 1876. Aged 77 years, 5 months, and 27 days, she became the final soul laid to rest in Reuben Chaffin’s cemetery, marking the solemn conclusion of an era.
The biting wind and frozen ground became poignant echoes of the days when the Chaffin light seemed to flicker a little dimmer, and a subtle veil descended, shrouding the present from the distant echoes of the past.
