On 5/29/2001, an ORDER TO DISINTER WHALEN CEMETERY was issued in Clark Circuit Court.  Seems these three little graves stand in the way of "progress" and will be moved to Ebenezer Cemetery.  The 5/23/2001 Petition to Disinter and subsequent Order are on-line in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (880K). According to both the 1986 and 1998 deeds for the surrounding property, this cemetery was a clearly-stated EXCEPTION, but that apparently had no bearing on the Court's decision to order this cemetery dismantled.

 

Betty Johnson, Dan Johnson, Sammy Johnson and Greg Furnish inspecting the Whalen Cemetery site.

On February 27, 1999, Dan and Betty Johnson, their grandson Sammy, property owner Greg Furnish and I visited the old Whalen Cemetery in Silver Creek Township.

The site is very small, approximately 10 feet by 20 feet, and contains only three graves.

During the first week of March, 1999, Dan and Betty set about restoring this little cemetery and have already made significant progress.

A very sad tale of murder-suicide is associated with this site.  It is available in text form at clarkbios/whalen.html.

Confirmed to have been buried here are:

     Elizabeth Whalen         b. Circa 1830        d. 12-14-1861

                                                   or 1864 (probably 1864)

     William Whalen, Sr.      b. 10-15-1820        d. 10-13-1910

     Jacob Whalen             b. 1856              d. 1912

This Elizabeth was Jacob's mother and the first wife of William Whalen, Sr.  According to the 1790-1850 Indiana Marriages Database, William married Elizabeth J. SLIDER on 2-22-1850.  According to the 1860 Clark County Census, they were the parents of Anna (born circa 1850), William, Jr. (born circa 1853), Jacob (born 1856) and John M. (born circa 1859).

William and his second wife (name unknown) were the parents of Joseph (1866-1912), John, Elizabeth and Anne. [This list of children from the second marriage is taken from 1910 newspaper accounts and does not appear to jive with the 1860 Census records, which are presumed to be more accurate.  However, it is POSSIBLE that children from the second marriage were also named John and Anne.]

The second Mrs. Whalen apparently died before 1896, when William, Sr. married his third wife, who survived him at his death in 1910.  Her name may have been Sara Jacobs.  There were no children born of this third marriage and the widow may have been residing in Bedford, Indiana at the time of Jacob and Joseph's deaths in 1912.

The Indiana State Library 1790-1850 Marriages Database lists the following:

Sarah WHALAN married Thomas PHELPS in Clark County on 2-10-1831
Charles WHALEN married Margarett J. SLIDER in Clark County on 7-23-1846
David H. WHALEN  married Margaret ROBERTSON in Clark County on 4-10-1834
Edward WHALEN married Charlotte THOMAS in Clark County on 4-29-1837
Jacob WHALEN married Julian REEDMAN in Clark County on 8-16-1832
Maria WHALEN married Jonathan EMMONS in Clark County on 4-22-1842
William WHALEN married Elizabeth J. SHILER (SLIDER) on 2-22-1850
Elizabeth WHALLEN married William NEELD in Clark County on 9-9-1825

Whalan, William   CHARLESTOWN TWP    p. 005 

Whaland, James    SILVER CREEK TWP   p. 002

Whalen, Edward    CHARLESTOWN TWP    p. 050

Whalen, William   CHARLESTOWN TWP    p. 050

Carr Twp., Household 245:    WHALEN, Charles P. (37), Margaret (34), John W. (11), Mary Ann (9), Charles P. (8), Wesley (6), Joseph (3), Margaret (2 months)

Carr Twp., Household 246:    WHALEN, William (39), Elizabeth J. (30), Anna (10), William (7), Jacob (6),  John M. (4), James W. (1), Susan E. (20)

Silver Creek Twp., Household 29:    WHALEN, Charlotte T. (age 40, born in SC), Susan (11), Edward (6), Ann E. (21), James (18), Elizabeth (16)

Jeffersonville, Household 126:    WHALEN, James (age 60, born in Ireland), Catherine (age 30, born in Ireland), ROACH, Michael (age 10, born in VA), WHALEN, Hellen (2)

Jeffersonville, Household 782:    WEEMS, French (age 61, born in VA, male), Belle (32, born in VA), RIDGE, Kate (65, born in PA), WHALEN, Maria (30, born in Ireland), John Thos. (23, born in Ireland)

Jeffersonville, Household 764:    RICKETTS, Dillard (age 41, born in KY), Indiana (38), DAILY, Elizabeth (19), BARNER, Ellen (20, born in Ireland), WHALEN, Kate (18, born in IRE), MATTS?, Henry (30, born in Germany)

Utica Twp., Household 21:    STEWART, Jas. W. (29), Martha (30), Wm. (3), WHALEN, Jas. (18)

State Reformatory at Jeffersonville:    1859  WHALEN, Mary (age 30, born in Ohio, SEAMSTRESS)

We presently have no further information on this cemetery.