A Walk Through The Tombstones: August 2025

Today's Walk Through the Tombstones is the final section of the Pioneer Cemetery at Crown Hill in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the relocated Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery.

The original cemetery was located in Castleton, Indiana and was established in 1841. With the expansion of I-69 and I-465 in 2007, the cemetery needed to be relocated and Crown Hill was chosen. A memorial stone and dedication was done in 2008, with about 100 people in attendance. In total 33 graves were re-interred with their original headstones.

The monument on the far right side of the entrance into the Pioneer Cemetery, which stands just to the side of the burials, reads:

"Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery

Established 1841

This monument honors the memory of the Wright-Whitesell-Gentry families who were buried in a small cemetery located on the Wright family farm in Lawrence Township beginning in 1841.

In 2008, twelve adults, fourteen children and seven infants were reburied in this final resting place at Crown Hill Cemetery.

Members of the Wright family headed by the Reverend James T. Wright, founder of the Church now known as the Castleton United Methodist Church, and extended family members of the Whitesell, Gentry, Easterday and Gates families were buried in the small cemetery with the last burial taking place in 1905.

Also interred is Civil War Private John W. Gentry, who served in the 26th Indiana, Co "I" from March of 1864 until the unit was disbanded in January, 1866.

This memorial is a fitting tribute to the pioneering families who were among the first settlers in Marion and Hamilton Counties."

The back side of the monument shows a map with the burials listed. I did not spend time noting as to whether or not the burial map matched the layout of the current burials to see if, when they were re-interred, they matched them up to the original cemetery. I would imagine that they did. In fact, an Indianapolis Star article dated June 4, 2008, says that they laid them out exactly as they had been.

To the right of the above monument sits the small cemetery, with all of the stones neatly arranged as they had been before they were moved. You can go to the Indiana Memory Collections to see the cemetery as it had been in Castleton, right next to the highway. The Genealogical Society of Marion County has an incomplete burial list on their website. Unfortunately, no one has added these burials to Find-A-Grave, so I will attempting to do so as I go along.

And now, on to the burials.

Our first grave is that of James B. Wright.

Born: unknown

Died: 1853

He was the young son of Reverend James T. Wright (1787-1859) and Ruhamah McAnally Wright (1788-1858). They are both reinterred nearby in Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery.

He had several siblings:

Charles W. Wright (?-?) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

John M. Wright (?-1837) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Josiah W. Wright (?-1852) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Elizabeth M. Wright Hair (1811-1892) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Paulina J. Wright Gentry (1817-1863) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Jesse Wesley Wright (1823-1897) - buried in Crownland Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Margaret C. Wright Armentrout (1825-1885) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Eliza Isabella Wright Whitesell (1831-1868) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

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This is the grave for John M. Wright.

Born: unknown
Died: 1837

He was the son of Reverend James T. Wright (1787-1859) and Ruhamah McAnally Wright (1788-1858). They are both reinterred nearby in Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery.

He had several siblings:

Charles W. Wright (?-?) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

James B. Wright (?-1853) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Josiah W. Wright (?-1852) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Elizabeth M. Wright Hair (1811-1892) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Paulina J. Wright Gentry (1817-1863) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Jesse Wesley Wright (1823-1897) - buried in Crownland Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Margaret C. Wright Armentrout (1825-1885) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

Eliza Isabella Wright Whitesell (1831-1868) - buried in Crown Hill Cemetery (Wright-Whitesell-Gentry Cemetery Section), Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana

~~~

Next is the grave of Ruhamah McAnally Wright.

Born: November 28, 1788, Stokes County, North Carolina

Died: January 5, 1858

She was the daughter of Jesse McAnally (1760-1800) and Elizabeth Morgan McAnally (1764-1844). They are both buried in the McAnally Family Graveyard, Meadows, Stokes County, North Carolina. Jesse was a Revolutionary War Soldier and served as Justice of the Peace in Stokes County, North Carolina.

She had several siblings:

Mary Polly McAnally Booth (1784-1861) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Charles McAnally (1786-1844) - buried in McAnally Family Graveyard, Meadows, Stokes County, North Carolina

Jesse McAnally (1794-1866) - buried in Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana

Elizabeth McAnally Davis (1796-1858) - buried in Davis Graveyard, Danbury Township, Stokes County, North Carolina

Mercy McAnally Mitchell (1798-1877) - buried in Mitchell Cemetery, Dillard, Stokes County, North Carolina

She was married to the Reverend James Thomas Wright (1787-1859). He is buried nearby in the Wright-Whitesell- Gentry Cemetery Section of the Pioneer Cemetery at Crown Hill.

They had several children that I had found: