Editor's Note: This story was updated on March 24, 2022, to correct the exact location of the cemetery.
ELLWOOD CITY – There is one cemetery in the borough.
The small burial ground in the backyard of resident Reuben "Bud" Kerr's property, contains a small white wooden cross at the base of a large tree marks the spot.
Everett Bleakney, president of the Ellwood City Area Historical Society, knew about it for many years because when he was a mail carrier, he had talked to the residents and learned about the cemetery.
When Sharon Markham, from Texas, contacted the historical society looking for her family burial plot, she was impressed that Bleakney knew about the cemetery.
Markham, who was researching her family tree, found that the Robert Gregor McGregor family lived in Ellwood City, and was looking for family information.
Bleakney's research of Ellwood City history uncovered that the cemetery was on the McGregor farmland. A part of Ellwood City land, titled the Great Falls tract, was issued to John Hoge in 1792, and in the following years, many parcels of land were sold.
On Sept. 29, 1809, 234 acres of the Washington Academy lands were transferred to Donald McGregor. Donald was born into Clan McGregor of the Scottish Highlands, and was a relative of the infamous Rob Roy McGregor.
Donald married Mary Bennett, and they had several children. Based on Donald's will at his death, he had two sons, William B. McGregor and Robert Gregor McGregor, and daughters Nancy, Malvina and Elizabeth.
Bleakney said that their home was probably in the area of 10th Street and Crescent Avenue.
"Robert Gregor McGregor was best known in Beaver and Lawrence counties for his speaking and educational abilities. He was a school teacher for over 50 years and served as principal at the North Sewickley Academy. He was married to Rebecca Randolph," Bleakney said.
From 1853 to 1856, McGregor was the editor of the Beaver Star, and from 1860 to1872, he was an editorial writer for the New Castle Gazette.
The McGregor ownership of their farm changed near the time of the Civil War. In 1889, The Pittsburgh Co. purchased land, including much of the former McGregor farm to establish Ellwood City.
Bleakney learned that through all the changes in land ownership, the McGregor Family Cemetery remained, and there is no record of any bodies being removed from the cemetery.
"Death and burial records indicate burial of Donald and Mary McGregor in the 1830 to 1840 period. Also buried there is McGregor's sister Janet, and brother Donald, Jr. and a Mary Matheney may also rest there. Robert Gregor McGregor,(1830-1902) his wife Rebecca also died and may not have been buried in the family plot," Bleakney said. "According to McGregor's obituary, his wife, Rebecca, died within a few years of their marriage leaving a son and daughter."
Another private cemetery, the Nye Family Cemetery, was located on First Street near Fountain Avenue. With the expansion of the Tube mill, the bodies were removed and buried at Locust Grove Cemetery in North Sewickley Township.
On March 7, 1975, a picture in The Ellwood City Ledger looked like a cemetery but it wasn't. The brief article under the picture of tombstones laying flat along Beaver Avenue behind the City Paint and Glass Store explained how the grave markers got there.
The article questioned why they had been laying there since 1963. According to Chuck Anderson, an employee of City Paint & Glass at that time, the former tenant was a memorial company that went out of business.
"The tombstones were in the way, so a couple of guys carried them outside and the property along Beaver Avenue was simply a convenient place to put them," Anderson said.