Wildwood Cemetery

Introduction and Explanation

This “Cemetery Index” was produced for the benefit of the Chesaning Township Government, owners of the “Wildwood Cemetery”, and to assist the Genealogical community in their search for their roots. It is the understanding of this compiler that at various times in the past, the Township Burial Records for this cemetery have been lost and reconstructed as best they could from memory. This has resulted in problems in knowing who all the residents are and exactly where they are located.

The contents of this index are an attempt to more accurately reconstruct the lost data. It consists of transcribing the existing Township Sexton’s Burial Records, the newer Township computerized Burial Records, the 1982 cemetery readings done by the Saginaw Genealogical Society and the contents of the River Rapids District Library’s Family Genealogical files. The compiler has not attempted to verify the existence of markers, but did check the spelling of some names by actual tombstone reading.

Wildwood Cemetery is laid out in five (5) distinct sections and some include unique features that need to be addressed to make this Index of value to both the Township and to the Genealogist searching for their ancestor. (Refer to the Wildwood Cemetery Maps enclosed.) The oldest part of Wildwood is located on the East (left) side of Sharon Rd. and is identified as the South, Center, and East sections. This portion of the cemetery is pretty much straight forward with the Lots numbered in a consecutive pattern. Letters were applied to the rows on the map of these sections to aid in locating the desired gravesites. The part of Wildwood where the Mausoleum is located is identified on the map as the West Section. This portion of Wildwood is unique because of the numbering system that was used and care should be taken here since there are as many as four (4) lots with the same number within this section alone. Again, an identifying row letter was applied to the map as an aid and is used in the index. The row letters must be used in this section to locate the proper lots. The newest part of Wildwood is the North (Memorial) Sections and it is located on the North (right) side of Ferden Rd. This part of the cemetery is also unique in that it is subdivided into three (3) subsections. Each of these subsections has Lots starting with #1. Indexing of this section will show the North Section and a subsection number. (Example: North – 3). No row letters were used here because of the irregular layouts of the graves in sections #1 and #2.

At the time that this Index was completed, there were 35 individuals appearing in the Library’s Genealogical Files as being buried in Wildwood Cemetery that had not been located. These individuals can be identified by the lack of Section, Row, and Lot information and the inclusion of “Gen. File”. It is the hope of the compiler that all of these individuals will be located in the near future. The page numbers shown in the Index are for the Sexton’s Book and are only shown for the use of the Township Government. This index may contain errors in spelling and may not include the burial location of a loved one. Please notify the Chesaning Township Clerk’s Office or the Director of the River Rapids District Library of any errors that may exist in the text. This Index is believed accurate as of 31 March 2009. Doyle Smith – Compiler Note: If you would like to purchase a copy of this index, please contact the River Rapids District Library at (989) 845-3211.

Wildwood Memorial Cemetery Files

Wildwood Cemetery Index <pdf>

Wildwood Cemetery Map <pdf>

Closer Maps of Individual Sections

The entire cemetery was photographed by Robert Ward in 2009 and the Mausoleum photographed in 2010. The Mausoleum is closed to the public. The photos are accessible here: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/tsphoto/saginaw/wildwood.htm