SOMERSET -- An American Revolutionary War soldier who is buried in Perry County will have his grave dedicated with a patriotic marker Sunday.

A ceremony, which will include representatives of the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution, will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday at New Reading Cemetery outside of Somerset.

The grave of Johann Peter Witmer, who served three years in the war, will have a marker -- noting the site as the final resting place of an American Revolutionary War soldier.

In addition to placing the marker, people will have the opportunity to see a variety of Revolutionary War outfits, a musket salute, a 21-gun volley and canon fire.

Keith Kaufman, president of the Rufus Putnam Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, was contacted by Col. Larry Cornwell, a decedent of Witmer who wanted to have dedication ceremony but didn't know how to go about it.

"I grew up in Nebraska and back around my 10th birthday I was given a family Bible, and it had part of family tree in it," said Cornwell, who is retired from the Air Force. "I am a puzzle addict, and I wanted to put the pieces together and it became a hobby."

He continued researching his family, and discovered several ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War. Cornwell, president of the Sons of the American Revolution chapter in Montgomery, Ala., was in Pittsburgh this year for the group's national congress when he decided to take a trip to Ohio. He knew one of his relatives was buried in Perry County. He went on the search and found Witmer's grave in New Reeding Cemetery.

Witmer's service in the war included being in Captain Balzer Orth's First Company of the Second Battalion of the Lancaster County, Penn., Militia. Cornwell said the Revolutionary War outfit he will be wearing is the closest he has to looking like what the Pennsylvania militia wore.

This will be the first grave marking ceremony Cornwell has ever been part of and is looking forward to not only the ceremony but meeting distant relatives who are coming in for it. He posted the information for the ceremony on Web sites and received notifications form relatives around the country.

Cornwell said the Internet has done a lot for genealogy because people can now research in hours or days instead of months and years. In the past people had to look through records at libraries, genealogy societies or organizations like the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution.

This is not the first time for Kaufman to organize one of these events. He participated in one for his ancestor who is buried outside of New Lexington. He said the bronze marker will be placed on the grave by Cornwell, who is the master of ceremonies.

"People don't know there is Revolutionary War soldier here because there is nothing that says it. The bronze marker will bring him the recognition he deserves," Kaufman said.

tshipley@nncogannett.com

450-6767

Originally published Saturday, September 25, 2004