Who Was Frances Maria Buel? A Hidden Mystery of Trumbull County

In April of 2025, we traveled to East Gustavus Cemetery in upper Trumbull County, Ohio, to pay our respects to Frances Maria Buel. This trip has been on our bucket list for some time; however, we needed to get it done to finish off our book before we participated in the upcoming paranormal conference.

We wanted to go on this adventure for a while, but when we had the time, it was either raining, snowing, or too cold to walk around a cemetery.  When we left the house, the sun was shining, and the temperature was almost 60 degrees Fahrenheit (ca. 16 °C).  We had to get this objective completed since this was the last thing we needed to do to finish up this book and get it submitted for printing.  Marianne asked if we should take the Ovilus on the trip as we backed out of the driveway. Good thing we went back to the house to get it, since we did get some intriguing results at the cemetery.

We had some fun on the way there; since it had been a while since we had recorded a video, we enjoyed some laughter from a few takes and bloopers.  It's also important to note that we navigated the cemetery using traditional methods.  This cemetery does not have an address; we didn’t use the GPS.  What??? We only wrote down town directions from the freeway to the back roads we needed to take.  We found the cemetery without any problems. Google Maps now has the entry for the cemetery.

When we arrived at the cemetery, Maria’s memorial was right at the edge of the cemetery.  We had reached our objective and paid our respects; however, interestingly, the weather began to turn on us.  The wind started to pick up, and the temperature started to drop.

Despite the deteriorating weather, we ventured farther into the cemetery, attempting to locate Mr. Bidwell's gravesite.  We came across some fascinating readings on the Ovilus (spirit communication device) as we strolled around.  We will be producing a video about Maria’s story, as well as  our experiences here at East Gustavus Cemetery, in the future. 

We will give you one an example… While walking around the cemetery, we got the word “eggs” on the ovilus. Turning around in the neighbor's driveway next to the cemetery as we were leaving, we noticed this.

About Frances Maria Buel and the Tragedy

It was in August of 1832 in the small village of Gustavous, Ohio, when young fifteen-year-old Francis Maria Buel, who went by Maria, fled the home of her mother, siblings, and stepfather to stay at a neighbor's house. Anna, Maria's mother, was a widow, and she had married Ira West Gardner in October of 1824. She brought two children to the marriage. Why Maria left the family remains part rumor and conjecture, but it is believed that she left since she was fed up with the advances from her stepfather and she was afraid of him. At the time, he claimed that her accusations were false.

Furious that she was telling the community as to the reason why she had left, he spent the day roaming around looking for Maria.  He would hide in specific locations where he believed she might be, hoping to catch a glimpse of her while she was out walking.  As the day went on, he got more and more irate. Every passing hour only fueled his anger, and he envisioned confrontations where he would demand answers and for her to return home. The sun began to set, casting long shadows, and he resolved that by nightfall, he would return home and put together a different plan.

Ira finally coaxed his wife, Anna, to go and bring her daughter back to the house; he would not interfere, and she could pick up her clothing. Another neighbor, Mr. Bidwell, was at the house when Anna left to go and retrieve Maria. Bidwell was present to deter Gardner and observe Maria getting her clothes. Anna did coax her daughter to come back to the house and said that everything would be fine. Maria hesitated at first, her eyes darting between her mother and the comforting familiarity of their home. With a gentle nudge from Anna and Mr. Bidwell's reassuring presence, she finally agreed to return, her reluctance slowly melting away as she took her mother's hand.

On August 8, 1832, as Maria and her mother, Anna, passed through the gate of the home, the enraged Gardner stormed out of the house with a butcher knife in his pocket; he pulled it out and plunged it into Maria's chest as she walked towards the house. He then pulled out the knife and stabbed her again. She fell to the ground, her mother still holding her hand, and died almost instantly. Mr. Bidwell, hearing Maria’s and Anna’s screams, came running from the house to her side; there was nothing that he could do. He stood up and looked at Ira, who dropped the knife and turned himself in to the custody of Bidwell. Mr. Bidwell's heart raced as he processed the scene before him, a chilling mix of disbelief and rage coursing through him. He took a step closer to Ira, his voice trembling with urgency as he demanded an explanation for the unimaginable act that had just unfolded.

Ira West Gardner was arrested and taken to a jail cell in  Warren, Ohio, which was the county seat of Trumbull County.

News of the event spread throughout the community and the nation through newspapers. Hundreds attended Maria's funeral when she was buried in the small East Gustavus Cemetery, just west of the home where she was viciously murdered. As the townspeople gathered to pay their respects, whispers of disbelief and anger filled the air, echoing the profound sense of loss that enveloped the community. Meanwhile, the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Maria's death intensified, with law enforcement officials piecing together the chilling details that would ultimately reveal the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of their seemingly tranquil town.

A poem was written about the tragic event; the author is unknown. It was titled “Lines Written on the Death of Maria F. Buel, Who Was Murdered by Her Stepfather in Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio.”

Ira West Gardner was put on trial in Warren, Ohio, in September of 1833. The jury quickly returned a verdict of guilty for first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death in October of 1833. The governor received an appeal requesting a commute from execution to life in prison on the grounds of insanity. The governor only delayed the excursion for one month. They marched him from the jail to the gallows on November 3, 1833, at a quarter past 12 with a military escort. An immense assembly of people was present. There were approximately 10,000 to 15,000 people in attendance. Parents pulled their children from school to witness the event. The platform dropped at half past two, making Ira West Gardner the first and last execution victim in Trumbull County, Ohio. His body hung there suspended from the rope for about half an hour, then was cut down and released to his family. Gustavus did not want his burial in their community, so he was taken to a relative's farm in Andover. Later, grave robbers attempted to steal his body, so the family removed him and transported him to an unidentified location in Pennsylvania. His body lies in an unmarked grave.