This looks like a gravestone monument, but it is not. It is a memorial monument inscribed with the symbol of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865 (DUV). It is a lovely symbol that may be inscribed on a tombstone somewhere.
Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War (DUV) memorial, Lima, Ohio. (2025 photo by Karen)
This monument, now in two pieces, once sat on the steps of Lima Ohio’s old Carnegie Library, built in 1908 at 414 West Market Street. Lima’s DUV group gifted the monument to the library in 1941. The monument was eventually moved to the area between Lima’s current library, built about 1960 at 650 West Market, and the Allen County Museum next door. It was most likely moved after the old library was demolished. A news article, citing a photo of the old library, calls the monument a sundial. A sundial may have been placed on top, but I could not tell, because the monuments is currently up-side-down. [1]
DUV memorial monument, base and top. (2025 photo by Karen)
The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865 is a national patriotic organization, organized in Massillon, Ohio, on Memorial Day, 30 May 1885. Its original name, National Alliance, Daughters of Union Veterans, was changed to its present name in 1925. All members are required to be direct lineal descendants of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, or marines who served in the Union forces during the Civil War, from 1861-1865.
DUV inscription, Lima. (2025 photo by Karen)
The DUV organization was founded to honor Civil War veterans, preserve the memory of the Union cause, and to aid and speak on behalf of Union veterans their survivors. Several other patriotic organizations were established before the DUV, including the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1866, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (1881), the Women’s Relief Corps (1883), and the Ladies Aid Society (1883).
The DUV is a three-tier organization, having a national level, departments at the state level, and tents at the local level. Tents are named for Army Nurses or any loyal woman who served in the Civil War, whose patriotic deeds were recorded between 1861-1865. Today the organization has 20 departments and over 40 tents. It is reportedly “the only Civil War lineal descent women’s organization genealogically based on lineal descent.” [2]
Base of DUV memorial monument, Lima: Lizabeth Turner, Tent No. 23, Dedicated May 30. 1941. (2025 photo by Karen)
Lima’s DUV organization is named Lizabeth A. Turner Tent #23, established 24 March 1908. Lizabeth Ann (Thompson) Turner was born in 1829 in East Windsor, Connecticut, the daughter of Charles and Betsey Thompson. She married Francis Finley Luther Turner in 1849. Lizabeth Turner was known for her work with the Women’s Relief Corps and helping turn Andersonville Prison into a memorial. Under her leadership, 2,000 remains were identified and relocated and the site was beautified. She was the 13th President of the National Woman’s Relief Corps and Life Chairman of the Andersonville Pension Board. She died on 27 April 1907 in Andersonville, Georgia, and is buried in the Fairview Cemetery, New Britain, Hartford County, Connecticut. [3]
[1] “A Glimpse of the Market of Old,” The Lima News, Lima, Ohio, 13 Oct 2010, p.D2,; Newspaperarchive.com.
[2] Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865
[3] Find a Grave.com, Memorial No. 46709397, Lizabeth Ann Thompson Turner, 1829-1907, Fairview Cemetery, New Britain, Connecticut.
