"My grandmother was a Whitesell," Ruth Hudson said. "I probably have DNA that would connect with the children (buried in the cemetery)." Carmel resident Amy Updike came with her mother JoAnn Seright, Elwood, and about 20 other relatives.

"I used to see it driving by frequently," Updike said. "It seems more appropriate here."

The family has ties to the Rev. James Wright, one of the pioneers in the cemetery, who founded Castleton United Methodist Church in 1843, holding services in his log cabin home. Wright was Seright's great-great-great-great-grandfather.

"I think it (moving the cemetery) was the right thing to do," Seright said. "The other one was cut off and inaccessible."

Speakers at the ceremony included Karl B. Browning, Indiana Department of Transportation commissioner, Keith Norwalk, Crown Hill president; James Glass, Indiana Department of Natural Resources preservation officer, the Rev. Mac Hammon, senior pastor at Castleton United Methodist Church and Eloise Whitesell and Mike Whitesell.

Mike Whitesell grew up on the west side of Indianapolis, but drove from his current Michigan home to be at the dedication.

"It's a wonderful thing here what the state of Indiana has done," Mike Whitesell said. "I was kind of surprised to hear about it.

"I have to tell you the real reason I'm here," he joked. "In all my life I've only met one person named Whitesell... I am so happy to be somewhere where people understand an e at the end of the first syllable means we are 'White'sell, not 'Whit'sell."

Eloise Whitesell spoke about her family background and about visiting and leaving flowers at the original cemetery as a child. She remembered roses, peonies and iris growing inside the cemetery's iron fence.

After thanking those who worked on the project, Eloise said, "My final thank you is for the person who found the spot for the final, final resting place."