One Township's Yesterdays Chapter XL  

CITIES OF THE DEPARTED

"In the city where they sleep away the hours; There they lie while o'er them range Winter blight and summer change, And a hundred happy whisperings of flowers." ... Mc Donald's History

IN THE OLD CEMETERIES of Union Township, "under the sod and the dew, awaiting the judgment day," repose those warriors of old who defied and conquered the wilderness. Theirs is a little army; their numbers are not great. Theirs is a noble army, laid to rest, duty done, well filled lives completed. Their attainments were many for so small a band, and much that they accomplished lives after them.

May the pioneer cemeteries in which they lie buried, remain forever sacred to the memory of those first settlers who carved from the wilderness a land of peace and plenty! May those last resting places of the pioneers never be lost sight of, never fall into decay! May they be restored, if neglected, and maintained and preserved in the years 20 come!

The pioneer cemeteries of the township are, strictly speaking, Bucklew, Washington, Cromley, and the old Township Cemetery.

Bucklew Cemetery is the first, the oldest in the township and among the few earliest in the county.

Today, in "old Bucklew," the stones stand in orderly rows straight and staunch and true, as were the pioneers they memorialize. Westward facing, they catch the light of the setting sun, which from beyond the rolling farmlands those selfsame pioneers carved out of the ancient wilderness paints the headstones a rosy tint, lights up the weathered carvings, and reveals in mellowed tone the names of the first families. Those names are in quaint lettering inscribed that the passing generations who follow may know that there they lie, in peace, life's duties done, life's joys and sorrows forever past.

He who passes may pause and read . . . in the sunset glow . . . their names . . . and ponder perhaps. Their sun has forever set. Ours will rise again. So, he who pauses will pass on, down the old road, and perhaps will give thought for the morrow . . . as they did . . . those pioneers. And perhaps, too, he who goes on and gives thought for the morrow will resolve, because they, the pioneers, did so before him, to make of the morrow a better day. Because they did, so shall he do likewise.

As the years advance, there are fewer and fewer burials in Bucklew Cemetery. Not a few of the burials date back to years prior to the middle of the last century. Of late years, there have been scarcely any. The old pioneer stock is passing; the first comers are gone.

Despite its antiquity, the burial ground is quite well kept. The stones for the most part are standing and unbroken, in good condition for their age. Many of them now have been nearly ninety years standing, a few longer than that.

Truly this old cemetery is hallowed to the memory of those who nearly a century ago hewed from the primeval forest the homestead farms that today are mute testimony to the courage and diligence of a pioneer people. The THOMPSON and MC DONALD families are well represented in this cemetery, especially in the western and older portion: the MC DONALDs, farthest west, near the fence, the THOMPSONS just back of them. The oldest grave in the cemetery is apparently that of an infant of the Thompson family, and the date on it, which is quite indecipherable, appears to be 1826. A grave wherein reposes a member of the Mc donald family bears the date, 1837. This is perhaps one of the first burials in old Bucklew.

Writing of Bucklew, the first cemetery in Union Township, DANIEL MC DONALD said, in 1880, "A large number of those who came in an early day are there buried, and as the years go by, those who drop by the wayside are laid here, and this silent city of the dead, is now (in 1880) one of the largest in the county outside of the towns. _

Located at a jog or turn of the road almost midway between Lake Maxinkuckee and Rutland, or about three-quarters of a mile southwest of Rutland, Bucklew Cemetery, in 1880, was still prominently situated, but since then it has dropped into comparative obscurity. At that time it was immediately west of the farm owned by ALFRED BUCKLEW. In later years, various property changes have taken place in the neighborhood. The name of BUCKLEW has passed from the lands. Some of the heirs have part of the property. The main portion became THORNBURG property. Ownership fell to Mrs. GEORGE MARKS, a THORNBURG heir, and to WILLIS THORNBURG. HOWARD MIKESELL has some of the land.

What is the next oldest cemetery in the township? That is a difficult question to answer. Washington Cemetery is very old; so is Poplar Grove, Cromley and Old Township cemeteries. Burials in Washington Cemetery were as early as 1855. Cromley Cemetery has stones back to '56, and probably earlier. Old Township Cemetery dates back at least to '59. We know that Zion and Burr Oak cemeteries came somewhat later.

It is interesting to note that all stones in at least five of the cemeteries of the township face the west. In Zion, however, some face the east and some the west. One wonders why. Because of newer ideas, no doubt.

Practically all of the township cemeteries are well kept. Burrowing wild animals have been busy among the graves of old Bucklew. In Cromley and North Union cemeteries the prickly pear cactus has gained quite a hold. None of the cemeteries are actually neglected.

Old Washington Cemetery, not far from the southeast corner of Lake Maxinkuckee, has been spoken of occasionally as the Lawson graveyard. But that name is seldom heard any more.

Cromley Cemetery, southwest of the lake, is off the beaten track nowadays. A traveled road used to pass by, but has been abandoned for many years. It is situated on a hillside with a splendid westerly view. On the southwest slope may be found the oldest graves, including ZECHIEL burials, in the midst of a small group of evergreens, the largest a pine tree There are inscriptions in old German on the gravestones of members of the ZECHIEL family. One is the grave of PHILLIP ZECHIEL, who died September 29, 1856. Other deaths in that family group occurred in 1859 and thereabouts.

In Cromley Cemetery is buried MAGDALENA HAAG, a pioneer mother. Other families represented in this cemetery include the:

KALEYs AKERMANs MORLOCKs EDGINGTONs JOHNSTONs KILLENs

FENIMOREs DRAKEs ADLERs CROMLEYs BECHTOLs LOHRs

MAURERs RANKs (PLOT) BAUMANs STEININGERs UHLs REEDs WAGONERs

Old Township Cemetery has of comparatively recent years been merged with the more modern Masonic Cemetery, and both are known as the Culver Cemetery. The west half-acre is Union Township ground, while the east is the EASTERDAY plot. The cemetery is located in South Culver. The old part is along the west side, close to the highway. The first burials seem to center about the year 1859. At the west gateway is the grave of BENJAMIN STREET, who "Died Aug. 25, 1859, aged 58 y'rs & 9 mo's." South of that are two graves, those of the JONES children, who died in '59. The first burial seems to be that of a SMITH boy, who died March 2, 1859. No doubt this was Dave Smith's uncle's boy.

Zion Church Cemetery dates back to 1893, when, according to the church records, "Pursuant to announcement on the 14th day of May 1893," a meeting was held for the purpose of devising measures to have the Zions Cemetery laid off into lots. It was the unanimous desire of all present that the grave-yard be established. Accordingly, a committee was chosen, consisting of:

Brothers JOHN C. ZECHIEL
L. F. STAHL
G. D. KRUEGER

to examine into and to report in four weeks as to the best and most advisable method of doing the work.

The cemetery committee reported, June 11, 1893, through its chairman, J. C. ZECHIEL, and advised "the laying off into lots of the grounds belonging to the Zions Church for Cemetery purpose, with suitable drives and walks as the grounds will permit. As it is the business way of doing it, protecting ourselves, beautifying the grounds and making it self-sustaining, we advise establishing permanent corners, platting the ground and selling the lots." The funds so obtained were to be used for maintaining the grounds, a sufficient fund being employed at first, however, to construct the cemetery and to fence the grounds.

This committee also recommended the selection of an overseer, and at a congregational meeting, held September 4, 1893, Brother G. D. KRUEGER was elected for the remainder of that year. Brother KRUEGER was reelected, January r, 1894, to serve another year, and was appointed again in 1895.

Congregational meetings were held in March and April, 1929, to consider the advisability of raising an endowment fund for the cemetery, or some plan whereby the cemetery might receive better care. As a result, there was voted the creation of a trust fund for its perpetual maintenance and upkeep, "believing it to be alike creditable to the congregation and community as well as in harmony with the modern tendency of beautifying the cemeteries." A portion of the cemetery was set aside for "the burial of such as are unable" to defray the cost of burial.

The writer has obtained a complete list of the families represented in Zion Cemetery, as follows:

ROMIG KALEY MILNER HALL WHITING DAVIS BAKER DITMIRE LOWE DEMONT PAYNE FULP MILLER FAULSTICK

CROMLEY HATTEN HOFF PULLEY GOOD STAHL WOLFRAM WRIGHT SHRIVER ZECHIEL CASPER ENGEL EBLING (EABLING) REED

MAHLER TUCKER DEMONT GRAY YOUNG PAGE O'CONNOR BANKS BOWIE NEWMAN BEVILHYMER HUTSELL JORDAN MITCHELL

Among the older burials in Zion are the following:

JACOB F. STAHL, who, died Jan. 24, 1874
two children of L. F. and A. G. STAHL, who died in 1875 and 1880
CLARA E., infant daughter of J. H. and R. B. ZECHIEL, who died Nov. 1, 1870
SOLOMON ROMIG, aged one year, who died in 1874
ROXANNA DEMONT, a child, who died in '75
GLENN R. REED, infant, 1886
ALEXANDER, 16-year-old son of B. D. and AUG. EBLING, 1873
JOHN F. EABLING (so spelled), Apr. 16, 1869
MICHAEL CASPER, age 15, 1886
ANNA GRAY, who died July 1, 1875 and JAMES S. GRAY, Apr. 20, 1880
SIMON WOLFRAM, Jan. 27, 1887, and ANNA M. WOLFRAM, Nov. 7, 1853
ANNA ROMIG, Mar. 28, 1882, and John Romig, Feb. 3, 1884
three children of JACOB and MARY M. HOFF
infant daughter of H. and L. ZECHIEL, 1883.

There is a small old stone in Zion, evidently transferred there from elsewhere, for MARION MILES, son of JACK (?) and AMELIA CROMLEY, who died Sept. 4, 1858, aged one year, two months and 15 days. This is the earliest date to be found in the cemetery.

Zion Cemetery is beautifully situated on a knoll adjacent to the road and on the west side, a bit north of the church. Off quite a way toward the southeast is the old Cromley graveyard which antedated Zion by some few years. The earliest burials in the southwestern part of the township were made in the Cromley ground, but since the fine new Zion Cemetery was laid out and plotted, very few interments have been made in the former. In both of these cemeteries rest pioneers whose names are closely associated with the "making of the West" around the middle of the Nineteenth Century.

Although the last resting places of the pioneers be oft times forgotten in the mad rush of modern times, the memories of those who therein lie shall never be taken from us.

North Union Cemetery, although in Starke County, not far from the Marshall County and Union Township line, may be said to, belong in part to Union Township, for in it are interred many who were either residents of the township or were, at one time or another, associated with the life and affairs of the township. The "Osborn settlement" and one might say the Geiselman neighborhood, as well, are in close proximity to this cemetery.

North Union is an old cemetery ; burials in it date back at least to the year 1859. Among the old graves that are marked are those of:

JOSEPH CAMP, who died August 14, 1859
JACOB MYERS, who died October 7, 1866.

The names of the families represented are familiar names in Union Township. A list of them, although incomplete, serves to give an idea of this populous little cemetery, and includes the following:

OSBORN HAWKINS GEISELMAN GENTRY DONE SMITH BADGLEY GRINDLE

DEMONT PETTIS KING FRENCH COX HEMINGER CASTLEMAN SELLERS FETTERS

LAIN TERRY ELBERT HUMES SHOEMAKER LEOPOLD