Hickory Grove Monument
JERSEYVILLE - Two Memorial Day services were held in Jerseyville, one by veterans organizations at Oak Grove Cemetery, and one at a two-acre cemetery established in 1830 near Lions Club Park. Local genealogist Bob French said Cleo Holmes and other members of the Jersey County Genealogical Society have been researching the first Jerseyville cemetery for some time. It is located on a knoll at the north edge of Lions Club Park. The research was started after a number of inquiries were made about ancestors buried in the cmetery and the discovery of a number of headstones there. French has one small stone for an infant, Laura A. Biggs, who was born Aug. 17, 1862 and died Dec. 3, 1862. It was recovered from a neighbor. He has three other stones. "I think there are others on the north bank," French said. "It is just getting to them. The two acres of land belonged to one of Jerseyville's early settlers. And is the final resting place for the pioneers settling on these fertile prairies."
A committee of select citizens met in 1834 to choose a name for their community, which was then called Hickory Grove. The Red House, which was the gathering place for early settlers, was located on the property now belonging to the Cheney family, which is just west of a grove of hickory trees, thus the name. Alfred Carpenter, who lived in the Red House, was among those attending that meeting. Carpenter, an old soldier, wanted the community name Liberty but Dr. J. W. Lott, a native of New Jerseyville (sic)(Jersey), proposed the name Jerseyville. Carpenter had set aside the acreage for the cemetery on the knoll just east of the grove of hickory trees. In 1841, when he deeded the property to Arintha Conover, he stipulated that two acres be reserved for a public graveyard. The property now belongs to the city of Jerseyville.
It was never laid out in blocks or lots and there was some confusion as to just where people were buried. Sometimes a grave digger would strike a coffin when digging for another grave. French said it is believed that there were up to 200 pioneers and family members buried in the cemetery. He knows that at least one soldier, Uriah Downey, a veteran of the Black Hawk War, was buried in the small cemetery along with his wife, Mary Griswold Downey. Downey died of wounds suffered in that war. One of the inquiries about the cemetery was from Herb Downey of Mount Vernon, a great grandson of Uriah Downey. Downey, who migrated to Illinois in the 1820s, purchased property in English Township. Today the property is owned and farmed by another great-grandson, Harold E. Downey and his wife, Marjorie Krueger Downey. Later, when Oak Grove Cemetery was established, some of the remains were moved to the new city cemetery, which was established in 1856. French said he had found a number of them at Oak Grove Cemetery.
The historical society had been collecting names of persons believed to still by(sic) buried on the site. The list contains 33 names. French said the cros was dedicated Memorial Day to reinforce the covenant of Arintha Conover. "This is where our pioneers were buried and I think they need recognition," French said. "We are planning a fund-raising campaign to purchase and place a suitable monument on the site." View Hickory Grove Monument
The alphabetical list on the left was submitted by Marty Crull in 2002. The longer list on the right, sorted by date, was submitted by Bob French in 2003.
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ANDERSON, Mrs. Rev., 1844 BIGGS, Laura A. (?), 1862 BROWN, Jane, 1836 CARKUFF, Lena, 1852 CHRISTOPHER, E., 1846 COLBURN, Charlotte, 1847 COLEAN, Cora, 1855 COLEAN, Francis, 1846 COLEAN, Mary, 1855 COLEAN, May, 1849 COLLINS, Susan, 1837 COPE, John, 1852 COPE, Margaret Bostian CORY, Hannah, 1849 CORY, Harriet, 1849 CORY, Jane, 1839 CORY, Parkis, 1839 CORY, Serdenia, 1839 DOWNEY, Mary Griswold, 1854 DOWNEY, Uriah, 1841 ELY, Amy, 1846 EVERTS, Luther, 1848 GAYLORD, Walter, 1837 GURNSEY, Clarisa, 1847 HAMILTON, William, 1844 HARRIOTT, D. I., 1849 HARTWICK, John, 1854 HUTCHINSON, J. G., 1846 JARBOE, Catherine, 1850 KIMBALL, J., 1848 JEROME, Mrs. Rev., 1847 KIRBY, Mary, 1852 JEROME, Mrs. Rev., 1847 LANDON, Denman T., 14 Oct 1846 LANDON, Nancy Davis (Mrs. Alonzo H. Landon), 1847 PITTMAN, Mary, 1848 PITTMAN, Samuel, 1854 POTTS, Charles, 1835 POTTS, Franklin, 1835 POTTS, W. C., 1830 RIDGEWAY, Caleb, 1849 SHANK, John, 1850 SILLOWAY, Margaret, 1848 VAN LIEW, John, 1839 |
John Shanks, 1850 John Hartwick, 1854 Edward Vorhees 1853 Lena Carkuff 1852 Margaret Silloway 1848 Mary Kirby 1852 Luther Everts 1848 Charlotte Colburn 1847 Clarisa Collins 1847 William Saddler Potts 1839 W. C. Potts 1830 Charles Potts 1835 Franklin Potts 1835 Phebe Hall Anderson 1844 Jane Brown 1836 Mary Cross 1846 Serdenia Cory 1839 Parkis Cory 1839 Jane Cory 1839 Harriet Cory 1849 Hannah Cory 1849 Amy Ely 1846 John Van Liew 1839 J. Kimball 1848 D. Landon 1846 Nancy Landon 1847 Caleb Ridgeway 1849 Cora Colean 1855 Mary Colean 1855 W. Hamilton 1844 E. Christopher 1846 Mary Pittman 1846 Mrs. Rev. Jerome 1847 Peter Beehman 1846 George W. Bonnell 1847 Mary C. Bonnell 1849 Jane Cooper 1849 Deborah A. Darby 1854 Margaret F. Maclean 1852 Elisha Mulford 1854 Aachsah E. Perrine 1854 Charles E. Wyckoff 1846 Mary Alice ??? 1854 John Cope 1852 Margaret Bostian Cope 1852 Uriah Downey 1841 Mary Griswold Downey 1854 Buddy Potts 1857 Lucy Potts 1860 Jane Anderson 1851 Joseph Bullard 1839 Laura Biggs 1862 Thomas Stanley 1851 Mrs. Thomas Stanley 1851 John D. Henry 1855 Wm H. Ford Mary Ann Roady Ford |
Photo from Marty Crull.