CEMETERIES

         My previous post was on causes of death, so it seems natural to follow a discussion of death with a discussion of cemeteries.  I find it an interesting fact that every culture around the world and throughout history has some sort of ritual surrounding the disposition of human remains.  Depending on the cultural or religious practices of any given ethnic group, rituals surrounding the treatment of human remains might consist of a funeral pyre, funeral scaffold, burial cave or catacomb, in-ground burial, above-ground mausoleum or cremation niche, or an urn of cremains kept by a loved one. 

American is a fairly young country, unlike most of the rest of the world, so most of the cemeteries in the U.S. do not practice strict perpetual care rules.  In places like Germany the body is removed after so many years to make room for another burial.  The practice is, if no relative is paying the annual $1000 to $5000 fee for perpetual care of the grave, the grave is excavated, dug out deeper and the bones reburied, and the grave is now ready for a new burial.  Craig and I found this out when we were in Jena, Germany researching his Hoffmann ancestors.  We were informed of the practice when we asked about the Hoffmanns that were buried in the local Lutheran cemetery there.  We walked the grounds and saw many very old headstones, so there must have been many families willing to pay for perpetual care, probably by relatives still living in the area.  The grounds were quite overgrown with trees and vines, however, we looked but did not find any Hoffmann graves. 

Some cemeteries are being swallowed up by development.  There is a cemetery here in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that is surrounded on three sides by a subdivision and the fourth side is a major thoroughfare.  Several years ago, our local genealogical society endeavored to take photographs of every tombstone in Kenosha County.  The tombstones were photographed and marked on a grid map of the cemetery grounds; inscriptions were written down and were downloaded, along with our photos, to www.findagrave.com.  I took photos of this small cemetery.  I’ve noticed recently that the cemetery has been fenced off and a padlock is on the gate.  I’m glad we were able to get in and document those graves before they were closed off. 

Several relatives are buried at Crown Hill Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, including my grandparents, William & Iva CHURCHWELL and James and Helen LAREW; my uncles, Calvin CHURCHWELL and Kenneth CHURCHWELL along with his wife Vivian; my aunt Lois LAREW JONES and her husband Clyde JONES, as well as their grandson Ricky JONES; and my great-aunt and great-uncle, Martha Golden VANHOOSER LAREW and Hobart Ernest LAREW.  My brother who was stillborn in 1954 is buried in Babyland. 

  William Thornton CHURCHWELL

Iva Louise Henrietta WALLIS CHURCHWELL

Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado is where many military personnel and their families are buried including my parents, Kermit & Mildred CHURCHWELL LAREW; Kim’s first husband, Derald Gene GAUTIER, Sr. (Vietnam War); my cousins Keith, Gary and Kathy’s dad Carl HASS (WW II); my cousin Sue JONES HALL’s husband Jack (Vietnam War); my aunt Jean CHURCHWELL WILLIAMSON and her husband Doug WILLIAMSON (WW II); my uncle Francis CHURCHWELL (WW II); and my in-law’s William C. & Theresa A. SZCZESNY HOFFMANN (WW II).  It is not as common today for families to visit the graves of their loved ones as it used to be, but Craig & I like to visit our parents’ graves when we are in Denver. 

Kermit Winfred LAREW

Mildred Elizabeth CHURCHWELL LAREW NUTTLEMAN

     There is an interesting story about the burials of my mother and her sister Jean.  When my mom's second husband, Harold NUTTLEMAN, was dying of cancer, he asked mom to be buried with him and she agreed.  Their grave marker is in Lindon Cemetery in Lindon, Washington County, Colorado; they had it inscribed with both of their names, as well as both birth dates, and then Mom had added Harold's death date.  After Harold died, my Aunt Jean had a heart-to-heart talk with her sister, Mildred.  She told her that she thought Mildred should be buried with Kermit, because her children would want one location to visit their parents' graves.  Mom talked to Kim about it and to Harold's daughters, and decided to be buried with Kermit.  Years later, when visiting with my aunt Jean, she told me that she planned on being buried with her parents; she said that her parents had bought four plots, one for each of them, one for Calvin and one for Jean.  This surprised me, after hearing about her conversation with my mom, so I respectfully reminded her of that conversation, and asked about her own kids visiting her grave (never imagining two of them would precede her in death!); she looked me in the eye and said her mind was made up.  But circumstances changed her mind, and she is indeed buried with her husband Doug.  So now, her son and his wife, and her daughter Debi's children can visit them both together at Ft. Logan.  

Many other aunts, uncles and cousins are buried in cemeteries close to where they lived.  On my dad’s side of the family, his sister Gail and her husband Omer Eldon “Bud” DAY are buried at Memorial Gardens in Grand Junction, Colorado.  My cousin Ray JONES, is buried in Hemleigh Cemetery in Hemleigh, Texas; his sister Sue JONES HALL was cremated and her ashes are lovingly kept by her son Karl and daughter-in-law Annette. 

My mom’s siblings are buried in several different cemeteries; her brother Harold is buried in Rapid City, South Dakota at Pine Lawn Memorial Park; brother Richard and his wife Viola GRISWOLD CHURCHWELL are buried in the Simla Cemetery, Simla, Colorado; sister Louise and her husband Ellis Glenn SHERMAN are buried in the Thurman Cemetery, Washington County, Colorado; their oldest daughter Glenda SHERMAN LANDRUM is buried in Duncan Cemetery, Henderson, Texas.  My cousin Marshall WILLIAMSON is buried in Arvada Cemetery, Arvada, Colorado; his sister, Debi WILLIAMSON WHITE is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Sargent, Nebraska.  My uncle Frank’s wife Etta is buried in Victorville, California at Desert View Memorial Park; Frank and Etta’s daughter Marietta TURNER is also buried there.  My adopted 1^st cousin, once removed, Joshua Oakes CHURCHWELL, is buried in Burlington, Colorado at Fairview Cemetery. 

I have visited many family graves in Colorado, Missouri, and Tennessee.  The earliest known burial place for the LAREW family is in Cocke County, Tennessee.  George LAREW (1773-1856) was born in Baltimore, Maryland but moved to East Tennessee, presumably when the trail through the Cumberland Gap opened up.  George was buried in the LAREW Cemetery, quite possibly on his farmland.  However, in the 1940s, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) flooded many valleys to create dams for the generation of electricity (there is a scene in the movie, “Brother Where Art Thou” starring George Clooney, where flooding occurs in Alabama for the same purpose).  Years ago, I found George Larew buried at the Dutch Bottoms Baptist Church Cemetery in Newport, TN.  I wrote to the church to ask about photos of the grave and two sisters who attended there very graciously sent me photos and even a VHS tape of the graves.  A few years ago I did a Google search and found that the TVA created a spreadsheet of the graves moved.  There was a complete listing of Last and First Names, dates of Birth and Death, Project Name, State, County, Origin Cemetery, Grave Number, Relocation Year, New Cemetery Name and Number, and New Grave Number – I felt like I’d won the Lottery!!   

I discovered that there were eleven people buried in the Larew Cemetery.  The cemetery was moved in 1942 to create Douglas Reservoir.  They were relocated to Union Cemetery, which had been beside Union Church which was renamed Dutch Bottoms Baptist Church.  Craig and I were just there in November, and as we drove to the church, we could see the vastness of Douglas Reservoir.  Farm silos could be seen sticking up out of the water.  Dutch Bottoms Church is just across the road from the reservoir.  Buried there are:

 George LAREW (1773-1856) and his wife Sophia (1782-1849);

their daughter Martha (1808-1867) and her husband, William OGDEN (1802-1852);

their sons John (1806-1827) and Francis (1810-1847);

two children of George’s son James and wife Elizabeth INMAN: James C. LAREW (1850-1851), and daughter Martha E. LAREW, 4 months old (1846-1846);

William F. McGINTY (1849-1853), son of George’s daughter Mary and husband Samuel McGINTY;

of unknown relationship are Charles W. Harrison (1855-1857) and William LAREW (?-?)

 

George Larew

Picture of graves and Douglas Reservoir
notice the silo in the water

           I was told by a local archivist that many people didn’t want their family members moved so they are still buried under the reservoir.  At first that seemed strange to me and I could tell the person telling me thought it was shameful, but as I thought about it, I realized that perhaps the family knew that those buried there had worked that land their entire lives, and passed it on to family members, some of whom may have also been buried there.  They may have felt like that was where their ancestors had wanted to be buried, and they weren’t going to move them off the land they loved, even if it was going to be flooded. 

         We have taken trips to Missouri and taken photos of graves there.  My daughters and I attended a Larew family reunion in Springfield, Missouri in 1991.  My three aunts, Lois, Gail and Georgia, and my cousin Kathy arrived from Colorado.  The seven of us piled into my station wagon and the aunts led me right to two family cemeteries, as well as their old Carlock schoolhouse, their parent’s Jim and Helen Larew’s farm, and Jim’s parents Charley and Margaret’s farm.  Jim and Charley lived across the street from each other.  Jim’s barn was still there but a new house was built and a farm family came out and chatted with us.  Across the road we could see Charley and Margaret’s house among the trees, but it was a cattle pasture so we dared not cross the fence for a closer look. 

         Three of the cemeteries we visited in Missouri were Pemberton, Oak Grove, and Walnut Grove Cemetery.  Another day, Aunt Lois and I drove to the Stockton Cemetery.  I believe the earliest graves there are Clayton STOCKTON (1768-1858) and his wife Nancy PATTON STOCKTON (1770-1855).  There is now a Stockton Cemetery Association.  They collect annual dues to help maintain the grounds by mowing and repairing or replacing the grave markers.  If any LAREWs are interested in contributing, the mailing address is:

                          John Short, Stockton Cemetery Association

                          14165 East Overland Road

                          Nevada, MO  64772

Freida BOWMAN BEISNER (1921-2016) had been the treasurer and she gave Craig & I a tour of the cemetery grounds when we were there in 2008.

 Clayton STOCKTON grave

 

         Through some correspondence with distant relatives – 2^nd and 3^rd cousins, twice removed – I received in the mail just this week a list of burials in the Lipscomb Cemetery in Demopolis, Marengo County, Alabama, of some distant WALLIS relatives.  The 2^nd cousin twice removed wrote that he lives on the property purchased in 1853 by our shared ancestor Ira PATTERSON (1805-1863)!

 

Ira Patterson’s grave