All Are Sleeping on the Hill

Taken at a recent visit to Oak Hill

Simply recording birth and death dates for people has never been that interesting to me.  What's interesting is discovering where people come from, who they marry, if they had children, what they did for a living, and sometimes, how they died.  Peoples lives are stories, and I never can resist a good story, which is why I enjoy reading Edgar Lee Masters' series of poem about the fictional lives of residents of Springfield, Illinois.  Those people's lives, their accomplishments and disappointments, their secrets, joys and sorrows, are not so different from those of people who lived and died in Rock county.  Here is the first poem, written one hundred years ago.

Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950).  Spoon River Anthology 1916.

WHERE are Elmer, Herman, Bert, Tom and Charley,
The weak of will, the strong of arm, the clown, the boozer, the fighter?
All, all, are sleeping on the hill.
One passed in a fever,
One was burned in a mine,	5
One was killed in a brawl,
One died in a jail,
One fell from a bridge toiling for children and wife—
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.
Where are Ella, Kate, Mag, Lizzie and Edith,	10
The tender heart, the simple soul, the loud, the proud, the happy one?—
All, all, are sleeping on the hill.
One died in shameful child-birth,
One of a thwarted love,
One at the hands of a brute in a brothel,	15
One of a broken pride, in the search for heart’s desire,
One after life in far-away London and Paris
Was brought to her little space by Ella and Kate and Mag—
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.
Where are Uncle Isaac and Aunt Emily,	20
And old Towny Kincaid and Sevigne Houghton,
And Major Walker who had talked
With venerable men of the revolution?—
All, all, are sleeping on the hill.
They brought them dead sons from the war,	25
And daughters whom life had crushed,
And their children fatherless, crying—
All, all are sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.
Where is Old Fiddler Jones
Who played with life all his ninety years,	30
Braving the sleet with bared breast,
Drinking, rioting, thinking neither of wife nor kin,
Nor gold, nor love, nor heaven?
Lo! he babbles of the fish-frys of long ago,
Of the horse-races of long ago at Clary’s Grove,	35
Of what Abe Lincoln said
One time at Springfield.

All Who Wander

J.R.R. Tolkien famously said "Not all those who wander are lost." And there are charms to simply wandering freely through old cemeteries like Oak Hill.  The hilly landscape, mature trees, old monuments and headstones, and even occasional glimpses of wildlife like foxes, turkeys or deer, all can be pleasant.

But what if you are looking for a specific headstone or monument?  Wandering can quickly become exhausting in a 90 acres site like Oak Hill, if you have someone specific you want to locate.

First of all you need to know the block in which your person is buried.  At Oak Hill there are hundreds of blocks, each containing several family plots.  You can learn which block you need in several ways.  First, you can go to the Janesville Room at the Hedberg Public Library and look at the Guide to Oak Hill Cemetery, edited by Bernie Farmer, compiled by the Rock County Genealogical Society.  There are three volumes, each with an alphabetical index.  These books are a good place to start.  Reference librarians at the information desk near the computers can help you if you are stuck. Another place to try is on the internet. Choose your favorite browser and search for "find a grave oak hill Janesville." When the page comes up, type your person's name into the search box.  Volunteers spend hundreds of hours adding burials, plots, and photographs to Find a Grave (there is a link on the side bar of this blog), but not all burials have been added to this useful site yet. Still, you might get lucky. Finally you can call the cemetery office and ask there. The office is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., and the number is (608)754-4030, or you can visit the office and ask for help.

 Janesville Room, Hedberg Library

Office Oak Hill Cemetery

Secondly, you need a map.  The office has maps to give you, and sometimes there are copies in the information box.  I keep one in my car glove box all the time, for times when I am looking for headstones to photograph for Find a Grave.  I scanned one of them, and include it below. I use the chapel, the maintenance shed, and the wooded lot at the back of the cemetery as my points of reference. It would be useful if the names of the roads were both on the map and posted in the cemetery, but they are not.

Finally, you need patience.  Headstones can be tricky to find.  Old ones can be worn, encrusted with moss, damaged, tipped over, partially buried, or hidden under bushes.  Sometimes it helps to think of searching for old stones as a treasure hunt.  It certainly feels good when you find one you've been searching for.

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog, Oak Hill Cemetery Walks.  For the past three summers I have researched, written, and led free walks for people interested in local history at Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin.  I had participated in cemetery walks planned by the Rock County Historical Society several times before that, always costumed, always in late October, and always as Nellie Tallman, a member of a local wealthy family.  While I very much enjoyed portraying Mrs. Tallman and telling her story, I found it frustrating to not hear about other local people portrayed on the tour, and often the late October dates were often quite chilly.  I stood shivering in my hat, cape, and long skirt at the Tallman monument more than once in a bracing autumn breeze, or even an early snow.

I wanted to know more, so when a local group was formed to renovate the decaying chapel, I thought I could lead a series of tours to interest local folks in the cemetery, and the good work volunteers were doing to return the chapel to its early beauty and usefulness.  I thought if people visited, learned stories about the men and women buried there, looked at interesting monuments and headstones, saw the efforts of dedicated local volunteers, they might be more invested and willing to support the historic property.

Simplicity was important, so I decided to lead the tours myself on a schedule that worked for me. I researched, wrote scripts, decided on tour routes, and marked stones with utility flags.  Saturday mornings in late spring and summer, before it got too cold, worked best for my schedule.  It meant no historic costumes, just comfortable casual clothes and walking shoes.  It meant no printed programs.  I discovered that I could advertise for free on social media, with the local chamber of commerce and visitors' bureau, and in the local newspaper - so long as I did not charge admission.  Over time word of mouth has gradually increased the number of people who show up on Saturday mornings to tour different parts of the cemetery.

I do not make any money from these cemetery walks. Any tips that people occasionally hand me go to the volunteer groups for expenses like brick work, roofing, and stained glass window repair.  But I do get benefits. I'm gradually getting a good education in local history, which helps me feel connected to the community. I'm meeting lots of interesting people.  I'm getting some exercise - these are some steep hills! And I get to continue teaching, though in a very informal way. I expect to lead tours at least one more year.

My plan is to occasionally post my thoughts about facts I stumble across, photos from different times of year, and even some scripts from walks I've lead, in case a person might like to try the walks without benefit of a guide. I hope you find these posts interesting.