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.