Unfortunate Events - Four

October is swiftly coming to an end, and leaves are beginning to leave some of the trees bare.  There is still time for a walk highlighting some of the darker ends that befell some of the people buried at Oak Hill.  I have seldom gotten to lead people into the hillside area on the right side (facing up the hill) of the wide grassy strip.  This walk highlights a few people buried in this area.

So slip into a warm jacket, lace on your hiking shoes and try this final walk featuring some very unfortunate events, but pretty scenery.

1. Irving Crowe (block 151) Crowe's monument is one of a handful of boulders inscribed with names. You can see it in the photo above.  The young man had graduated from Janesville schools, worked as a printer, served in  World War I, and at the time of his death was working as a steeplejack - clearly he was not intimidated by heights.  In 1923 he had a job near Medford, and took a bit of time to go to the Taylor county fairgrounds to see barnstorming pilots do their thrilling aerial tricks. He paid a modest fee and was taken up in one of the old bi-planes.  Unfortunately, the airplane crashed, and though the pilot walked away, Irving did not.

2. Fred Bauch (block 155) It should be easy to find the gray granite Bauch family monument, and also Fred's small headstone inscribed with "our son." Fred was also a veteran of World War I, and at the time of his death he was employed at the Samson Tractor plant in Janesville.  Fred was instantly killed when the fly wheel and shaft of a 24 ton press fell down on him and crushed his skull. He was a Janesville native, married with a small son.

3. Herbert Brownell (block 160) Young Herbert's simple upright tablet headstone indicates he was nearly 18 years of age at the time of his death. The good looking young man had been employed in his uncle's grocery store, and helped with farming at home.  Unfortunately, he and some friends hitched a ride on a freight train, and Herbert slipped under the train's wheels and was run over.

4. Edward J. Brown (block 166) Look for a large red granite family monument with a palm frond wreath.  We have another railroad accident here. Edward Brown  and J. Seskind, both cattlemen,  were killed in a rear-end collision on the Central Vermont railway accident, and three others were injured. 

5. Max Pfennig (block 176) Look for a large gray granite family monument inscribed "Pfennig." Born in Germany, Pfennig changed his name when he came to the United States, and engaged in several jobs - hotel manager, proprietor of a saloon, real estate salesman, coroner.  In 1899, after some questions about the honesty of his real estate dealings, he took the Lake Michigan ferry to Luddington, and jumped overboard.  His body was never recovered, though some people claimed to have seem someone who looked like him afterward in Michigan.  This was never proven.

6. Ida Fox (block 186)The Fox family monument is impressive red granite - look for individual headstone around the family plot. Ida's parents were English, and involved in the railroads.  Her father, John was an engineer on the Milwaukee and St. Paul line and later was foreman at the roundhouse.  Ida worked in the train offices, and was hit by a train at five points when she tripped while delivering a note to a worker. 

7. Harvey Boettcher (block 195) Harvey's headstone is a small gray stone with the epitaph "He gave all for his country." The young World War I soldier was twenty-five years of age when he died of pneumonia after contracting the Spanish Influenza at Camp Grant in Illinois.

8. Edwin Disch (block 217) There is a medium sized upright family monument, and a small gray granite headstone for Edwin. John and Lena Disch, Edwin's parents, were immigrant farmers to Wisconsin from Switzerland. Their teenage son Edwin died when while riding his motorcycle he struck a dog, and the impact threw him into the path of an oncoming truck. Edwin's older brother, Herbert, was killed when he was struck by an express train between Doylestown and Fall River.  Unfortunate events struck this family twice.

Unfortunate Events - Three

Here in southern Wisconsin the hardwoods are reaching peak color, and although the weather is gradually getting more brisk each day, it is still a fine time to take a stroll at Oak Hill; just dress for the weather. This walk is in the same general area as the previous one, to the right of the large road running uphill to the right of the chapel.  All these folks also met quite unfortunate ends.  As you search for these stones, keep your eyes open for other interesting sights around you, other monuments, the colorful trees, and perhaps some deer, fox or turkeys.

1. Eunice Wilcox (block 73) You are looking for a red granite headstone. Eunice married four times, and her last husband, Charles Wilcox, was her undoing.  She had some money, and he wanted to borrow it for investing in a real estate deal downtown. When she refused there was a fight, and he strangled her. He stayed with her remains several days before drinking poison and turning on the illuminating gas.  He is buried in an unmarked grave in the area behind the chapel. She rests here with a previous husband.

2. Stephen Spaulding (block 75)Mr. Spaulding's final resting place is unmarked, but there are several other nice family monuments on the plot. I like the one featuring a shock of wheat. Stephen Spaulding was a jeweler who had a shop in Janesville a number of years.  He moved away, and after having suffered all manner of health and job difficulties, moved back to town.  He went to his daughter Clara's grave at Oak Hill and committed suicide.

3. Townsend Sager (block 78) The headstone you want in a small flat gray granite stone. Mr. Sager was driving north on Milton Avenue with a wagon load of fertilizer for his farm when he was stricken by a fatal heart attack and fell to the road.  Several people rushed to his aid, but were unable to save him.

4. David Burrus (block 78) The Burrus family monument is a good sized gray granite stone.  The boy's father was a local dentist and inventor, with a colorful personality.  But the family was visited by tragedy more than once. David's two sisters perished in a diphtheria epidemic, his older brother was convicted of killed two women and later drowned, and he was killed when he tried to catch a ride on a train with two of his friends, and was caught between the cars, and fatally injured.

5. Lucy Smith, Elizabeth Strunk Ripley, Lulu Hanson (block 82) Look for a tall gray granite obelisk under trees.  This story is well known by local residents.  Elizabeth Strunk drowned in the Rock River trying to save her cousin Lucy Smith and Lucy's young friend Lulu Hanson when they were caught in the river's currents.  All three are buried together in this family plot.

6. Charles Antisdel (block 82) Nearby you will find a slightly shorter gray monument to the Antisdel family. Charles has a smaller headstone as well. Many of the people buried at Oak Hill were the victims of train accidents, but railroad employees and other folks,  Charles died in Kempton, Wisconsin, the victim of a train wreck.

7. Thomas Bennett (block 91) The Bennett family monument is a newer red granite stone with three names engraved upon it. Thomas Bennett was a well-known conductor on the Chicago and North Western line. He was accidentally thrown from the train when the train slowed to cross the Fox River near Chicago, and cars bumped into one another.  His body was found in the river a day later, with bruises on the back of his head.

8. Edna Conrad (block 95) Edna's headstone is a low white marble block.  She was married to William Conrad, a well-known local grocer.  Her obituary says she was sick for three weeks before dying of ptomaine poisoning - what we think of today as food poisoning.

 

Unfortunate Events - Two

This is another walk that should take less than an hour that you can take to visit the final resting places of local residents who long ago met unfortunate ends.  All of these stops are located to the right of the road running up the hill by the chapel.  Some are on the side of the hill, others further on.  A map, either from this blog or from the cemetery office will be very helpful.  As you search for the stops, be sure to look around you.  There are many, many interesting headstones and monuments, and if you keep a sharp eye you'll see all sorts of birds (including turkeys) and animals, from woodchucks and fox to white tailed deer.

As always, watch your step, as there are uneven places and animal burrows, and don't lean or, sit on, or step on old stones. Safety first!

One quick note, my walks are mostly centered on folks who traveled "to the land beyond" a hundred years ago or more.  There are a couple reasons for this choice.  First off, the old monuments and headstones tend to be more interesting than modern markers.  But also I am interested in relating historical stories, and do not want to stir up any unhappiness in visitors who might remember the person buried beneath the stone.

1. Alice Crosby (block 30) It's impossible to miss the pretty marble column topped by a girl with a scroll and anchor, pointing (with a missing finger) toward heaven.  Alice was the daughter of a wealthy family, sent East to boarding school when she passed away after having contracted scarlet fever.

2. Forbice Simpson (block 31) The Simpson monument is an attractive red granite column, topped with a sphere. The Simpsons were from Scotland. She and her husband James were asphyxiated by fumes from their kitchen stove.

3. Albert Kalvelage (block 33) The Kalvalege monument is a large gray granite rectangle, topped with a shape that looks something like a roof. Albert studied law, and was the official court reporter in Janesville.  He apparently was distraught after the accidental death of his young daughter, and he took his own life by both jumping off a bridge into the Rock River and shooting himself.

4. James Monroe Edwards (block 33) The Edwards family monument is also a gray granite stone shaped a little like a house, and there is a palm leaf inscribed around the initial "E." James worked on the railroad. He slipped and fell between a caboose and a freight car on the Madison to Milwaukee line and later died of lock-jaw.

5. Dr. William Judd (block 38) The Judd family monument is still another good-sized gray granite rectangle with a slanting top.  Dr. William Judd, one of a family of several physicians, was accidentally killed in an automobile accident.  He was struck in the street by young Robert Bliss.

6. Rose Allen (block 40) Mrs. Allen's headstone is a small gray granite one.  She was killed in Solon Springs, hit by a train when she went to the station to meet her daughter. The newspaper said there were two trains coming, and when she stepped out of the way of one, she was hit by the other.

7. Ellen Addy (block 48) A large gray monument marks Ellen Addy's final resting place.  Her story is a sad one, and not the only one like it at Oak Hill.  The elderly woman was a widow, residing alone, her children all living out of town.  She was found on the floor in her night clothes, covered in coal dust.  She had been trying to rebuild her fire when she collapsed.  Though friends found her while she still lived, she died soon after.

8. Humphrey Roberts (block 60) Another gray granite monument, this one with a curved top, serves the Roberts family.  Humphrey was shot and killed in the farm of J.C. Jenkins.

9. Amy Yeo (block 64) This time you are looking for a narrow four-sided column, under some pine trees, not far from a road leading up the hill.  Mrs. Yeo, also a widow, was somehow injured on her foot, and died two months later of gangrene.

10. Benjamin Franklin Downing (block 65) The white marble Downing monument is nearby, on the side of the hill.  You will spot it easily, because the smaller monument to their young daughters has fallen off its base and is propped up. Downing, originally from Pennsylvania, was fatally injured on his farm during a wind storm.  The heavy door of his barn blew violently against him and fractured his skull. Years later his wife was seriously injured on a railroad accident, which left her an invalid, until she finally succumbed to the effects of a stroke.

Interested in learning more? Visit Find a Grave, Oak Hill, Janesville, and type the name of whoever you want in the search box.  All of these people have photos of headstones, and often more information.

Unfortunate Events Walk - One

Last week I led the first three twilight walks for the Rock County Historical Society, the ones that because of their nearness to Halloween are called Chill at Oak Hill.  The last three are later this week. The emphasis in this walk is on creepiness, and we walk to the monuments of people who expired from awful accidents or murder, or who claimed to have psychic powers, or who were in some way associated with local ghost stories.  As last year was popular, this year's tour is also drawing crowds, many of whom have never been on one of my walks, or even who had never set foot in Oak Hill before this tour.  I found myself using a phrase over and over, even though it was not originally in my script - I found myself describing a person's demise as "an unfortunate event."  Probably I just remember that popular series of spooky young adult novels whose titles include those words.

But it's true. While the majority of folks who "passed to the land beyond" died of ordinary causes, old age, diseases, infections, heart disease and strokes, some died in more unusual ways. Memorable ways. Unfortunate ways.

This month I plan to post some walks you can easily do at Oak Hill that feature people who suffered some very unfortunate events.  All my little tours can be done in an hour or so, and I have grouped the monuments and headstones together by area.

What You Need

Dress for the weather, including sensible shoes.  The pavement and the ground can be very uneven, and there are low spots and woodchuck holes that may be covered with fallen leaves.  Good shoes make you more sure-footed.

You also need a cemetery map to more easily find the blocks.  I posted one earlier that you can run off (use the search box), or get one at the cemetery.  The "Rules" sheet provided by the city has a map on the back, or you can stop by the office M-F, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

All the stops on this walk are in the section behind the chapel, the area between the roads that run up the steep hill.  If you want more information you can search for these people on Find a Grave.  Use this hyperlink, or  search for Find A Grave Oak Hill Janesville, then type the name in the search box.  There are photos of each stone on the website as well.

1. Bert Grodivant (block 6) Monument features the logo for Woodmen of the World. Bert died when his arm was torn off in a well-digging accident.

2. Sarah Bull (block 19) Sarah's stone is just a plain gray granite headstone, but her story is colorful. While postmistress in Kansas, she witnessed the death of her husband Hiram, when he was attacked by an elk.  Originally from Janesville, she returned afterward and lived here until her death.

3. Pliny Norcross (block 20) Norcross' family monument and his headstone are near the road that runs up behind the left side of the chapel, under the trees.  He was a distinguished Civil War veteran, local businessman, and former mayor of Janesville.  He died when his straw hat blew from his head when he was standing near the Rock River.  When he turned to reach for it he slipped and fell into the water and was swept away.

4. Stella Austin (block 24) Stella's small headstone features an artist's palette.  She was a fine painter, and died young, of bronchitis, soon after giving birth to a stillborn child.

5. Charles Bennett (block 27) You can find Charles' name on the pretty white marble Bennett family monument, beneath the names of his parents.  Charles was only thirteen when he drowned in the river while playing on the sandbars and attempting to loosen a log jam.  He was his family's only son.

6. Raymond Jones (block 100) Raymond's headstone is small and looks modern. He was one of a number of Rock county residents who perished in the 1918 epidemic of Spanish influenza. He brother, Willis, was fighting in France when Raymond was stricken.

7. William Rodney Hathaway (block 112) Hathaway's tilting marble tablet headstone features a train engine. Hathaway died when he slipped on the connecting rods of the engine on which he worked, and was entangled in the machinery.

8. Carl Miller (block 109) Miller has a polished red granite headstone.  Miller, an engineer on he Chicago and Northwestern line and veteran of the Spanish American war, died heroically near Green Bay, attempting stop a runaway train.  Miller and another man raced to stop the train, and both fell on the tracks.  Miller pulled his companion to safety, but was dismembered by the train himself.

9. Frank Sutherland (block 117) Sutherland was a well known and popular young man.  He was unmarried and lived with his parents on Dodge street.  One night he came home at 11 p.m., and somehow made a misstep on a narrow set of stairs, fell backward, and broke his neck.

1900 hearse, Spokane, Washington (My great grandfather's family ran a funeral home.)