Most of the stops on this self-guided walk come from Maurice Montgomery's book Memory Walks in Oak Hill Cemetery, from the chapter he called Railroads, Reapers and Motor Cars. I added a couple names that I thought fit the theme. There are too many stops in the chapter for a single hour-long walk, so I divided the stops into two separate walks, the next one coming soon. If you are reading this in November, the weather is getting chilly in Wisconsin, so dress accordingly when you head out, and bring along a map of the cemetery. I include one at the end of this post, or get one from the cemetery office Monday through Friday, ten o'clock in the morning until two in the afternoon. Happy hunting!
1. Pliny Norcross (block 20) If you follow the paved road that runs up the hill to the left of the chapel, you will find the Norcross monument and individual headstones.
I've always though Norcross was interesting. He was from Massachusetts, originally but came to southern Wisconsin when he was a teenager. He was schooled at both Milton and Albion Academies, and spent time at the University of Wisconsin. When the Civil war broke out he enlisted in the Governor's Guards, and later in Company K 13th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, where he was captain. After the war he married, took up the study of law, and went back east to New York. But then he returned to Janesville in 1883, where he invested in business blocks downtown. In 1885 he got into the electric power business, using the power provided by the Rock River to electrify businesses in the Norcross block, a business that manufactured shoes, printing plants, and a bindery. In 1892 he bought the Fulton mill, torn it down, and built a power plant that began to run lights in Edgerton, as well as parts of Janesville. Then he acquired the old mills at Indian Ford and created the Indian Ford electric power plant. In the end he sold all these power plants to the Wisconsin Electric Company and became first president of the utility. He had an unfortunate ending. In July 1915 he was walking along the old raceway on the river in downtown Janesville when a gust of wind blew his straw hat from his head. He grabbed for it, but slipped into the the river and drowned. His body was located a couple days later, his pocket watch stopped at 2:12.
2. William Rodney Hathaway (block 112) Keep heading up that same road to the top of the hill and then a bit further on until you reach a unpaved path that cuts across the wooded area over to the other paved road (called Center Avenue) to the right of the chapel. About half way between the two paved roads, on the path, is the tablet headstone pictured above. It leans, so you will need to squat down to see the image of the steam engine clearly.
At the time Hathaway was alive, railroads were sweeping the country, revolutionizing travel and providing a fast and efficient way to move manufactured and agricultural goods. These were, of course, steam trains, which required a water filled boiler, which had to be stoked with wood or coal constantly. It was the job of the train's fireman to keep the firebox filled with fuel, and also to oil the train's drive wheels. It was dangerous. Hathaway was a fireman, and he met a tragic end. He fell while shoveling to the engine and became tangled in the connecting rods which drove the engine's wheels. It took about thirty minutes to extricate him, and by that time he had already died.
3. Charles Baxter Withington (block 110) Continuing along the unpaved path the runs between the two paved roads you should be able to find the modest gray granite headstone for Withington. It's off the path a bit toward the wooded back part of the cemetery.
Charles B. Withington was born in Ohio, but moved to Janesville and married Charlotte Brandt, and raised a large family. He is remembered today for his invention of a wire grain binder. The patent for this invention was bought by Cyrus McCormick, of the International Harvester fame, who perfected the technology, adapted it for twine binding, contributed to the industrialization of agriculture, and made a fortune. C.B. Withington also owned a jewelry business for many years in Janesville.
4. James B. Crosby (block 30) Keep going along that unpaved path, over to the paved road that runs to the right of the chapel. On the other side of the road near a very old oak tree you cannot miss the Crosby family monument, which is a maiden pointing to heaven atop a column, with a scroll and an anchor.
James Crosby personified the prosperous businessman. Born in New York,he came to the area with his parents in 1852. His father built a large flouring mill James ran a dray-goods store for a time, but soon after got into banking when the Rock County Bank was organized in 1855. Later he was manager of the Harris Manufacturing Company (James Harris is coming up later), after it was reorganized and called Janesville Machine Company. Crosby lived in a beautiful Italianate villa on Sutherland Avenue. After he left Janesville for North Carolina, Dr. Judd and Dr. Henry Palmer bought the house and made it into the city's first hospital.
5. Henry P. Culver and family (block 83) Walking west along that same paved road, heading toward the back of the cemetery, the Culver family monument will be on your right, back in a bit from the road. It looks like a full sized tree, with limbs lopped off, encircled by ivy with a cross up toward the top.
Henry P. Culver was a native of Connecticut, born in 1793. After marrying his wife Lamira, they moved to New York state, where he went into manufacturing with his grandfather. Later he opened a grist mill, and engaged in manufacturing barrels, sawing lumber, processing potash, and making plaster. In 1842 he and his sons moved to Rock county, where he purchased a fine farm. He engaged in farming until he died of a paralytic stroke in 1869. He is remembered as being a pioneer of the area.
6. Thomas J. Nichols (block 91) Keep heading west on Center Avenue, and the next two headstones are near the first cross paved road you reach. The Nichols headstone is an upright tablet, inscribed with the image of a railroad passenger car.
Another railroad related headstone here. Thomas Jefferson Nichols was a conductor for the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, which is a senior position, and well respected. No doubt he had worked his way up through other railroad jobs, such as doing routine maintenance, being a flagman, or brakeman. By the time he was a conductor, he was in charge of his train cars, responsible for the safety of freight and or passengers, for selling and collecting tickets, keeping the train moving a time, and so on. Nichols was forty years old when he died of rheumatic fever. Ironically, Thomas's son Charles, who was a railroad brakeman, suddenly died of a hemorrhage only six months later.
7. Charles A. Brown (block 91) Very nearby you can easily find another upright tablet, good-sized, topped with an urn and inscribed with the image of a broken column, a sprig of acacia, an urn, a kneeling woman, and Father Time with a sickle (pictured below)
Charles A. Brown was an engineer for the Chicago and Northwestern Road, and the engineer is also an important and respected job. Brown didn't die in his engine, but rather on train related business in Chicago. He and conductor Amassa Cobb were in Chicago, riding in a buggy near the Chicago and Northwestern freight house, when something frightened the horse, which bolted out of control. Cobb jumped from the buggy and broke a leg, but when Brown jumped free he fell and cracked his skull on the pavement, and died a short time later. His interesting and somewhat macabre looking monument is actually related to his being a Mason. The image, called Father Time and the Weeping Virgin, is supposed to symbolize that time, patience and perseverance will accomplish all things.
8. James Harris (block 101) The Harris monument is directly across the road, a large gray granite block.
When James Harris died in 1912, the Janesville Gazette described him as a "Founder of Industry." Born in Canada, Harris had lived in Janesville more than fifty years, was president of the Janesville Barb Wire Company and vice president of the Janesville Machine Company. Since he was trained as a machinist, be began in Janesville in partnership with some others in the manufacture of of farm implements, such as reapers. He was also involved in the Rock River Iron Works, which made castings and cast iron columns. The barb wire company, which he bought from a Illinois and brought north to Rock county, eventually became Janesville Fence and Post, and still later became Harris Ace Hardware.
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