Chill at Oak Hill 2017

Autumn at Oak Hill Cemetery is always lovely.  The oak trees take on color, and the weather is cool enough to make walking the hills comfortable and bug free.  Lately a number of city employees and volunteers have been working to spruce up the property, cleaning and resetting old stones, trimming back overgrown bushes, and filling potholes.  The volunteer group who is restoring the chapel has recently installed several more stained glass windows, the rest being scheduled for installation in November. 

It's a nice time to visit.

I have have a challenging year health wise, and decided to gift the Rock County Historical Society with the script for my slightly creepy twilight tour called Chill at Oak Hill.  I led all tours the past couple years, but felt that this year was the right time to let other people have their turn.  This morning we flagged the walk, and talked about how much fun these hour-long tours really are, not only to attend, but also to lead.  So much fun, in fact, that even though I turned over the event to the RCHS, I ended up volunteering to lead one anyway.

This link will take you to the information page for the tour, and give you the opportunity to purchase $5 tickets, which benefit the historical society.  I guarantee that you will enjoy yourself.

Walk Summit Avenue

 I first led this walk, or at least a version of it, in 2016.  It was the result of an idea I had to made my walks more compact, with the monuments and headstones in a logical and easy to locate order.  This walk also has the advantages of having lots of mature trees, and therefore lots of shade, and also some outstanding monuments, since so many of these families were wealthy.  Locals will recognize that many of these family names are also names of local streets. The only possible drawback to this walk is, since this is the part of the cemetery highest in elevation, that you need to climb a steep hill to get here (unless you drive up).

Richard Valentine (block 276)

Richard Valentine was a telegraph operator and owner of a telegraphy school in Janesville. Some of you might remember that George Parker worked at this school for a time.  Anyway, Valentine was always interested in communications.  At one point he went to Chicago to see the work of Elisha Gray, who had been experimenting with sending sound over wire. Valentine was fascinated by Gray's work, and sometimes told a story about seeing a pair of young boys with fruit cans in their hands, and a string attached to the center bottom of each can, stretched across the street.  He took the can out of one boy's hand and spoke into it, then talked to the boy across the street.  He claimed that this primitive tin can telephone gave him the inspiration for a method of electrical speech transmission. Of course Valentine and Gray weren't the only ones working on this idea, Alexander Graham Bell also filed a patent for an "electric speaking telephone."

William Baines (block 276)

It's hard to miss this tall white obelisk dedicated to the Bladon and Baines families. William Baines was a pioneer of Rock county, born in England in 1830, where his family farmed. When he was around twenty years of age he came to the United States, originally to New York, where he married. They later loved to Ohio, and then to Rock county, settling on the farm that originally belong to the family of Frances Willard (where Cedar Crest is now located).  He made many improvement and became a successful tobacco grower. 
He and his wife raised five children, some of them becoming successful tobacco traders.

Allen Perry Lovejoy and Julia Stow Lovejoy (block 275)

 This beautiful monument under shade tree belongs to the family of Allen Perry Lovejoy and his wife, Julia Stow Lovejoy. If you are familiar with Janesville, you probably know their beautiful house in he Courthouse Hill area,  at one time converted to use as the local Y.W.C.A. The Lovejoys were from Maine, and Allen was trained to be a joiner and carpenter there. When he was 25 years of age he traveled west to Milwaukee, then Beloit, and finally Janesville where he went into business for himself working as a carpenter and builder. In 1860 he opened a lumber yard here, gradually expanding into nearby communities such as Mt. Horeb, Dodgeville, Barnveld and Stoughton. He invested wisely and over time his lumber interests included land in Oregon, Louisiana and California.  And it was not just lumber - he became a partner with James Harris after a fire destroyed the Harris factory. Lovejoy became president of Harris Manufacturing and later Janesville Machine Company.  He was also the director of the First National Bank in this city, and later still a stockholder in Milwaukee's Marine National Bank and Superior's Bank of Commerce.  He also invested in various other Janesville businesses such as the Cotton Mills and Monterey Flouring Mill. He also served in politics, being elected in 1878 to the state assembly, and a few years later to the state senate.  He was also the 22nd mayor of Janesville.

His wife was remarkable on her own.  Two decades younger than her husband, she was originally from Connecticut. A teacher by profession, she taught both in the east and in Denver. She met her future husband in Janesville when she was here visiting her sister and brother-in-law.  Mrs. Lovejoy was founder of Janesville's first kindergarten, first regent of the local chapter of the D.A.R., and was instrumental in starting the city's first hospital.  For many years she served on the board of the Janesville Public Library. She and her children set up the Lovejoy Memorial Fund to help pay operating costs for the Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.Ca.

Thomas Jefferson Ruger (block 288)

Reverend Thomas Jefferson Ruger, like many of Rock County's early pioneers, was originally from New England, born in 1804. He was studious did well in school and attended a liberal arts college with a Master of Arts degree.  He began his professional career teaching at Wilbraham Academy and later became president of Wesleyan Seminary in Lima, New York, which eventually became Syracuse University.

Ruger was ordained a priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and worked in that capacity in the East for several years. In 1844 he met Bishop Kemper, whose diocese included the upper Midwest.  Kemper urged Ruger to travel west, and Ruger agreed, coming to Janesville in 1844 and organizing Trinity Episcopal Church.  He also helped with the establishment of the Janesville Academy.  Eventually he retired to a farm outside town with his wife Maria.  Together they had raised four sons and three daughters, one of whom married George Dunbar, and the other who married JR.R. Pease.

John J.R. Pease (block 268)

Pease first came to Wisconsin in 1840; he surveyed most of early Janesville. Later he studied law with Judge Whiton, who became the first state supreme court justice.  Always interested in education, he helped found the Janesville Academy in 1844, and later when he became mayor, he helped establish two elementary schools and a new high school. In addition, he was on the board of directors for Oak Hill cemetery at the time the old cemetery was moved to make room for the new high school in what is now Jefferson Park.  A forward looking man, he advocated for rail service in this city, and served on the board of directors for Rock County Bank and Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company.


George Ward Dunbar (block 268)

Like Thomas Ruger, George Dunbar was an Episcopal priest, born in New York state. He served in the East several years before coming to Janesville after his first wife, Emma, died. In 1876 he married a second time, this time to Adelaide Ruger.  Perhaps at the urging of his new in-laws, George Dunbar was commissioned chaplain to the US Army about ten years after the end of the Civil war.  He headed out to Fort Concho, in Texas. Life there was isolated, dangerous, and hot.  At the fort Dunbar served as schoolmaster and chaplain. By 1880 he was transferred to the Dakota territory, to Fort Yates, a place now part of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.  At the end of his career he was chaplain at the Presidio in San Franciso, and also at Alcatraz, which was a military fortress in San Francisco Bay.  By 1897 Dunbar retired to Janesville, but at the end of his interesting life had moved in Washington D.C, where he died in 1914.

William Fink Palmer (block 167)

If you have ever visited Janesville's Palmer Park you can thank William Palmer, since he donated the land to the city. Palmer had been an insurance salesman, and all I really know is that when George Parker was starting up his pen manufacturing company he was strapped for cash. Palmer wrote Parker a check for $1,000 and became a partner in the fledgling enterprise.  A fine investment!

Chester Dubes (block 167)

Chester Dubes owned and operated the long-lived Dubes Jewelry Store from 1925 until 1953. He was a graduate of St. Paul's Watchmaker's School and came to Janesville to join the staff at Fatzinger Jewelry Store which later became Conrad Jewelry Store. It became Dubes Jewelry in 1925. He was a member of the Elks Club, Lions Club and IOOF lodge 90.

William Mills Battle (block 259)

This simple stone marks the resting place of a man who lived an eventful life.  He was born in Massachusetts in 1819, the youngest of four sons in a wealthy farming family. One of Battle's older brother was a disgrace, drinking and gambling away much of the family fortune and good name, so much so that they moved out of the area to Ohio.  It was William's early ambition to restore his family's reputation and finances. He inherited just twelve acres of land from his grandfather, and despite a spinal deformity which prevented him from engaging in traditional farming, he developed his skills as a cattleman, raising and selling quality beef.  His shrewd business acumen helped him to increase both his land holding and his fortune, allowing him to raise a family in the Buckeye state.  Then came the financial crash of 1875, which caught him unaware and cased him to lose his fortune.  This was a cruel blow, so much so that he left Ohio and brought his family to Janesville in 1877, and later to DePere, where he managed a hotel.  He eventually returned to Janesville, where he lived out the final years of his life, if not in wealth, at least in honor.


George Safford Parker (block 250)

The modest headstone in this family plot belong to the family of George Safford Parker, founder of the Parker Pen company.  Parker was a native of Shullsburg, and a graduate of Valparaiso in Indiana.  When he came to Janesville it was to first learn, and later teach telegraphy at Valentines School of Telegraphy. He was also a pen salesman for the John Holland Pen Company, also here in Janesville, and whose pens apparently often leaked or needed repair.  Parker tinkered and experimented and ended up inventing a better and more reliable pen, the Lucky Curve.  The new Parker Pen company started small in producing these pens, with the help of the infusion of money from William F. Palmer, and had offices in various buildings around Janesville, until 1919 when Parker Pen built its own headquarters at the intersection of South Division and East Court streets.  Over the years the Parker Pen company became an international success, with innovations such as the iconic Big Red pen, the vacumatic pen, and Quink, a special brand of quick drying ink.

John Meek Whitehead (block 253)

John Meek Whitehead was born in 1852 in Illinois, where he attended local public and prep school, and then when he was 25 he graduated from Yale, where he was school chums with William Howard Taft. He taught for a time, entered law practice in Chicago, married and began a family. By 1883 Whitehead had located in Janesville, where he operated a law office. He also had an impressive life of public service, serving sixteen years in the state senate., and helping to plan the new state capitol building after the original one was destroyed by fire. In Janesville he was president of the YMCA, and head of the library board of directors.  He also was a longtime curator for the Wisconsin State Historical Society.

George Wise (block 251)

I was interested that George Wise's monument has a second name in quotes under his name - "Bill Baxter."  Who was that?  Wise was English by birth, and emigrate with his mother when he was a child originally to Chicago, and later to Albion. He tried his hand at a number of professions - farming, manufacturing carriages, house painting, running a temperance pool hall. None worked out. Finally he turned to photography, and had a successful studio for many years in Janesville.  How about Bill Baxter?  After Wise died of a stroke, his obituary revealed the answer.  For years George Wise wrote poetry published in the Janesville Gazette and other publications under the pen name "Bill Baxter."

Joseph M. Bostwick (block 160)

You will need to cross the road and head back toward the chapel for the final stop on this walk, that of the founder of Bostwick's department store, Joseph M. Bostwick.  The Huling name is the one you'll see first, and Bostwick is on the other side of the monument.  

Joseph Bostwick was another transplant from New England; he came to the area when he was a teenager with his parents. Here in Rock county Joseph went to work in the general store of Bailey and Dimock, where he learned the ins and outs of general merchandising.  He also worked for other merchants, and eventually formed a partnership with O.K. Bennett, under the name Bennett and Bostwick. Around this time the way people liked to shop was gradually changing, and general  and dry-goods stores where the customer might haggle, and where the owner would select merchandise for the customer from a list, were being replaced by department stores that stocked a wide variety of goods, where prices were set, and the customer could browse.  Think something like Macys, or Marshall Fields.  J.M. Bostwick opened Janesville's first department store, and was for many years respected for quality goods and money-back guarantees.  J.M. Bostwick and Sons had a reputation for quality and good value.

One cold January day in 1909 J.M. Bostwick went out for a pleasant evening at the local Elks club, and dropped dead of a cerebral hemorrhage aad stroke.  His funeral was hugely attended and afterward his sons took over the business and expanded it further.  Bostwicks was a downtown fixture for years, until 1973 when the Janesville Mall opened, and it was clear that people's shopping habits were changing once more Bostwicks closed its doors forever in 1978.

"Lite" Version of June 2017 Walk

I was happy to guide around forty folks on another Saturday morning walk on June 10th. It was warm, but the breeze and abundant shade made this walk comfortable. This was the second walk I planned by area, rather than by any particular theme, and it seemed to work quite well.  As usual the folks who are renovating the chapel had it open so people could see what has been accomplished so far, especially the stained glass windows, stripped wainscotting, and fresh plastering.

This walk starts near the chapel, and follows a large square following the road running uphill on

the right side of the chapel.

If you look to the right, you can see a family vault built into the hillside (block 49).  This is the Follansbee vault.  All identifying markings have been removed or have fallen away, but cemetery records show several family members in a vault in block 49, so this has to be it. Vaults were once popular, especially for wealthy families, but problems with upkeep and vandalism have caused them to be a thing of the past.

Heading up the hill, find the family monument for Oliver B. Ford (block 37).  Originally from Vermont, he came to Beloit and 1847, and a couple years later moved permanently to Janesville.  Ford operated a small in, but later built Ford's Grist Mill, one of the most successful flouring mills in the area during Wisconsin's wheat growing boom.

Not far from the Ford monument find the monument to the Judd family (block 38).  The Judds were a family of physicians, and originally they also had a family vault, though in 1908 they tore it down and reburied family members further up the hill.  Dr. William H. Judd was a popular local doctor for many year, although he was killed when he was struck by an automobile driven by a inexperienced teenage driver.  We also remember him because he donated a memorial window to the chapel dedicated to his young son, who died in a diphtheria epidemic.

Almost next door you will see the monument and headstones for famous singer, pianist and composer Carried Jacobs Bond.  She is buried in California, but her parents and first husband are here (block 39).  Dr. Frank Bond, who was a local man, died when he was only 37 in Michigan, when he was struck by a snowball, fell, and hit his head.  Carrie Jacobs Bond had to work extraordinarily hard to make a living for herself and her son, but she certainly made a success of herself. You may know one song she penned, "I Love You Truly."  Was she thinking of Frank?

A little further up hill and toward the road you will find the tall obelisk memorial to Edward V. Whiton (block 35). Whiton, a lawyer,  came to this area when it was still a territory, a secured a seat in the Territorial Assembly, and he collected and published the first set of territorial laws.  Later he was elected the first chief justice of the state Supreme Court.  He died  at the age of 54, and was remembered as an intelligent and prudent juror, and a man who showed courtesy to all.

Further still up the hill and to the right a bit is Peter Myers' monument (block 32).  Originally from France he came to this area trained as a butcher - his shop was on Main street where the Bodacious Shops are now.  He got into real estate and became investing in downtown buildings. In 1859-60 he built the Myers Hotel, and a decade later added on and made it the Myers Opera House, a center of Janesville culture for many years.

Just behind the Myers monument is this red stone monument which looks a little like a chess piece.  This marks the final resting place of James and Forbice Simpson, both from Scotland originally (block 31).  When Forbice was 80 years old and widow, she met a sad end, along with her adopted son.  Both were accidentally asphyxiated by gas from the cook stove.  Neighbors found them after several days worth of newspapers piled up on the porch.

Walk a bit closer to the road, and you'll find the Crosby lot, which has monuments to the James and Chester Crosby families, and to Laurence and Louise Crosby Roys (block 30).  James B. Crosby lived in the house on Sutherland and local resident will remember was also the first city hospital, Oak Lawn, and he was the general manager of the Janesville Manufacturing company.  The low newer monument to the Roys family is also worth a look. Laurence Roys was trained as an engineer, but became fascinated by trying the correlate the Spanish and Mayan calendars, and he led a number of expeditions to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico to study Mayan engineering.

Head back to the road and keep walk toward the back of the cemetery. On the right is the pretty white marble monument to the Conrad family (block 95).  Charles H. Conrad was from Ontario, but came here in 1849. He was a carpenter and millwright, and is remembered for building the "Big Mill" on the Rock River.  He also was a merchant, his store being where the Myers Hotel was later built. He was a member of the Board of Supervisors and a director of First National Bank.

Walking in the same direction, toward the back of the cemetery, find the Macloon monument - look for the large cast iron planter (block 94). This is an interesting monument. If you look at the image at the base of the monument you will see a sailing ship at anchor, the sails all furled, symbolic of a voyage completed.  Macloon, who made much of her personal fortune in real estate, was born in Massachusetts, where for a time he was a ship's captain, involved in general freighting between Boston and the West Indies. After a shipwreck near Cuba, he left shipping and moved to Rock county, where he bought land, built a fine house and raised horses, sheep, cattle and hogs.  He also owned a drug store and half share (along with Oliver Ford) in the post office.

Not far from the Macloon monument is the obelisk dedicated to Elizabeth Strunk Ripley (block 82).  She was the daughter of John and Eleanor Strunk, married to Mark Ripley. Today we remember her for her brave, but doomed efforts to save two young girls, Lucy Smith and Lulu Hanson, from drowning in the Rock River.  She drowned in her attempt to save the young women.  All three are buried in this plot.

Also nearby is the family monument to Joshua Gray (block 82). This area has had a number of breweries over the years, but the one that has lasted the longest, right up to the present, is Gray's Brewery.  Joshua Gray, of Irish extraction, moved his family to Janesville and began bottling both beer and soda water in 1856. The fact that he brewed both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages saved the company years later when Prohibition closed most other breweries. Gray just switched over to soft drinks.  Today of course the family has returned to brewing and bottling beer.

Continue walking the same direction, toward the back of the cemetery and find a family monument dedicated to the Culvers, shaped like a life-sized tree (block 83). Be sure to spend some time looking at this fascinating monument

and notice the twining ivy, rustic cross, inscribed names, book, and even a tiny mouse. The father in this family, H.P, Culver was originally from Connecticut, but moved to New York, where in 1817 he married Almira Lacy, to whom he was married 49 years.  He was a successful manufacturer there, known mostly for manufacturing barrels through the use of machinery.  In 1843 he moved his family to Janesville, where he engaged in farming.  He was a pioneer who witnessed Janesville's early growth.

As you continue toward the back of the cemetery, turn right at the cross road, which is Western Avenue.  On the right side are two monuments to the Spaldings (block 75). The one on the left in this photo is nice because it features a beautifully carved shock of wheat, symbolizing a long life lived to the fullest.  Stephen C. Spaulding (same family, different spelling) has no marker, probably because he committed suicide.  He had lived in Janesville, moved away, and had a downturn of fortune. He returned to the area after a 19 year absence, having run a jewelry store in Janesville and also having been a traveling salesman.  He shot himself on his young daughter's grave. A letter left to friends stated that he considered himself a failure and did not care to live. The Odd Fellows fraternal group buried him near his daughter's grave.

There is a faintly marked path running downhill near the Spalding headstones.  Take that, heading back toward the lower part of the cemetery.  On the right a few years along the path is the monument for William Hodson (block 76).  William Hodson was something of a Utopian, an English immigrant who lived in the town of Turtle.  We remember him today for having the first brewery in the area, though it was not long-lived, being destroyed early by fire.

Continuing on the footpath heading back toward the lower part of the cemetery, still on the right side, find the monument to the Arba Burris family (block 78). The stone looks like it is ready to slide off its base.  A.P. Burrus was quite a colorful person, a physician and dentist, an inventor, born in 1825 in Pennsylvania. He married Miss Mry Jones and they raised four children, two boys and two girls. The family lived in Milton Junction, and Dr. Burrus had a dental office in Janesville, and he traveled to a circuit of smaller towns performing "painless" dentistry and fitting dentures.  Despite his successful practice, his life was filled with tragedy, his daughters both dying of diphtheria, his younger son killed in a train accident, and the older one drowned.  He was a widower by the age of 40, and in the market for a wife. His search for a second wife was celebrated in both local and national newspapers when he wrote to a clergyman in Minneapolis who aced as a sort of matchmaker for respectable men and women.  He wrote a long letter outlining his requirements for a perfect new wife, including all her measurements, height, weight, general appearance (fine features and a well-developed chin).  Plus she should be a good cook and nurse.

He died unwed.

May 2017 Stories and Stones - The Basics

I'm excited about the first guided Stories and Stones walk at Oak Hill cemetery tomorrow! I've been planning it for so long, thinking about it, playing with the script, and so on.  The weather promises to be good, for which I am thankful.  If you decide to join me on the free hour-long walk, just came a little before 10 a.m. comfortably dressed and wearing sensible shoes.  I believe the Friends of Oak Hill Chapel will have the chapel open as well, so you can peek inside and see the wall of restored stained glass windows. 

If you cannot attend the walk, I have included Find a Grave links that give some of the same information I will be sharing.

These are the stops I plan to make on the walk.  All are in a big square behind the chapel, some of the oldest areas of the cemetery. 

1. Ithamar Conkey Sloan's family vault

2. Family plot of Corporal Frank E. Hilt

3. Family plot of Rev. Orin Dearborn

4. Family plot of Judge William Holmes

5. Family plot of Sergeant Henry Whittier

6. Family plot of Capt. William Dick Cargill,  Scottish sea captain


7.  The lovely rustic monument of Josie Kimball Conant

8.  Family plot of Levi Alden 

9.  Family plot of Levi St. John, early pioneer

10.  W.H. Sargent Post Grand Army of the Republic block

11. Memorial for James Croft, Medal of Honor winner

12. Family plot of John and Anna Roethinger, Janesville brewers

13. Headstone of Orlando Florida, the man, not the city

14. Family plot of James Harris, Janesville's "Father of Industry"


15. Family plot of Rev. Georg Kaempflein

16. Family plot of James Sutherland

17.  The old Public Grounds (Potters Field)

18. Family plot of General James Bintliff

19. The Odd Fellows block

20. Family plot of Gerald Braisher, equipment manager for Vince Lombardi

21. Family plot of Capt. Pliny Norcross

22. Family plot of Capt. Ira Miltimore

Spiffing Up

Things are greening up at Oak Hill, and I see lots of recent activity, from family members visiting to clean and decorate graves, to city workers and volunteers doing cleaning, maintenance and providing upgrades. Recently the city remodeled inside the office, and last week the exterior landscaping got an upgrade as well.

The mausoleum behind the office is getting sidewalks and landscaping, which should improve its visibility and aesthetics.

The new street sign looks great, and should make it easier for visitors to find the entrance, and also to distinguish Oak Hill from its neighbor, the Catholic cemetery, Mount Olivet.

Last week, in honor of Earth Day, the city, The Oak Hill Preservation Society, and student volunteers from UW Whitewater spent the morning doing a wide range of clean-up tasks, from planting bushes, to trimming, to picking up winter fallen branches, and even cleaning headstones, these folks worked hard to make a difference.

Visitors to Oak Hill will notice fifty new wren houses and robin nesting platforms around the property. place there by a partnership between local Boy Scouts and the Oak Hill Preservation Society - working together to bring a little more wildlife to the cemetery.

Planning Ahead - 2017 Tour Schedule

This is the schedule for my 2017 free and informal walks at Oak Hill cemetery.  All tours begin at 10 a.m. near the chapel,  last about an hour, and depend on good weather.  This year I am thinking about organizing  around particular areas, rather than around any theme, though none are written yet.

Saturday May 13, 2017

Saturday June 10, 2017

Saturday July 8, 2017

Saturday August 12th, 2017

The Irish of Oak Hill

St. Patrick's Day is coming right up, which got me to considering people buried at Oak Hill cemetery who were born in Ireland.  Actually, there aren't all that many, especially compared to English, Scottish, and Norwegians - and certainly fewer than the Germans who came much later.  The majority of Irish Catholics are buried next door at Mount Olivet Cemetery - some people confuse the two places.  If you'd like to see a list of the born-in Ireland folks at Oak Hill, so far as I know, check out this link.  I know the folks in this area love their Irish roots.

Part of the challenge in putting together a list like this is that cemetery records do not indicate where a person was born.  For that, one needs to check census records or find old obituaries, or hope that a relative sees the memorial and adds information.  The challenge in putting together a walk is to find stops that have interesting stones, interesting stories, or best, both.  The burials also need to fall into some sort of reasonable route.  So, I end up assembling a suggested walk that a person might do in an hour or so.  Here goes!

1.  Edith West Barry (block 7) Mrs. Barry is buried along with her husband Edward, and sisters Mary and Jane, on the hillside behind the chapel.  I thought obituary in the local paper was interesting, especially her father's government job as U.S. consul to Dublin. The Honorable William B. West was appointed by President Lincoln, and went back to Ireland with his wife Esther and three other children to serve.  He died in Dublin in 1877. Edith was born in Ireland in 1842 and died April 16, 1902 in Janesville. I originally thought they had no headstones, but I recently found both the gray obelisk under a pine tree, and the small individual headstones.

Mrs. Edith T. Barry, residing at No. 62 Chatham street, passed away at 2:30 o'clock this morning after a brief illness.

Deceased was born in Wexford, Ireland, and came to America with her family in 1851. Her father, Hon. Wm. B. West was appointed U.S. Consul to Dublin when her family and two sisters returned to Ireland, leaving the deceased, two sisters and a brother here. One sister, Mary, died in 1890, the other, Jane, in 1895, both now resting in Oak Hill. The deceased was united in marriage to Capt. Ed Barry, 1867. He also died 19 years ago.

On Monday last the deceased visited her husband's grave on the 19th anniversary of his burial and on returning on the same evening she was taken suddenly ill with a chronic ailment with which she had long been afflicted. But despite the best of medical aid death conquered her, and her spirit sped peacefully to the realms above. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal church from which her funeral will take place on Friday at 10 a.m...

2.  Mary Coppin (block 13) I don't know much about her other than she raised a large family, and her husband was English.  This is what her obituary said -  The Janesville Gazette, June 24, 1899:
Mrs. Mary Coppin, widow of the late Henry Coppin, passed into the shadows yesterday forenoon at 11:30 o'clock, at her home, 153 Lincoln street, aged sixty-five years.  Mrs. Coppin had been ailing for a number of years, and for several weeks had been suffering greatly with chronic nephritis. Mrs. Coppin had been a resident of the city for many years. She was a lady universally esteemed. 

She leaves to mourn her death seven children, three daughters and four sons, all of whom were at her bedside when the end came. The children are Miss Mary Coppin, Edward Coppin and Mrs. Minnie Crouse, all of Dallas, Texas; John Coppin of Denison, Texas; W.H. Coppin of Milwaukee; Mrs. A.R. Wilkinson and Frankie Coppin of this city.  Mrs. Coppin, of La Crosse, only sister of the departed, was at the bedside during the illness and at the time of summons from this material world...

3.  Thomas McKey (block 23) Mr. McKey was born in County Mayo 1827 and died in Delavan, 1859. I like the tall obelisk under the trees that marks the McKey resting place.  Apparently he married Eliza Toll in Racine in 1851. Their children included Thomas, Ada Jean, Roswill, and Charles. Thomas' mother, Maria, (also born in Ireland) is listed on the same monument. Thomas is a brother to the other McKeys on this walk, though I know nothing more about him.

4.  Joseph Churchill (block 135) The Janesville Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin, Mar. 7, 1908: Joseph Churchill, who has lived in Janesville for the past nineteen years and was an early settler in Rock county, died last evening at the home of his daughter, Mrs. W.J. Hilt, No. 3 Riverside street. Mr. Churchill, who was eighty-seven years of age, was born in Tipperary, Ireland, and settled in Rock county in 1850 on a farm about four miles north of the city.

Mr. Churchill's wife died about three years ago. He leaves to mourn his loss three daughters, Mrs. Margaret O'Neil, Mrs. Eliza Heller and Mrs. William J. Hilt, and five sons, Joseph of the town of Harmony, John of Center, James of Porter, William of the town of Janesville and Arthur of Center. He also leaves two sisters, Mrs. Ward of Boscobel and Mrs. Fannie Brooks of Stoughton...

5.  Ann Irwin (block 87) From her death notice in the Janesville Gazette: Mrs. Ann Irwin, an elderly lady, residing in her home on the corner of Glenn and Maria streets, Second ward, was found dead in her bed this morning, by her nurse. She had been suffering for some years with heart disease, and for two or three days had been confined to her bed. It is said that the cause of her death was heart disease.

6.  Samuel, Jane, Isabella Cleland (block 71) Samuel and Jane Martin Cleland were born and married in County Down, Ireland and came to the United States in about 1816. They farmed on section 28 of Janesville Township. I did not locate an obituary.

7.  Stewart B. Heddles (block 268) Once more, his local obituary tells everything: Funeral services for the late Stewart B. Heddles, who died at the Mayo brothers hospital in Rochester, Minn., late Wednesday afternoon, following an operation and sickness of two weeks, will be held at the home on North Jackson street Saturday afternoon at two-thirty o'clock. Rev. Melrose will conduct the ceremony and interment will be made in Oak Hill cemetery.

Prominent in social and civil life, the deceased had gathered about him a host of friends who will indeed be sorely grieved to know of his departure from worldly life. He was prominent in city affairs, having been at one time an alderman and later mayor of the city. In business he was actively engaged in the leaf tobacco business. For many years he acted as elder and trustee of the Presbyterian church and was a member of the Masonic lodge, Knights of Pythias and the United Commercial Travelers.

Born of Scotch-Irish ancestry he was married to Jennie Hadley in Janesville on October 16, 1879. At the time of his demise he was sixty-three years of age.

Besides his sorrowing wife he leaves to mourn his loss one daughter, Mrs. Stanley G. Dunwiddie of this city...

8. Andrew and Margaret Hayes Lowery (block 142) Andrew's obituary:
After a short sickness, Andrew Lowry, an early settler and extensive land owner in Rock county, passed away, at his home in the town of Janesville, last night. His death was not unexpected for it had been realized some time ago that the silver cord was almost broken. Mr. Lowry was an extensive land owner and his property has always been considered very valuable. During a part of his residence in the county he made his home in the town of Center only moving into Janesville a few years ago. He was born in Ireland in 1823 and came to America in 1840, locating in New York. In 1853 he came to Rock county and has lived here ever since. He leaves a wife but no children. 

And Margaret's newspaper notice: After a brief illness, Margaret Lowery, widow of Andrew Lowery, passed away at Palmer Mercy hospital. Mrs. Lowery was born near Belfast, Ireland, on December 24, 1828, and was the youngest child of George and Sarah Hayes. When a child she came with her mother, eight brothers and sisters, to the United States and settled at Newburgh, New York, at which place she resided until her marriage to Andrew Lowery in October, 1847. In the fall of 1856 Mr. and Mrs. Lowery moved to Wisconsin and located on a farm in the town of Janesville, at which place she resided until the death of Mr. Lowery in 1886; since which time she has been a resident of this city. Mrs. Lowery was a member of the First Presbyterian church and was a woman much loved by those who knew her...

9.  Mary McKey Stevens (block 179) From the Janesville Gazette, March 6, 1922:

Announcement of the death of Mrs. Fenton F. Stevens, formerly Miss Mary McKey of this city, has been received by relatives here. Mrs. Stevens, an old resident of this city, died in Chicago Saturday after a lengthy illness. She had moved to Chicago to make her home only a few years ago, having lived until that time in this city at 120 St. Lawrence avenue. George McKey, Colonial club, is a step-brother, and Mrs. Harriet Smith, Milwaukee, who visited here for several months recently, a step-sister.

Mrs. Steven's memorial on Find a Grave indicates George and Harriet were cousins.

10.  Edward McKey (block 179) The tall gray granite McKey monument is an impressive final stop.  One more obituary from the newspaper: From the Janesville Gazette, August 14, 1875, which indicates where the family acquired the wherewithal to purchase such a beautiful family stone. Edward had a twin brother, Michael. The family emigrated to the United States as a result of the potato famine in Ireland.

This morning, Edward McKey died of paralysis of the vital organs. His physician says, "His vital forces had been failing for more than two years which predisposed him to bilious attacks and temporary congestion of the liver and stomach, resulting in an enervation of the sympathetic nerve centres and consequent sudden death. When he experienced the neuralgic pain in his side one week ago today, which was the commencement of his illness, he suffered much pain, continuing for two or three days, but latterly his suffering had ceased and he passed away quietly and unconsciously."

Mr. McKey was born in the County of Mayo, Ireland in 1821, and early in life commenced business as a merchant. The famine of 1846 and the losses which in consequence thereof fell upon all classes of business, induced him to emigrate to this country, and in 1847, in company with his brother Michael F. McKey, he commenced business in Little Falls, New York. In 1849, the brothers removed to Racine and shortly afterward to Janesville.

For a quarter of a century, there has been no other firm more widely known to the people of Wisconsin than the McKey Brothers. Some years ago, Michael F. McKey died, and the estate which, by their sagacity and industry had been accumulated, has wisely remained undivided under the direction and control of the surviving brother until his death.

As a businessman, Edward McKey possessed unusual capacity and foresight. He rarely ever made a mistake in the management of the large and complicated affairs which his genius and industry had brought under his control. For many years, the surplus profits of the home business were invested, with rare sagacity, in real estate, when property was low, in nearly every important town from Chicago to Lake Superior, and he thus laid the foundations of a fortune which, in the the development of the country, has grown to large proportions.

The sons of both the brothers have, for some time past, been growing into the direction of details of business; but the place which is left vacant by the sudden removal of the presiding genius of the fortunes of the family, is too large to be filled. In the full tide of success and in the enjoyment of the maturity of comprehensive intellectual powers, he has been called to test the realities of the unseen life.

His death came suddenly, and the news was received with sorrow mingled with surprise by the community, scarcely anyone outside of the family knowing that he was unwell. The funeral services will take place on Monday afternoon next, at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Then and Now

This is the new sign the city of Janesville erected near the chapel at Oak Hill cemetery, outlining what is, and is not currently allowed as far a headstone decoration go.  I recently posted this picture on a Facebook group and something of a kerfuffle kicked up.  People seem enamored of their solar lights, windsocks, wind chimes and other personal tokens.  Reactions on the Facebook page expressed some people's frustration about the possibility of their decorations being removed, especially since a casual stroll through the 96 acre cemetery is enough to see lots of now prohibited ornamentation.

My guess is that the city, which took over operation of Oak Hill in 2008, reluctantly, has had to think hard about how to best keep the sprawling property looking like the park-like and historic final resting place it was designed to be, and still maintain a responsible budget with limited personnel.  For the past several years I have been photographing headstones and leading walks through the cemetery for several years, and I know from first hand observation that city workers (and sometimes RECAP folks from the jail) are out mowing and trimming grass, pruning and sometimes removing dead or diseased trees, picking up fallen branches or faded flags or shredded plastic flower urns.  Then there is swift necessary repair, when occasional vandalism damages roads, trees, and monuments. The job just never stops, and that is apart from opening and closing graves. Oak Hill is one high maintenance public space, as the city has learned.

There are all manner of legal and aesthetic reasons for any cemetery's list of rules and policies, and I don't plan to address those here. If you are interested in the City of Janesville's Policy Manuel for Oak Hill Cemetery, this link will take to to it.  If after reading that you still have questions, I would call the city parks department for clarification.

From the time the public cemetery was established in 1851, owned and operated by the Oak Hill Cemetery Association.  The Cemetery Association sold plots, put in roads, trees and bushes, planters and a fountain, fences, a windmill, and more.  They also published a booklet of bylaws and regulations that served as a manual for lot owners and the public in general. This was in 1858.  The late Maurice Montgomery wrote a book about the cemetery and is the source for my information here. 

Here are some of the old rules.  Lot owners who wanted their lots graded and sodded had to make application to the president or the secretary of the OHCA.  The sexton (caretaker/gravedigger) had the right to eject and excessively loud or rowdy individuals who disturbed the peace and quiet of the cemetery.  The sexton - and any other cemetery employee - was prohibited from taking bribes in exchange for "Personal services or attentions."  It was forbidden to bring any refreshments on cemetery grounds, as was it forbidden to smoke in the cemetery, or build any fire.  Picking of flowers, berries, or leaves from trees or shrubs was on the forbidden list, and of course one could not deface any monument or building.  Lot owners or members of their families could drive their vehicle through the cemetery - horse powered or otherwise - a no more than four miles per hour.  Monty says that he thinks the cemetery association gave lot owners tickets of admission to the fenced and locked property, and comments that the cemetery association forbid large assemblies of people, including school groups and unaccompanied children from visiting the grounds.  Finally, on Sundays and holidays the cemetery entrance was closed until 1 p.m. and nobody was admitted.

Over the years rules have changed to fit the times, and always reflect an effort to maintain an orderly, dignified and safe public property. 

Judges and Legislators

Oak Hill Cemetery features monuments to a number of men who helped shape the laws of both Wisconsin and the USA, and who served as respected judges.  I got the idea from a chapter from Maurice Montgomery's self-published book, Memory Walks in Oak Hill Cemetery, and some of the biographical information.  A few of the people on this walk were not in his book, and information comes from both published histories and information published in the Janesville Gazette.  You should be able to locate all the graves if you either get a map from the cemetery office (Monday - Friday 10 A.M. until 1 P.M.) or see previous blog entries and run off a copy for yourself.

1.  Ithamar Conkey Sloan (block 6, hillside vault)

People are curious about the sealed hillside vault near the chapel.  Sloan constructed the vault for his entire family - about a dozen people. Originally the vault was faced with marble and featured the family name, but only the core and sod roof remain today.

Despite his odd name, Sloan was a highly respected man, Born in Madison County, New York state, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1848.  Six years later he came to Janesville, where in 1858 and 1860 he was elected District Attorney for Rock County.  In both 1862 and 1864 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served on committees dealing with public lands and war expenses.  When Lincoln was assassinated, Sloan represented Wisconsin at the President's funeral.

After the Civil War ended he returned to Janesville and practiced law.  In 1875 he moved to Madison and became the Assistant Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, under his brother, Andrew Scott Sloan, who was Attorney General for the state. One of his last acts as Wisconsin's Assistant Attorney General was to present the petition of Lavinia Goodell, fellow Janesville lawyer and friend, to appear before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Although Miss Goodell's petition was denied by the supreme court, later Wisconsin law was rewritten to allow any qualified person - including a woman - to practice before that court.  Later Sloan was Dean of the law school at the University of Wisconsin.

2.  Edward Vernon Whiton (block 35)

Edward Whiton was born and educated in Massachusetts, and studied the law there as well. As a young man in his thirties he came west and settled down in a cabin east of Janesville, and became a lawyer here.  In 1847 he married Amoret Dimock, a woman whose brother Edward had ties to the Tallman family.  E.V. Whiton was involved in Wisconsin Territorial government, working on statutes for governing the territory, and serving as a member of the territorial legislature.  When the state government was organized Edward Whiton was elected judge of the 1st circuit, which included Rock County, and that also made him a justice of the Wisconsin state court.

When the Wisconsin Supreme Court was organized in 1853, Whiton was elected Chief Justice, and served until his early death in 1859.  Whiton, who was widely admired, had a part in a number of important cases.  One was connected to the Fugitive Slave Act, which held that all cases involving runaway slaves were automatically federal cases, and had a special commission whose duty it was to return such slaves to their southern owners.  Joshua Glover was a black man owned by  B.S. Garland, a Missouri slave owner.  In 1854 Glover was captured and jailed in Milwaukee, but when federal officials attempted to return him to to Mr. Garland, angry Wisconsinites surrounded the jail, attacked it with shovels, pick axes and other implements, and released Mr. Glover, rushing him to Racine.  Several people were arrested in this incident, including Sherman Booth, a Milwaukee newspaper editor, who was convicted of violating the Fugitive Slave Law.  The case was appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Judge Edward Whiton wrote an opinion that the Fugitive Slave Act was wrong, because  it attempted to give federal commissioners judicial powers, and because that denied accused fugitives the right to trial by jury. 


3.  Harmon Sweatland Conger (block 92)

You are looking for a draped and tasseled marble block not far from the road the runs up the right side of the chapel, up quite near the Tallman plot.

H.S. Conger was born in Cortland County, New York, in 1816.  He grew up on the family farm and attended a local academy before studying law in the office of Horatio Ballard.  Conger was admitted to the bar of New York, and worked at the Court of Common Pleas and the Supreme Court of New York at Utica.  While he was still studying law he purchased a local newspaper, The Cortland County Whig, in which he editorialized in favor of Henry Clay for President in 1841. In 1847 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

Conger married Lucy Canfield, who was six years younger than he was, in 1845. They moved to Janesville where she died in 1861. Several years later he married a second time, this time to Mary Adelaide Atkinson.

By 1870 he was elected circuit judge of the newly created 12th Circuit Court.  It was during that time that Lavinia Goodell applied for admission to practice law, and seeing no reason why she should not be permitted to do so, he admitted her to local practice.

In the last few years of his life Conger was painfully afflicted with rheumatism, and  he found no medicine that gave him relief.  He died at home in Janesville in 1882, and his obituary in the Janesville Gazette was very complimentary saying ...(H)e gave the country more than a quarter century of the best efforts of his life. His friends can say that there is no stain of dishonor upon it, or deed which will throw back a shadow.

4.  Otis West Norton (block 91)

 Otis West Norton, a New York state native son, was father of Mrs. Edgar Tallman and his gray granite family monument is very near that of the Tallman family.  His obituary, which ran in the Janesville Gazette in 1889, does a good job of summarizing some of his accomplishments.

DEATH OF HON. OTIS W. NORTON

Rock County's Representative in the Earliest Wisconsin Legislatures

The End Comes at Three O'clock This Morning After Prolonged Illness

The life of one of the earliest pioneers of Rock county ended at three o'clock this morning by the death of Hon. Otis W. Norton, at the residence of his son-in-law, Mr. E.D. Tallman, North Jackson street. Besides his wife, Mr. Norton leaves a family of five children; Mrs. H.D. Ewer of Milwaukee; Mrs. E.D. Tallman of this city; Mrs. Spencer Eldredge of Dwight, Illinois; Mrs. Charles D. Cory of St. Johns, New Brunswick; Mr. George O. Norton, agent of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railway in Pueblo, Colorado. All the family will be present on Friday afternoon a 1 o'clock, except Mrs. Cory, who is unable to attend on account of her recent severe attack of pneumonia."

Otis W. Norton was an American businessman from Rock County, Wisconsin who served for three years (1848–1850) as a a Whig member of the Wisconsin State Senate from the 15th Senate District; his home town at that time is listed as Milton. He was succeeded in the Senate by Andrew Palmer, a Democrat.

In 1853, he was listed as one of the directors of the Beloit and Madison Railroad and is reported to be living in Janesville. He was President of the Central Bank of Wisconsin in Janesville (later to become the First National Bank of Janesville) when it opened in October 1855, and served as a bondsman for the bank from 1855-1858. He appears in a 1858 Janesville city directory, with his presidency of the Central Bank and Norton & Co. (grain, produce and commercial merchants, and freight forwarding) listed as his businesses; he was on the board of directors of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of the City of Janesville, and of the Janesville Gas Light Company.

5.  Abraham Close Bailey (block 76)

The headstone you are looking for is gray granite, and low to the ground, probably a modern replacement stone.

Abraham Close Bailey was also from New York state.   He grew to young manhood there,
graduated from Union College in Schenectady, and later studied law with Judge Hayes in that same city.  He was admitted to the bar in New York, practiced as an attorney, and was admitted as an attorney of the state Supreme Court.

He might have continued practicing law in New York, except that his two cousins, Eliphalet and William Cramer, decided to travel west and see a bit of the country.  Bailey decided to join them, and they took a boat to Buffalo, and traveled over the Great Lakes to Milwaukee.  From there they acquired a wagon and traveled over corduroy roads and swampy land to this area. Abraham Bailey purchased land in Rock country, but his cousins sought their fortunes by returning to Milwaukee.

Bailey was admitted to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in 1841.  He married and began his family, built one of the first brick houses in Janesville, held the offices of court commissioner, justice of the peace, and judge of probate.  He was a lawyer in  Edward Whiton's law firm, and at one time shared an office with that man.

In 1860 his health was failing, and he went to Racine for treatment.  While he was there he caught a severe cold which culminated in quick consumption, and he passed away in 1861.

6.  Moses S. Prichard (block 74)

According to the Portrait and Biographical Album of Rock County, Moses S. Prichard was born in Vermont in 1822.  He was educated at the University of Vermont, studied law, and was admitted to practice law there in 1844.

In 1845 he came to Janesville, forming a law partnership with A. Hyatt Smith.  After that partnership was dissolved, he joined the office of Judge David Noggle, and over the years formed several different law partnerships.   He also held various public offices. In 1846 he was elected Justice of the Peace, serving several years.  In 1853 he resigned as Justice of the Peace and became the County Judge of Rock County, serving four years in that position. In 1878 he was elected Police Justice, and served in that position until 1889.

He married Betsey True in 1847 and raised a family of five children.  In addition he was a member of the Odd Fellows lodge No. 14, and by all accounts was a hard working and respected member of the community.

7.  Zebulon Palmer Burdick (block 69)

The family monument for the Burdicks is quite large, gray granite.

Zebulon Palmer Burdick was born in New York in 1806, and received his early education there.  Like others on this walk he studied law and was admitted to the New York bar, practiced law, married and started his family in that state.   His first wife died young, and he remarried to Philena Brock, and in 1849 emigrated west with her to Rock County.  He purchased a farm, built a log cabin and then later a more substantial home, and over time became prosperous, raising stock and some tobacco.

But Burdick was not only a local farmer.  For fifteen years he was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, and in 1858 was elected a member of the Wisconsin General Assembly. In 1859 he was elected a State Senator, and and was reelected the following year. Ten years later he was again elected to the State Legislature, occupying a seat in the House, and serving there until 1875.  In 1854 he was elected the third president of the Agricultural Society and was generally politically active locally,  first supporting a radical party called the Barnburners, and later on becoming a staunch Republican.

8.  John Winans (block 70)

It shouldn't be too hard to spot the medium sized gray granite monument for the Winans family, and John Winan's low gray headstone is very nearby.

John Winans was a native of New Jersey, born in 1831.  He was admitted to law practice before both the circuit and supreme courts of New Jersey before he came to Janesville in 1857.  Here in Janesville Winans partnered with Ogden Fethers, and later added Malcolm Mouat and Malcolm Jeffris to the law firm.

Winans was politically active, a lifelong Democrat in a strongly Republican area.  He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly four different times. In 1882 he was elected to federal office representing the 1st Congressional District, serving until 1885.  In addition he served as Janesville City Attorney from 1865 until 1875.  In 1885 he was elected mayor, and served for two years.  During his time as mayor he worked hard to improve city infrastructure - including overseeing the implementation of street light rail, a pumping station on South River street, water-powered electric service and the installation of street lights, gates at railway crossings, and the organization of the Wisconsin Telephone Company. He died at home in 1907, seventy-five years of age.

9.  David Noggle (block 71)

It should be easy to spot the tall gray granite monument for the Noggles, and you should be able to see David Noggle's small headstone, which is simply marked "Father."

Judge David Noggle was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1809 to parents who were pioneer farmers.  Despite his somewhat poverty-stricken youth, he worked hard, moved to Illinois once he was married, and trained to be a lawyer.  In 1838 after taking a difficult exam for the Supreme Court of Illinois, he was admitted to the bar in that state.  A year later he sold his farm and moved to Beloit, where he opened a law office which served primarily Winnebago, Boone and Rock counties.  In 1840 he was appointed Postmaster of Beloit, and five years later he moved to Janesville where he was elected a member of the First Constitutional Convention for the state of Wisconsin, where he was in favor of an elected judiciary and the rights of married women.  In 1854 he was elected to the State Legislature from the Janesville district.  He was elected judge of the First Judicial Circuit (Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Rock and Green Counties) in 1858.  He had a fine reputation as a fair and impartial jurist, and in 1866 he retired from the bench.

For a time he lived in Iowa and worked as an attorney for the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. But then he returned to Beloit, built a lovely home, and returned to law practice there.  In 1869 President Grant appointed him to the position of Chief Justice of the Territory of Idaho, a position he held until 1874, when failing health forced him to resign.

Noggle was a Democrat, until the formation of the Republican party, when he switched.  In 1844 he was a delegate to the National Convention that nominated President Polk, and he was a delegate again in 1852 for President Pierce, and in 1860 for President Lincoln.

After his death 1878 he was remembered for his intelligence, gentlemanly appearance and demeanor, his public speaking ability, and his lifelong dedication to public service.

10. Ralph Gunn (block 187)

The Gunn family monument is modern and elegant, a gray granite slab with a kneeling and praying angel at the side.  It can be found within the circular drive area, sometimes called the park within a park.

Ralph Gunn was a native of Rockford, Illinois, born in 1916.  He grew up around Manitowoc, where he attended school. As a young pan he contracted polio, when left his legs useless.  This did not prevent him from graduating from the University of Wisconsin law school in 1944, when he was twenty-eight years of age.

As a lawyer he was particularly interested in issues concerning juvenile protection and court procedures.  He spent much of his time working with young people , serving as advisor the the Janesville Senior Hi-Y club at the YMCA, and as a member of the board of the National YMCA, and the North Central  Area YMCA. For many years he was chairman of the juvenile protection committee of the Wisconsin Congress of Parents and Teachers, and was president of the Wisconsin State Board of Criminal Court Judges.  In 1947 he was elected judge of the Rock County Municipal Court - later called Rock County Court Branch 2.

He was president of the Janesville Rotary club in the 1950's, and a member of the board of directors of the Rock County Historical Society.  He served as president of the RCHS in 1954.  He also was active in all aspects of the Mt. Zion United Brethren church.

Gunn died when he was just 45 years of age in 1962.  His obituary called his passing a "tragic loss," and remarked on his dedication to his family and to the larger community.

11. Stephen Bolles (block 210)

Bolles has a small upright headstone in a shady area.

Stephen Bolles was born in northwestern Pennsylvania in 1866.  His mother was a teacher and his father a lumberjack and mill superintendent,  When he was young the family moved to Waushara County in Wisconsin, and young Bolles attended public schools in  Wisconsin, and college at Slippery Rock Normal School in Pennsylvania.

After graduating Bolles went into newspaper work, becoming first a reporter for the Toledo Blade.  Later he was managing editor of the newspaper.  By 1894 he was the publisher of the Erie Dispatch, and later managing editor of the Buffalo Times and several other regional papers.  In 1920 he was hired as the editor of the Janesville Gazette, and stayed with that newspaper until 1938. Locally Bolles was very active, organizing the Good Times Club for rural youth. At one point the club had five thousand members.  He also was active in the organization of 4-H clubs in the county, and encouraged the farm women's movement.  He was always interested in issues pertaining to farmers and rural young people, and featured articles about them often in the Gazette.  He was a promoter of the council-manager for of city government and promoted its adoption on the editorial page of the newspaper.  Eventually this form of city governance was adopted, and Henry Traxler became the first city manager in 1922.

Bolles was a tireless writer and public speaker.  During his time with the Gazette he spoke to about 800 audiences and appeared on WCLO talk shows about 500 times.  Many of his speeches were published in the newspaper, and covered a range of topics including the character of Abraham Lincoln, America's struggle for peace, and issues pertaining to the State School for the Deaf.

He was active in politics throughout his life, serving on various Republican committees, campaigning for candidates and reporting on elections.  In 1938 he was elected to congress from Wisconsin's First Congressional District. His nickname became the "Cow Congressman" for his strong support of the Wisconsin dairy industry,  He opposed margarine substitutes for butter and a promoted increased in butter and cheese rations in military diets.  A political conservative, his campaigned again the United States becoming involved in World War II.  He died in Washington D.C. in 1941, at age seventy-five.

A quick note - It's difficult choosing who to include in a walk.  There are almost always more interesting people than one has time to include in a walk that lasts about an hour.  Some of the graves simply do not fit neatly into a convenient route.  A few of the judges and legislators that I omitted from this walk include Charles Grandison Williams (block 71), John Meek Whitehead (block 253), Andrew Palmer (block 275), James Sutherland (block 117), Charles Leavitt Fifield (block 131), Harry Fox (block 237), Charles Henry Lange (block 243), and Allen Perry Lovejoy (block 275). You can find out more about these men by going to Find a Grave, Oak Hill, Janesville.