"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.