May Tour for the Association for Gravestone Studies

This walk is designed for out-of-town visitors to historic Oak Hill cemetery, who might not recognize local names from city street and county road names or from historic buildings or parks.  The walk is a fairly compact circle walk that showcases selected outstanding monuments and headstones, and mentions some names that might be familiar to people coming from outside of Rock County.  It also shows how the symbols in the chapel stained glass are repeated in some of the headstones and monuments.

Oak Hill cemetery today covers more than 90 acres, and contains more than 24,000 graves, about half its capacity.  The oldest blocks are located on either side of the road that runs uphill to the right of the chapel, and this walk is limited to these areas.  Although there are thousands of interesting monuments dedicated to Rock County residents, there are hundreds of unmarked burials as well, so when you see an open space, do not assume the space is empty.  At Oak Hill it is nearly impossible to avoid treading on the dead.  

There are some fairly famous people buried here, from military heroes from many conflicts such as Medal of Honor recipient James E. Croft, to athletes like race car driver Stan Fox or lightweight boxing champion Sammy Mandell, to politicians such as congressman Stephen Bolles.  There is even the third director of the National Park Service, Arno Cammerer, who has a peak in the Great Smoky Mountains named after him.  Then of course there is George Parker, who founded the world famous Parker Pen Company.

Oak Hill is Janesville's oldest operating burial ground, but not its first.  The first cemetery was located where Jefferson Park is now, in the old Courthouse Hill neighborhood.  This first cemetery served the area's earliest pioneer settlers, most of whom came to Rock County in the 1830's and 1840's, many of them Yankees from New England.  Janesville grew quickly, and by 1851 city leaders decided to build a public high school on the site of the original village cemetery.  This caused an outcry for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that the early settlers buried in that location had to be dug up and carted across town to the new cemetery and re-interred, on land outside the city limits donated by the Rock County Board of Supervisors, Oak Hill.

For many years the Oak Hill Cemetery Association oversaw the operation and maintenance of the burial ground.  They sold lots, paved roads, planted trees and bushes, maintained fences, fountains and gardens, and in 1899-1900 built the chapel, whose renovation is nearly complete.  The cemetery association was dissolved several  years ago, and the cemetery is currently being operated and maintained by the City of Janesville.

Oak Hill is is an example of a rural garden cemetery, similar to, though smaller than cemeteries like Mount Auburn cemetery, near Boston, or Forest Home in Milwaukee.  It was designed to celebrate nature, with roads and paths that follow the contours of the land, landscaping and gardens, and many mature trees.  It was intended to be, besides a place to respectfully bury loved ones, a beautiful public park where people could go to enjoy nature, perhaps even enjoy a picnic.  The monuments and headstones in these rural cemeteries, unlike the practical low maintenance markers popular today, tended to be vertical in a style which demonstrates the popularity of classical Greek and Roman architecture, and all things Egyptian.  So visitors see columns and obelisks, urns, sculptures, and monuments that resemble small temples.  Around the time that Oak Hill was established technical advancements made it easier to carve and transport very hard stone, so while there are many markers carved in soft limestone and marble, we also see many carved in durable granite.

The first stop on the walk is at the hillside vault of the family of Ithamar Conkey Sloan.  Sloan was a congressman who served during Abraham Lincoln's administration, and was associated with the University of Wisconsin law school.  Today there are only two family vaults at Oak Hill, this one and one on the other side of the road, that belonged to the Follansbee family.  Originally these vaults had marble facings, with the names of family members engraved on them, but all these decorations are now gone, either due to weathering or vandalism.  I know of two other vaults here that have been removed.  Before the chapel was built there was a vault for storing bodies in the winter, when the ground was too hard to dig, and the Judd family had a vault, but they tore it down in 1908 and reburied family members in traditional graves which we'll see later.

I.C. Sloan family vault (block 6)

One of the newly restored stained glass windows in the chapel features a lamb and flag, which is a visual representation of Jesus as the Lamb of God.  Most of the lambs on headstones here at Oak Hill are similar to this one for young George Carle.  Lambs can also represent innocence.

George Carle lamb (block 6)

There are two family monuments at Oak Hill which are in the shape of a tree trunk with lopped off limbs representing departed family members.  Monuments like these used to be fairly common, and it's fun to try and spot them in a wooded cemetery.  This one is for the Orin Dearborn family, and it features twining ivy and a cross.  Notice the small carved logs that mark the boundaries of the plot. Orin Dearborn was a Baptist minister here in Janesville.

Rev. Orin Dearborn family tree monument (block 16)

When I take people on tours of the cemetery this headstone is always a favorite.  Gerald "Dad" Braisher was Packer football coach Vince Lombardi's equipment manager.  Mr. Braisher was the person who designed the now famous Packer "G" seen on the helmet here.

Gerald Braisher - Packer "G" logo (block 23)

We're stopping at the family monument of Capt. William Dick Cargill, both because it is a lovely featuring lilies and palm fronds, but because the Cargill name is so widely known.  Captain Cargill was born in the Orkney Islands of Scotland and sailed out of Scotland first, and later out of Long Island.  His wife Edna was reported to have hated the sea, and did not want any of her four sons to grow up near it.  So Capt. Cargill retired to Rock County and became a gentleman farmer, and their sons founded the Cargill grain business that eventually became the agribusiness giant we know today.

Capt. William Dick Cargill family monument (block 23)

This stop at the Kimball family plot is to see the beautiful monument belonging to Josie Kimball Conant.  Her parents ran a successful hardware business here and in Missouri, and she  married Conant in 1879.  Her rustic cradle monument features a rock wall, various flowers, ferns, ivy, and a curbed area that originally held a flower bed.  Watch out walking here - there are woodchuck burrows!

Josie Kimball Conant -  rusticated flower bed (block 97)

This block is dedicated to members of the W.H. Sargent Post No. 20 of the G.A.R., Grand Army of the Republic.   More than 2, 800 Rock County men served in the Civil War, and the local G.A.R. Post was organized in 1881 with 42 charter members, and was named after Lt. W.H. Sargent of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment who was killed in 1864 in Tennessee.  Some of these stones mark actual burials and some are cenotaphs.  The corners of the block are marked by small cannon muzzles and cannon balls.  Interestingly, W.H. Sargent is buried elsewhere in the cemetery.

W.H. Sargent Post No. 20 G.A.R.  (block 99)

Just a quick stop here to mention on of my favorite unusual names here at Oak Hill.  There are lots of interesting names, like Electa Bangs, Joe Blow, or Manley Fish.  But I like Orlando Florida's name especially well.  One of the men who mows grass in the summer told me when his supervisor asked him how far he got in his mowing, he replied "as far as Orlando Florida."

 

Orlando Florida (block 101)

Up the road from the Florida family, and across from the Tallman plot is a large wooded area that have relatively few headstones.  This is the public grounds, also known as the Potter's Field area of Oak Hill, where those who cannot afford to purchase a cemetery plot are buried.  There are many indigent men and women, itinerant workers, and children buried here.  Sometimes the families added a headstone later, so some of the burials are marked, but most are not.

Public Grounds (Potter's Field, block 121, 122, 123)

The impressive red granite monument here marks the plot of the William Morrison Tallman family.  Today the Tallmans' homes are maintained and operated as public attractions by the Rock County Historical Society.  William Morrison Tallman's house is a lovely brick home where Abraham Lincoln really did spend a couple of nights when he was running for President.   The pretty white marble monument featuring a young woman pointing toward heaven next to the family monument is dedicated to Augusta Tallman Beach, who died as a young wife in Chicago.

Augusta Beach and the Tallman family (block 89)

Elias Childs was a stone cutter from New York, and while his headstone is plain, those of his wife and daughter are anything but plain.  Dia and Frances Childs' stone is a pair of short tree trunks on a low wall of rocks, each with a scroll, rope tied in a knot, and rose - in one in full bloom and one in bud. 

Dia Childs and daughter's rusticated headstone (block 86)

I do not know very much about Ephraim Spalding, other than he was the son of a veteran of the War of 1812, but I have always admired the sheaf of wheat that marks his resting place.  You probably remember the same symbol on the window in the chapel, representing a life come to fruition.

Ephraim Spalding - Sheaf of Wheat (block 75)

Notice the small marker dedicated to "Ira," with the symbol of the anchor.  This symbol might stand for the idea of hope, or safety, or even be a veiled reference to the holy cross.

Ira - Anchor (block 75)

 

If you look across the road you'll see a large monument dedicated to Janesville Freemasons  Many headstones at Oak Hill feature the compass and square, this monument features Masonic symbols on each of the four faces of the marker, including the cross and crown of the Knights Templar, which you will remember from the window in the chapel.

Masonic Monument - Knights Templar symbol of cross and crown (block 157)

Speaking of Masonic symbols, this headstone marking the final resting place of Charles A. Brown, features a broken column, a weeping virgin with a book, and a sprig of acacia, an urn, and Father Time holding a scythe.  All are symbols of mortality, but this particular image is related to Freemasonry.  Charles Brown was a dedicated Mason.

Charles Brown - Father Time and the Weeping Virgin (block 91)

It is unfortunate that Thomas Nichols' headstone has recently toppled.  I've always liked the image of the train car on his marker.  In life he was a conductor for the Chicago and Northwestern railroad.

Thomas Nichols - train car (block 91)

 George Bentley fought for the Union in the Civil War, and was killed in Perryville, Kentucky, in 1862.  His impressive stone includes a shield, sword, and his cap.

Capt. George Bentley - cap, shield and sword (block 91)

Heading back toward the chapel off to the left it is easy to miss the other large tree monument at Oak Hill, dedicated to the family of  Henry Culver.  Culver, originally from New York, made his fortune in manufacturing in New England, and later in life moved to Rock county to farm.  The monument features many unique touches including a cross, a book at the base of the tree with family names inscribed, and even a tiny mouse.

Henry Culver family tree monument (block 83)

This is the family plot for the James Crosby family.  Crosby was a wealthy man from New York who  came to Janesville in 1852 and became the general manager of the Harris Manufacturing Company, and later an was an officer of the Rock County National Bank.  He is buried here with his wife Andalusia, and daughters Alice and Jessie.  I like to think the pretty girl featured on their monument represents their daughter Alice, who died as a schoolgirl in New York of scarlet fever.   The figure points to heaven, and holds a scroll and an anchor, and there is also a dove similar to the one featured on the chapel window.

James Crosby and family - lady, dove, anchor (block 30)

 The tall gray granite obelisk ahead marks the burial spot of Judge Edward Whiton, a man important in Wisconsin history.  Originally from Massachusetts, he came to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and became a member of the Wisconsin Territory assembly the following year.  When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, Whiton was elected circuit judge, and joined four other circuit judges to form the first Wisconsin Supreme Court.  He was elected chief justice in 1853, and served with integrity and honesty.

Judge Edward Whiton and family (block 35)

You may remember the memorial window in the chapel dedicated to William Starr Judd.  The young boy was the son of Dr. William Judd, a well respected local doctor who came from a family of physicians.  The son died from diphtheria after accompanying his father to a patient's home during a local outbreak, and became infected himself. 

Dr. William Judd and family - memorial window in chapel (block 38)

Our last stop today is at the family plot of several family members of Carrie Jacobs Bond, widely considered the first great American woman composer, who penned The End of a Perfect Day, and I Love You Truly. Carrie is buried in California, but her second husband, Frank Lewis Bond, is buried here.  He married Carrie in 1888, and died only seven years later after suffering a fall.  Hannibal Jacobs and Mary Davis Jacobs Minor, Carrie's parents, are also buried here.

Dr. Frank Lewis Bond and family - husband of Carrie Jacobs Bond (block 39)

This concludes today's tour.  I hope you had a "perfect day" here at Oak Hill, and enjoyed getting a little overview of this lovely cemetery.  Thank you for coming, and please watch your step on the road as you return.

"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.