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Volunteers join together to restore rural cemetery
For the daily gate City
WYTHE TOWNSHIP, Ill. - In the early evening hours of Tuesday, May 25, in the middle of a timbered area in rural Hamilton, Ill., Bob Wagner, pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, conducted a quiet but significant re-dedication ceremony at the Winans/Jackson Cemetery.
The cemetery would have been lost completely if Larry Cooper of Hamilton and his helpers, Robert Burnett and Brian Lamma, had not re-discovered, witched and then spend numerous hours cleaning and clearing the area.
Only one stone had an identity in the cemetery. Finding more than 20 other remains, the men put down stones and rocks to mark their location.
Members of the Hancock County Historical Society, the Wythe Cemetery Board and neighbors and friends were among those paying their respects to a cemetery that memorializes the past and offers a unique view of area history, culture and way of life, said Karen Taylor of the historical society.
"These historic cemeteries add much to our understanding of Hancock County, Illinois, and it's people," she said.
Through research of the deed it was discovered that Mary (Bavington) Jackson, who sold her property to Alfred and Anna Winans. Jackson's heirs are buried in the cemetery but exactly who they were and when they were buried are not known.
The only stone legible in the Winans/Jackson Cemetery is that of Chauncey Winans, the great grandson of Alfred and Anne Winans. He was born in 1883 and lived to be 15-months old.
Through the study of the genealogical records it is believed that several Winans are buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery.
Chauncey Winan's father, Wilson Ross Winans, and family headed for their final destination of Hood River, Ore., in 1885, not long after his death.
It is stated in the Winan's genealogy file at the Hancock County Historical Society that Alfred Lincoln Winans was born in New York City on Dec. 31, 1803.
On Dec. 31, 1824, he was married to Mrs. King (Anna Hutchinson), a widow lady from Ireland, born Nov. 29, 1799. In 1830 they moved to McKean County, Penn., and to Jacksonville, Ill., around 1836.
In as early as 1840, the Winans built on the bluff in the north part of Section 6 in Wythe Township, where the Hancock County Census lists themâ as having four sons: Edgar W. born in 1825 in New York; Alfred, born in 1828 in New York; Ephriam, born 1832 in New York; and Henry, born 1836 in Pennsylvania.
Winans and his family lived in the vicinity of Warsaw (Hamilton had not yet been founded), living lives of hardship in a newly settled community with few schools and churches, according to historical society documentation.
In March 1854, Mary (Bavington) Jackson sold her property in Wythe Township, including the family cemetery, to Alfred and Anne Winans for $800.
Alfred and his sons were always active and zealous temperance reformers, working in various organizations for the suppression of the liquor traffic, according to the historical society.
They also were free soldiers and during the troubles in Kansas, Mr. Winans and his two sons, Henry and Alfred, immigrated to that state and became active partisans of the Free State Party, believing in and supporters of Osawatomie (William) Brown and his followers.
Alfred served as Justice of the Peace of Records in 1851 and as a grand juror from Wythe Township in 1855. He died in Topeka, Kan., on Oct. 20, 1872. His wife returned to Hancock County and possibly is buried in the Winans/Jackson Cemetery.
Edgar married Elizabeth Kinney, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Kinney of Hamilton, on Dec. 4, 1847, and had eight children: Audobon, Linnaeus, Wilson, Martha, Margaret, Ephriam, Elizabeth, and Alfred L.
Although it is not known exactly who is buried in the Winans/Jackson Cemetery, the cemetery will be listed in Wythe Township records and will be cleaned and maintained by the Wythe Cemetery Board.
The cemetery is on private property and cannot be accessed without permission.
WYTHE TOWNSHIP, Ill. - In the early evening hours of Tuesday, May 25, in the middle of a timbered area in rural Hamilton, Ill., Bob Wagner, pastor of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, conducted a quiet but significant re-dedication ceremony at the Winans/Jackson Cemetery.
The cemetery would have been lost completely if Larry Cooper of Hamilton and his helpers, Robert Burnett and Brian Lamma, had not re-discovered, witched and then spend numerous hours cleaning and clearing the area.
Only one stone had an identity in the cemetery. Finding more than 20 other remains, the men put down stones and rocks to mark their location.
Members of the Hancock County Historical Society, the Wythe Cemetery Board and neighbors and friends were among those paying their respects to a cemetery that memorializes the past and offers a unique view of area history, culture and way of life, said Karen Taylor of the historical society.
"These historic cemeteries add much to our understanding of Hancock County, Illinois, and it's people," she said.
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The only stone legible in the Winans/Jackson Cemetery is that of Chauncey Winans, the great grandson of Alfred and Anne Winans. He was born in 1883 and lived to be 15-months old.
Through the study of the genealogical records it is believed that several Winans are buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery.
Chauncey Winan's father, Wilson Ross Winans, and family headed for their final destination of Hood River, Ore., in 1885, not long after his death.
It is stated in the Winan's genealogy file at the Hancock County Historical Society that Alfred Lincoln Winans was born in New York City on Dec. 31, 1803.
On Dec. 31, 1824, he was married to Mrs. King (Anna Hutchinson), a widow lady from Ireland, born Nov. 29, 1799. In 1830 they moved to McKean County, Penn., and to Jacksonville, Ill., around 1836.
In as early as 1840, the Winans built on the bluff in the north part of Section 6 in Wythe Township, where the Hancock County Census lists themâ as having four sons: Edgar W. born in 1825 in New York; Alfred, born in 1828 in New York; Ephriam, born 1832 in New York; and Henry, born 1836 in Pennsylvania.
Winans and his family lived in the vicinity of Warsaw (Hamilton had not yet been founded), living lives of hardship in a newly settled community with few schools and churches, according to historical society documentation.
In March 1854, Mary (Bavington) Jackson sold her property in Wythe Township, including the family cemetery, to Alfred and Anne Winans for $800.
Alfred and his sons were always active and zealous temperance reformers, working in various organizations for the suppression of the liquor traffic, according to the historical society.
They also were free soldiers and during the troubles in Kansas, Mr. Winans and his two sons, Henry and Alfred, immigrated to that state and became active partisans of the Free State Party, believing in and supporters of Osawatomie (William) Brown and his followers.
Alfred served as Justice of the Peace of Records in 1851 and as a grand juror from Wythe Township in 1855. He died in Topeka, Kan., on Oct. 20, 1872. His wife returned to Hancock County and possibly is buried in the Winans/Jackson Cemetery.
Edgar married Elizabeth Kinney, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Kinney of Hamilton, on Dec. 4, 1847, and had eight children: Audobon, Linnaeus, Wilson, Martha, Margaret, Ephriam, Elizabeth, and Alfred L.
Although it is not known exactly who is buried in the Winans/Jackson Cemetery, the cemetery will be listed in Wythe Township records and will be cleaned and maintained by the Wythe Cemetery Board.
The cemetery is on private property and cannot be accessed without permission.
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