Those Memorial Day Photos Part I

Like thousands of other motorists passing by the Stringtown Cemetery along the north side of Highway 34, I have long been entranced, curious, and captivated by the woman gazing across the prairie from atop this large monument. As a child I thought it must be the likeness of the woman buried there. As a young woman, married into the family of nearby farmers, I learned the stone belonged to the most prominent land owners in the Stringtown community. Many years later when I was driving the Senior Citizens' bus in Corning, I came to know and love a woman who was the granddaughter of Henry and Sophia Reese.
The 1984 Adams County History Book says the Reese's gave a two-acre parcel of their farm for the cemetery in 1872. It also states that the marker was designed to look like a similar marker the Reese's had seen while on vacation. It was sculpted from marble imported from Italy.
If you Google Henry C. Reese, Adams County, Iowa, you can find more information about the Reese's, including that they were originally from Germany.....

.....which is where Konrad Schaeffer and his wife Elizabeth originated. (Konrad from Prussia before it became part of Germany.) His mother, Elizabeth, was buried at Stringtown in 1873, apparently one of the earliest gravesites if the cemetery was founded in 1872.
From the 1984 Adams County History Book: After their marriage, Konrad and Lizzie made their way from Pittsburgh, PA to Columbiana County, Ohio (just across the Ohio River from West Virginia) thence, by flatboat down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi River to St. Louis then across the Missouri River to Iowa. "Somewhere along this route, the flatboat caught fire and they lost all their possessions. Konrad was badly burned about the face and hair. People of Nebraska City, NE took up a collection to purchase a team of horses and wagon so the family could get to their destination in Adams County, Iowa where they purchased land in Mercer Township." That farm is two miles directly west of the Stringtown Cemetery and, until recently was still owned by descendants of Konrad and Lizzie.

My husband, Bud, is a great-great-grandson of Konrad and Lizzie.

Moving on down the highway to Lenox and East Fairview Cemetery where other Schaffer descendants (now sans the first 'e') are buried, is this one I admire because it is in the shape of Iowa. It is the marker of one of Bud's cousins, also a great-great-grandson of Konrad and Lizzie.

This stone caught my eye because it is so simple and because the name is in cursive. J. A. Cless and his brother, E.G. Cless, operated a hardware and implement business in Lenox for many years under the name of "Cless Brothers".

Another ornate old marker near Bud's parents' gravesite was this one. I neglected to write down the name, so now can't search for info on who is buried here. I just liked the shape, decoration and age of the stone.

The only photo I took at Maple Grove Cemetery near Guss was the monument at the front "In Memory of the Defenders of Our Union 1861-1865".

Back to Adams County and Prairie Rose Cemetery where my parents, sister and nephew are buried, you will find this Kerns family marker for Elizabeth Kennedy Kerns, her son and his wife. It is in the middle of the cemetery under an evergreen tree. (The husband and father, Thomas Kerns, is buried in Monmouth, IL.) This marker is not significant for its age or style. No, I took the photo because I noticed something new which had been added last year....

.....next to the small D.P.K. stone (for Darius P. Kerns) was a memorial provided by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. I remember seeing a photo and the name of Darius Kerns as the last Adams County Civil War Veteran in the Adams County History Book, but for some reason, I thought he was from the eastern side of the county. I never realized until this memorial marker was placed that he was buried at Prairie Rose. He was a Private in Co. F, 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. Born April 2, 1844 at Gettysburg, PA, died July 29, 1939 in Corning, IA, aged 95. (79 years ago today) (Googling his name will find you more about his service record on the Find A Grave site.)

This picture I took simply because markers in the shape of trees have always fascinated me. John Doty is the name on this marker. He died in 1890 at age 36.

The tallest stone at Prairie Rose Cemetery belongs to the Leonard family, parents Daniel and Jane and three of their children: Sarah, Luzanna and Harry. My Dad's first cousin married one of Daniel and Jane's great-grandsons. The Leonard's settled in Holt Twp. in northern Taylor County in 1856. Their descendants were pillars of the Fairview Church community, people I have known my whole life.

Tomorrow, Part II.