Ash’s to Ash’s
We just returned from Montgomery County, Illinois where we revisited two family cemeteries. Three years ago we visited the Roberts Cemetery just outside of Honey Bend, IL and the Cass/Bluegrass Cemetery. When we last visited many of the stones were very weathered, broken or partially buried in the ground. The weather was also very hot and the cemeteries overgrown. I hoped returning in the winter equipped with my “cemetery kit” we would be better able to read and photograph the stones.
The Roberts Cemetery is located within the Roberts Cemetery Savanna. The savanna has been labeled as a “Illinois Nature Preserve”. Information from the Litchfield IL website states: “This natural area has been formally dedicated as a sanctuary for native vegetation and wildlife. It is maintained in its natural condition so that present and future generations can see the Illinois Landscape as it appeared to the pioneers.” Nice for the citizens of Illinois but a nightmare for anyone who might have family buried in this cemetery. To get to the graves you need to wade a quarter of a mile through chest high prairie grasses, small trees and brambles. I commend the setting aside of native areas but I do wish they would keep the areas around the stones free from the overgrowth. I am afraid in a few years many of the stones will be buried and lost forever. We proceeded to “disturb” the area and dig up Elijah Ash’s large obelisk style tombstone. The stone had clearly fallen off its base many decades ago and was buried in at least one foot of soil. When the stone was erected we found an inscription on the backside for his second wife Mary Ann. Mary Ann Wallis was the first wife of William Lemon. After his death she married Elijah Ash. After Elijah’s passing she married Eli Dolbow, I have read this union ended in divorce. Her side of Elijah’s stone reads:
Mary Ann Ash
Nee: Dolbow
Born June 21 1818
Died June 4 1894
There has been some debate over the final resting place for Mary Ann, now the debate can be put to rest. Below is a picture of the stone. The stone was covered with a thick layer of mud and I had only “hiked” in two bottles of water, it took both to get the stone somewhat clean and readable. Due to the amount of mud I did need to resort to the shaving cream to ensure an accurate reading. The stone if very substantial and heavy, so we left it upright.
We also checked dates on the stones of John W. and Tabitha Fitzjerrell-Ash’s babies and took better pictures of their stones. I have attached the pictures to each child on the main database of this site. John and Tabitha have six children buried here. The following is a list of their children and ages at the time of their death:
James A. 4 months
Cyrus Monroe 1 year
Ulysses G. 1 year
John W. 1 month
Harriett 2 years
Infant Boy: Born and died on same day
Sometime after the death of John in 1871 the family moved to Colorado Springs, CO. Their youngest son Adelbert was born there in 1874. The couple lost another child Nettie in 1875 after the move to Colorado. In total they had nine children, only two living to adulthood. I know the loss of a child was common then but it was still very sad to see the six little stones all lined up in a row.
There are a few more burials in Roberts which have Ash ties, but due to the difficulty of even finding and documenting these graves the rest will have to wait for another trip. I was sure when we left the cemetery this time we would not need to revisit the site. However, upon returning home and uploading the pictures I realized I forgot to get a better picture of Elijah’s tombstone. The picture I have is from the first trip when the stone was buried in the ground and grasses. You can see it below.
Next time I will cover the information found at the Cass Cemetery. If anyone is upset I disturbed the native savanna, I rationalized that erecting the stone was less of a disturbance than picking up the “native” beer cans which littered the area.
We just returned from Montgomery County, Illinois where we revisited two family cemeteries. Three years ago we visited the Roberts Cemetery just outside of Honey Bend, IL and the Cass/Bluegrass Cemetery. When we last visited many of the stones were very weathered, broken or partially buried in the ground. The weather was also very hot and the cemeteries overgrown. I hoped returning in the winter equipped with my “cemetery kit” we would be better able to read and photograph the stones.
The Roberts Cemetery is located within the Roberts Cemetery Savanna. The savanna has been labeled as a “Illinois Nature Preserve”. Information from the Litchfield IL website states: “This natural area has been formally dedicated as a sanctuary for native vegetation and wildlife. It is maintained in its natural condition so that present and future generations can see the Illinois Landscape as it appeared to the pioneers.” Nice for the citizens of Illinois but a nightmare for anyone who might have family buried in this cemetery. To get to the graves you need to wade a quarter of a mile through chest high prairie grasses, small trees and brambles. I commend the setting aside of native areas but I do wish they would keep the areas around the stones free from the overgrowth. I am afraid in a few years many of the stones will be buried and lost forever. We proceeded to “disturb” the area and dig up Elijah Ash’s large obelisk style tombstone. The stone had clearly fallen off its base many decades ago and was buried in at least one foot of soil. When the stone was erected we found an inscription on the backside for his second wife Mary Ann. Mary Ann Wallis was the first wife of William Lemon. After his death she married Elijah Ash. After Elijah’s passing she married Eli Dolbow, I have read this union ended in divorce. Her side of Elijah’s stone reads:
Mary Ann Ash
Nee: Dolbow
Born June 21 1818
Died June 4 1894
There has been some debate over the final resting place for Mary Ann, now the debate can be put to rest. Below is a picture of the stone. The stone was covered with a thick layer of mud and I had only “hiked” in two bottles of water, it took both to get the stone somewhat clean and readable. Due to the amount of mud I did need to resort to the shaving cream to ensure an accurate reading. The stone if very substantial and heavy, so we left it upright.
We also checked dates on the stones of John W. and Tabitha Fitzjerrell-Ash’s babies and took better pictures of their stones. I have attached the pictures to each child on the main database of this site. John and Tabitha have six children buried here. The following is a list of their children and ages at the time of their death:
James A. 4 months
Cyrus Monroe 1 year
Ulysses G. 1 year
John W. 1 month
Harriett 2 years
Infant Boy: Born and died on same day
Sometime after the death of John in 1871 the family moved to Colorado Springs, CO. Their youngest son Adelbert was born there in 1874. The couple lost another child Nettie in 1875 after the move to Colorado. In total they had nine children, only two living to adulthood. I know the loss of a child was common then but it was still very sad to see the six little stones all lined up in a row.
There are a few more burials in Roberts which have Ash ties, but due to the difficulty of even finding and documenting these graves the rest will have to wait for another trip. I was sure when we left the cemetery this time we would not need to revisit the site. However, upon returning home and uploading the pictures I realized I forgot to get a better picture of Elijah’s tombstone. The picture I have is from the first trip when the stone was buried in the ground and grasses. You can see it below.
Next time I will cover the information found at the Cass Cemetery. If anyone is upset I disturbed the native savanna, I rationalized that erecting the stone was less of a disturbance than picking up the “native” beer cans which littered the area.
