Buried Grave Markers

BRIMACOMB, HARDEN, MANNING

Posted By: Bruce Kuennen (email)
Date: 11/28/2021 at 20:00:20

Decorah woman unearths mysteries of buried grave markers in Burr Oak Cemetery
By Roz Weis
Wednesday, November 24, 2021 4:02 PM
Stacey Gossling of Decorah stands with the restored cemetery stone in the Burr Oak Cemetery. (submitted photo)

Stacey Gossling of Decorah stands with the restored cemetery stone in the Burr Oak Cemetery. (submitted photo)
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Buried Burr Oak Cemetery grave markers unearthed and cleaned by Decorah’s Stacey Gossling are now viewed with renewed interest.
The story is intriguing, as it involves the first person ever to be buried at the area cemetery.
According to Gossling, “A few years ago a friend of mine, Ferneva Brimacomb, was going through papers belonging to her late husband. Her husband Bob loved cemeteries and did a lot of research on local cemeteries. When Ferneva finds information on cemeteries she gives it to me to decide if it’s important to keep or just get rid of. One of the papers was about burials in the Burr Oak cemetery.”
On the corner of one of the pages given to Gossling was a hand-written note and a small diagram. The note indicated there were two headstones - one on either side of a pine tree just inside the gate at the cemetery. One stone was for Ursuala Harden and another one for John Harden; and each was laying down in the dirt by the pine tree.
“Of course, I was curious if this was true,” said Gossling. “I found the spot and could just barely see a marker peeking out from under the grass and dirt. I checked on the other side of the tree; and sure enough, there was the other one!”
Gossling painstakingly peeled some of the dirt and grass from the area and cleaned the face on both the headstones. After this initial cleaning effort she was certain the stones would stick out a little more and wouldn’t be forgotten in the cemetery. Further restoration would have to wait.

More to come
The story continues a few years later.
Gossling said a woman (Marguerite) from Oregon came to the Winneshiek County Historical Society office in Decorah in search for information on her family members buried in Burr Oak.
“We helped her with research on the Mannings, Hardens and other pioneer families in the Burr Oak Cemetery,” Gossling said. “I told her about the two partially-buried stones under the pine tree, and she was intrigued.”
Earlier this year, Marguerite read the local Society newsletter which included information about Gossling’s cemetery stone restoration business, “Cemetery Nerds.”
The Cemetery Nerds team up regularly to repair headstones in area cemeteries.
Gossling was contacted to see if she could unearth and completely restore the two buried stones in Burr Oak.
“We’ve had a busy summer fixing stones and I was not sure we would have time to get it done this year,” Gossling said. “I went and started to unearth the stones very carefully. Old stones can be very fragile and break very easily. You have to be careful, very careful when working with an old stone.”
Once Gossling had uncovered the stones, she realized the base for the John Harden stone was nearby, buried under about 6 inches of dirt. As her team members (Halley Wise and Janelle Halverson) were busy working their “day jobs”, Gossling called her husband, Scott, for assistance.
He helped her get the base out from the layers of dirt, packed gravel under the base to level it, and brought it above ground. She then used her historic mortar solution to attach the stone back into the base. She probed around looking for the missing top of the stone, but was unable to locate it. However, all the important information (name, death date) was still on the stone.
Gossling then moved her attention to the stone for Ursula Harden.
“Her stone was a different type of stone in that it didn’t have a base. It is what’s called a tablet stone. It is just set in a lot of gravel and that’s what holds it in place. It was a big stone, 48 inches long. My husband helped dig a hole and we piled in a lot of gravel and then Ursula’s stone was back standing tall.”

Cleaning process
Once the stones were standing, Gossling started the process of cleaning the stones with biological growth cleaner D2, which is safe to use on headstones. Once the cleaner is applied, the cleaning process continues to be enhanced as time passes.
She reminds novices that proper training in gravestone care is needed.
“No one should try repairs or cleaning in a cemetery without proper training and permission. Headstones are works of art and some are over 150 years old. They are precious pieces of our local history,” she stressed.

The grateful benefactor was notified soon after that the stones were once again standing.
“Marguerite, was so excited when I sent her photos of the stones standing again,” Gossling said. “She was excited to let her extended family from the East Coast know about the two Harden stones. She is hoping to make a trip to Burr Oak soon to see the stones.”

More history
After completing some research, Gossling discovered Ursula Harden was, in fact, the first burial ever reported in the Burr Oak Cemetery.
There previously had been some debate about who was actually the first person to be buried there.
“Ursula Harden had been rumored to be the first burial in the Burr Oak Cemetery; but another family also said that their daughter was the first burial.”
“But now that Ursula’s stone is readable, we know she passed away a week before the other lady. So, it seems like Ursula Harden was the first burial according to the dates on the headstones,” she concluded.
Ursula was born in 1830 in Clinton County, New York and was the wife of Warren Harden. She passed away at the age of 24, on Nov. 7, 1854. She left behind a husband and a 4-year-old daughter.
The name on the other stone is John Harden, he passed away on Aug. 31, 1864, at the age of 78. He was the father-in-law of Ursula Harden.
Gossling learned that John Harden (Junior) was the son of Captain John Harden who fought in the Revolutionary War in the New York Militia.
The local historian’s passion for interesting cemetery stories continues.
“Most people drive by a cemetery and don’t even really pay attention to it. But when I drive by … well, I usually have to stop, I can’t just drive by.”
“Cemeteries are outdoor museums and are full of very interesting stories. Most cemeteries are on a very tight budget and don’t have a lot of income other than burials. And now with many people are choosing cremations that income gets even smaller. Just being able to afford mowing a cemetery year to year can be a struggle. And as time goes by the headstones begin to sink, lean, break, or even tip over. Cemeteries do what they can to keep these places taken care of and safe. But, once in a while a family member takes an interest in their family history and wants to see the stones repaired,” Gossling continued.
Because of this most recent restoration effort, Gossling saved a piece of that family’s history for generations to come. And, Winneshiek County reaps the benefit of a piece of local history being saved as well.

Source: Driftless Journal, November 28, 2021

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