Clayton co IAGenWeb - Cemeteries

Compiled by S. Ferrall for Clayton co. IAGenWeb, May 2022.
Additional information or corrections are appreciated

The precise location of the McGregor graveyard / McGregor Family cemetery is unknown, other than it was on a hilltop above the home of Alexander McGregor "on the end of Main St. At some time during his ownership, Alexander had designated the plot for use as a cemetery. The cemetery plot is now a part of McGregor Heights.

A long-standing, and much litigated, dispute between the McGregor brothers, Alexander (and his wife Ann), James Jr., Duncan and Ann Gardner McGregor's brothers, over land ownership is detailed in an article titled "The McGregor Estate" published in The Palimpsest, Vol.XII, January 1931. The land where the cemetery was located eventually became a part of the extensive law-suits and counter-suits brought by the family members against one another.
(Read entire article)

In early 1858, Alexander McGregor published in the local newspaper, the following notice:

THE DEAD

I hereby give public notice, that from and after April 1st, under no circumstances will I permit Burials in the ground heretofore used as the McGregor Grave Yard. All the remains now deposited there will be removed as soon as the village has purchased and prepared suitable ground in which to place them.
Alex. McGregor

~Weekly North Iowa Times, Wednesday, March 31, 1858; pg 2

Mr. McGregor, at the time was suffering from cancer and knew that he would not live long .... perhaps the publication of the notice was due (at least in part) to the long and bitter feud with his brother James.

Within a month of the public notice, the following was published:

A CEMETERY

Will the citizens of McGregor ever respect themselves enough to purchase. [The] present place of sepulture must soon be removed, and besides, we submit if it is in good taste or does it show proper respect for the loved ones who are taken from us, to deposit their remains on land from which the proprietor, by a public Advertisement, has excluded them!

I Do, for the sake of the living and in respect to the memory of the dead, get about it and select a committee to negotiate at once for a suitable burying lot of not less than 5 acres within two and a half or three miles of town. We once appointed a Committee, but no report from it has ever reached us. Will somebody take upon himself the labor and the honor of waking the public up to this important subject? Messrs Bigelow, Evans and Arnold, will please act for the public.

~Weekly North Iowa Times, Wednesday, April 28, 1858; pg 2

Only two of the burials in the cemetery are known for certain ... that of Alexander McGregor and one of his sons. The wording of McGregor's public notice and the April 28th publication both imply that there were others, perhaps several, over the years.

Unfortunately, there are no records of whose remains (other than the 2 known) were removed from the McGregor Graveyard in response ..... or where they were reburied, although the 'new' town cemetery Oakland / Pleasant Grove, is a very likely repository.

Cemetery

Truman Beckwith, Esq., has shown us a plan of a City Cemetery, which will commend itself to all who expect to die or who have any regard for the respectable burial of their friends. The ground embraces five acres, divided into four equal parts with carriage ways 30 feet wide. One part is laid off late segments commencing at the centre with walks of 10 feet width, another part is cut into lots 6 by 12; another 12 by 20; and the other into lots of 20 by 20; walks of 10 feet width permeating the squares. The proposal is to buy five acres of R. Noble, about two miles west of town, on the highlands, sell the lots to the highest bidder and appropriate the excess above the purchase money to the improvement and ornamentation of the grounds. We like the plan, and hope it will be carried out.

~Weekly North Iowa Times, Wednesday, November 30, 1859; pg 2

Note: The new cemetery was platted in 1859; originally named Oakland cemetery, now known as Pleasant Grove cemetery.

Alexander McGregor died in December 1858, and was buried in the McGregor Graveyard. Litigation continued within the family and often involved citizens of McGregor who had purchased lots, buildings or homes from the McGregor's over the years.

James McGregor was eventually awarded the portion of land containing the cemetery and at some time after, the remains of Alexander and a son who died at birth in 1850 were disinterred by Ann McGregor and reburied in the Lower Town cemetery, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin (aka Evergreen cemetery). Alexander McGregor Obituary

James McGregor Jr. died in New York, 03/24/1867. His funeral was held in New York, and in early May his remains were brought to McGregor where he was given a second funeral and buried on a hill-side a little way up from the upper public square. In July 1869, the North Iowa Times reported that James' remains would be "deposited" in "Monument Park" on upper Main street and a monument erected by his nephew, James Buell / Buel. See Buell Park cemetery