"McKeever Cemetery is located in Section 23, Poweshiek Township, Jasper County, Iowa. It is on the West side of Highway 117 N and N 19th Ave W. The "legal" name is Poweshiek Cemetery, but it is more commonly known as McKeever Cemetery. John Culbertson homesteaded the land in 1849 and sold it to A. H. Cummings. A warranty deed dated 13 April 1854 shows A.H. Cummings gave two acres to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for the purpose of erecting a house of worship. Plans were in the making to build a church on property, so burials were made at the North edge of the plot leaving room for the church to be built. A. H. Cummings sold his land in 1855 to Reuben McKeever. Stones in the cemetery indicate that when McKeever bought the land there were already several graves there.
"Reuben McKeever had seven sons in the Civil War. There are varying stories from several sources about how many were killed, where they are buried and etc. The Iowa Roster of the Civil War records lists five McKeever brothers who enlisted in the Civil War from Jasper county Iowa. There were no military records found on the brother Sid and Morris B. enlisted from Washington County, Pennsylvania. William Henry was wounded at Vicksburg and died in Memphis. George was killed in the battle of Shiloh and is listed as buried at the National Cemetery Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee. Brother, Sid, was killed in the Battle of Shiloh. There is an old folk tale, worthy of mention, that in about July of 1863, some neighbors and Reuben went South to Memphis and Pittsburgh, Tennessee with a team and wagon, claimed the bodies of William, George and Sid, brought them home and buried them on their father's land. If you think about the logistics of such a trip, at this time in history, in the middle of the summer, finding and exhuming each body then returning them to Iowa, in a horse drawn wagon, the credibility of this tale may have some doubt. However, there are stones in McKeever cemetery for them. We leave it to the reader. Jacob P. was listed as missing in action near Atlanta, Georgia, 22 July 1864, no further record. Anthony was wounded at Cedar Creek, Virginia but lived to be mustered out on 25 July 1865. He died 4 Sep 1893 in Dallas, County, Iowa and is buried at Perry Cemetery Perry, Iowa. Thomas was wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, lived and returned home. He was killed by a train, in Jasper County in 1909, buried at McKeever.
"In 1869 McKeever sold his land to a man named Moser, reserving the two acres that was being used as a cemetery. The plans to erect a church did not materialize and on the 13th of October 1883 the Trustees of the M.E. Church deeded this approximate two acre plot over to the Trustees of Poweshiek Township. A notice in the Newton Journal dated 20 June 1883, at an apparent community meeting, 'It was the desire that a name be given the burial ground, and the heretofore known as the McKeever graveyard, shall hereafter be known as the Poweshiek Cemetery. Country graveyards, as a rule, are allowed to grow up with weeds, brush and thistles, but it is the intention to make Poweshiek Cemetery a place of beauty and attractiveness.
"1 December 1901, Moser sold the land and deeded an additional two acres to Poweshiek Township to be added to the cemetery. The 23rd of December 1901, Poweshiek Township bought one acre from J. F. and A. B. Knause/Krause to be added to the cemetery. The 11 of October 1920 nearly another acre was purchased from P. W. and Margaret Maher. In 1959 Robert and Ann Tobin sold two more acres to Poweshiek Township and this portion is known as Tobin Addition. The final purchase was from Lenard and Joyce Pierce and Willis and Linda Pierce on 13 April 1988, bringing the total cemetery size to ten plus acres.
"Poweshiek Township Trustees look after the cemetery and it is well maintained, fenced, has a sign and a drive. It is apparent the community has carried out the wishes of their forefathers and have kept the cemetery "a place of beauty and attractiveness."
Source: Jasper County, Iowa Cemeteries: Poweshiek Township, compiled by Jasper County Genealogical Society; published by the Iowa Genealogical Society. Copyright 1994. Used with their permission. To order this book, contact the Iowa Genealogical Society.
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