"Pleasant Chapel Cemetery, otherwise knows as, Hope Ridge, McCarthy or Shields is located in Section 12, Newton Township, Jasper County, Iowa. It is 4 miles Northeast of Newton on gravel road F-24. Originally part of the land patented by Israel Pettet in 1854, this land was later set aside as a neighborhood burial ground It was named Pleasant Chapel because of the nearby Pleasant Chapel Methodist Church.
"The first known burial was George Parsons Sr., who died 5 November 1856. He, along with his wife and nine children came to Iowa in a home-made prairie schooner from Randolph County, Virginia in 1853. He only lived three years when stricken with a fever and died. A year later his daughter Nancy was buried there, and another daughter Susannah a yar or two after that. The exact date is not known.
"Records from Newton Union show that George, Nancy and Susannah Parsons were removed from Pleasant Chapel Cemetery on 27 Mar 1895 and buried in Lot 22, Block 10 of Newton Union Cemetery. Less than a month after the move, George's wife, Susannah, died 11 April 1895 and is buried at Newton Unin with her husband and daughters.
When the Pleasant Chapel Church closed, the Bisop family moved seven of its members to Newton Union Lot 8 Block 9.
"The last known burial at Pleasant Chapel Cemetery was Smiley Smith, who died at his home three miles Northeast of Newton 28 August 1895. Although no written records have been found it is believed his body was moved to Wittemberg and interred in Dacy Smith's lot, Range 16 Block 4. Smiley's wife, Susan Pulley Smith, is thought to be buried next to him, however neither grave is marked.
"In 1994 there are only 8 marked graves at Pleasant Chapel Cemetery, but it is well maintained by the Wittemberg Grange, and in 1988 they erected a fence around the area. Since this cemetery has been known by so many names throughout the years the Grange placed a sign designating the official name Pleasant Chapel Cemetery, as established by the Jasper County Cemetery Commission."
Source: Jasper County, Iowa Cemeteries: Newton Township; compiled by Jasper County Genealogical Society; published by Iowa Genealogical Society. Copyright 1994. Used with permission. To purchase a copy of this book, contact the Iowa Genealogical Society.
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