Chapter 20, pages 156-159

Respect for the dead was a characteristic which early settlers in Mills County shared with civilized man everywhere. So space was set aside for burials right from the start of the county’s history. As their special American Revolution Bicentennial project, members of the Hastings Federated Women’s club set out to list each cemetery of the county and catalog burials therein, a task of monumental effort. The club’s special committee for this, Betty (Mrs. John) Wilson and Lois (Mrs. Jared) Woodfill, aided by Mildred (Mrs. Willie) Huntsman and a number of others, provided the information given in this chapter about the cemeteries.

From the 1881 History of Mills County, they obtained information about early burials:

1847: Rev. James Eastman, an elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who had helped establish the village of Rushville, died in that community in 1847 and was buried there. “The headstone erected to his memory is almost the sole relic of a town of which few of the living residents of the county have heard. On this first monument ever placed at the grave of any person in the county of Mills is inscribed: J. Eastman, died April 10th 1847, aged 60 years. The headstone is native limestone and was probably obtained at the exposure of native rock among the Missouri (river) bluffs.”

1847: Mrs. Freeman – died on Section 30, Lyons township.

1849: James Woodland – Rawles township, buried on farm of Joseph Rawles, Section 6.

1850: Aitney (daughter – Rawles township, Section 7.

1851: Homer Hoyt – Anderson township, buried a little north of what was known (in 1880) as the Carey burying ground.

To obtain much of the information about the cemeteries, it was necessary for the committee members to examine each grave and, whenever possible, record the information given on each headstone or monument. Many of the early-day monuments were made of marble, or other soft stone, which had deteriorated through years of weathering. But by using chalk and other methods they were able to decipher most of them.

Here is the list of the Mills County Cemeteries as the committee has found them (each is listed in order of name or names, location from nearby town, location by township, and section, and oldest grave):

    Cotton (Granteer), north of Hastings, Anderson township, section 36; Mary A. Cotton, 1854.

    Emerson (Hillside), north of Emerson, Indian Creek, 13.

    East Liberty, north of Malvern, Silver Creek, 7.

    Fairview, north of Tabor, Rawles, 16.

    Glenwood, Glenwood (twp.) 2; George Liston, 1856.

    Glenwood Catholic, Glenwood (twp.), 2; D. Harrison, 1961.

    Godsey, Plattville, 9.

    Gowen (Turner) (on Downing farm), Oak.

    Hastings, just south of Hastings, Indian Creek, 25.

    Henderson (Farm Creek), southeast of Henderson, Anderson, 11; A. Richards, 1852.

    Hillsdale, west of Malvern, Center, 26.

    Hillside, near Bussey Orchard east of Glenwood, Center.

    Hog Ranch, on north Mills County line, St. Marys, 1.

    Mackey, southeast corner of Lyons, 36.

    Mineola, Oak, 8.

    Malvern (Calvary, also Aurora), south of Malvern, Silver Creek, 32; Eliza Raines, 1857.

    Martin’s Chapel, north of Pacific Junction, Plattville, 4.

    North Grove, southeast of Hastings, Indian Creek, 29.

    Pleasant Hill, northwest of Tabor, Rawles, 20.

    Russell (Graves) east of Wesley Chapel, Anderson, 19.

    Saar, Oak township, 10 or 15.

    South Grove, between Hastings and Strahan, Deer Creek, 6.

    Salem Evangelical Lutheran, west of Mineola, Oak, 2.

    St. Boniface, German Catholic, Oak, 11; P. Kuhl, 1867.

    Silver City, Ingraham, 23.

    Tabor, Rawles, 33.

    Van Eaton, Lyons.

    Wall, Oak, 17-20.

    Walnut Creek (Hascall) south of Emerson near Montgomery county line.

    Walnut Grove Churchyard (1 grave), Lyons, 26; Dr. A. Lemonds, 1856-1911.

    Waubonsie (Waubonsie Church), Lyons, 13.

    Wearin, on J.F. Wearin farm, Indian Creek, 14.

    Wesley Chapel, Anderson, 30.

    West Liberty, north of Glenwood, Oak, 26.

    White Cloud (on former Parker land), White Cloud, 11. (or 12)