Muscatine County Iowa Cemetery Records

Directions to Wesson Cemetery: Off Highway 22, one mile east of Nichols, turn south on Elder Avenue. Travel down gravel road until you reach a Y in the road. Make a left onto 195th Street. Road will take a sharp right curve. Just on that bend is a house on the right. Directly across from the house is a path leading into an wooded area. It is just a short walk.

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This cemetery database was compiled and submitted by Eleanor B. McCleary & Charlene Nichols Hixon. These two women compiled all five cemetery databases for Pike Township, Muscatine County, Iowa, including this one. These databases that they have so gracefully allowed me, Dave Dunston, to put online are ONLY general indexes.

Eleanor & Charlene put a book together titled "Pike Township Cemetery Records, Muscatine County, Iowa March 1836-March 2001". Their publication provides maps of each Pike Township cemetery, including burial location (lot and grave number) and notes on relationships. Please click here to find further information and how to order this incredible book.

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Tucked away in wooded area is a small pioneer cemetery known as the old Wesson Cemetery. While studying the 1865 map of Muscatine County, we realized that the cemetery stands close to the property line between G. Olds, of Section 23, Pike Township, and Joseph Wesson of Section 24. We learned that Gamaliel Olds was among the first early settlers who staked a claim back in 1838. A few years later Joseph Wesson and his family became his neighbors when they bought three hundred acres from Isaac Carothers. The Warranty Deed dated 18 April 1842 is on file at the Muscatine County Recorder's Office.

In later years, the land was acquired by the Hollenbeck/Rogers family. The cemetery was labeled as Rogers Cemetery by the US Geographic Names Information System, (GNIS) State of Iowa. The name still may be found on some plat maps today.

This cemetery is no longer in use. The Wesson family grave markers are surrounded by a waist-high cement wall, while the others are on the outside, in two short rows.

Click Here to view gravestone photos posted on the Iowa Gravestone Photo Project.

Surname	First Name	Birth Date	Death Date	Notes
Olds	Mark A. H.	na	20 May 1841	f. G. Olds m. M.H.- age 10 yr. 10 mos.
Purinton	John	14 Oct 1810	1 Aug 1843	Born in Colrain, MA
Purinton	Joseph	28 Dec 1812	19 May 1845	Foot stone reads " J.P." - Born in Colrain, MA
Purinton	Rhoda M.	na	28 Jul 1845	Wife of Jesse A. Purinton - age 21 yrs. 9 mos. 9 dys.
Wesson	Joseph	na	16 Aug 1845	age 58 yrs. 8 mos. 20 dys.
Wesson	Louisa S.	na	28 Mar 1846	f. J. Wesson m. A. - age 10 yrs. 11 mos. 2 dys.
Wesson	Olive	na	5 Apr 1846	f. J. Wesson m. A. - age 24 yrs. 2 mos. 1 dy.
Purinton	Marion	21 Mar 1848	6 Apr 1848	Twin, son - f. Jesse A. Purinton m. Mary A.
Purinton	Miriam	21 Mar 1848	11 Apr 1848	Twin, dau. - f. Jesse A. Purinton m. Mary A. - Foot stone reads "M.A.P."
Cone	Chauncey Arthur	na	29 Sep 1859	f. P.S. Cone m. M.H. - Fed. Census Mortality Schedule 1860 Pike Twp., persons died during the year ending 1st Jun 1860: Charles A. Cone age 9 mos. b. IA
Purinton	Henry A.	na	4 Mar 1862	f. J.A. Purinton m. M.A. - age 12 yrs. 3 mos. 1 dy. - Foot stone reads "H.A.P."
Wesson	Abigail	na	23 Apr. 1875	Wife of Joseph Wesson - age 81 yrs. 3 mos. 24 dys.
Unknown	G.A.R.	na	na	Headstone is gone, only foot stone remains.

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Page updated February 15, 2007 by Dave Dunston.