Winneshiek County IAGenWeb  Oak Hill aka Willman Farm Cemetery this page was last updated on Thursday, 20 February 2020

Welcome to the Oak Hill Cemetery Page. This document summarizes data for 39 graves and is mainly based on a 100% Photo survey conducted by Bill Waters in August 2013 and on a 100% 1999 Winneshiek Genealogical Society cemetery survey submitted by Janice Sowers. This table was created by merging the information from these two sources with that found in the Works Project Administration (WPA) 1930’s Graves Registration Survey (18 Records), the ongoing Iowa Gravestone Photo Project (GPP) (39 Records), and the ongoing IAGenWeb Obituaries (Obits) (0 Records). These tables incorporate 0 pointers to photos of the deceased. The left columns of the tabulation indicate the source of the summary data WPA (W), GPP (G) and Obits (O). A camera Icon indicates that either an obit or a GPP record or both display a photo of the deceased. Note that some records have more than one source; this is because in many cases the information is redundant. If there is a disagreement, your county coordinator has used his best judgment about which information to include in the compilation. This summary contains a wealth of information that was made available by volunteers taking pictures and transcribing data. Those volunteers are to be applauded, keep up the good work! [Coordinator's note: The numbers in this summary do not "add up" for a variety of reasons, the main ones being that many married women (3) have 2 GPP records one with their maiden name and one with their married name, that most Family Stones (0) have adjacent smaller stones that mark individual graves.]

Samuel Forbes Brush came to the Winneshiek County, Iowa area from Wisconsin in the early 1850s at the same time or shortly after his father-in-law, Levi Grandy located there. Mr. Grandy ultimately acquired title to land from the State of Iowa in Section 13 of Bloomfield Township in 1854 On 3 Nov 1855, a meeting was held at the Red Schoolhouse (Oak Hill) to organize a Burial Association: a committee was appointed to choose a suitable location for a cemetery. Appointed to the committee were Levi Grandy and Samuel Brush. Two weeks later, another meeting was held at which time Levi Grandy signed a contract for the sale of an acre of his land on the southwest corner of his farm for a cemetery. The location is now near and a part of the present Oak Hill Cemetery and Schoolhouse site. Theadotia Ann (Grandy) Brush, the wife of Samuel Forbes Brush, died 12 Jun 1859 after giving birth to twins. Both of twins, a son and a daughter (no identified names) also died at birth. She and the twins are reported to have been buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery. Samuel Forbes Brush, still grieving from the loss of his beloved wife, enlisted in Company C of the 12th Regiment of the Iowa Volunteer Infantry on 25 September 1861 to fight in the Civil War. The 12th Regiment, Iowa Infantry was organized at Dubuque and mustered in November 1861. Moved to St. Louis, MO, November 28-30, 1861. Attached to Dept of Missouri till February, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, District of Cairo, February, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Army of Tennessee, to April 1862. Samuel Brush was captured at the battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, April 6-7, 1862, and sent to Libby Prison. After 7 months at Libby Prison, a "prisoner exchange" was announced and he was paroled on October 26 for a scheduled exchange on 10 November 1862. The prisoners to be exchanged were put into train cars with very little food and no water. When the train stopped somewhere along the James River in Virginia, the prisoners headed straight for the river water. "Samuel drank so much that his stomach swelled and he died of internal injuries." It was 31 October 1862 and he was buried at sea off the coast of Virginia.

Source: Donald J. Brush, 3524 129th Street, Urbandale, Iowa 50323-2155 Email: BrushDJ@msn.com or DBrush@Urbandale.org

OAK HILL SCHOOL IS 100 YEARS OLD 1872-1972

A celebration commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Oak Hill School will be held Sunday on the school grounds with a potluck picnic dinner at noon followed by a special commemorative program. The country school house that served District Three in Bloomfield Township in Winneshiek County was built 100 years ago in 1872. Better known as the Oak Hill School, it is located about four miles northeast of Castalia and is one of the few country school buildings still standing. Although it closed its doors in 1955, it remains in the exact spot it was constructed a century ago. The school grounds have been well kept since its closing and many picnics and celebrations have been held there over the years. The nearby cemetery is one of the oldest in the state of Iowa and figures prominently in the early history of the school and surrounding area. Twenty-seven former teachers of the school have been sent special invitations to attend this centennial celebration. All former pupils are cordially invited as well as friends and neighbors of the school. Any and all persons who are interested in the nostalgia and memories that country school days provided are more than welcome to join in the celebration. It is hoped to have some articles, pictures, etc. on display in the entry way of the schoolhouse for the occasion. The first schoolhouse to serve Bloomfield Three was built in 1853 and was known as the Red School. It stood until 1872 when a new and larger structure, the present Oak Hill School House was built to handle the increasing enrollment of pupils who were eager to learn their a,b,c's. According to school records handed down over the years, 100 teachers served the Red School and the Oak Hill School during the 102 year span from 1853 until 1955. The school was closed in 1955 and became part of the Postville Community School System. Several hundred persons from far and near are expected for the centennial observance according to Verne Koenig of Decorah, who is general chairman of the committee planning the event.

Source: Ossian, Iowa THE OSSIAN BEE, July 30, 1972 Contributed by Connie Ellis from the scrapbook of Agnes Ellis (Mrs. Kenneth).

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this page was last updated on Thursday, 20 February 2020