Pioneer Cemeteries and Their Stories,

Madison County, Indiana

Lily Creek Cemetery

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aka Beal/Beals/Davis

Monroe Township

Location: west side of CR 200W, between SR 28 and CR 1300N

    The Lily Creek Cemetery once surrounded one of the earliest churches in Monroe Township, the Lily Creek Christian Church organized in 1831 by area pioneers including Micajah Chamness, Sr., the first to enter the land that is now Alexandria.  Church member, Mrs. Heritage, a granddaughter of Micajah, was interviewed in the early 20th century:

    "They [the congregation] held meetings before the Lily Creek Church was built.  They met from house to house.  You know they did not have tables in those days.  They took a chair and turned it upside down and placed a Bible on it to read the scripture.  They met at the homes of Amelia Jackson's, Leah Stroud's and James Ellis...After the meeting they all shook hands and asked their friends home to dinner.

    "No, there were not many [members], but I can tell all the charter members of this early church.  They were Granny Jackson, James Ellis and his wife Caroline, Moses Cole and his wife Jane, Daniel Black and his wife, William Cole and his wife, and Daniel Franklin was the preacher."

    When enough money was raised and volunteers enlisted, church members built in 1840 a log house of worship in the middle of the present site of the cemetery.   Evidently, from the death dates on several gravestones, the ground was used for burials before the log church was built.  Infant Hiron Cole died on February 21, 1839, less than two months old, and adult Susan Gorden was probably one of the earliest burials.  She died in 1834 at fifty-four years of age.  Perhaps, the owner of the land had already donated a portion to be used as a neighborhood graveyard.  Mrs. Heritage continues:

    "Why, I can remember the first time I went to the Lily Creek Christian Church [building].  I was three years old.  Now this was in 1844.  My father [Micajah Chamness, Jr.] took me, and it was my grandmother's funeral, and Daniel Franklin preached the funeral sermon.  I know about my...grandmother... It was very lonely here for my grandmother, and for three years she saw no white person besides her family.  The Indians...were very friendly however."

In addition to Hiron, mentioned above, who died in 1839, the Cole family had another early burial: Eliza Anne, left, whose tablet states in script that she was aged "28yrs 8ms 6ds" when she died July 31, 1842.  Eliza's marker is granite, one of the hardest of stones, and for this reason is still intact.

 

Not to be confused with the child, this Susan Gorden, at right, was "54y 5m 20d" old when she died December 1, 1874.  She was the wife of James Gorden who lived to be ninety-six.  Susan's pretty lyre-shaped stone with medallion is unique for the area.  (The topknot may be from a neighboring marker.)

At left, Lydia Gorden died March 7, 1884, when she was eighty-six years old.  This would make her birthday around 1798

 

    

    The congregation steadily grew and in 1871 built a frame church more than a mile north of the cemetery.  By 1880, the number of members had swelled to over 100.  The cemetery also continued to grow, filling in where the log church once stood.  Families, represented here who settled on the northwest sections of Monroe Township, have the names of Gorden, Ellis, Davis, Black, Sutton, Oldfield, and Young.

George K. Black, left, son of "Daniel & Eunice Black, died Nov. 6, 1853, 22y 10m 6d."  George's simple tablet sits near the center of the cemetery.  Other members of the Black family, right, have more imposing and costly squared pillars, located in the northwest corner, from later in the century.

   

At left is the stone for Margaret Judd who died February 26, 1867 when she was forty-two years old.

At right is the base for William Pence's missing column.  William lived to be fifty-six years old; he died December 22, 1878.

   

    Among these early settlers is an interesting area developer, Nathan Lowry, who died in 1880 at fifty-four years old.  In 1876, Mr. Lowry owned the land where Chief Pipe's Delaware village had, according to tradition, been located.  Perhaps capitalizing on the spot's fame, Nathan established a station as a point west of Alexandria for the Lake Erie & Western Railroad.  At first he named the little town Lowry Station, and it appears on the 1876 plat map for the township as such.  However, shortly after that, the name was changed to Orestes.  There are two theories as to the origin of the town's name.  One tale says that the name honors Orestes McMahan, a local farmer.  Another says that Lowry, himself, renamed the village after the Greek character Orestes, son of Agamemnon, in Aeschylus's play Oresteia.  If the latter is the truth, then Mr. Lowry was indeed extremely well-read for his time.  (For more on Orestes, go to the Monroe Township page; for more on Chief Pipe, go to the Pipe Creek Township page.)

     From family genealogist Steve Malone, Boise, Idaho (2020):

"...it is probably worth noting that the cemetery is located on the property of Micajah W. Jackson, which he had patented on 15 Mar 1837 while he was still residing in Fayette County, Indiana (suggesting that he had likely donated a small part of it for the church and cemetery).  That only makes sense, given than his widow Amelia and daughter Caroline Elizabeth (Jackson) Ellis were charter members [of the Lily Creek Christian Church] and are buried there, as are two of his sons, who are found in the same household as Amelia in the 1850 Census." 

 

The two columns on one base with connecting arch, right, represent Mr. and Mrs. Young.  This style of stone was popular for married couples in the late 1800s.  William died first in 1853, and wife Jane died in 1878.  The stone was erected by their family after Jane's death.

The column, at left, represents the Fisher children: an infant who lived to be only five days old and four month old William.

 

 

Names
ID Names Birth Date Death Date Cemetery
1742 ATHAM, SARAH ALMARINE 2Y. 1M. 9D. SEP. 1, 1853 LILYCREEK
1744 ATHAN, SARAH 2Y. 1M. 9D. SEP. 4, 1853 LILYCREEK
4811 BLACK, (INFANT SON)   APR. 10, 1881 LILYCREEK
4815 BLACK, ANNON 56Y.or 66Y. 29D. MAR. 13, 1885 LILYCREEK
4823 BLACK, DANIEL S. 20Y. 2M. 29D. FEB. 20, 1812 LILYCREEK
4827 BLACK, ELIZABETH 45Y. FEB. 11, 1886 LILYCREEK
4828 BLACK, ELIZABETH 8Y. 10M. 9D. DEC. 25, 1844 LILYCREEK
4832 BLACK, EUNICE 71Y. 1M. 18D. NOV. 14, 1875 LILYCREEK
4838 BLACK, GEORGE K. 22Y. 10M. 6D. NOV. 6, 1853 LILYCREEK
4858 BLACK, MILES E. 29Y. 8M. 4D. OCT. 16, 1890 LILYCREEK
4865 BLACK, SAMUEL H. or M. 19M. DEC. 19, 1849 LILYCREEK
4866 BLACK, SAMUEL S. 20Y. 2M. 29D. FEB. 28, 1842 or 47 LILYCREEK
4869 BLACK, SUSAN S. 1850 1923 LILYCREEK
4873 BLACK, WILLIAM 36Y. 10M. 27D. JAN. 30, 1892 LILYCREEK
4874 BLACK, WILLIAM 36Y. 1M. 28D. JAN. 30, 1892 LILYCREEK
8623 BWOMEBUCK, MILES E. 29Y. 8M. 4D. OCT. 16, 1890 LILYCREEK
11603 COLE, ELIZA ANN 28Y, 8M. 26D. JUL. 31, 1842 LILYCREEK
11615 COLE, HIRON 1M. 5D. FEB. 21, 1839 LILYCREEK
14795 DAVIS, ELI 1M. JUL. 15, 1856 LILYCREEK
14794 DAVIS, ELI   JUL. 18, 1853 LILYCREEK
14856 DAVIS, GEORGE C. 20Y. 10M. 25D. APR. 13, 1864 LILYCREEK
14859 DAVIS, GEORGE G. 20Y. 8M. 25D. APR. 13, 1861 LILYCREEK
15048 DAVIS, MARY C. 6Y. 6M. 21D. DEC. 24, 1862 LILYCREEK
18146 ELLIS, ALBERT JUN. 24, 1958 JUL. 27, 1862 LILYCREEK
18165 ELLIS, ELIZABETH 65Y. or 55Y. 6M. 5D. DEC. 3, 1876 LILYCREEK
18164 ELLIS, ELIZABETH 50Y. 6M. 15D. AUG. 3, 1876 LILYCREEK
18187 ELLIS, JAMES 59Y. 8M. 20D. JAN. 17, 1875 LILYCREEK
18189 ELLIS, JAMES H. 50Y. 8M. JAN. 25, 1875 LILYCREEK
18200 ELLIS, MARGARET J. 16Y. 4M. 21D. JUN. 3 or 31, 1862 LILYCREEK
18208 ELLIS, MARY E. 12Y. 3M. 18D. JUN. 12, 1865 or 62 LILYCREEK
18225 ELLIS, THOMAS   MAY 23, 1865 LILYCREEK
18226 ELLIS, THOMAS J. 15Y. MAY 2, 1869 LILYCREEK
19900 FISHER, (INFANT SON) 5D. or 8D. APR. 13, 1870 LILYCREEK
20057 FISHER, NANCY E. 35Y. 6M. 2D. APR. 9, 1875 LILYCREEK
20100 FISHER, WILLIAM H. 4M. 11D. AUG. 3, 1875 LILYCREEK
21068 FOX, VIRGIL DEC. 13, 1897 APR. 12, 1901 LILYCREEK
23493 GORDEN, (INFANT DAU.)   SEP. 13, 1852 LILYCREEK
23494 GORDEN, (INFANT SON)   SEP. 14, 1865 LILYCREEK
23497 GORDEN, ANDERSON 25Y.or 75Y. 11M. 23D AUG. 9, 1863 LILYCREEK
23499 GORDEN, JAMES 96Y. 1809 LILYCREEK
23503 GORDEN, LYDIA 86Y. 5M. 2D. MAR. 7, 1884 LILYCREEK
23508 GORDEN, SUSAN 54Y. DEC. 4, 1834 LILYCREEK
23536 GORDON, SUSAN 54Y. 5M. 20D. DEC. 1, 1874 LILYCREEK
24186 GREGORY, WILLIAM 7M. 19D. OCT. 14, 1866 LILYCREEK
26377 HARRIS, LOUCETTA 22Y. 5M. 11D. MAR. 25, 1851 LILYCREEK
26378 HARRIS, LOUGETTA   JAN. 25, 1854 LILYCREEK
31866 JACKSON, FRANKLIN B. 27Y. 7M. 18D. JAN. 5, 1854 LILYCREEK
31900 JACKSON, JEFFERSON 18Y. 5M. 13D. JAN. 27, 1851 LILYCREEK
32041 JAMES, CATHERINE 63Y. 2M. OCT. 22, 1872 LILYCREEK
33705 JUDD, JOANNA 27Y. 8M. 26D. FEB. 16, 1882 LILYCREEK
33712 JUDD, MARGARET 42Y. 1M. 14D. FEB. 26, 1867 LILYCREEK
33718 JUDD, THOMAS S. 30Y. 2M. 28D. DEC. 31, 1877 LILYCREEK
34977 KING, EARL   DEC. 18, 1897 LILYCREEK
34983 KING, ELLA   MAY 31, 1897 LILYCREEK
34985 KING, ELLA M.   MAY 31, 1897 LILYCREEK
35598 KNIPE, GEORGE W. 2Y. 2D. OCT. 4, 1850 LILYCREEK
35599 KNIPE, WILLIAM J. 9yr. 11mo. 15da. JUL. 17, 1856 LILYCREEK
36168 LAFFINGWELL, AMANDA 10M. 12D. JAN. 1855 LILYCREEK
37449 LEGG, EMERY G. 1Y. 2M. 6D. SEP. 26, 1890 LILYCREEK
38529 LONG, MARY 34Y. NOV. 1, 1896 LILYCREEK
38787 LOWRY, CAROLINE FEB. 14, 1842 JUN. 10, 1893 or 98 LILYCREEK
38790 LOWRY, NATHAN 54Y. 5M. 20D. JUN. 14, 1880 LILYCREEK
43843 MOLES, HENRY 26Y. 9M. 12D. SEP. 18, 1865 LILYCREEK
44540 MORGAN, NETTIE 21Y. 14D. JUN. 8, 1866 LILYCREEK
46887 OLDFIELD, CELIA 75Y. 8M. 1D. MAY 8, 1874 LILYCREEK
46888 OLDFIELD, CHARLES E. 5Y. JUN. 30, 18__ LILYCREEK
46893 OLDFIELD, LILIEY 17Y. 6M. 12D. or 2D. JUL. 28, 1850 LILYCREEK
46898 OLDFIELD, SALEY 17Y. 6M. 11D. JUL. 27, 1850 LILYCREEK
46900 OLDFIELD, SELCY 13Y. JUL. 20, 1860 LILYCREEK
46903 OLDFIELD, WILLIAM 50Y. 1M. 2D. AUG. 20, 1870 LILYCREEK
46902 OLDFIELD, WILLIAM 21Y. 1M. 12D. AUG. 20, 1870 LILYCREEK
46904 OLDFIELD, WILLIAM C. 41Y. 3M. 27D. APR. 7, 1850 LILYCREEK
46905 OLDFIELD, WILLIAM G. 41Y. 5M. 17D. APR. 7, 1880 LILYCREEK
48339 PENCE, WILLIAM 56Y. 7M. 3D. DEC. 22, 1878 LILYCREEK
49202 PLACKARD, EUNICE C. 32Y. 7M. 18D. MAY 28, 1885 LILYCREEK
49212 PLACKARD, WILLIAM     LILYCREEK
53726 RUSSELL, CLARENCE C. 2Y. 5M. 24D. AUG. 10, 1876 LILYCREEK
53729 RUSSELL, CLYDE 3Y. 1M. 2D. OCT. 10, 1878 or 28 LILYCREEK
53731 RUSSELL, DAVID (INFANT) JUN. 10, 1869 LILYCREEK
59837 STEVENS, EVA E. 2Y. 1M. 1D. JAN. 21, 1822 LILYCREEK
59845 STEVENS, JAMES W. 23Y. 1M. 5D. FEB. 4, 1892 LILYCREEK
59854 STEVENS, MARTHA J. MAR. 7, 1841 NOV. 13, 1912 LILYCREEK
59870 STEVENS, WILLIAM B. 14Y. 7M. 4D. DEC. 19, 1888 LILYCREEK
59873 STEVENS, WILLIS C. AUG. 5, 1838   LILYCREEK
61049 SUTTON, JOSIAH 9Y. 11M. 2D. MAY 1, 1879 LILYCREEK
61048 SUTTON, JOSIAH 79Y. 11M. 2D. AUG. 1, 1829 LILYCREEK
61050 SUTTON, LAURA 74Y. 4M. 15D. JUN. 15, 1881 LILYCREEK
63484 TROWBRIDGE, CHARLES E. 7Y. 8M. 15D. DEC. 31, 1861 LILYCREEK
64812 VINSON, FREDDIE 1Y. 5M. 5D. JAN. 28, 1888 LILYCREEK
66151 WEAVER, LOVIGA F. 42Y. 6M. 28D. FEB. 12, 1867 LILYCREEK
66174 WEAVER, WILLIAM 59Y. 3M. 15D. AUG. 28, 1878 LILYCREEK
66524 WELBORN, NANCY AUG. 2, 1826 OCT. 25, 1907 LILYCREEK
67640 WILBORN, NANCY AUG. 2, 1826 OCT. 25, 1907 LILYCREEK
70151 YOUNG, CHARLES C. 5M. 18D. FEB. 12, 1864 LILYCREEK
70162 YOUNG, ELIZABETH MAR. 29, 1832 MAR. 9, 1914 LILYCREEK
70178 YOUNG, GEORGE W. 30Y. 9M. 15D. SEP. 24, 1869 LILYCREEK
70198 YOUNG, JANE 73Y. 4M. 29D. MAY 31, 1878 LILYCREEK
70200 YOUNG, JEORRE 3Y. DEC. 5, 1869 LILYCREEK
70230 YOUNG, ROBERT MAR. 2, 1829 MAR. 11, 1877 LILYCREEK
70248 YOUNG, WILLIAM 59Y. 1M. 7D. NOV. 15, 1853 LILYCREEK