The History of McCord Cemetery

By Jeanne M. Johnson

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Intro-duction

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Although no Civil War battles were fought on Illinois soil, the Irving township area felt its effects. Fathers, brothers, sons…many left their farms and their livelihoods to volunteer for service in one of Montgomery County's 12 regiments consisting of 1,620 soldiers. The state of Illinois contributed substantially in manpower supplied in the federal military service with over

The Middle Years

(1861-1892)

250,000 soldiers, ranking only behind the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

What would motivate men to enlist, particularly when farming was labor-intensive in this era before farm machinery was invented and they were needed to plant and harvest the crops? About 75-90 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels (2 ½ acres) of corn with the use of a walking plow, harrow, and hand planting (Source: "Growing A Nation – The Story of American Agriculture (http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farm_tech.htm, accessed April 14, 2010).

The cost of land and getting set up as a farming operation was becoming more expensive and this attracted men to enlist who did not have farms of their own. The price of $1.25 per acre to purchase a land patent from the federal government in the 1820's – 1840's had risen substantially. Enlistment bounties and a soldier's pay was seen as a way to establish one's financial future and few thought that the war would last as long as it did. Other men enlisted to help their families expand their farms.

"By 1860, an eighty-acre farm in Illinois required nearly $1700 in initial outlays. These farm laborers formed the core of the Illinois volunteers. Many saw a soldier's enlistment bounties as a gift-wrapped down payment for acreage. John Griffiths of Appanoose, Illinois epitomized farmers' high times during the Civil War. His son had gone to the army, receiving a bounty of $450 and wages of $25 a month. Much of this money went to expanding the farm. In the absence of laborers, John Griffiths completed most of the tasks himself. He built a new two-story house with a separate kitchen and cellar, and concluded that "It has been a good time for making money." (Source: Philip Shaw Paludan, A People's Contest (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1988) p.169.)

McCord Cemetery is the final resting place of nine Civil War soldiers, two that died during their period of enlistment. Young brothers John M. Bostick and William F. Bostick mustered into Co. B. of the 117 Illinois Infantry on September 19, 1862, and died three weeks apart in the summer of 1863. They were the only sons of the widow Elizabeth (Sights) Bostick – their father having died when they were small boys. Perhaps their grandfather's service in the American Revolutionary War inspired them to enlist in the war effort. Whether it was bounty monies and monthly salaries, patriotism, or the excitement of traveling to faraway places, the Bostick boys served their country and paid with their lives. Other soldiers of this war that are buried at the cemetery are: George H. Clotfelter, George Washington Dryer, John Adolph Heidemann, John E. Knight, David Manly, John Berry Williams, and William J. Williams. See Veterans for more information.

The summer of 1863 was significant for the cemetery because the burial ground changed ownership from the private hands of the pioneer Paden family to the local county government. The warranty deed dated August 10, 1863, in which Elijah Paden conveyed land to Montgomery County for $1 was "for a burying ground for said McCord, Hogsett and Paden neighborhood, and for no other purpose whatever." (Note that the burial ground was not identified as "McCord Cemetery" in this deed.) Up until the time that Elijah conveyed this land to the county, it had been in the Paden family from the time that Elijah's father John purchased it as part of his federal land patent. The motivation for Elijah to deed the land to the county is unknown. The acreage (1.125 acres) was insignificant compared to his entire real estate holdings if he hoped to reduce taxes on real estate. A plat map dated 11 years later shows Elijah as the land owner of the larger parcel from which the burial ground was subdivided so it doesn't appear that Elijah had intended to sell or convey the larger parcel and donated the burial ground portion to preserve it as a burial ground when/if the larger parcel sold. Did the Civil War have anything to do with Elijah's decision to donate the land? See

Federal Lands and Deeds for more information.

An existing plat map dated 1874 of Montgomery County landowners for the area surrounding McCord Cemetery is an excellent source for identifying neighbors of this neighborhood burial ground. Many of the family names had not changed from the purchasers of the early land patents. Family names on the map that are also found on the grave markers include: Haygood, Hogsett, Hughes, Kerr, McCord, Paden, Rutledge, Short, and Williams. On the plat map, the burial ground is identified by the cross symbol on Elijah Paden's tract although he had conveyed this small area of 1.125 acres within his larger tract to the county government 11 years earlier. A red-colored square surrounding the burial ground is a recent addition to the map to identify the cemetery's location for the website visitor. See 1874 Plat Map for more information.

Years later, another significant event affected the area – coal was discovered by the nearby city of Hillsboro in 1887 and the mining industry was born. It provided a boost to the local economy, and young men now had the option of working as a coal miner rather than a farmer. One would suspect that some deaths in the cemetery might be the result of hazardous working conditions in 19th century coal mines; however, a review of the occupations of residents of Irving Township for the year 1900 shows that few men actually worked as coal miners and the majority (90%) were farmers or farm laborers. There were twice as many railroad laborers as coal miners, and a few carpenters, teachers, brick masons, blacksmiths, and other occupations. Only the Rev. Knight's cemetery marker is inscribed with his vocation as a Presbyterian preacher, so other sources need to be researched to discover if an occupational hazard was the cause of death for an individual.

Two community leaders were buried in McCord Cemetery during this era. Samuel Haller was interested in politics and Rev. Joel Knight was interested in saving souls.

Samuel Haller, the patriarch of the Haller family in Montgomery County, Illinois, was born in 1799 in Pennsylvania and died October 4, 1866. In the 1860 federal population census, Samuel's real estate value is recorded as $10,500, one of the highest in the area, and his occupation is farmer. However, Samuel was much more than a farmer. He played a key role in Illinois politics and the future of our federal government as one of the 645 delegates that nominated Abraham Lincoln in May 1860 for presidency at the state's Republican nominating convention in Decatur. Prior to this, in the fall of 1858, the Illinois State Journal reported that Samuel Haller introduced the Honorable Abraham Lincoln to an "enthusiastic assemblage" of about 3,000 persons at Hillsboro for a speech. There is little doubt that Samuel Haller was familiar with Illinois politicians, including soon-to-be President Abraham Lincoln. In The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Vol. 2, by Abraham Lincoln, a report of the Whig State Convention in December 1851 lists Samuel Haller as the legislature representative of Montgomery County who attended the convention. Social prominence and financial success does not ward off death. Within ten months in 1866, the Haller family of Montgomery County lost five members. All these Haller family members, including Samuel, are interred at McCord Cemetery.

Rev. Joel Knight, or "Father Knight" as he was called, was a Presbyterian preacher who was instrumental in the establishment of several churches of his faith in the area. He was what we would describe today as a "motivational speaker" who inspired his listeners to action. He died in 1876 at nearly 80 years of age. He joined the Presbyterian religion at its first meeting in May of 1823 in Montgomery County. For many years he was the only minister of his faith in the community. The inscription of his cemetery marker describes him as "A Minister of the Gospel in the C.P. Church 54 years" (C. P. stands for Cumberland Presbyterian).

The number of known burials in these middle years of 1861-1892 is 97, representing approximately 37% of the total burials. Adding this number to the earlier burials, the total burials as of 1892 are 146, nearly 60% of the total number of burials in the cemetery today.