The History of McCord Cemetery

By Jeanne M. Johnson

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the

Intro-duction

Chapter

The Later Years

(1893-1999)

The years 1893 and 1894 were significant for our neighborhood burial ground. A formal cemetery association, named the McCord Cemetery Association, was formed in October of 1893 to "establish a permanent burial place" and to care for it. The formation of the association does not appear to have originated with the local county government who held title to

the cemetery land at the time. It is in the association's written constitution that the first documentation of the name "McCord Cemetery" is located. During its entire existence, the members of the association board and its general membership were neighbors to the burial ground and/or had family members interred there. Years later, anyone "wishing to purchase lots" could and lot members automatically became members of the association and responsible for its expenses.

Family names of individuals buried at McCord Cemetery include: Altevogt, Armstrong, Balsley, Bostick, Burk, Butler, Chambers, Coltfelter, Denny, Dryer, Ellington, Golden, Golterman, Greene, Hagood, Haller, Hammack, Hanks, Heidemann, Hogsett, Hossman, Hughes, Jackson, Keesling, Kerr, Killpatrick, Knight, Lee, Linxwiler, Lipe, Lohr, Manly, McAfee, McCord, Meisenheimer, Menzer, Metcalf, Munos, Neal, Paden, Parry, Poage, Reynolds, Richardson, Rogers, Rose, Rutledge, Salzmann, Short, Slayback, Smith, Strain, Swiggett, Williams, Wilson, Worrel, and Wright.

It's unknown why and when the cemetery was named McCord Cemetery rather than the Paden Cemetery (after the original land owner who owned the land when the first burials occurred). John Paden's wife was the third burial following two Rutledge neighbors. The rural road used today to access the cemetery is named "McCord's Trail" – probably because McCord owned some of the property that abutted it to the east and north, but the Paden's also owned as much property along it. An 1863 deed references the "neighborhood burial ground" rather than the McCord Cemetery, indicating that the cemetery was not formally named as such until later. Both the Paden's and the McCord's were prominent families in the area. Robert McCord (1801-1870) was the adjoining land tract owner who obtained his federal land patent the same year as John Paden. He is buried here at McCord Cemetery with his wife and several children, as is John Paden and his family. Robert S. McCord and Robert Henry McCord were board members of the McCord Cemetery Association that later formed in 1893 to manage the burial ground. John Paden's grandsons, William Alexander Paden and Edward Franklin Paden also served as board members of the Association and it was their father Elijah who deeded the burial ground to Montgomery County in 1863.

The Constitution of the McCord Cemetery Association is handwritten and undated. See Constitution and Bylaws for more information. The preamble of the constitution states that the association is formed to establish "a permanent place of burial for the dead" and Article 1 states that the name of the burying ground shall be the McCord Cemetery. This document specifies that the Association’s' board shall consist of a president, secretary-treasurer, and three directors, and that lots will be sold to "those wishing to purchase." These purchasers are to be issued a certificate of purchase and lot sales are to be recorded in a register. Lot purchasers became members of the association and "shall bear the portion of the cost of defraying the expenses of the association." Permission must be obtained from the secretary to bury the dead.

Two months later following the formation of the cemetery association, Montgomery County officials met in December 1893 and voted to convey the land that Elijah Paden had deeded to them in 1863 to the McCord Cemetery Association "for the purposes of a burying ground forever." This parcel consists of 1.125 acres. At the time, the burial ground consisted of 149 burials, all located on this parcel. See Deeds for more information.

Two months after this, Robert and Martha E. Hughes sold two parcels consisting of a total area of 1.5595 acres to the McCord Cemetery Association for $28.60, bringing the total acreage held by the association to 2.6845 acres. The smaller of these two parcels is a very narrow strip of land on the west and south sides of the county-conveyed parcel. The larger of these two parcels is 1-1/2 acres that is situated on the east side of the county-conveyed parcel and fronts McCord Trail. Today, this parcel only has a few burials from later years and is used to access the county-conveyed parcel. See Deeds for more information.

The few official records that belong to the cemetery are stored at the county courthouse and consist of the McCord Cemetery Association's documents that are dated from 1893 through 1981. These include:

Two handwritten documents record the business conducted at two meetings held in 1893. Their content appears to substantiate that year for the association's formation.

The first of these two documents mention a meeting held at the cemetery "in pursuance to previous notice, a meeting of the patrons of the Cemetery known as the McCord Cemetery was held at the cemetery Friday, September 22nd, 1893, for the purpose of effecting an organization and otherwise improving the same". A temporary chairman E.L. Haller and secretary R. H. McCord were elected, as well as a members of a "committee on permanent organization" consisting of Frank Hughes, G.B. Smith, and J.C. Short. Those present were W.A. Paden, James Worrell Sr., A. C. Short, Frank Hughes, G. B. Smith, J.C. Short, James Worrell Jr., E. L. Haller, and R. H. McCord. This document is signed by "R.H. McCord, Sec." See September Formation Document for more information.

The second document dated about two weeks later, October 6, 1893, states that the "patrons of the McCord Cemetery have this day formed a permanent organization by electing E.L. Haller president, R. H. McCord secretary and treasurer, A. C. Short, G. B. Smith, J.L. Worrell as trustees. All officers to hold their offices for two years. The constitution and bylaws of the Irving Cemetery Association were read and adopted with the exception of Sec. 2 Art. 3 of the bylaws. The document is signed by "E.L. Haller, Pres." and "R.H. McCord, Sec". Those present were: E.L. Haller, A.C. Short, G. B. Smith, Jas. Worrell, Sr., Jas. Worrel Jr., R. H. McCord. See October Formation Document for more information.

Other documents are the minutes of association meetings, a receipt book of lot sales, a burial agreement, and a hand-drawn cemetery plot map. The minutes and the receipt book appear incomplete. The minutes are dated 1893 through 1939, with none for the years 1894 through 1900 and 1924 through 1933. The receipt book consists of receipts for only 19 cemetery lots and the total number of known burials today is 261, with 112 occurring during this time period. Many receipts are undated, but the ones that are dated have years ranging from 1920–1964. There is a handwritten burial agreement dated July 12, 1981, and signed by secretary/treasurer Mildred Bandy for permission of the future burials of three Altevogt family members. Death dates engraved on grave marker inscriptions at the cemetery range from 1835–2006. There have been only ten burials in the last thirty years, including two of the Altevogt individuals mentioned in the 1981 burial agreement. See Association Archives for more information.

The following individuals served on the board as officers and/or trustees of the McCord Cemetery Association according to the existing minutes: Judge John L. Dryer, E. L. Haller, Albert Hughes, Robert H. McCord (served as Secretary/Treasurer from 1893 to his death in 1930), Dr. R.S. McCord, Edward F. Paden, Andrew P. Hughes, Frank Hughes, A. C. (Abner Cowan) Short, Grace Short, G. B. Smith, Basilio Tomamichel, Basilio Tomamichel Jr., Joseph Tomamichel, P.H. Williams. Other individuals named in the minutes as attendees are: Mr. & Mrs. Louie Altevogt, John Armstrong, Albert Bondurant, Anna and Lillian Hughes, J.E. Knight, C.O. (Charles Owen) Rutledge, Mr. & Mrs. Charles Shepherd, and Mr. & Mrs. Tom Tarran.

The minutes reflect a few notable items of interest today regarding the care and upkeep of the cemetery.

In 1915, 100 hedge posts and woven wire were purchased for $36.60 to fence the cemetery. In 1934, the fence committee proposed installing steel gates and new fencing for the front or east sides of the cemetery. Evidently the steel gates and fencing at the front of the cemetery were not purchased for these items do not exist today. At the following meeting, the board voted to purchase $28.80 in posts and barbed wire for "completion of fence." The aged remains of wooden posts and wire fencing can be seen today by searching areas near the sides and rear of the cemetery.

In the association minutes dated in 1920, R.H. McCord was hired to mow the ground in front of the cemetery and then soon after he was granted permission to "pasture the front of the cemetery" to keep down the vegetation. In 1934, the board voted to stop allowing livestock in the cemetery grounds because the practice resulted in "stones knocked down and badly trampled." Today, damaged cemetery markers are evident, primarily for Short and McCord individuals, and others may be missing or sunk in the ground from the practice.

In 1938, the Irving Presbyterian Church donated $650 to the association "for the care and upkeep of its grounds." The association trustees then loaned Albert Hughes money to secure a first mortgage on real estate from the donated funds. The minutes are missing after this until 1949 so no more details are known about the transaction.

The association established prices for lot sales and an incomplete receipt book records some of the sales. Most of these receipts are undated. It is evident by later minutes that the association's treasury was dwindling and most likely became depleted.

In 1939, the state was seeing a boom in oil production, ranking as one of richest oil producing areas in the nation, second only to Texas. Illinois farmers were becoming rich overnight from the harvest of natural resources beneath their land with minimum effort. The cemetery association records contain a two-page typewritten agreement dated September 22, 1939, with the Gulf Refining Company for rights to enter the cemetery land for the "purpose of exploring, developing and operating the same for oil, gas, and casinghead gas mining purposes, with the right to use and occupy so much of the surface of said land as grantee may find necessary or convenient to the enjoyment of the mineral estate hereby granted" for the consideration of $1.00. For $20.00 annually, the lease shall remain unless the grantees surrender the lease by placing a release of record in the proper county. It is unknown whether this document was executed but this copy is unsigned and not notarized. Currently, there are approximately 650 oil fields in Illinois and most of them are located in the southern portion of the state; Montgomery County's geological composition is not conducive to voluminous oil production. The real estate's legal description in the agreement is similar to the three parcels that comprise McCord Cemetery but differs very slightly; and the cemetery does not contain "3-1/8 acres, more or less" but approximately 2.68 acres. After comparing the lot dimensions stated in the agreement with the cemetery deeds and a modern-day survey, it can be reasonably concluded that the agreement contained minor errors in this regard rather than additional land.

There are four veterans of this era interred at McCord Cemetery. George W. Parry served in World War I along with William F. Altevogt who received a Purple Heart for his wounds received in action at Belgium. William's younger brother Louis Adolph Altevogt Jr. later served in the Korean War. Carl C. Meisenheimer served in World War II. See Veterans for more information.

Buried at McCord Cemetery was the victim of a tragic accident, Lester Lohr. He was the grandson of German immigrant George Lohr who raised his family in the 1800's in Irving Township and is buried here with his wife and three children, including Lester's father. From Lester's obituary we learn that Lester was raised in rural Irving and wanted to see the world when he reached his early 20's. He headed west where the accident occurred after he crawled into a box car in Laramie, Wyoming, in which explosive powder had spilled during an earlier shipment. Lester's traveling companion was warned by Lester that the substance was powder but didn't believe him and lit a match "to see if it would burn." A terrible explosion followed and the other boy soon died. Lester was badly burned and his mother traveled out west to nurse him for nearly a year until he could return home, terribly disfigured and unable to work. His lungs were affected from inhaling the flames and he eventually died seven years later as a result.

Three other deaths during this period reflect the history of the times.

In 1901, Lucy McCord died of a complication from an earlier attack of typhoid fever several years before that left her weak. Typhoid fever is transmitted by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. During the same year that Lucy suffered her attack, vaccine testing for this disease was being conducted but a vaccine was not yet available. Modern sanitation techniques, pasteurization, vaccines, and disinfectants have significantly reduced typhoid fever today in the United States.

In 1918, George Henry Altevogt and his 4-yr-old niece Myrtle Edna Altevogt died of Spanish Influenza. The 1918 Spanish Flu was an epidemic that spread across the world and lasted from March 1918 to June 1920. Between 50 to 100 million people died, giving it the distinction of the deadliest natural disaster of mankind. Other sources estimate 50 million people, about 3% of the world's population, died of the disease and ten times that were infected.

Three readings, or surveys, of the cemetery markers were conducted during these later years. The first survey was conducted in 1946, the second and third were in 1980 and 1985. A comparison of the survey data reveals that some cemetery markers are missing from the earlier readings and other markers are more difficult to read or are damaged. It is extremely fortunate that these readings were done because they are the only records we have of these markers that no longer exist or cannot be read. The inscription list on this website was recently compiled using information from these three readings and other sources (obituaries, county death index, recent grave markers, etc.) and represents the most complete list available. See Inscriptions for more information.

The number of known burials in these later years of 1893-1999 is 114, representing 44% of the total burials. There have been only 10 burials for the period 1980-1999. Adding this number to the earlier burials, the total number of burials as of 1999 is 260, one shy of the total number in the cemetery.