These 9 volumes includes the tombstone inscriptions from a number of pioneer burial places in Champaign County, Illinois.
The information recorded here is necessarily fragmentary and subject to error. It is also incomplete as to places visited. The Genealogical Records Committee found that, in many cases, their time to record the data had run out. In some places we found only cultivated fields, where once a burial place had been; in others, a complete and pathetic ruin, while, in contrast, some had received loving care through the years.
Because of the condition of some of the cemeteries, and the ravages of time and the elements, often it was very difficult to read the inscriptions. Thus, it is understandable that errors may exist. In some cases, no stone or monument or not even a mound marks the grave from the surrounding ground.
Our impression, after spending several years on the work, is that a great mistake has been made in allowing the last resting places of some of our pioneers to be lost. We can well understand how this came about in places where the circumstances were such that no Association could be formed to perpetuate their care, but their present condition is none the less to be regretted. An attitude of mind which has a spirit of respect for those who came before us, and whose efforts were the beginning of what we now have, needs to be created. This is a rich and productive county in material things, but “true wealth is measured by richness of heart and mind.” We believe that Alliance Chapter could find no worthier project than this.
We wish to express our thanks to Mr. Godfrey Sperling for the use of the material which he collected some twenty years ago on the History of Champaign County cemeteries, and to Mr. Bernard Price of the American Legion, who has visited every burial site in the County, and who gave us the use of his material on the subject. The Historical Map of Champaign County, 1819-1940, of the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, with Professor Karl B. Lohman, Chairman, Urbana, Illinois, was a great help to us.
The few historical facts mentioned in describing the various cemeteries were taken from the histories of Champaign County found in the Urbana Public Library and from Mr. Sperling’s articles unless otherwise stated.
- Alliance chapter, Daughters of American Revolution
Southeast Region, Volume 1
Along the Salt Fork River and its branches, south of St. Joseph, Illinois. The Old Huss Cemetery, the Bartley, and Peters-Thompson family burials are not included. They are all in the totally abandoned class. It was not practicable to visit them when the vegetation was in full growth, and we were not able to do it at the right time.
In 1833 when the Champaign County government was organized, the largest settlement of people was near the Salt Fork River, with lesser numbers at the Big Grove, later Urbana, and only a few along the Sangamon River. The settlers had not yet discovered that, with proper drainage, the open prairie made better farm land, and they were concentrated near the wooded streams because of proximity to fuel and water. Thus, we find the older cemeteries in this area.
Mrs. Frank Richart, Mrs. Stanley B. Hadden, and Miss Helen Cade, helped in recording the inscriptions and in arranging the material.
- Old Bliss Cemetery, Sidney Township
- Old Homer Cemetery, Homer
- Bill Huss Chapel Cemetery, St. Joseph
- Jessee Cemetery, Crittenden Township
- Lost Grove Cemetery
- Lynn Grove Cemetery
- Patterson Cemetery
- The Umbanhower Family Cemetery
Northeast Region, Volume 2
This volume includes the tombstone inscriptions from a number of burial places in the Northeast section of Champaign County, Illinois.
Assistance was provided by Professor Thomas G. Ehedd, Professor of Engineering, University of Illinois,
These inscriptions were obtained by Mrs. Frank Richart, Mrs. Thomas C. Shedd, Mrs. Stanley Hadden, Miss Helen Cade, and Miss Ruth Cade. Mrs. Raymond Lippe assisted in the alphabetizing.
- Brownfield-Yearsley Cemetery
- Brumley Cemetery
- Chenoweth Cemetery
- Clements Cemetery
- Elmwood Cemetery
- Friends Cemetery
- Harwood Cemetery
- Heater Cemetery
- Ludlow Cemetery
- Patton Cemetery
- Stearns Cemetery
- Tomlinson Cemetery
- Welles Cemetery
Northwest Region, Volume 3
- Beckman Cemetery
- Bryant Cemetery
- Fisher Cemetery
- Harris Cemetery
- Jersey Cemetery
- Lutheran Cemetery
- Mahomet Cemetery (Middletown)
- Mennonite Cemetery (East Bend)
- Mount Hope Cemetery
- Naylor Cemetery
- Peabody Cemetery
- Phillipe Cemetery
- Pusey-Knife Cemetery
- Riverside Cemetery
- Shiloh Cemetery
- Willow Brook Cemetery
Southwest Region, Volume 4
- Bailey Cemetery
- Craw Cemetery
- Nelson Cemetery (Douglas County)
- O’Bryan Cemetery
- Prairie View Cemetery
- Rice Cemetery
- Rock Cemetery
- Sadorus Cemetery
Cemetery Records Champaign County Illinois, Volume 5
- West Half Mount Hope Cemetery Records
- Soldiers Section
Cemetery Records Champaign County Illinois, Volume 6
- Rose Lawn
- East Half Mount Hope Cemetery Records
Cemetery Records Champaign County Illinois, Volume 7
- Harvey Cemetery
- Locust Grove Cemetery
- Mount Hope Cemetery (Sidney)
- Soldier’s Statue Records (Sidney)
Cemetery Records Champaign County Illinois, Volume 8
- Dunn Cemetery
- Maplewood Cemetery
- Mount Olive Cemetery (Mayview)
Cemetery Records Champaign County Illinois, Volume 9
- G. A. B Stones
- Old Huss Cemetery
- St. Mary’s Cemetery