The book he kept and from which we gleaned this information, starts January 1, 1899, and funeral number one for that year was Mrs.  Jul Eddy. She died on January 11, 1899, at the age of 78 years, nine months. Her funeral was on January 13th and according to the book, burial was made in the Hanson cemetery and the total bill was $32, of which $25 was for the casket, $2 for the box, $2 for a robe, and $3 for the hearse.

 That was about the average cost of a funeral back in 1899. Some were more, some less for adults much less for infants and children.

 Funeral number nine as recorded in the book, was for Paul Brown, nine months old who died on June 29th, and was buried on July lst in the West Fork cemetery. The funeral cost was $9, $7 for the coffin and $2 for the hearse, which was about the average for infants.

 There was no embalming done by Mr. McKinney, a robe or wrapper was provided by him at a cost of around $2.50, a small charge was made for the hearse, but it was not used for many funerals and as all of the burials were close to Excelsior the charge was small. However one long trip was made. That was when Elder Marks passed away. Rev. Marks, who at the time was at West Port, suffered a heart attack in church and died. His funeral was on October 5, 1903, and they buried him in the English Ridge cemetery in the town of Marshall, a distance of "20 miles", so the book says. Rev. Marks was 75 years old and the entire undertaking bill was $37 which was paid in cash.

 Cash was not always available, and in some cases Mr. McKinney failed to get paid in full for his services. In one instance the undertaking bill amounted to $44.50 and small payments were made from time to time until the bill was fully paid. Odd as it may seem, one of the payments consisted of 15 1/2 gallons of sorghum, so everything turned out all right in that case.

 Records were kept of the cemetery where the burials took place and some of them are different than what they are known as today. Mr. McKinney reports burials being made in the Dosch, Duncan, Coates and Hanson cemeteries. Where are they located? One, the Dosch cemetery, is now known as Tavera.

 From January 1, 1899 to January 1, 1909 Mr. McKinney had 91 charges for undertaking services, eleven only during the year of 1903 and fifteen in 1899, so business was not so rushing back in those years for a country undertaker of which Mr. McKinney was a typical example.

S. F.

Page 12-13

Tales The Tombstones Tell - Republican Observer September 29, 1955

 Quite out of sight from the roadside which passes it is the Neptune Cemetery atop a rocky ridge. The road passes the foot of the not high hill so close that the little cemetery is hidden from view. A couple of large pine trees can be seen as you approach the cemetery on the state truck highway which leads from Ithaca to Neptune. A glimpse of a tombstone or two can be noted as you pass Elephant Rock; they are straight ahead.
 The Neptune cemetery site was given as burial place by Thomas Sippy, son of Dr. Joseph Sippy, back in the long ago. Mrs. Lena Reagles of Neptune, is the present secretary of the cemetery association and has the old, old records but for some reason or other they, do not bear any dates. Mrs. Reagles gave some information about the cemetery when we called at her home some time ago. She showed us the old record, and, according to it, the cemetery contained 113 lots. Seven Civil War veterans are buried there and there are government markers for some of them. Among the old soldiers who rest there are Theodore Dockerty, Phillip Warren, John Van Allen, H. H. Butts, Harlow Stoddard and Wm. F. Krause.
 Many of the older settlers of Neptune and vicinity have found a resting place in the shadow of the tall pine trees. These trees, we were told, were set out by Thomas Sippy, to mark the grave of a Dr. Slack, who was buried there. He had no relatives in that area so far as is known and Mr. Sippy, besides planting the trees, put up a rough stone to mark the spot. Dr. Slack's name appears upon the record but some say the name was not Slack but Slaughter.
 Among the older settlers to be buried in the cemetery are Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Warren, Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Butts, D. J. Gwin and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Abel Reagles, and Mr. and Mrs. John Philip Schlafer. On the Schlafer lot are markers for five infants, all born dead or lived but a few hours. The stones are marked:
 Clarance - Clara, twins, 1884 - 1884, Leon 1888-1888; Gertrude 1889-1889; Louisa 1891-1891. Another one was for Agnes who lived two years, born in 1892 and died in 1894.
 Standing in the cemetery is a marker for Emmett Jaquish, a soldier boy. He is not buried there however. The monument reads: Emmett Jaquish  Co. H 46th Wis. Vol. Died May 5, 1864 aged 14 years, 6 months, 19 days. Buried at Chicago.
 It might be of interest to know that Co. H had as captain Amasa Hoskins, Richland Center, and in the company were 81 men from Richland county.
 Opposite to the inscription is one for John W. Jaquish who died March 10, 1898, aged 82 years, 10 months and 26 days. Note that Emmett, the young soldier boy was less than 15 years of age at the time of his death. He was indeed a youthful soldier.
 Abel Reagles and his wife Priscilla are among those buried on the hill. A large stone marks the spot where they are resting and at the base of it are two smaller ones which bear pretty verses, one reads:
 "We look for thy coming, but you came not, we miss you everywhere, the chair is vacant. I loved you in childhood, I loved you in age; though dead I love you still. Our lives are but a dream, a time flowing stream gliding swiftly away."
 On the other stone it reads:
 "Farewell, dear friend, I will never come back any more, so plant ye a tree that may wave over me; Come at the close of a bright summer day, come when the sun sheds his last lingering ray."
 On the Mark Squires lot the monument notes the passing of several children, Freddie died in 1881, aged 8; Jay passed away on February 12, 1881, aged two years; Earl, July 14, 1888, aged three; Frank, June 14, 1896 aged 14, and Lois, June 17, 1885, aged three years.
 The first child to be buried in the cemetery was Cora Sippy, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Sippy. A simple stone marks her grave;  it reads: "Cora Sippy. In memory of little Cora." Nothing else appears upon the marker; no date and no verse, though a little wreath carved in the stone is on top of the marker. The Sippy home was at the base of the hill, a stone's throw from the cemetery. Mrs. Sippy had the child buried at the brow of the hill so she could see the monument from her front yard. The farm, then owned by Mr. and Mrs. Sippy, is now owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Meeker.
 On the monument for Dr. Joseph Sippy, who's son gave the land for the cemetery, are these inscriptions: "Joseph Sippy died September 11, 1870, aged 79 years, five months."  "Martha, wife of Joseph Sippy, Died July 9, 1880, aged 84 years four months."
 Those are brief words for ones who were so prominent in the affairs of Neptune for it was Dr. Sippy who platted the village of Neptune in 1855 and he gave the village its name. A post office was opened in 1854 previous to the platting of the village site and Dr. Sippy was the first postmaster. As a post office the office was named by the authorities at Washington and Dr. Sippy also chose the same name for the village. At the time there was a log house on the site owned by Daniel Gwin. Stephen Reagles opened a store. The post office was on a route from Sextonville and mail was received once a week. Previous to this Dr. Sippy started the erection of a saw mill which was completed in 1854 and he continued to operate it until 1866 when he sold to Rufus Taplin who in 1883 added a feed mill.
 Dr. Sippy was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in March 1791. His father was a native of France and came to America with LaFayette during the War for Independence. Dr. Sippy was a stirring patriot and served for a time in the War of 1812. He was married to Martha Cogswell whose mother was a sister to General Gates of Revolutionary War fame. In 1813 Dr. and Mrs. Sippy went to Ohio, making the trip with one horse, without a wagon, packing upon the back of the horse their household goods including bedding and camp kettles. The couple settled in Indiana and in 1852 Dr. Sippy made a trip to Richland county on horseback. He liked the place and came here with his wife and son Thomas and settled in Ithaca. They were the parent of a number of children, one of whom, Thomas, was at one time the sheriff of Richland county. Two of Dr. Sippy's grandsons, A. F. and Bertram W. became noted physicians, the former practiced in Ohio for many years and Dr. Bertram in Chicago until his death.
 Dr. Bertram Sippy married a Richland county girl, Miss Mabel Lamberson, who is still living. Thomas in later years moved to Akron, Ohio, where his son Dr. A. F., practiced medicine, and it was there that Thomas died.
 Able Reagles, mentioned elsewhere in this article, went to work for Dr. Joseph Sippy, when 14 years of age and lived with him until 21 years old. He was then married to Priscilla, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Sippy and came Richland county in 1854. Times were hard and food short. Going to Sextonville some corn and beans were bought by Mr. Reagles and his neighbor, Henry Short. They returned about midnight tired and hungry. The Reagles family had gone to bed without food. Some beans were hastily cooked and eaten with a relish by one and all. Ginseng became in great demand and the whole Reagles family went to work with a will to gather it. This kept the wolf from the door and proved the turning point in their fortunes, from which they prospered, and, as the story books say, "lived happily ever after."
 Thus were the lives and fortunes of all the pioneers bound together. Their efforts were not in vain as fine farms, a prosperous countryside prove that the pioneers of the Neptune area were worthy men and women.
 Burial are infrequent in the Neptune cemetery now; the last one being on June 6th of this year when Mrs. Christina Hunt was laid to rest. Mrs. Hunt was 84 years of age, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Leiber, early settlers of Willow township. We are told that but one or two more burials are to be made in the cemetery after which it will be used no more.
 Tonight Little Cora sleeps away the years in the cemetery not far from Grandpa and Grandma - Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Sippy. Peace be with them all.
S. F.

Page 14

Tales The Tombstones Tell - Republican Observer October 27, 1955

 Entirely covered with a rank growth of bushes, vines, plum trees and an over abundance of poison ivy, there lies hidden from view, a Mormon or Latter Day Saints cemetery in the town of Willow. A burial has not been made there in 25 years. This cemetery is what is known as the Wildermuth cemetery and in it are buried a number of members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

 How come the cemetery? It is a strange and interesting story which dates back some 100 years or more.

 The story of the coming of the Latter Day Saints, or Mormons as they are often called, to Richland county, begins back in the mid 40s or even back to l830. The Latter Day Saints or Mormons, was founded in New York in 1830 and an attempt was made by Joseph Smith Jr. to establish a colony in Wisconsin. After the trouble at Nauvoo, Illinois, when Joseph Smith Jr. lost his life in 1844, many of his followers scattered to other towns in Illinois and Wisconsin.  Rumors began to trickle in including that polygama was advocated by Brigham Young and others. A number of the new converts withdrew their fellowship from Brigham Young and chose Joseph Smith III as their leader. Among these were David Wildermuth. David, Ruben, and Cyrus Newkirk and William Cline. It was a bold move as they had cut themselves off from the organized church.

 At a meeting held at the David Wildermuth home and later at Cyrus Newkirk's flour mill, a new organization got off to a good start. This meeting was near Blanchardville. Zarahemia, City God, was the name taken back in the 1850s for their community. Its center, a school house, was located on the William Cline farm. That was Blanchardville in its beginning. It was there too that David Wildermuth and his wife Anna took up their home back in 1846 and it was there a son died and was buried. Mrs. Wildermuth before her marriage was a Anna Newkirk.

 William Cline moved to Richland county in 1860. David Wildermuth, a Saint, who seemed to be a leader of the Blanchardville Mormons, came to Richland county together with members of his family and the family of Cyrus Newkirk and others.

 The above sketch is to introduce some of the folks who are buried in the Wildermuth cemetery in the town of Willow.

 David Wildermuth from whom the burying place takes its name, was born in Ohio December 17, 1803. There he grew to manhood and was married in 1831 to Anna Newkirk, who was born in Ohio, March 3, 1814. They moved to Coles county, Illinois in 1835, to Lafayette county, Wisconsin, in 1845, then to the state of Iowa, back Lafayette county and in the spring of 1856 they started with ox teams for Richland county where be entered land and made their future home. Others came from Lafayette county until there was quite a settlement of Latter Day Saints in the area surrounding the Wildermuth home in section 7. Religious services were held in the homes, outdoor services in the summer.

 Death began to enter the ranks and the need for a burial ground
caused the Wildermuth cemetery to come into being. A site was selected and burials made. Today the plot is over grown with bushes and to gain entrance to it is quite difficult. We managed through much effort to take a look at the tombstones, or at least some of them; so thick were the vines and bushes that a stone could not be seen except from a distance of a few feet, so some stones might have been missed.

 On one of the stones was this: "Myrta L. Daughter of E. G. and J. A. Wildermuth, died Jan. 29, 1863, aged 2 years, 3 months, 8 days."
Lorin, Died Jan 22, 1865, aged 3 years, 9 months and 17 Days.

Page 15

  The marker for Lorin bears the earliest date. Jan. 22, 1865, so that no doubt was the first burial there.

 Other stones in the cemetery are for Cyrus Newkirk, born in 1800, and for his wife Catherine, born in 1799 and died in 1880.

 Another stone bore the name of Horace Newkirk, born 1866, died in 1930. This, according to dates on the stores, was the last burial made there, 25 years ago.

 Then there were markers for infant daughters of Wm. and A. Mathews.

 There was one for William Cline who died on August 8, 1870, age 68 years.

 One for Isaac G. Newkirk born July 3, 1834, and passed on October 16, 1910. He was a member of Co. D. 11th Regiment Wisconsin Infantry. According to government records he entered service Feb. 28, 1865, and was mustered out Sept. 4, 1865. Many other Richland County men belonged to Co. D; Jesse E. Miller, Richiand Center, was the captain and all the officers were from this county.

 On the stone was also the name Lourenea, born November 25, 1846, and died September 11, 1916. No other information was given.

 Then there was the monument for Mr. Wildermuth and his wife. It was of stone cut to resemble a tree and on it was inscribed; "David C. Wildermuth, born December 17, 1803, died April 6, 1889. "Ann, his wife, born March 3, 1814, died January 12, 1903."

 On the same stone was an inscription for their daughter Louisa, born July 9, 1851, died February 21, 1895.

 That's the story of the Wildermuth cemetery and the little band of Latter Day Saints or Mormons as they were called who came to Richland county, took up their homes here and some of them found a last resting place in the little cemetery not far from the Pleasant Ridge school house in the town of Willow.

 Descendants of the Wildermuths, Clines and Newkirks now reside in Richland county.