The son of Oscar F. Black mentioned above, became a prominent Richland county attorney. He is the father of Attorney O. D. Black and Mrs. A. P. Pier, Richland Center residents.

 Members of the Poole family are resting beneath the sod. One of these, Byron W. Poole, who was born in 1857, died in 1936. He became mayor of this city, register of deeds. He was a good citizen and had many friends. His wife Alice, a daughter of Mrs. Harry Pier, and a son Earle, live in Richland Center. Another daughter, Mrs. Hild, is residing in Phoenix, Arizona.

 On the monument of Milessa Poole it says she was born September 8, 1895, married Wilford Brockwell January 12, 1916, died at Richmond, Va., October 24, 1921, and was buried in the Salem church cemetery, Charles City, Virginia.

 Mr. and Mrs. Benjamine Benbow and some of their children have found rest in this cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Benbow were the parents of Mrs. I. A. Cleveland, who taught many a Richland Center youngster the art of piano playing. Mr. Cleveland was the owner of a drug store in Richland Center, for many years. Moving to Chicago to be near their son Frank, they both passed on and were buried in Chicago.

 The Lambersons, Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Lamberson, two daughters and two sons are in the Willow Valley cemetery. Mr. Lamberson was born, so the tombstone records, in 1846 and died in 1927. Mr. Lamberson served the county as assemblyman it one time. He was a member of the 6th Wisconsin Battery.

 His wife saw the light of day in 1849 and her death came in 1926. A son Ward, is buried on the lot, as are twin daughters, Blanche and Maude, who were born August 15, 1880. Maude preceeded her sister to death.

 Blanche married J. Forseyth Smith, pastor of the local Presbyterian church. She was city librarian for some years before her death.

 Another well known resident of Ithaca and later of Richland Center, who is buried in this cemetery was S. I. Freeborn, born in 1833, and died in 1895. He owned and operated a nursery and apple orchard in Ithaca for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Freeborn moved from the farm to Richland Center where they erected a fine brick house on the corner of East Court and South Sheldon streets. It is now the property of Mr. and Mrs. John Kirkpatrick. Coming to Richland Center with their parents were Rena and Arthur Freeborn.

 On the stone of Mrs. Eliza Smith, who died in 1896, are these words:
  "Beneath this stone I've placed in trust,
   Not the immortal but the dust
   Of one on earth to me most dear,
   Who learned in youth her God to fear."

 Buried in the cemetery are members of many well known families, Simpson, Shookman, Davis, Worth, Schoonover, Grover, Holtz, Anderson, Edson, Dow, Beran, Howe and Smith are some of the names appearing upon the stones.

 Walter Albert Smith, born February 21, 1922; and died June 29, 1947, is the brief inscription on one of the stones. Mr. Smith was a World War II soldier.

 A stone marks the grave of one of the writer's boyhood friends, Audley Davis. We were playmates, school chum and near neighbors in the long ago. Audley was a son of Mr. and Mrs. William Davis. He went west where he made his home, in the closing years of his life, residing at Gresham, Oregon, when death came. They brought him home and boyhood friends carried him to his last resting place in the Willow Valley cemetery. We paused at his grave on a recent visit to this city of the dead. Audley was a good boy.

 On the gravestone of Caroline Zintz, who died July, 25, 1881, it says:
   "Angels whisper that our sister is in lands
    of peace and rest,
    where we feel she's sweetly sleeping,
    safe on Jesus' breast."

 Henry Short, well known in the early days, was born November 13, 1836, and died August 27, 1923. Mrs. Short died in 1893.

 A bit of history concerning the Willow Valley cemetery would not be complete without mention of the Rev. Simon Spyker and his wife, Rosanna, both lived to a ripe old age. Rev. Spyker was 86 years of age at the time of his passing and his wife was 71. Rev. Spyker organized a Lutheran church in 1862. It had 14 members as follows: Samuel Davis and wife; S. C. Davis and wife; Samuel Stofer and wife; J. G. Marden and wife; Harriet Cass; Rosanna Spyker and O. V. Davis. In 1869 it became a Congregational church and met for worship in the school house; later building a church of their own. On the monument it says, speaking of Rev. Spyker: "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that sleepeth. 1 Cor. 15:20." For Mrs. Spyker there is engraved on the monument:

  "Yet again we hope to meet
   Thee when life's fleeting days are o'er."

 A monument for A. F. Cass stands in the cemetery. It says that Mr. Cass was born October 14, 1824, at Stanstead, Quebec, Canada, died in 1906 aged 81 years. Buried at Mt. Hope cemetery, San Diego, Calif., James M. Cass was also born in Canada on March 24, 1808. He was married Feb.19, 1829, to Mary Tapin. In 1847 they started with teams for Wisconsin, landed in Spring Green, and in 1851 came to Richland county and Mr. Cass began the erection of a crude mill on Pine river, operated it a number of years and then sold out to William Bowen and it became known as Bowen's Mill. Another member of the Cass family, James W. Cass, was born in 1858 and died in 1912. On his monument is carved a pretty verse, it reads:
  "Warm summer's sun shine kindly here,
   Cold Wintry Wind blow softly here;
   Green sod above lie' light, lie light,
   Good night dear heart, good night, good night."

 On the stone of two worthy aged people who traveled life's road together for many a year, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. H. Davis. Mr. Davis lived to be 87 and Betsy, his wife, 81. He died in 1889 and she in 1885. On the stone it says:
  "Shielded and safe from sorrow."

S. F.

Page 68

Tales The Tombstones Tell - Republican Observer - January 3, 1957

   The Fancy Creek Cemetery
 This article telling of the Fancy Creek cemetery will owning to its length, be in two chapters so to speak. This cemetery is an old one; it adjoins the Fancy Creek church in the town of Marshall.
    Part I
 According to the county history the Fancy Creek cemetery, which is connected with the Presbyterian church that stands in the burying ground; was laid out during the Civil War by Rev. J. H. Mathers and the first burial therein was in 1862, when a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Smith was laid to rest. Burials have continued from that day and will continue on through the years that are ahead. The cemetery is one of the well kept ones in the county. James Clarson, Richland Center, is the present caretaker and he keeps the 94 year old graveyard trim and neat.
 Many of the early settlers of Fancy Creek and that area have found rest and peace in the shadow of the church house. In fact some of the earliest, settlers are there surrounded by their sons, daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
 This graveyard has many, many old monuments and also many, many of the newer ones.  A number of the older people to be buried there were natives of Scotland, sailed the ocean, took up their homes in Ohio, Columbiana county being a favorite, and from there came west to Richland county, Wisconsin, where they spent the remainder of their days and now are counted as inhabitants of this city of the dead, far, far away from their native land.
 One of the earliest settlers of what is now the town of Marshall, was Joseph Marshall, from whom the township took its name. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, March 25, 1820. In April, 1851, he was married to Margaret McCannon and the next day they started west to seek a home and their journey ended on Fancy Creek, where they took up a claim and settled down. Mr. Marshall served in the Civil War. Mrs. Marshall died in the fall of 1865, leaving five children. His second wife Nettie Starett, to whom he was married in 1867.
 Another of the early settlers was George L. Marshall, also a native of Columbiana county, Ohio, where he was born October 28, 1839. At the age of 13 he came west with his mother Maria Marshall, then a widow, and they took up their home in Marshall township. With her was another son, Simon, who died July 17, 1855, his death being the first or one of the first to take place in the township. Mrs. Marshall and her son Simon are buried in the Copenhefer cemetery on section 9 in Marshall. Mrs. Marshall, mother of George L., died on December 25, 1855, at the age of 55. In a write-up of the Copenhefer cemetery, printed in this paper some time ago, more is told of her and her son, Simon.

 A double marker for William and Elizabeth Calhoon, is near the west fence of the cemetery. It contains nothing else but the two names.
 A stone for Mary Blazer has this upon it:
  "In sure and certain hope to rise,
   And claim her mansion in the skies;
   A Christian here, here flesh laid down.
   The Cross exchanged it for a crown." Mother

 Upon the monument there appears the names of the pioneers such as Truesdale, Robbins, Stayton, Coulter, Patch, Repsumer, Deckert, Berkshire, Armstrong, Johnston, Austin, Ferguson, Herrington, Brown, Doudna, Clark, Warren, Schoonover and many others.
 Winnie Armstrong, whose death took place in August, 1896, when she was 19 years old, has this upon her tombstone:
  "At the crystal water's brink
   We shall find each broken link,
   Some sweet day by and by.
   Then the star that faded here,
   Left our home and hearts so drear,
   Some sweet day by and by."
 

 John and Jane Fogo, who came from Ohio in 1853, bringing with them a large family of young children, settled on Fancy Creek. They were the writer's grandparents. Both of these pioneers were born in Kilmarnoch, Ayrshire, Scotland, John on September 20, 1799. His death took place on Friday, Sept. 1, 1876. He was a very religious man, a straight-laced Presbyterian of the old school who would not allow his children to whistle, whittle, let alone work on the Sabbath. No cooking was done in the home on a Sunday; meals being prepared the day previous, and eaten cold. On his tombstone it says:
  "The habitations of Thy house,
   Lord; I have loved Thee well;
   Yea in that place I delight,
   where doth Thee now dwell."
 His good wife, Jane or Jean, as my father called her, lived on the old home farm until her death on August 7, 1881. The farm is now owned by Mrs. Etta Austin, a granddaughter of this pioneer couple. John and Jane Fogo were buried in the Fancy Creek cemetery and so were several of their children and they are surrounded by members of their families and their families' families.
 Prominent and numerous inhabitants of this burying ground are the Gillingham family, who are numbered among the early comers. Thomas Gillingham, born in 1837, and Sophia, his wife, in 1841, are buried in the Gillingham lots. Eighteen headstones are close by and scattered throughout the burying ground are stones for other members of the family and their relatives. Thomas Gillingham's birth date was October 28, 1837, and he came to Richland county when he was 14 years of age. He helped to supply the table with wild game which was abundant in the woods. In 1861 he was married to Miss Sophia Drake, also a native of Ohio, who was born in Carroll county. They became the parents of twelve children.
 One member of the Gillingham family, Moses H. Gillingham, a son of Harvey and Mary Gillingham, met with a tragic death. He had gone to a field when a storm came up and he was struck by lightning. His death took place on August 20, 1885. He was 30 years of age, and was survived by his wife, the former Annie Wanless. On the same stone is the this:
  "Happy Infant, early blest;
   Rest in peaceful slumber, rest."
 Most often there is in a cemetery something out of the ordinary and in this cemetery it is a tombstone, a part of which moves by some unseen force. On the lot of John D. Fogo is a large red granite ball which is so perfectly balanced that it moves, slightly each year, and the Masonic emblem carved upon it, will over a period of years, be higher up on the ball and a bit to the left. The ball moves in a sort of circle, just the fraction of an inch over a period of a year. Some claim that the sun has something to do with the movement, others think it is the cold weather in the winter, when it freezes and thaws. But whatever it is, the ball moves.
 On the grave of Emma Smith, first born child of Mr. and Mrs. P. M. Smith, is a pretty verse. Emma was a bit past 15 years of age when she passed away July 5, 1882. Here is the inscription:
  "Death lies on her like an untimely frost,
   upon the sweetest flower of all the field."
 One of the older people to be buried in this cemetery is Hannah, wife of Henry Campbell. She died in 1922 at the age of 80 years.
 Daniel Smith, a native of Ohio, died December 20, 1866, aged 20. His tombstone has this on it:
  "Happy friend whom God hath blessed,
   And kindly taken to his rest,
   God grant we may prepared be
   To meet him in eternity."

(To be Continued)

S. F.

Tales The Tombstones Tell - Republican Observer - January 10, 1957

   The Fancy Creek Cemetery
    Part II

 Charles and Nancy Stuart are two early settlers buried here. He was born in 1820 and died in 1877, his wife was born in 1826, and passed on in 1904. It says upon their monument that they were natives of Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
 A haunting verse of sadness is reflected upon the monument for Emma and Florence Ewing, children of Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Ewing. Florence was one year of age and Emma was three. Their deaths came in 1882 just a few days apart; Florence passing away on July 29th, and Emma on August 7th.
 The verse upon their gravestone reads:
  "Two pilgrims to the Holy land
   Have left our lonely door;
   Two sinless angels hand in hand
   Have reached the promised shore."

 Joseph Benton Sr. and his wife, whose maiden name was Janet Davidson, were natives of Scotland. He was born April 20, 1803, and his wife in 1806. Coming to America in 1834 they settled in Ohio where they remained until 1854 when they came to Richland county where he died July 14, 1880, and his wife passed on December 14, 1888, at the age of 83. On her monument it says: "From the Resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
 A son Joseph Benton Jr. was born in Elgenshire, Scotland, in November, 1826; coming to America with his parents when he was eight years old. He first came to Richland county in 1852, but returned to Ohio where he married Jane Russell. They came to Marshall township in 1855. The closing days of their life were spent in Richland Center.
 Many Civil War veterans are buried in this cemetery. One of them, W. O. Allison, then a resident of Ohio, enlisted in 1861 at the first call for troops. When his time of service expired he re-enlisted and served until the close of the war, taking part in many battles. He was not sick a day; went through all the battles without a scratch and was mustered out in 1865. On his way home in a railway accident he received a broken leg which laid him up for several months.
 He came to Richland county soon after the close of the Civil War. Others serving in the Civil War included George Marshall, W. M. Milner, Thomas Armstrong, Daniel Noble, J. L. Ferguson, Phillip Smith, Henry Campbell, Isaac Doudna, Thomas Doudna, John Gillingham, John Hunter, Sam Culley, James McNelly, John M. Doudna, Lyman Hart, Albert Hunter, Olney Hoskins, George Fogo, Wm. S. Noble. There are others, some 40, who sleep away the years in this cemetery.
 There are monuments in this cemetery for boys in blue who never came back to home and loved ones. These were Ben S. Doudna, killed at the battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, December 8, 1862; Ben Queen, died of disease at Mobile, Alabama on September 2, 1865. Richard Caddell is another of the boys in blue to be killed in battle. On his tombstone in the Fancy Creek cemetery it gives the date of his death as April 9, 1865, and states he was killed at Ft. Blakely, Alabama. He enlisted in 1861, served three years, re-enlisted and met his death as above stated. He was the father of Jess M. Caddell, long time member and chairman of the county board.
 Besides the Civil War veterans several World War soldiers are in this graveyard. Kenneth B. Austin is a World War II soldier; he died August 21, 1949; Earle Rinehart, World War I, passed away, January 11, 1954; Vivian Gillingham, Navy World War I, died on March 2, 1952; Donald Turnipseed, World War II, died October 30, 1952; another World War soldier is James T. Gillingham, who died in 1952. There may have been one or two others whom we missed as we checked over the markers.