A few weeks ago I was approached after one of my lectures by Carole Novak and Larry Moore who offered to show me a couple out of the way spots over by Buda, IL. That's how we found the Fifield cemetery. The majority of the graves are from the 19th century and show some hard use. The story i was told was that some cows got loose a few years ago and trampled thru the cemetery, smashing most of the markers.
The story might have ended there but a group from out of state showed up a couple years back and camped out there for two day, painstakingly putting the markers back together again. Today the Fifield cemetery is a quiet spot surrounded by a sturdy fence that is well worth a short drive to wander amongst the stones. My thanks to Tom Anderson and Lil Nick for shooting some of these photo's.
It is interesting that I am reading this now. Was just a few weeks ago, we were driving down that country road when the cemetery caught my eye. I'm a bit of a Bureau County history nut myself, so we backed the truck up and went to see. I never knew it was there, despite the fact I've spent the majority of my life within 10 miles of it. What I found to be of particular interest is the amount of children who are buried there. Many graves were marked as born in early to mid 1800s and lived only a few short years. Many cases were less than a year or two. I've been searching for more information and have yet to find out much. I know there was a period of time when settlers were more afraid of the cholera than they were of the Indians. I'll have to remember to ask Larry and Carol next time I see them.
ReplyDeleteGood to know, thanks!
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