Cemetery Tour 2000

The Memorial Day 2000 Cemetery Tour
by Tom Osborne ([email protected])
and Bill Osborne III ([email protected])

On Memorial Day, May 28, 2000, William R. (Bill) Osborne, III, with his wife Hope, following in his mothers footsteps, visited the Old Zion Cemetery and the Cedar Creek Cemetery, both near Ozark, IL, where many of our ancestors are buried. On the way home they also visited the Oak Grove Cemetery in Paducah, KY where our grandparents, William R. and Lula Jackson Osborne, and their son Thomas Jackson, are buried. On this page, Bill and Hope share their pictures and comments with us in this online cemetery tour.

Our tour guides, Hope and Bill Osborne III
(Click on the thumbnails below for a full size picture; use the Back button to return.)

The following pictures are from Old Zion Cemetery, Ozark, IL

The Zion Cemetery service was held May 28, 2000 in the old church (the cornerstone says 1950) formerly occupied by the Zion Methodist Church (organized in 1854). About 100 attended. Lunch was served in the pavilion in the center of the cemetery at 11:30A. A memorial service was presided over by Phyllis Bynum and Weslie Hendrix, pastor of Ozark Baptist Church.

During lunch, we met Jim Jackson, who lives in Stonefort (standing, drinking coffee) and Steve Lay (sitting on left, feeding grandson).

Old Zion Cemetery is across the road (county road 8, which goes through Ozark, off US 45) from Zion Cemetery, and the old church building. Our third great grandmother, Jane Reagan Lay, wife of Moses Lay, was the first person interred in Old Zion in 1854.

The graves of Levi Lay, his wife Nancy Angeline Morray Lay, and her father Captain James Bishop Morray, are in a group that is quite easy to spot, since Captain Morray’s monument is the tallest in the Old Zion Cemetery and Levi Lay’s is pink granite. (You can see the intersection of two county roads immediately behind the Morray monument.) Levi Lay is a second great grandfather, and Captain James Morray is a third great grandfather of our generation.

Levi Lay’s tombstone also lists his second wife, Rhoda.

The grave of our second great grandmother, Nancy Angeline Morray, first wife of Levi Lay, lies next to Levi Lay’s grave.

Captain James Bishop Morray’s military marked grave was decorated for Memorial Day 2000. He commanded Company B, 6th Illinois Cavalry, which occupied Paducah, KY, after General Ulysses S. Grant occupied Paducah.

One side of Captain Morray’s monument lists his wife Izzarilda Wyatt, born Oct 26, 1822, died Nov 6, 1882. The other side lists the name of their daughter, Martha Jonson, 1853 to 1934.

The gravestone of our third great grandfather, Moses Lay, born Aug 15, 1811, died Jan 15, 1871, has been crudely repaired with cement and held intact by an iron border around the edge. Notice the hand with the forefinger pointed toward heaven, which decorates several family tombstones, including the one to his immediate left, his first wife Jane.

The oldest grave in Old Zion Cemetery is that of Jane Reagan Lay, wife of Moses Lay. Jane Reagan, born March 7, 1810, died Nov 12, 1854.

To the left of Jane’s grave is that of George Lay, son of Moses and Jane Lay. Born Jan 1, 1854.

To the right of Moses Lay’s grave is the grave of his second wife, Mahala E., whom he married in 1856.

With Captain Morray’s monument in the background, this is the grave of our third great grandfather, Richard Jackson, born Aug 22, 1806 in Tennessee, died July 5, 1874, in Pope County, IL. (By occupation he was a miller.)

Adjacent to Richard Jackson’s grave is his wife, Sara born Mar 4, 1805, died June 8, 1897. (Sara’s maiden name is not known, but may be Scoggins or Cole, and she was from NC or TN. They were listed in the 1850 census in Pope Co., IL)

Annie Jackson, daughter of Linza Jackson. Died Dec 15, 1857 age 3 years, 9 months, 9 days.

Additional notes from the tour guide:

Note 1. I was looking for Burrell Lay’s grave and his wife Leannah, but they are not listed in the Zion Census Booklet, so they must be buried elsewhere.

Note 2. We also know James Richard Jackson and wife Sarah Elizabeth Lay are buried in the Wolf Creek Cemetery in Eldorado, IL

Note 3. Lura Lay, daughter of Frank and Belle Lay was the first internment in the New Zion Cemetery in 1905, but we did not look for her grave.

The following pictures are at Cedar Creek Cemetery, near Reynoldsburg Church, Ozark, IL

This self-portrait shows how grass is freshly cut for Memorial Day. We are standing with our backs to the field we walked across to reach the cemetery about ½ mile away.

This sketch shows the location of the Cedar Creek Cemetery and the location of the graves.

As you top the hill approximately ¼ mile from where you park at the end of the gravel lane near the old Lawrence farm home, you see the top of one or two monuments, looking closely in direct center.

The line of Osborne graves is along the rear edge about halfway between the two trees. From left to right there are three graves, two of which are Sara Ann Triggs children who died as infants in 1905 and 1908. Then the low marker is Sarah Ellen Vancleve’s marker and next the headstone of Thomas Green Osborne.

Thomas Green Osborne’s grave with Sarah Ellen Vancleve’s name on the left side, and a small gravestone to mark her grave.

“Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord”, reads the epitaph on the face of Thomas Green Osborne’s tombstone.

Thomas Green’s mother was Amy S. Edmondson. She had a brother named Joseph Edmondson. This is likely the grave of Joseph Edmondson, who would have been Thomas Green’s uncle.

This grave is likely that of Amy S. Edmondson’s father, James C. Edmondson. Notice the similarity of this tombstone to that of Moses Lay and family.

These two are in line with Thomas Green’s grave (about midway toward the back edge of the cemetery). They both read Watkins, but we could not read dates or other first names. These are the graves of Captain David J. Watkins, who Amy Edmondson married after William P. Osborne, Thomas Green’s father, died in the Civil War.

This is the grave of Eliza A. E. wife of J. Y. Osborne. Eliza was the wife of James Erbey Osborne, so the Y. is probably an error. James Erbey was the older brother of Thomas Green Osborne.

William L (Lyra) Osborne is the son of James Erbey and Eliza A. E. Osborne. Another son, Jesse Green Osborne, is buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Marion, IL.

The following pictures are at Oak Grove Cemetery on Park Avenue in Paducah, KY

This is the gate into Oak Grove Cemetery. The huge private mausoleum of the Smith family fills the gate. The office is to the right of the gate.

The 15 foot by 15 foot Osborne family plot was purchased in 1918 by W. R. Osborne, Sr. for their son Thomas Jackson Osborne born Mar 7, 1918, died Oct 21, 1918.

A closer view of William and Lula's monument.

This small marker is just to the left of William and Lula's monument.

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	The Zion Cemetery service was held May 28, 2000 in the old church (the cornerstone says 1950) formerly occupied by the Zion Methodist Church (organized in 1854). About 100 attended. Lunch was served in the pavilion in the center of the cemetery at 11:30A. A memorial service was presided over by Phyllis Bynum and Weslie Hendrix, pastor of Ozark Baptist Church.
	During lunch, we met Jim Jackson, who lives in Stonefort (standing, drinking coffee) and Steve Lay (sitting on left, feeding grandson).
	Old Zion Cemetery is across the road (county road 8, which goes through Ozark, off US 45) from Zion Cemetery, and the old church building. Our third great grandmother, Jane Reagan Lay, wife of Moses Lay, was the first person interred in Old Zion in 1854.
	The graves of Levi Lay, his wife Nancy Angeline Morray Lay, and her father Captain James Bishop Morray, are in a group that is quite easy to spot, since Captain Morray’s monument is the tallest in the Old Zion Cemetery and Levi Lay’s is pink granite. (You can see the intersection of two county roads immediately behind the Morray monument.) Levi Lay is a second great grandfather, and Captain James Morray is a third great grandfather of our generation.
	Levi Lay’s tombstone also lists his second wife, Rhoda.
	The grave of our second great grandmother, Nancy Angeline Morray, first wife of Levi Lay, lies next to Levi Lay’s grave.
	Captain James Bishop Morray’s military marked grave was decorated for Memorial Day 2000. He commanded Company B, 6th Illinois Cavalry, which occupied Paducah, KY, after General Ulysses S. Grant occupied Paducah.
	One side of Captain Morray’s monument lists his wife Izzarilda Wyatt, born Oct 26, 1822, died Nov 6, 1882. The other side lists the name of their daughter, Martha Jonson, 1853 to 1934.
	The gravestone of our third great grandfather, Moses Lay, born Aug 15, 1811, died Jan 15, 1871, has been crudely repaired with cement and held intact by an iron border around the edge. Notice the hand with the forefinger pointed toward heaven, which decorates several family tombstones, including the one to his immediate left, his first wife Jane.
	The oldest grave in Old Zion Cemetery is that of Jane Reagan Lay, wife of Moses Lay. Jane Reagan, born March 7, 1810, died Nov 12, 1854.
	To the left of Jane’s grave is that of George Lay, son of Moses and Jane Lay. Born Jan 1, 1854.
	To the right of Moses Lay’s grave is the grave of his second wife, Mahala E., whom he married in 1856.
	With Captain Morray’s monument in the background, this is the grave of our third great grandfather, Richard Jackson, born Aug 22, 1806 in Tennessee, died July 5, 1874, in Pope County, IL. (By occupation he was a miller.)
	Adjacent to Richard Jackson’s grave is his wife, Sara born Mar 4, 1805, died June 8, 1897. (Sara’s maiden name is not known, but may be Scoggins or Cole, and she was from NC or TN. They were listed in the 1850 census in Pope Co., IL)
	Annie Jackson, daughter of Linza Jackson. Died Dec 15, 1857 age 3 years, 9 months, 9 days.

	This self-portrait shows how grass is freshly cut for Memorial Day. We are standing with our backs to the field we walked across to reach the cemetery about ½ mile away.
	This sketch shows the location of the Cedar Creek Cemetery and the location of the graves.
	As you top the hill approximately ¼ mile from where you park at the end of the gravel lane near the old Lawrence farm home, you see the top of one or two monuments, looking closely in direct center.
	The line of Osborne graves is along the rear edge about halfway between the two trees. From left to right there are three graves, two of which are Sara Ann Triggs children who died as infants in 1905 and 1908. Then the low marker is Sarah Ellen Vancleve’s marker and next the headstone of Thomas Green Osborne.
	Thomas Green Osborne’s grave with Sarah Ellen Vancleve’s name on the left side, and a small gravestone to mark her grave.
	“Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord”, reads the epitaph on the face of Thomas Green Osborne’s tombstone.
	Thomas Green’s mother was Amy S. Edmondson. She had a brother named Joseph Edmondson. This is likely the grave of Joseph Edmondson, who would have been Thomas Green’s uncle.
	This grave is likely that of Amy S. Edmondson’s father, James C. Edmondson. Notice the similarity of this tombstone to that of Moses Lay and family.
	These two are in line with Thomas Green’s grave (about midway toward the back edge of the cemetery). They both read Watkins, but we could not read dates or other first names. These are the graves of Captain David J. Watkins, who Amy Edmondson married after William P. Osborne, Thomas Green’s father, died in the Civil War.
	This is the grave of Eliza A. E. wife of J. Y. Osborne. Eliza was the wife of James Erbey Osborne, so the Y. is probably an error. James Erbey was the older brother of Thomas Green Osborne.
	William L (Lyra) Osborne is the son of James Erbey and Eliza A. E. Osborne. Another son, Jesse Green Osborne, is buried in Maplewood Cemetery, Marion, IL.

	This is the gate into Oak Grove Cemetery. The huge private mausoleum of the Smith family fills the gate. The office is to the right of the gate.
	The 15 foot by 15 foot Osborne family plot was purchased in 1918 by W. R. Osborne, Sr. for their son Thomas Jackson Osborne born Mar 7, 1918, died Oct 21, 1918.
	A closer view of William and Lula's monument.
	This small marker is just to the left of William and Lula's monument.