Saturday, March 2, 2013

Unmarked graves at First Lutheran Cemetery remembered


"I once was lost, but now am found"

By Janell Bradley

Thanks to the persistence of a couple persistent Norwegians and one German, the names of more than 150 temporarily forgotten souls buried in the First Lutheran Cemetery, will no longer go unrecognized.
When he became cemetery sexton several years ago, Art Wolfs said he wondered if the burial ground had ever been mapped. The West Union man's  investigation revealed the site had indeed been marked by a local Boy Scout for his Eagle Scout project. Yet, no one he contacted was able to produce a copy.
So Wolfs and his wife, Shirley, set to work creating a map listing the names of 399 people whose graves were marked with headstones. 

Art Wolfs holds the map he & his wife, Shirley, created when they decided to mark the placement of each of the grave markers at First Lutheran Cemetery.

Shirley, whose maiden name is 'Mork,' had a long ancestry with the now-closed First Lutheran Church, and knew some of her relatives to be buried in its church cemetery including her grandparents, John and Helen Mork. Yet it seemed there were no records for others in the family history, nor were there headstones. It was then they discovered there were 104 deceased whose names had no markers.
Once known as the "Frame Church" First Lutheran, then Stavanger Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran, was destroyed by a storm and rebuilt. The structure as it stands today, was built in 1924. The name was changed in 1942 to end confusion with the Stavanger Church to the north, in Winneshiek County.
The First Lutheran congregation chose its name because it was the first Lutheran church in Fayette County, the first Lutheran church of Norwegian descent in Iowa and quite possibly the first Norwegian Lutheran church west of the Mississippi. The records for the first 20 years of the church, from 1850-1870, were lost, so there is a probability more people are buried in the church cemetery, than for which there are records. After the church closed in November 2012, the cemetery incorporated as a separate entity.
Once the Wolfs completed a map of the cemetery to the best of their knowledge, Art saw that the Fayette County Historical Society got a copy. 
As time passed, Beverly Saboe, a descendent of First Lutheran Church members, learned of the map. While visiting in the area, she got in touch with Wolfs. 
While she believed Art and Shirley had done a great job with their map, she knew of dozens of others who had been buried on the grounds, but without markers. It seemed that Saboe was among the few people to recall that First Lutheran Cemetery's records had been stored in a safe in neighboring Washington Prairie Church, some 14 or 15 miles to the north.
A sister to Ron Saboe of West Union, Beverly told Wolfs that at the time, church members didn't feel they had an adequate place to store the files where they would be safe from fire. 
Although Wolfs was eager to retrieve the records, Saboe said there was no need. She'd already copied the names from Washington Prairie's safe and had even spent time verifying some of the hard-to-read handwriting by making contacts back in Norway, the country from which many of the immigrants had traveled.
Soon, this small group of people began an effort to see that the names of those without markers would be recognized on a plaque.
Arlis Walvatne, who lives in Washington State, was one of the first to donate to the cause.
"She wanted a marker for her twin brother, Adrian Telmer Kleppe, Jr. who had been stillborn, Wolfs explains. 
Walvatne also saw to it that a marker with her twin brother's name was placed in the cemetery.
Clarence "Buzz" Cannon, made a donation to the cause when he learned his grandmother, Ellen (Torson) Cannon is buried there. From the information in Mrs. Cannon's obituary, she died a most unfortunate death after she kicked a sow that then bit her. According to the legend, Ellen then got lockjaw and died at the very young age of 30.
As the word spread, the donations came pouring in, and the group contacted Tom Luhman at West Union Monument about ordering a marker to list all of the names of the deceased who had no headstones marking their graves. Area welder Layne Frieden, Elgin, crafted a stand for the large plaque.
This spring after the ground has thawed, a group of individuals plans to install the marker of 104 names at the site.
And engraved on one of the side plaques, will be the words:"I once was lost, but now am found."
It's a familiar scripture from the Bible and a phrase from the song, "Amazing Grace." But it's also a fitting phrase for the discovery that 154 souls are buried in a rural Ossian cemetery without markers.

The following names and dates of birth/death are listed on the first plaque:
Lars Aasheim 1775-1877
Valjer Larson Aasland 1844-1884
Carrie Aasland 1864-1886
Lars Aasland  -1892
Endre Andrew Amdahl 1831-1909
Myrtle Amdahl -1910
Ingeborg Olena Amundsen 1944-1929
Lena R. Anderson  1864-1932
R.W. Anderson 1856-1928
Anna Buthina Askelson  - 1902
Lida Askelson -1910
Lida P. Askelson -1913
P. Koames Barr - 1910
Bjeland Bjorn Bjornson 1802-1881
Ole Borgeland 1860-1909
Lars Breiland 1820-1872
Ellen Torson Cannon 1874-1906
S. Chensvold - 1927
Ingrid Gurina Evenson 1843-1881
____ Evenson 1882-1893
Anna Fundingsland  1880-1926
Oline Galland  1870-1898
Karen Gjesdal 1832-1910
Peder Gjesdal  1820-1908
Enges P. Guenderson  -1908
Hida E. Gugedahl  -1905
Halvor J. Hagelie  1903-1906
Halvor O. Hagelie  1849-1923
Mrs. Ole Hagh  -1895
Clarens Edwin Hauge - 1905
Theodor Hauge 1884-1916
Ole Havig 1816-1897
Halvor Hetland 1820-1908
Helene J. Hetland 1844-1908
Anne L. Jacobson 1829-1829-1893
Serine Jacobson -1894
Raymond L. Johanson  1905-1942
Shirley Jene Johanson  -1950
Hatte Johnson  1838-1911
Lars Johnson  1857-1893
Mrs. Olena Johnson 1844-1929
Peter J. Johnson  1860-1903
Severt Johnson  -1907
Emma Jonsberg 1979-1904
Ole Juggedal -1897
Butel Kleppe 1896-1902
Charlotte Amanda Kloster  -1906
Mons M. Kloster -1910
Gina Knudson 1887-1910
Martha (Olsdatter) Kwame 1806-1879
Alfred Mork 1847-1924
Edna Charlotte Mork - 1902
Bertha Nelson 1832-1917
Esho Viola Nelson - 1913
Osmund Nelson 1835-1916
Lars Ness 1868-1883
Bertha Karine Olsdatter 1891
Regina Oleson - 1883
Albert Olson - 1885
Anna Olson - 1896
Mrs. Olson - 1896
Olai Olson - 1898
Selmer Olson 1878-1945
Andrian Osmundson 1872-1894
Knud O. Osmundson 1826-1896
Lillian Osmundson -1898
Liva Osmundson 1830-1909
Lars Osterhus - 1896
Oley C. Osterhus 1887-1906
Lars Ostrander 1813-1892
Mabel Paulson - 1900
Andrian Pederson 1877-1894
Levina Pederson - 1924
Anna Peterson 1852-1939
Peter Peterson, Jr. 1953-1931
Anna B. Ramsjil 1818-1916
Nils Ramsjil - 1898
John Sabo 1874-1957
Martin Sabo 1876-1961
Marttia T. Sand 1838-1908
Torger Sand - 1910
Ole Savold 1795-1880
Lars O. Sigedal 1820-1889
Thorbjar Thorson Sigedal 1830-1905
Anna Bergette Stangeland 1864-1947
Anne Laffie N. Stangeland - 1885
Ingeborg Stangeland - 1861
Samuel Stangeland - 1867
John Steinsland 1849-1883
Leonard Bardinus Thorson 1893-1913
Oline Malene Thorson 1892-1912
Anna Tollefson 1858-1928
Bertha Tollefson 1892-1961
Engbar Tollefson - 1905
Hans Tollefson 1854-1940
Tom Tollefson - 1910
Mrs. Voga - 1899
Adrian Walvatne 1923-1924
Clifford Walvatne - 1923
Irvin Obert Walvatne - 1918
Obert Irvin Walvatne - 1920
Myrtle E. Walvatne - 1916
Mina Josifina Willeikson 1900-1904
Henrik William - 1884

The additional 50 names discovered from the records at Washington Prairie Church include:
Ole Bjornson 1819-1907
Christen Danielson 1820-1877
Ragnild Dokken 1833-1878
Johannah Evenson 1822-1880
Ole Evenson 1882-1893
Larsina Fundingsland 1851-1879
Albert Galland 1833-1885
Ole Guggedall 1817-1897
Serine Guggedal 1861-1881
Sigri Guggedal 1823-1874
Aadel Marie Hagelie 1862-1865
Bent Hagelie - 1891
John O. Hagelie 1860-1865
Carrie O. Hauge 1812-1890
Ole Hauge 1818-1879
Sonneva Hedland 1806-1880
Anna B. Hetland 1818-1916
Johannes Iverson 1850-1883
Serine Charlotte Jacobson 1875-1881
Bertha Johnson 1895-1896
Hadley Johnson 1836-1911
Martha Klangson 1815-1899
Henrik William Klementson 1883-1884
Jacob Olai Kleppe 1886-1888
Knud Kleppe 1875-1880
Ana Lorvise Matsen 1844-1883
Gladys T. Nelson - 1933
Betha Nilson 1832-1917
Osmund Nilson 1834-1916
Adrena Oleson 1853-1870
Breta Olson 1849-1904
Hans Oscar Olson - 1890
Anna Bertine Osland 1890-1902
Andrew Osmundson 1874-1894
Enger P. Osmundson 1817-1908
Andrias Pederson 1864-1894
Elisabeth E. Pederson 1874-1875
Peder Pederson - 1828
Andreas Rodlene 1875-1876
Britta Rodlene 1841-1877
Elin Rodlene 1869-1876
Magla Rodlene - 1871
Margretha Rodlene 1848-1872
Joseph Stangeland 1803-1879
Anna Stensland 1813-1875
Britha Thorson 1841-1900
Hendrik Thorson 1876-1878
Tollef Thorson 1873-1898
Serine Tollefson 1871-1872
Martha Vaga - 1898