Sandhill Cemetery is a “Pioneer Cemetery” in Cedar County, Iowa, a place to which our family migrated in the 1850s. Pioneer Cemeteries are often neglected as farm families moved, and they become overgrown and the stones deteriorate even faster than they would normally since they are not cleaned. There is no “perpetual care” in a pioneer cemetery as there is in urban cemeteries, and they are often a place of vandalism, being away from scrutiny out in the country. So it is important that we help to maintain the final resting places of the ancestors who came before us- after all, we carry their genetic material that helps make us who we are!
So often today families live far from the gravesite of ancestors, and care of the cemetery falls to local historical or genealogical societies, or Scout troops who go in and clean up a cemetery for a service project or even an Eagle or Gold Project.
Tombstone of Hepzibah (Clark) Horn in Sandhill Cemetery, Cedar County, Iowa, after strong winds blew through the cemetery in March, 2016. Note the hole/chipped base of the third pedestal- it is surprising that this stone did not fall over.
Cedar County, Iowa, has a Pioneer Cemetery Committee that is working to restore Sandhill Cemetery and others to what they respectfully should be. Sandhill had three very large evergreens in the center of the cemetery that were getting too old and needed to be removed. These trees and others have been removed so they cannot fall on headstones (or living people in the cemetery!), and the grounds are being weeded and cleaned up. Also, there are many stones like those of Frederick, AKA “F.P.,” and Hepzibah, that need attention- in fact, there are 10 Horn family members buried in Sandhill, and some of their stones need repair as well. Some funds are provided by the county, but most of what is done is volunteer and through donations.
Headstone of Frederick P. Horn in Sandhill Cemetery, near Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa, prior to restoration about 2007.
The Pioneer Cemetery Committee is trying to prioritize their expenditures to the headstones that need the most help right now.
Tombstone of Frederick P. Horn in Sandhill Cemetery, Cedar County, Iowa, in August of 2015. Note deterioration of stone.
Currently, for 3 of our Horn family stones- Hepzibah’s, F. P.’s, and a stone for “Henry” which is next to Hepzibah’s (he may be their son)- the Committee has found a gentleman who will repair them all for $400-425 and will clean them. He will also put new 4′ foundations under them, to help preserve them (hopefully) for another 100+ years. (Hepzibah died in 1882, Henry in 1885, and F.P. in 1887.)
Headstone of Hepzibah (Clark) Horn in sandhill Cemetery, near Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa, prior to restoration, about 2007, with inscription chalked.
It would be very helpful for our family to donate to the group as they care for the memorials to our ancestors, since the county does not provide enough to totally restore this cemetery.
Tombstone of Hepzibah (Clark) Horn in Sandhill Cemetery, Cedar County, Iowa, in September of 2015 after some restoration.
All donations are tax-deductible, and checks can be sent to:
Cedar County Pioneer Cemetery Commission
c/o Cedar County Historical Museum
Attention: Sandy Harmel
1094 Hwy 38
Tipton, IA 52772
Thank you for honoring the memory of our ancestors!
Notes, Sources, and References:
How are the McMurrays related to the Horn family?
Edw. A., Maude Lynette “Midge”, and Herbert C. McMurray => William Elmer McMurray =>Frederick Asbury McMurray => Henderson McMURRAY + Mary Ann HORN (married 1845) [daughter of Frederick P. Horn and Hepzibah (Clark) Horn]
Daisy Wingert has taken the wonderful pictures for Find A Grave for the Horn family, given us permission to use them, and has communicated with us about the need for headstone repair. Daisy has also done some searching in local records to help us learn more about F.P. and Hepzibah- more to come on them later. Thanks, Daisy, who isn’t even related to us!!
The images from ~2007 were paid for by the author so many years ago, and permission given to use.
Please contact us through the blog if you have questions about donating, and we will forward them on to Daisy or Sandy.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Henry Horn’s Pension Application Affirmation and his mark. (Click to enlarge.)
[Editor’s Note:We apologize that this Tuesday post was not published on Tuesday- not sure what computer gremlins intervened. But here it is on Thursday, and now yesterday’s post will probably make more sense.]
➡ Horn Family, McMurray Family, Genealogy Research
Have a genealogical conundrum? Have lots of facts and details but not sure how they all fit together?
Tuesday’s Tip:
1. Write a list of brief notes- just the facts.
2. Look at the notes apart from all that data and details circled around your desk space or computer desktop, and with a very open mind to all the possibilities. Give your thoughts time to brew, and meld- even ‘sleep on it.’
3. Analyze the brief facts, and find any connections- or none. Knowing what is ‘NOT’ may be important too.
4. Write an Analysis Report that details how you came to your conclusions. It doesn’t have to be long, perfect, or totally accurate (yet)- it is just a record of your thought process to help in the future.
In the dark long ago of genealogical research, pre-internet, gathering information was tedious and difficult. One would read the queries posted in genealogical magazines, join local historical societies and place queries in their newsletters, then send a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelopes) so the person you were writing to with questions did not have to buy a stamp just to respond to you, nor have to figure out the handwriting for your address. One would copy by hand or make carbon copies (the origin of “CC” in your email program, for the internet generation) pedigree charts and Family Group Records to include in the letter, and then one had to wait months, even years, to see your envelope returned with hopefully useful information typed with a typewriter with dirty keys and usually with handwritten notes inserted or in the margins. The carbon paper was messy and smeared, but that was all we had until the late 60s when copy machines could be found. (Those were very smelly and left oil and/or alcohol stains on the paper, but still an improvement.)
Books, journals, and government records were, of course, available with information, but they were secreted away in all sorts of depositories one would have to travel to, and once there, with many not indexed, or not indexed well, poring over the books and old records was a challenge. Thankfully the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) had a lending library, and would ship old books from their circulating library. I eagerly awaited those big boxes of sometimes very old, falling-apart books that held so much information. The St. Louis County, Missouri, public library had an excellent genealogy section that was helpful too.
Microfilm was available for order from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and could be read in a local branch of their library.
The above information was all we had to go on to learn Henry Horn’s history. Our Tuesday Tip to write down what you know, in a brief form, and then analyze, is how we came to a hypothesis about Henry Horn and his military service, using information gleaned from the above resources.
Following is a bit of what was known about Henry Horn back in the late 60s/early 70s, even pretty much up until the 1990s and special genealogy interest mailing forums online, and then Ancestry.com. Finding Henry Horn’s pension application on microfilm in 1992 helped immensely.
1. Mary Ann Horn (1824-1891) married Henderson McMurray and had Frederick Asbury McMurray (1850-1929), one of their 13 children and an ancestor.
2. Mary Ann Horn’s father was Frederick P. Horn (1796-1867), and his father was Henry Horn (1758-1845). We could not find Henry’s parents nor record of his birth in the US, but Horn is a common name.
3. Henry Horn served in the American Revolutionary War forces, as he had a US Pension granted.
4. Henry Horn was born near Hesse-Cassel, Germany, in the year 1758, per his pension.
5. Henry Horn was just 16 when he came to America, per his pension.
6. Henry Horn enlisted at Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1777, per his pension.
7. Henry Horn participated in the Battle of Trenton, per his military marker.
8. Henry Horn married Elizabeth Pretzman (1759-1840) in 1782 in Leesburg, Loudon County, Virginia.
9. Henry and Elizabeth moved to Bedford County, Pennsylvania, with their children.
10. Oftentimes, his name was listed as “Heinrich Horn” or “Henrich Horn.”
As a colonial America and American Revolution history buff, and knowing the history of the time, as I skimmed these brief facts, the lightbulb went on.
Born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany? The hated Hessians ‘mercenaries’ that supplemented British troops were recruited from there.
Born in 1758? That would make him prime age for the military and draft, age 18 in 1776.
The Battle of Trenton? The Hessians marched with General Howe’s British Redcoats and took New Jersey as a defeated George Washington and his troops retreated. The Hessians occupied the small town of Trenton, NJ, as their winter quarters, but were attacked 26 Dec. 1776 by Washington’s forces after crossing the Delaware River and the Hessians surrendered after their commander was killed.
BIG CLUE– There is no mention of the Battle of Trenton in Henry’s pension. If he had been part of Washington’s forces, wouldn’t that famous, turning-tide battle be remembered, even at his advanced age at the time of the pension?
Place of enlistment Lancaster, PA? The Hessians captured at Trenton on 26 December 1776, over 900, were taken to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as prisoners of war. So Henry Horn would have been in that place in the year 1777 if he indeed was a Hessian.
Enlisted in 1777? The prisoners at Lancaster had been enticed to enlist in General Washington’s forces. They were well-trained soldiers, and the American rebels needed all the military forces they could muster.
Hmmmm, this analysis suggests that Henry Horn could have been a Hessian- but was he? Granted, there were many Germans who had immigrated to the colonies before 1776, and there were German regiments who served Washington well. The above analysis is not quite the genealogical standard of ‘preponderance of evidence,’ but a good basis for more research- for proof.
Unfortunately, back then, there was not much available to check whether or not Heinrich Horn was on the rolls of the Hessian recruits. HETRINA, or Hessische Truppen im Amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitskrieg, Index nach Familiennamen, was not available in English, but I felt it would give the answer. Sadly, it was only available in German in Germany, and I never got a reply from my letters to archives there. The Hessians kept very good records, so that they would be paid well by the British King George for his German mercenaries, but I just could not find access to any of them at that time.
Once the mailing lists and genealogy websites began popping up on the internet, plus with correspondence with other Horn researchers, the consensus was that Henry could have come to America via one of the following scenarios:
1. He was avoiding the German draft, since he was the prime age of 16, so immigrated on his own. Germany had a history of sending their armies to other countries as mercenaries, as did other European countries.
2. He came to America with his parents when about 12, arriving at the Port of Philadelphia in 1770 on the ‘Good Ship Sally.’ The family settled in York, PA, and Henry joined the colonists when war broke out with Britain. This was the view held by one of the premier Horn researchers.
3. He came as a Hessian soldier.
The third scenario turned out to be the truth about Heinrich Horn, and we will explore more in future posts.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images- it may also make them sharper.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2015 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.
Headstone of Frederick P. Horn in Sandhill Cemetery, near Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa, prior to restoration.
We think of today’s society as being so much more mobile than in “the old days,” but Americans have been on the move for generations. Americans moved west after those first steps on the east coast in the 1600s, and continued that westward movement through the 1890s. Exhausted land, crowded conditions, large families with many to inherit and divide the land, cheap land on the frontier, and the freedom of wide open spaces called to our ancestors and enticed them away from the family homestead.
For families, cemeteries had been places of quiet contemplation, a place to go to honor ancestors and stroll on a Sunday. Some cemeteries were like parks with beautiful monuments, and people would stroll the lanes on an afternoon with family and friends, even if they did not have family buried there. In earlier times, people paid for a plot only, not ‘perpetual care’ as is done now. Families were expected to care for the gravesite themselves. Americans on the move, however, caused less family to be nearby to maintain the cemeteries and ancestor headstones, and many fell into disrepair. The small cemeteries on family land or out in the country were the hardest hit- as family moved away, land was sold, or descendants aged, there was no one around who was able to, or who cared about, maintaining the cemetery. Headstones fell over as graves subsided, stones weathered until they could not be read, or broke into pieces with the freeze-thaw cycles of many winters. Vandalism occurred too- whether during a war or a boring afternoon, stones were broken, thrown around, and defaced by those who had no respect for ancestors “quietly resting.”
People finally began to feel the need to improve our aging cemeteries, in hopes of preserving a part of the past. Headstones were sometimes righted, and even collected and placed along a cemetery wall, such as the cemetery that was a Civil War encampment and ancestor-of-the-enemy headstones were thrown about to allow spaces for tents.
The genealogy resurgence in this country, along with people involved in “Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness” (RAOGK- no longer in existence) and websites like “Find A Grave” have increased interest in, and searching of, old cemeteries for lost ancestors. Our ‘digital age’ has also allowed cemeteries and historical societies to post an index online so that those far away can find where their ancestors are spending their final repose. Cemeteries are now being cared for, often by ‘perfect strangers’, i.e. people not related to anyone in the cemetery.
Headstone of Frederick P. Horn in Sandhil Cemetery, near Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa, after being repaired.
In some places, it is not known where some of the persons are buried, or which headstone belongs to which gravesite. Some of the old county cemetery listings done by historical societies note a grave in a specific cemetery, but the grave cannot be found- it may be covered by many inches of soil, have eroded away, or may have only been a rock or wooden cross to mark the spot. (We have ancestors that have headstones that cannot be found, but a cemetery listing includes their name.)
When cemeteries are restored, it cannot always be done just the way it was previously, especially if there are no records. The following headstone, for the above Frederick P. Horn’s wife Hepzibah Clark, was repaired and placed facing east, with Frederick’s facing west! (We do not have an image of her completely repaired stone.)
Headstone of Hepzibah (Clark) Horn in Sandhill Cemetery, near Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa, prior to restoration.
Thank you to all who help families find the final resting place of their loved ones, and to all those who care for those places of quiet repose.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Photos used with permission of photographer, who was paid to take the photos.
2) Find A Grave: findagrave.com.
Please note that not all the information posted on FAG is correct- just like with any other website, one needs additional sources of verification.
3) These photos and family information will be added to the FAG memorials for Frederick P. Horn (Memorial# 52049381) and Hepzibah (Clark) Horn (Memorial# 52049366).
Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.
Copyright 2013 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
