Edwards-Scott Cemetery, Orleans-Arnold Township Morgan County Illinois

Cemetery information by members of the Jacksonville Area Genealogical and Historical Society



The compilers of this book (Robert Dalton's 4 Volume Guide to Morgan County Cemeteries) do not know exactly where this cemetery was located and it is arbitrarily named by them as a matter of convenience for anyone referring to this site. It is known that the cemetery was located between Arnold and Orleans, possibly in Section 21 of Township 15 N Range 9 W. This burial site should not be confused with the nearby Scott Cemetery which the Illinois Veterans' Commission "Honor Roll" shows contains the bodies of Revolutionary War Soldiers Alexander Scott (died March 28, 1876) and William Scott (died July 7, 1855). It should be noted that in the "Honor Roll" published by the Illinois Veterans' Commission and dated Oct. 1, 1956, no mention is made of Henry Edwards and the Mr. Scott who are featured in the following news story which was printed on page 8 of the Jacksonville Daily Journal of Thursday, August 4, 1904.

HISTORIC GRAVES Revolutionary Soldiers Lie Buried on Drury Farm East of City
Place Visited by Party Wednesday.
Buried long years ago and lying beneath a growth of timber and underbrush on the farm of Frank E. Drury, east of the city, are believed to be the mortal remains of Henry Edwards and Mr. Scott, two Illinois pioneers and patriots of the revolutionary war.
Mr. George Moore, who resides west of the Drury farm, and Mr. Drury have been interested in more fully identifying the location of the graves, and Wednesday afternoon Dr. J. W. reeman(sic), Dr. C. M. Brown, George E. Sybrant and H. H. Bancroft drove to the Moore farm, where they were pleasantly entertained, and later, in company with Mr. Drury, endeavored to locate accurately the burial places of these early pioneers.
The life history of these two men is practically unknown and the few facts regarding their career have been handed down by tradition in the neighborhood where they spent their last days. Mr. Moore well remembers having been taken to the spot where they lie buried by his father, Dr. Edwin Moore, when a boy six or seven years of age. At that time the graves were enclosed in a pen made of mulberry rails, arranged in the shape of the once common stake and rider fence. The fact that two soldiers of the revolution were buried in the neighborhood was not regarded with special significance by Mr. Moore, the boy, and as the responsibilities of life were assumed the fact seldom occurred to him.
The activity of the government in recent years in marking the graves of revolutionary soldiers and the work of patriotic societies which have preached the doctrine of preserving historic spots for the benefit of future generations, has led Mr. Moore to take a new interest and he hopes that his present effort will be fruitful in securing a suitable marker to designate the graves of these heroes of colonial days.
Mr. Frank Drury remembers the graves as having been upon the farm ever since his recollection, and he was frequently told by his father, the late Charles Drury, that the graves marked the last resting place
of two revolutionary soldiers who once resided in the neighborhood.
In conversation with a Journal representative Wednesday, Mr. Moore told the fragments of history which he had learned regarding these men. "Henry Edwards formerly resided on the 160 acres now owned by Jud Boston, and also the forty-five acres now a part of the Drury farm west of the house. With a companion named Scott he was supposed to have reached Morgan county in the early twenties. Both had been revolutionary soldiers and had fought under General Wayne in the Carolinas. "Edwards built a cabin on the 160 acres and lived in it with his family for several years. One of his daughters married a Haguede and twelve sons wee born to this union. The children of Mr. And Mrs. Haguede were pupils of mine when I taught country school, but could only attend in the summer time, as their parents were too poor to furnish them with sufficient clothing to come during the winter. "Mrs. Haguede grew the flax from which their rude and scanty clothing was made, and from the flax so grown carded and wove it into garments. "After many years the family removed to Iowa and I have not heard of them since. Some four years ago, a girl, by the name of Haguede, who came from Iowa, and who was blind, deaf and dumb, was here at the Blind Institution giving an exhibition of her remarkable powers and it may be possible that the girl was a descendant of the family that formerly resided in this county. "When 6 years of age I was sent to accompany the widow of Mr. Scott a portion of the way from my father's home to the home of Mr. Peter Edwards (no relation to the soldier) who resided a little west of the site of the present Drury residence. Mrs. Scott was at the time on her way back from the farm of Jesse Ruble, where she had been on business connected with securing a revolutionary widow's pension. I was to show her that part of the way with which she was not familiar. The present Morton road was unknown then and we followed what was nothing but a bridle path along the bank of briar fork of Mauvaisterre creek. "I do not know that Mrs. Scott ever received a pension, but that fact could be ascertained from the records in Washington. "The graves were once marked with stones, but of recent years they became removed from their original location." Mr. Moore related a remarkable coincidence that grew out of the trip with Mrs. Scott. When he was returning after having accompanied her a part of the way he encountered in the narrow foot path which he was following, a spreading viper. The snake lay right in the center of the path and as their bite is deadly poisonous, he dared not attempt to pass, and he was too timid to kill the snake. Finally, however, following its deliberate nature, it crawled into the grass and Mr. Moore continued toward home. A short time ago while trying to locate this old path, which has practically disappeared with the course of time, when he reached what he believed to be a part of the old path, what should appear to greet him but another viper. This time, he dispatched the reptile in short order. "It was related of Mr. Edwards that when he went to fight for his country he led a cow along, as he was very fond of milk, and feared army rations might not always agree with him. In one of the campaigns of Mad Anthony, rations not only grew short in quality, but also short in quantity and the soldiers seizing the opportunity nearest at hand kidnaped Edwards' cow and distributed the beef. Edwards was very indignant and reported the matter to the officers. Finally the case reached General Wayne himself, who, after finding that he could not shed any light on the subject dismissed it with the remark that they were all good fighters, which seemed to prove a happy solution to the quarrel." As a result of his investigation Wednesday, Mr. Moore feels doubly confident of the fact that he has located nearly the exact spot of the graves. Lying within a small radius were many broken pieces of mulberry stakes, and as the mulberry trees on the land are all young it seems conclusive that these fragments are the remains of what was formerly the enclosure. While Mr. Moore and Mr. Drury have known of the location of the graves all these years, with the march of time evidence of their existence has been disappearing more and more and unless something is done soon to appropriately mark them the names of two heroes will be lost to history. It will be an act of patriotism on the part of the man or men who fittingly carry out such a project.

Cemetery index

County main page