Morgan City Cemetery, Chapin-Bethel Township Morgan County Illinois



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Morgan City Cemetery
Morgan County Illinois
Chapin-Bethel Township T15N R12W 3rdPM
E½SE¼, Section 9

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


Morgan City was laid out on May 24, 1839, and its founders hoped that the county seat would be moved to the site. But Scott County was set off from Morgan County that same year, the dividing line passing less than a mile south of Morgan City. That erased any geographical logic for Morgan City becoming the county seat of Morgan County. Morgan City was known for its long, covered railroad freight and passenger loading platform, but that was about all that it could boast of. By 1878 its few business buildings were practically unused. Most of the commerce of the area was conducted at nearby Chapin and Bethel, both villages being in sight of Morgan City. The last house that existed in Morgan City was razed shortly after November of 1968. A two story frame structure with an ornate stairway bannister, it sat atop a foundation constructed of native rocks left in their original shapes, then pieced together. It is believed the structure was once used as a hotel.Morgan City Cemetery was laid out about 1/2 mile south of the village. Its legal description would be in the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 9 Township 15 N Range 12 W. To reach the cemetery site drive west from Chapin on the Neelyville road. At the second road going south (this junction is the former site of Morgan City) drive south for 1/4 mile and the road makes a sharp jog. Complete the jog in the road, then glance ahead and to the left (east). You will see a tree about 200 yards east of the road at a fence corner. When Robert W. Dalton and his 17 year old daughter Brenda Lee, visited the burial ground on Nov. 14, 1976, they found another large tree had been cut down and it was lying among tombstone remnants and directly over one tombstone that was complete, flat on the ground, face downward. It is rumored that most of the tombstones that belong in this cemetery have been removed and used to pave a nearby hog lot.

** used to denote a soldier.


Words in brackets [ ] or parenthesis ( )are not on stone.

Name Birth Death Other or Notes Veteran? Donated By Obit?
Hatfield, Nathan            
Hatfield, William B.            
Osgood, Eddie 31 Oct 1866 4 Nov 1866 Son of C.H. & G.A. Osgood      
Osgood, Henry D. 7 Jan 1806 13 Feb 1878 (His death certificate is listed as
Harry D. Osgood.
"History of
Morgan County, Illinois, 1878"
.
Co. I, 11th MO Infantry)
Yes    
Osgood, Sarah 3 May 1809 9 Feb 1871 Wife of Henry D. Osgood      
Osgood, Rusia 14 July 1863 6 Dec 1871 Dau of C. H. & G.A. Osgood
(Rusia's name is engraved on the same piece
of stone with the above three names. The
obelisk that apparently goes on top of this
piece of stone is laying alongside it, between
the fence and a tree that has been cut down.)
(Her full name was Sarah Rusia Osgood.)
     
* Sessions, Mrs. Sarah   30 Apr 1881 (No tombstone found in 1976.)
(From the "Coroners Record Book A:, page 41,
that is stored in the northwest storeroom in
the attic of the Morgan County Court House,
will be found the following entry: SESSIONS,
Mrs. Sarah, 5 ft. 2 in. Tall, fair complexion,
black eyes, gray hair, killed April 30, 1881
about 6 p.m. at or near the Berry Crossing
about 2 miles west of Chapin, when struck
by a train. Found on her person was $2.78
and jewelry worth about $4or $5. (The
following news item is copied from the
Jacksonville Daily Journal of Tuesday, May
3, 1881: CAR-CRUSHED. Sarah Sessions
Killed by the Cars. Coroner Riley took the
morning train west Sunday, to ascertain by
inquest, the facts relating to the death which
was noticed in the JOURNAL of Sunday.
Arriving at Chapin he secured the coroner's
jury, as follows: T. P. Kennedy, foreman,
Pat. Murphy, John Edmondson, Wm. Vaniter,
Dr. George H. Phillips and C. R. Holliday, clerk.
The conductor, engineer and fireman of the
train, which was an extra were present, and
from their testimony it was found that Mrs.
Sessions was walking along the track going
toward Chapin, and, being deaf and dumb,
she did not hear the whistle or the bell, both
of which were sounded. She was struck by
the pilot of the engine about 6 o'clock Saturday
evening, at or near Berry crossing, about two
miles west of Chapin, and although alive when
first picked up, she died in a few minutes. Both
legs were broken, as also was her left arm and
a deep gash cut in the back of her head. She
was between 65 and 70 years of age, and
lived in the vicinity of Bethel, where a sister,
also deaf and dumb, resides. Her remains
were buried on Sunday, at 2 o'clock,
at Morgan station.
     
Smith, Desdemona 1 Yr 23 Da 25 Mary 1847 Dau of J.F. & H. Smith
(Her stone is standing against
a tree at the fence corner.)
     
* Rickey, Male 9 Mo 11 Da 3 Sept 1881 died of cholera
(Information is from this boy's death certificate)
     
* Russel, Martha 73 Yr 8 Jan 1881 Born in Illinois
(No tombstone or obituary found.
Information from her death certificate.)
     
Thompson,     Revolutionary War & War of 1812      
Unknown, 16 Yr 11 Mo 3 Da   (Broken piece of tombstone.)      
Foot Stone: P. S.            




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