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


Using the village of Concord as a starting point, the easiest way to find the remains of this cemetery is to drive south of the village a distance of 1.6 miles, where an electrical substation will be found. From the substation drive east a distance of 1.1 miles. Near the northeast corner of an intersection with a poor road one can see a single large gray granite tombstone marking the graves of John and Eunice Spaulding. This tombstone is atop an embankment and faces the poor road. No other tombstones are to be seen in the treeless cemetery. There are remnants of an iron fence which once enclosed an area of about 50 feet by 50 feet in distance. Odell Woodward of Chapin believes several bodies were exhumed from this cemetery and reinterred in Diamond Grove Cemetery at Jacksonville. Legal description of the site of Woodward Cemetery is in the southwest quarter of Section 33 in Township 16 N Range 11 W.

Mark Davis provided: "Woodward cemetery is located on the old Amos Woodward farm near Chapin or Joy Prairie in Section 33 of Concord township in Morgan County, Illinois. In 1953 members of the Woodward family arranged to have the gravestones moved from this little cemetery to Concord cemetery. The graves were not disturbed. Only the stones were moved."

A member of the Woodward family, Mark Davis, has provided two letters detailing the burials in the cemetery and the plans to move the stones.Thank you, Mark, for providing the Woodward Cemetery information.

* = No Stone Found
** = Soldier

Woodward Cemetery Burials

Letter from Arthur A. Woodward, June 17, 1953

(leading page missing) … list of names of those buried in the old Woodward Cemetery on the old Amos Woodward farm near Chapin or Joy Prairie Ill.

• Amos Woodward born: Feb. 19, 1812 (Royalton VT) died: Aug 30, 1879
• Julia A Woodward Aug. 8 1819 (wife of Amos) July 21, 1859
• Mary Ellen Woodward Sept. 9, 1846 July 26, 1846
• Justin Ezra Woodward Mar 25, 1848 May 20, 1851
• Emily Alice Woodward Mar 10, 1850 May 21, 1851
• Rollin Walter Woodward May 3 1852 May 19, 1894
• Florence Alline Woodward Sept 7, 1854 Sept 7, 1854
• Amos Julian Woodward Apr 12, 1857 Oct 7, 1860
• Charles Edward Woodward May 31, 1859 Dec 30, 1860

• Effie May Woodward Dec 25, 1885 Apr 25, 1888

• Elizabeth B. Woodward
• Winthrop Woodward, a infant sister (?)
• Margaret Burd. Uncle Wills Mother. (No relation and very dear uncle to me and Homer).
• Sons. Lester Burd, and Henry Burd.
• Also a cousin, Egbert Woodward. His stone is broken and will be destroyed. He is supposed to have come from Vermont and taken ill and died. He was among the first to buried in the little cemetery.

There are in all thirteen stones to be moved, as there is a double stone for two fo the children and one for the two Burd brothers.

As of this date My cousin Katherine Woodward Custafson advises that the plan is to move all these stones to the Concord cemetery where Homer’s and my mother is buried and also our aunts Julia and Margaret (Aunt Kate Wenger’s sister) are bried in the two adjoining lots.

June 17, 1953

Arthur A. Woodward

I understand that the graves will not be disturbed as some of them are over one hundred years old.

Plans To Move Gravestones

Letter from Jacksonville Monument Company, June 22, 1953

Mr. G.A. Gustafson

Orion, Illinois

Dear Sir,

The enclosed rough sketch covers our proposal and how we planned to reset the markers on the joining Woodward lots in Concord cemetery. Apparently three burials are all that have been placed on these lots, at least the only graves that are marked and utilizing the balance of the space we thought it best to place the granite markers in the front line, in-line with the family stone and the small markers and to place the slabs in an evenly spaced row to the rear of the lot. The Amos stone as it is sets on a separate base but think it would look better to discard the base and make the slabs all uniform as possible. There is still on small slab that is unreadable, which we are not accounting for.

You will note on our diagram that we have the proposed locations in red and perhaps these need rearranging to your liking but the monuments of granite in the front and the slabs to the rear we think would look best.

As we advised when you were here, the cemetery rules call for all foundations five feet deep and with six inch flange and here is our breakdown of charges.

• 4 foundations with flanges 72.00
• 8 slabs @ 7.50 60.00
• Moving all twelve and resetting
• In Concord Cemetery _60.00_ 192.00

The Spaulding stone has a base 3-2 x 2-0 and the foundation for the flange would be $37.00 and if we could pick it up and transport it with the rest, we would handle it for $13.00. If we need make a special trip for it, we would charge more. If you would contact the folks who are to have this done, we would appreciate your efforts. We will wait until we hear from you before we proceeding with the work.

Very truly yours,

Harold Wessler

(attached was a drawing showing placement of the stones)

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