WPA - Crum or Wills Cemetery, South Palmyra Township, Macoupin County IL


A Transcription of the WPA Record in Macoupin County Archives, Carlinville, Illinois
by Linda R.F. Arnold, October 2007

THE CRUM or WILLS CEMETERY

South Palmyra Township  6-11-8		Macoupin County
3 miles Southwest of Palmyra		Illinois

Typed
The Crum or Wills Cemetery is a small cemetery which was laid out by Mr. Wills for a public burying grounds (a hundred years ago.) There was supposed to have been a deed made to 1 acre of land in Sam LeMarrs' care but a cyclone demolished the LeMarr home and all his personal belongings were destroyed including the deed to the cemetery. This cemetery derives its name from Mr. Wills who laid out the burial grounds and later when Mr. Crum bought the land it was known and still is referred to as the Crum or Wills Cemetery.

Land records of Macoupin County have been searched for a deed to the cemetery but none can be found on record. Neither is there an exception to the burial grounds in the transfer of the land on which the cemetery is located.

The only description that we can give of the Crum-Wills Cemetery is that made by the fieldmen, of the cemetery as fenced in and reads as follows:

A small plot of ground out of the S? 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 6, T.11 N. R.8 West of the Third Principal Meridian and measures as follows: Commencing at the NE. corner of the cemetery and running thence West 145 feet; thence South 180; thence 145 feet; thence North 180 feet to the place of beginning, containing 1/2 acre more or less, situated in the County of Macoupin and State of Illinois.

The Crum-Wills Cemetery is not incorporated at the present time.

There is no caretaker for the cemetery. Friends and relatives of the deceased take care of the burial grounds.

G. A. Rowton is the only trustee of the cemetery.

The Crum-Wills Cemetery is in very bad condition. 35 graves have been counted in the cemetery and 10 of them need filling and leveling. Over half of the tombstones are leaning and broken. The cemetery grounds is covered with weeds brush and and oak-sprouts. 10 tombstones are weather-worn and the inscriptions cannot be read. The woven-wire fence which encloses this burial grounds is in very poor condition and is in need of repair and about 150 feet of it need replacing.

To reach the Crum-Wills Cemetery one travels 2 miles west of Palmyra and 1 mile south on a graded road. The cemetery sets on the east side of the road.

Mary McKenzie found a loose page with a list of cemetery descriptions in the WPA files at the archives. The descriptions were hard to read.
Crum Cemetery or  Wells Cemetery:  2 ½ West ¾ mile south, Palmyra Maion & Halsa Wiggin’s farm.  2 Civil War veterans buried there.  Supposed to be ancestors of Helen Wills Moody buried there.  About 1 acre.  South Palmyra.

page 2

PIVATE                         Palmyra Ill.
(This may be known as the Crum or Wills Cemetery)

Name	War	Rank	Company	Regiment or Vessel U.S. or State	Date of Death	Grave#	Note
Crum, John W.	C	Pvt	E	122 Illinois Infantry	8-19-1923	2
Stewart, Chas Edw.	R				1833		no record of this vet
Crum, Wm. C. F.	C					3

(written on the table above)
Jan 1980
Chas. Edw. Stewart buried in pasture in North Otter Twp. Sec 20, N.W. corner of the N.W. 1/4 presently owned by Gerald Carney. It has wooden fence around it that was put up by Coy Hunt. Stewart's wife was a Crump. He is a nephew of the Queen of Scotland. Crumps use to own the ground.
Note made by Thelma Dean Stewart, RR1, Girard, IL 62640

page 3

County Macoupin
City or Twp South Palmyra                Cemetery Wills

Name (First) John                    (Last) Crum                    (Middle) Wesley

Field Check
A.
1. Grave No. 4         Lot No. 6                  Block No.
2. Marker: Flat______   Upright     X         None ____________
3. Information on Marker: (Copy exactly) John W Crum (Gov Marker) Co. E 122 Ill. Inf
______________________
B.
Cemetery Record Date
4. Grave No.blank    Lot. No.blank        Block No.blank
5. Date of Burial August 21, 1923 Remarks left blank
6. Book No. left blank           Page No. left blank
left blank
(Clerk)

Death Certificate Data
(C)
Certificate No. ________________blank

7. Address ___blank______ 
                   (Street)                     (City or Town)
8. Date of Death 8-19-1923  Place S. Palmyra            Cause Pneumonia

9. Date of birth 1-1?-1839   Place Indiana
10. Next of Kin     name blank      Address blank
_____________________
Clerk blank

Service Record
(D)
11. Date enlisted blank    Date Discharged blank    Serial No. blank
12. Branch of Service    Ill. Inf.  Rank Corp.
13 Company, outfit or ship War C Co. E 122nd Ill. Inf.
Sources blank
_blank_______________
Clerk

Sources: (a)Inspection of burial plot   (b) Section or cemetery record (c) Death certificate or burial permit  (d) Patriotic organization (Name)  (e) Official U. S. Records (f) Other
(specify).
(a)    Fair

page 4

County Macoupin
City or Twp South Palmyra                Cemetery Wills

Name (First) William                    (Last) Crum                    (Middle) blank

Field Check
A.
1. Grave No. 1         Lot No. 6                  Block No.
2. Marker: Flat______   Upright ______             None X
3. Information on Marker: (Copy exactly)
______________________
B.
Cemetery Record Date
4. Grave No.blank    Lot. No.blank        Block No.blank
5. Date of Burial blank Remarks left blank
6. Book No. left blank           Page No. left blank
left blank
(Clerk)

Death Certificate Data
(C)
Certificate No. ________________blank

7. Address ___blank______ 
                   (Street)                     (City or Town)
8. Date of Death blank  Place blank            Cause blank

9. Date of birth blank   Place blank
10. Next of Kin     name blank      Address blank
_____________________
Clerk blank

Service Record
(D)
11. Date enlisted blank    Date Discharged blank    Serial No. blank
12. Branch of Service   blank   Rank Corp. blank
13 Company, outfit or ship War C
Sources blank
_blank_______________
Clerk

Sources: (a)Inspection of burial plot   (b) Section or cemetery record (c) Death certificate or burial permit  (d) Patriotic organization (Name)  (e) Official U. S. Records (f) Other
(specify).
(a)    Fair

page 5

(handwritten)

Location South-West quater of Section no 6 SP
Name of Cemetery Crum or Wills
Oldest Grave Ciceru J. Lemarr died Jan 15, 1842 age 5yrs 4ms 8d
Number of lots 20
Number of graves 35
Number of graves to be filled 5
Number of graves to be leveled 5
Number of stones that need resetting = 20
Number of stones that need recutting = 20
Number of Veterans graves that need stones = 1
Rods of fence around Cem = 40 or 650ft
Cond of fence = poor
Rods of fence to be repaired = all
Rods of fence to be replaced =  about 145 ft
Number of people interviewed = 5
Inquire to find if any Vets graves in Cem have no marker. = 1

(the next handwritten section was crossed out by a diagonal pencil mark across this entire handwritten section)
This cem was laid off 1830 By Mr Wills Then about 1890 Mr T. F. Huson owned the land at one time. There was a deed made about 1890 in Sam Lamar care Land bought for $4.00 there was a storm which destroyed the deed before it was recorded the farm was sold and the cem is not taken out The Present trutee is Mr G. A. Rowton the present own of the land around the cem is Mrs Haley Wiggins on the north and John Pratt owns the land on the east and south and the public road on the West
Ground hogs, high weeds, and post oak sprouts the cem is in very bad condition.




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