Chemung Cemetery
Submitted by: Mike "Dino" Peterson
This cemetery information was given to me by Susan Campbell: McHenry County Illinois Cemeteries, Volume I: Northwest Townships, page 29, states: "Chemung Township, Chemung Cemetery. Little is known about the origins of this cemetery. On December 8, 1845, Henry Stevens received a government patent on the land and his son, Hiram, is buried here. The earliest remaining gravestones only date back to 1852; yet, the 1885 History of McHenry County Illinois claims it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. Perhaps it developed as a village burial ground during the period when Chemung was rapidly growing. It is also possible that it began as a church cemetery to serve the Methodists who organized in the area in 1846. The children of two Methodist ministers are buried here. By 1885 Chemung Cemetery was reported to be abandoned and unkempt, which corresponds to the time when the Methodists had a cemetery on their church grounds. The graveyard is currently maintained by the township and a resurgence of interest in recent decades has brought new stones here to join the old." Hiram is listed on page 30: "Block 2, Lot 35 - Stevens, Hiram Co.E 95 Ill.Inf. GAR." (GAR = Grand Army of the Republic, according to the book).
GNIS References this cemetery as Chemung-Dunham Cemetery. The Yahoo Maps, see below, has it has Dunham-Chemung Cemetery. It is located on Pagles Road between Beck Road and Sunderson Street. The two links below have the location on a map.