Cottage Hill Cemetery Assn.

Cottage Hill Cemetery Assn. Cottage Hill Cemetery Assn. includes all people who have ancestors buried in at least one of the cemeteries. There are no membership dues.

03/21/2026

in 1831

On March 21, 1831, an act of Assembly was approved by Governor George Wolf. It was an "act to continue the improvement of the State by canals and railroads." This act allowed the Board of Canal Commissioners to find a route over the Allegheny Mountains from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown. The railroad opened three years later. (es)

Image: The route of the canal from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh with the Allegheny Mountains. NPS/Harpers Ferry Center.

11/19/2025

Governor Reynolds sign a proclamation starting the celebration of the country's 250 birthday. They are asking for participation of the cemeteries who have Revolutionary or War of 1812 veterans buried in them. Cottage Hill has 2 known ones - Robert Allen and John Gore. John Gore's family history appears to be a dead end. Robert Allen's family history is lengthy with connections to the Kephart, Glew, McGee, Stuart, LaPage. Two of the current trustees are descendants of Robert Allen. A founding member of the Association, Laverne Strief was also a descendant of Robert Allen. This will be the next family history I will work on.

10/26/2025

Finally finished the Thomas Cook family, not the largest by any means only 180 pages but all over the country. Think I'll go back to the Agar family and finish it. Lots to do yet.

07/02/2025

Gets even more interesting, when I look at birth dates, wondering how many Cook relatives (Walker) from Luverne, MN came through the Monument on school tours from 1984-1991 when I was working there. Amazing how many Cook, and Kephart families ended up in the southwest counties of Minnesota. My father always said we had relatives up there. He just didn't know names.

07/01/2025

Jeff Walker, I'm busy working on the Cook family history, now am to the 3rd son, Joseph Cook who was married to my great-grandfather's sister Emma Stocks, their son Thomas Frazier was married to Myra Glew sister to my grandmother Della who was married to Asa Stocks. Confusing, yes but very interesting especially when I find photographs and the family resemblance is pretty interesting. What is even more amazing when doing family research is that over the years how close I have lived to some of them when I was in Minnesota for 20 years, traveling to 37 different states and working for short periods in California and Utah. Truly a small world.

06/19/2025

Never heard of this one, learn something everyday. But if a woman citizen born in the United States married a unnaturalized male in the United States in the 1920's she lost her citizenship and had to petition to reestablish it under the Cable Act of September 22, 1922. Found this while researching the Cook family, Rosetta Lillian Cook born 1898 in Kossuth Co, IA married 1916 in Algona to Heinrich Christopher Johannsen, born 1894 Wesselburn, Schleswig-Holstein Germany. She filed for naturalization in 1938 and renounced the German Reich. There was a POW camp in Algona, but it wasn't operational until 1943 through 1946 so that wasn't the issue. Interesting but puzzling. This gets stranger yet. Heinrich came to the United States from Hamburg, Germany to New York in 1904 and was living in Mt. Vernon, SD. He was naturalized on April 5,1913 in South Dakota and didn't meet and marry Rosetta until 1916 so he had been a citizen for 3 years. If anyone understands this immigration law I'd be interested in some clarification. Doesn't make sense to me.

05/29/2025

Started working on the Agar family, and ran into the Cook's so am back working on the Cook's. The Cook's and the Agar's were both mining families. Both came to Durango, Iowa territory in the 1830's from England about the time that Naugle Kephart and Richard Plumbe (married to Naugle's sister) came to Cottage Hill which is about 10 miles west of Durango. Cottage Hill and Durango are both on the Little Maquoketa watershed. Thomas Cook was superintendent of the lead mine at Durango, where there was a smelter on Burton Furnace Road. He died at age 47 of inflammation of the lungs. His wife Jane Bennett then married John Greenly and is buried in Cottage Hill as Jane Greenly. A number of the Cook men became ministers. John Bennett Cook married Elizabeth Ann Glew, their daughter Susan married John Maxwell. one of their descendants was Mildred Maxwell who did taxes in the 1960's did mine for a couple of years. The sons moved to New Hampton and Algona. I'm working on that branch now. One of his descendants (from Algona) was living in Lexana, KS and was married to a Kickbush (from Algona), whose family originated in Osterdock and Guttenberg, IA and I went to school with some Kickbush children. Now back John Cook, his brother was Joseph Cook who married Emma Stocks. One of their sons was Thomas Frazier Cook whose first wife was Myra Glew and when she passed away he married her sister Etta. Now I believe I have this correct, Myra and Etta were sisters to Della Glew (my great grandmother) who married William Stocks brother to Emma Stocks Cook. To further complicate things, their sister Margaret Glew was married to William Stocks' brother Charles Thomas Stocks. And then bring the Kepharts into the mix. Sometimes I feel like I'm literally going in circles and wonder how they were able to keep everything straight.

05/23/2025

Made a trip over to the cemeteries today. Two points, lawns look good, however without donations this will be the last year the association can mow. Point two there are a lot of stones tipping over. Need volunteers to help right these.

05/14/2025

This is getting even more interesting. Frances Rosemire Waller's brother was William Joseph Rosemire who was also in Russia at the same time and Richard Waller (Frances's husband) Passport indicates that William Rosemire was planning on returning to the US via France, Norway, Sweden and Denmark just one month before the overthrow of the Czar, however, he, his wife and 9 year old child sailed from Yokohama, Japan on January 9th 1918 to San Francisco. His wife was Christine Caton, The Caton family was also in Russia. The Rosemire and Caton families left via the Siberia late in 1917 and arrived in Japan where they boarded ships for the U.S. Brings to mind the movie Dr. Zhivago. The Rosemire and Waller families all start their history in Dubuque County, Cottage Hill and Durango with the Ager's, and are associated with Julien Twp. and Dubuque.

05/14/2025

Decided to take a break from the Kephart family and work a little on the Ager family. Burials there related to this family are Lucy L. Ager, wife of Christian Leslein who was 29 when she passed, and Ivalu Agar who was 28 when she passed away. They were granddaughters of William Ager and Lucy Winders who were both born in England, the 1860 Peru Twp. (Dubuque County lists William as a miner) as are two of his sons William and Joseph. There oldest daughter Rebecca married Joseph Frost also listed as a miner. I've just started with Rebecca's family and it gets really interesting. Their daughter Lucy married Richard Rosemire who leads a rather interesting life. Horse trainer for sulky horses in Independence, IA. Their daughter Frances married Richard Waller, who was also a sulky horse trainer. He lead a rather interesting life - He drove in all the major races of the Grand Circuit such as Saratoga, Cleveland, Lexington, and Ft. Wayne. He was at one time trainer for the Borden Family. Before World War I, he was trainer for Grand Duke Michael of Russia, and toured Europe, and drove in races in England, France, Germany, and St. Petersburg, Russia. After his return to Iowa, he was engaged in buying and selling racing stock. That is as far as I've gotten, more later.

05/10/2025

Finished Jacob Kephart today (Naugle's brother). For having only 5 children with wife Jane O'Neill and with one being killed at Vicksburg (leaving 2 children) the final count on the pages was 209. Daughter Margaret Elizabeth married Moses David Archer, settled in Ute, Monona County, IA (77 pages), cannot find anything on daughter Emma Francis Kephart, daughter Sarah Jane married Hugh Stott (12 pages), Iowa, Illinois and California, son Conrad Kephart (killed at Vickburg) 2 children daughter Harriet Kephart Stuart (stayed in Eastern Iowa and I know a number of her decendents), son Elliott Ellsworth went to California total of 110 pages for Conrad's family, son James Kephart eventually moved with the family to Gooding, Idaho 6 pages. As far as I can find Jacob moved to Indiana and had another family with a widow, however, things there seem to deadend.

05/07/2025

Thought I'd better do another post about the Battle of Vicksburg. The Iowa 21st in which a number of Cottage Hill sons had enlisted played a role in the Battle. Those others besides Conrad and James Kephart were as follows:

Others at Vicksburg from Cottage Hill: Iowa 9th - Thomas G. Cook, wounded at Vicksburg, George Greenley, Sterns D. Platt (married to Elizabeth Stocks who died before the war); Iowa 21st - Nicholas J. Brown, Charles C. Burge, George Burge, Richard C. Cook (buried Vicksburg), George W. Darrow, Benjamin Greenley, Thomas Greenley, John D. Kephart (uncle to Conrad and James), Alfred B. Kephart (cousin of Conrad and James, Caleb Kephart (cousin of Conrad and James), William Nicholson, John Ridler, James M. Smith, John M. Stocks, Joseph W. Stocks.

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