|
Cemetery History
       
The
first recorded burial in the cemetery was in 1882.
However, some burials from the village of Firesteel
were moved to this cemetery due to Firesteel's
flooding and the railhead relocation. The
village of Firesteel was the foundation for the
eventual "City of Mitchell." Some historical
information indicates that there may have been
burials prior to this, but it is unclear if they
were at Graceland or at the old Firesteel site along
Firesteel Creek.
There
are many famous individuals interred in Mitchell's
Cemetery. Probably the most noted is
MAJOR ISRAEL GREENE, a
Confederate Marine that captured the infamous John
Brown at Harper's Ferry Va. during the battle for
abolishment of slavery and the ensuing Civil War.
When slavery was abolished, he had to move his
family away from the South to avoid pro-Union
sentiment and chose Mitchell for his residence.
ISRAEL GREENE
was one of Mitchell's first civil engineers and
surveyed the first east west road to the Black Hills
of S.D. from Yankton. Some of his
extended family also moved to Mitchell and called it
home.
A few
of the individuals with interesting historical
information to research are:
-
REV. BADGER CLARK was the
father of the famous S.D. poet BADGER CLARK.
-
JAMES S. FOSTER was the leader
of the New York Colony that settled at Bon Homme
in 1864. He was the first Superintendent
of Schools for the Dakota Territories and the
First Commissioner of Emigration in 1867.
-
LAWRENCE O. GALE was the
co-founder of the Corn Palace.
-
RICHARD E. HIGGS, CPL U.S.
Army, was a soap opera star during the WWII era.
-
CATHERINE SUMNER was believed
to be the first female U.S. postal carrier.
She delivered mail with her children on horse
and buggy with a shotgun in her lap for safety
reasons when the Dakotas were being settled.
A
tremendous amount of historical work was done by the
Mitchell Ladies Cemetery Association long ago. Work
continues by the Mitchell Genealogy Society.
This information has been, and continues to be, very
valuable to families as they research their lineage. |
