Dodge County Cemetery Tours

Peter Mantor

The name of Mantorville was adopted in honor of three brothers Peter, Riley, and Frank Mantor who came to the present site of Mantorville in 1853 and 1854 from Linesville, Crawford Co., PA. Peter Mantor, the eldest brother, arrived on Apr. 19, 1854. In the summer of 1874 President Grant sent Peter to Bismarck in the Territory of Dakota as register of the U.S. land office. He returned to Mantorville in 1880 where he died in 1888 at the age of 72. Peter Mantor was elected to the Minnesota Legislature in 1859 and served two sessions until 1862. During the Civil War he served as Capt. of Company C, 2nd, Minnesota Regiment. Peter married four times: Rebecca Brooks, Emily Miller, Eva Claflin in 1865, and Martha Christy in 1886. He had only one child, a daughter who died of influenza at the age of four before he was elected to the Minnesota Legislature. Relatives say Peter was born in Albany Co., NY but Minnesota Legislative Manuals 1860 and 1861 list Pennsylvania. His occupation is listed as miller. He built and operated a sawmill and a gristmill in Mantorville.

Anna & Charles Ginsberg

Charles Ginsberg and his brother-in-law Henry Nageli built the Mantorville Brewery.  Both gentlemen came from Switzerland where beer making was a way of life.  The condition of the Ginsberg-Nageli stone prevented us from having it cleaned.  Be sure to check out the painting that covers the wall at the Mantorville Saloon.

Dr. Josia R. Dartt

Josiah was the first Doctor arriving in Dodge County in 1854.  Listen to the stories of the medical profession in the early days of Dodge County.  The practice of a formal education was not very prevalent until the late 1800s.

Check out the “History of Medicine in Dodge County” for sale at the Dodge County Historical Society.

Alonzo Jay Edgerton

Civil War Union Brevet Brigadier General and US Senator. In August, 1861, he was appointed Captain in Company B, 10 ^th  Regiment Minnesota Infantry and served in the Indian Campaigns until 1863.  His regiment was ordered south and he was in actions against the confederates in Missouri and Louisiana.  In January 1864, he was promoted Colonel in command of he 67 ^th  U.S. Colored Infantry and led his troops until the end of the war.  He was brevetted Brigadier General of US Volunteers in March 1865 and mustered out of the Army in  1867.  After the war he was a member of the first legislature of the State of Minnesota and was a railroad commissioner from 1871 to 1879.  In 1881 he was appointed as a Republican to the US Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of William Windom.  He was appointed US District Judge of the District of South Dakota in 1889 and held office until his death.

Annie Schoonover Lattimore Keith

Annie was born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania on June 17th, 1808. She was the daughter of a Dutch immigrant, Isaac Schoonover. Annie married Jacob Lattimore and had seven children while living in Pennsylvania. As the stagecoaches moved west, Annie and Jacob decide they too would adventure to the territory of Minnesota. Having one more child along the way, the couple arrived in Minnesota Territory in 1856 with their eight children.

Jacob grew very sick toward the end of their journey, but insisted the family push on the Bach Grove. Bach Grove was a small community just east of HWY 57 and CR 22. Unfortunately, Jacob's sickness overtook him and he passed away before arriving. Annie decided to "bury" him in the grain cart in order to finish their journey.

Annie remarried a man named John Keith and moved her family to Ellington. Many of the children lived into adulthood, with one son, Thomas, enlisting to fight in the 2nd Minnesota Calvary for the Dakota War of 1862. Annie died in 1891 at the age of 82-83.

PVT Simon "Simm" Boggs

Word came to friends here on Monday of the sudden death at the State Soldiers' Home of Simeon Boggs of this village. "Simm," as he was familiarly known, had suffered from rheumatism for several years, the disease at last attacking the heart. The body was brought home for burial on the Tuesday noon train, the interment being made by the side of his wife in Evergreen cemetery. Rev McLaughlin officiated in the only service, held at the grave, and war comrades Messrs Jos Greeney, M. S. Kimball, P. Callahan, John Andrist, J. G. Taylor and Harvey Ferrin served as bearers. His stepson, L. K. Boggs, and wife from Blooming Prairie accompanied the remains here. His age and birth place are unknown. He is thought to have been in the neighborhood of eighty-five years old. He was born a slave and his early home was near Fayette, Mo. He was married in slavery and was father of several children, but in the confusion incident to the war of the rebellion the family was scattered and never came together again. He entered a Missouri colored regiment and was in the service until February, 1867, thirty-eight years ago this month, when he accompanied General A J Edgerton home from the South. In the meantime, at Baton Rouge, La, he had married his second wife "Flora," who with two little sons by previous marriage, also came north with him. Mantorville thereafter was their home. Mrs. Boggs died suddenly of heart trouble on July 30, 1903, since when, until late last fall, "Simm" continued to occupy their home in the western part of the village. Having become nearly helpless, and winter coming on, he then was taken to the Soldier's Home. But a few days before his death, a letter written for him by some friend at the Home, was received here inquiring about the old home friends. Mention is made above of his children born in slavery and of whom he had lost trace. A few years ago, one of these, a daughter, learned of the whereabouts of her father and came from her home in St. Louis and spent several weeks with him. Other than this it is not known that he has relatives surviving, other than his stepsons Henry C. of St. Paul, and Lewis K., of Blooming Prairie. --The Mantorville Express, February 10, 1905

Simon Boggs was an ex-slave and Civil War Veteran. He was a PVT in Company G of the 65th U.S.C. Infatry. PVT Boggs' name is engraved on Plague C-75 of the African American Civil War Memorial at 1925 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington D.C. 20001.

Flora Boggs

While standing at work at her ironing board at her home in the western part of the village last Thursday afternoon about 5 o'clock, Mrs Boggs suffered a sudden attack of heart trouble which resulted in her death a few minutes later. Apparently in great agony, she succeeded in getting out of the house into the back yard, where her cries were heard by near neighbors who came to her assistance. Dr. Adams was called, but the poor old woman expired before his arrival. Her husband, who was at work downtown, also reached home a short time after her death. Her sons, Henry C., of St. Paul, and Louis K., of Blooming Prairie, were summoned by tele- graph and arrived on the following day, each accompanied by his wife and two children. Other friends who also came with them were Benj. Day, father-in-law of the first, and Mrs. C. Gilde, mother-in-law of the second. The funeral was conducted at the Congregational church at 2 o'clock Saturday afternoon, Rev Jas. McLaughlin officiating. The hymns were sung by Miss Lucia Cooley, Mrs F. A. Bronsdon, and Messrs Truax and Blumer; Miss Lula Chase, organist. The burial was in Evergreen cemetery, Undertaker Joslyn in charge and Messers John Andrist, Jack Adams, J. F. Morris, J. F. Martin, Geo. H. Parker and Teunis Slingerland serving as pall-bearers. Mrs. Boggs, or "Flora," as she was most commonly called by her neighbors and friends, was born in slavery on a plantation near Clinton, Louisiana, about sixty years ago -- the exact date having been unknown to herself. The close of the War of the Rebellion found her (with two little sons, also born in slavery) a refugee in Baton Rouge, homeless, and friend- less. In common with many of her race she had suffered untold hardships and privations in securing this moiety of coveted freedom -- on one occasion flying on foot with here babe for sixty miles until, exhausted and utterly discouraged, she was fain to leave the child in the open fields, but her mother heart forced her to return to him and bear him on until they reached Union lines. Among the colored troops troops at Baton Rouge, under the command of Gen. A. J. Edgerton, she became acquainted with one, Simeon Boggs, from Missouri, also born in slavery, and the sympathy between them that naturally grew out of their common experiences as slaves, ripened into a warmer attachment, until they joined their right hands in a marital pledge that proved more binding and inviolable than many a one that has the outward sanction and seal of the law. When Gen. Edgerton returned to his home in Mantorville in February 1867, Mr. and Mrs. Boggs and the latter's two children came with them. Here they have since made their home, upwards of thirty-six years. The deceased will always be kindly remembered by those who have known her as industrious and honest, and of a sunny disposition and a kindly heart.

-- The Mantorville Express -- August 7, 1903

Zeno Billings Page Sr.

Number 15 of a family of 18, Zeno was born in 1834 in Chautauqua County, NY.  He left home at 10 years old and applied for work at a sawmill. I told the owner I could do anything. He came to Mantorville to work for Frank Mantor as a clerk in his store.  He married Mercy Garrison of Wasioja in 1856.  Research shows that they may have had two sons. O.N. Page and Zeno Page Jr. As adults they did not stay in the area.  Mercy was the first teacher in the Wasioja school.  Zeno was elected clerk of court of Dodge County. He served in Co. M, First Minnesota heavy Artillery during the Civil War. He was a member of the State Farmers Board of Trade and appointed by the Governor as a member of the State Board of Equalization.   He was a Mason in the Mantorville Lodge and a member of the Congregational church. After Mercy died, Zeno married a lady named Emily and at some point moved to Washington State where he died. No obituary has been found. Zeno & Mercy have an unusual monument. 

John Olive

John was born in 1797 in Lanchashire, England. He met and married his wife Margaret Frost while still in England in 1822. John is not to be confused with his great great grandson John Olive who currently lives in Mantorville.

John and his oldest son Richard travel to America from Liverpool to Ellis Island in 1849. The family of 8 initially settled in Ripon, Wisconsin before purchasing a farm just west of Evergreen. The farmland is still in the Olive family all these decades later.

Many of the children moved after reaching adulthood. Most of them stayed in the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa area. Margaret died in 1874 and is buried in Ripon, Wisconsin. John lived to be 89 years old, passing away on the family farm. In 2023, the original Olive farm will become a Minnesota Sesquicentennial Farm (150 years).

Boge Family

The Boge family lived on the corner of Clay and 6th right in Mantorville. The family was made up of the mother Sophia, the father Henry, and the daughter Julia. Sophia and Henry were frugal and industrious citizens, but Henry was known around town to have a severe drinking problem. His addiction grew to the point that bar owners knew that Henry became violent and unpredictable when he drank, so they agreed to stop serving him. Neighbors had reported that Henry would often come home from the bar and yell at his wife and daughter. Julia and Sophia feared for their lives for many years.

On April 27th, 1905 Henry had been given alcohol by a friend, and he had violence on his mind. Henry waited for his daughter Julia to go out for the night before cornering Sophia in the house. The neighbor, Mrs. Spurbeck, witnessed Henry mauling Sophia with a pickaxe while Mr. Spurbeck ran calling on the village Marshal, Mr. Amos Austin. By the time Amos arrived, Henry had fled to the river wearing only pants. It is believed that Henry drowned in the river that night. Days later a will was found that Henry had written to his daughter Julia, leaving all of his possessions to her.

Klaas Alberts

A German born ohpan that moved to the United States from Germany. Klaas later married and had started a very large family. Many alberts still reside in the Goodhue and Dodge County area.

Henry Naegeli

Henry was born in 1838 in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Upon first immigrating into the US he and his family settled in New Glarus, Wisconsin before finally purchasing a small farm in Milton Township near Mantorville. Henry and his brother-in-law Charles Ginsberg bought and built the Mantorville Brewery just east of the Hubbell House.

In 1861 Henry sold his share of the brewery to Charles and enlisted in the Civil War in Company E 8th Regiment of the Kansas Volunteers. Henry served for four years and fought in many famous battles such as Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and the Atalanta Campaign. After discharge, he returned home to Minnesota in 1866.

Henry was very active upon his return to Mantorville, being most well known for serving as the Hsitorical Society president for many years as well as performing in a traveling band with his five children. The band would attend town festivals and be pulled by two teams of horses during parades.

Henry passed away on September 29th, 1905. His funeral was one of the most well attended to date in Mantorville, with 80 carriages lining the roads of Evergreen Cemetery.

Potter's Field

Purchased by Dodge County as a final resting place for residents that are without family or do not have the means for burial.

Anson Sperry

in 1936, Anson was born into a poor family in the state of New Hampshire. He began work at the age of 14, working 13 hour days, 6 days a week for $1.00. When time allowed, he would attend school which eventually pushed him to become a country school teacher. In the spring of 1861 Sumpter fell, and Anson enlisted. Anson was appointed to the US Sanitary Commission -- the medics (later renamed the Red Cross). While enlisted he saw thousands of men injured and wounded, often with the role of stripping the deceased men and sending their belongings back to their families. Anson recalls the scene by saying "I was bapitzed into the horror of war."

When the war ended in 1865, Anson joined the Freedman's Bureau in Texas which assisted almost 4,000,000 newly freeded slaves during America's post-war reconstruction. There he met the love of his life Thirza Garrison. Eventually Thirza and Anson would return to Thirza's hometown of Wasioja where they would farm and teach at a rural school. Anson was elected county superintendent and travelled the county for $60/month to assist rural teachers.

In 1916, Anson passed away, leaving behind his 8 children. Anson's claim to fame is the hand written letter he received from Teddy Roosevelt thanking him for creating the design for the Red Cross logo. He has been at rest in Wildwood Cemetery ever since.

Thirza Garrison Sperry

Thirza is the wife of Anson Sperry and was born and raised in Wasioja, MN. Thirza began her career as a teacher, laster testing well enough to join the Freedman's Bureau in Texas where she met Anson. Anson and Thirza married in 1868 when she was 30 and Anson was 32. The couple later traveled to Anson's home in Boston, MA where they joind the society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (later followed by the Prevention of Cruelty to Children).

Anson fell ill and the family moved back to Wasioja. The family grew when they added 8 children, naming their home Ashgate, which was two miles east of the cemetery. Thirza passed away in 1905, strangely just the morning after her beloved Seminary burned to the ground. The house that Anson and Thirza lived in has since burned down.

Charles Mason

Charles was born August 8th, 1842 in Linesville, Pennsylvania. Four years later the Mason family moved to Wisconsin, before finally taking a covered wagon to Minnesota where they settled just east of Wasioja. Charles and his brother Austin were some of the first settlers in Dodge County, they both attended rural school in Sacramento before attending school at the Seminary. On May 23rd, 1861 Charles enlisted in the First Minnesota Light Infantry, Company I, serving three years. He was wounded in the first battle of Bull Run in the battle of Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863. Charles laid in the tall grass wounded the entire night until he was found the morning of the July 3rd. Charles left service May 5th, 1864.

Upon returning the Wasioja, Charles took charge of the family farm and married Emily Sheldon in 1867, they had three children. Charles spent the rest of his life on the farm and telling stories of seeing American Indians, black bears, rattlesnakes, deer, and wolves in Dodge County. On December 18th, 1903 his wife Emily died and was buried in Wasioja Cemetery. Charles married again two years later to Jessie Cooper. In 1914 they moved to Mantorville. Charles died on January 29th, 1932 at the age of 89, he was one of the last survivors of the First Minnesota Infantry Regiment.

Information courtesy of the Dodge County Historical Society

CPL Edmond Garrison

Edmond was a Corporal for Company "C" of the 2nd Minnesota Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. He marched with Union General William Tecumseh Sherman through Georgia and participated in the Grand Review of the Armies at Washington. Edmond also served in the regimental band, playing a trombone like instrument that did not have a slide.

Edmond was one of the original 10 men that Clinton Cilley led out of the Seminary and into James George's office to recuit for the war. Edmond is the only member of Company C buried in Wasioja. When the war ended, Edmond was a carpenter and general laborer in the Wasioja area before passin away September 7th, 1922 at the age of 86.

John D. Patterson

John was born February 8th, 1848 in Montreal, Canada. When John was just a boy his family moved to Fillmore County. At the age of 18 he enlisted in the US Army serving in the Civil War, receiving honorable discharge on July 19th, 1865 at Louisville, Kentucky. He fought in numerous battles in the south including the Carolina's Campaign, March to the Sea, and the Grand Review of the Armies.

John united in marriage to Christina Hutton on December 24th, 1877, the had 10 children. They originally settled on a farm two miles east of Claremont where they lived for 18 years. They later moved to a dairy farm west of Wasioja where they lived for 12 years. They moved again into the village of Wasioja where Mrs. Patterson died in 1907 at the age of 48.

John was a staunch Scotchman, kind and loving father, and selfless neighbor. John passed away January 26th, 1934 at the age of 85.

Dr. James A. Garver

James was born March 19th, 1814 in Butler County, Ohio. He married Eliza Miller (also from Ohio) in 1836 before moving to Minnesota in 1856. James, his wife, and their four children walked from Oronoco to the Wasioja Hotel where they eventually homesteaded just a half mile north of town.

James was considred a "regular" physician and graduated from the Medical College of Ohio in 1834. He found that the village of Wasioja was generally very healthy, so that left a lot of time for him to spend with his 8 children. James later became the manager of the only hotel in Wasioja, known as the Wasioja House.

In 1862 when the Civil War broke out, James traveled to Indiana to be the assistant surgeon for the 39th Regiment of Volunteers, resigning after one year. He then accepted the post to be the regimental surgeon of the 136th Indian Regiment of Volunteers where he stayed for 4 years. His wife, Elizabeth Miller, worked as a nurse for the Union. James' family has a long line of service with his grandfather and great grandfather both serving in the Revolutionary War.

In 1874 James and his wife moved from Wasioja to Dodge Center. James was of sound mental and physical health at the age of 88 when he accidentally lit himself on fire while trying to warm up during the night. His entire back was so harshly burned that he died just 18 hours after the incident on December 14th, 1901. James was so well like and respected that over 800 people showed up to his funeral. He was buried in April of 1902.

Amos Bryant and son Lyle Bryant

Amos was born April 29th, 1880 in Oregon Territory. At the age of four Amos and his parents, Zephaniah and Isodora, moved to Ellington Township. Amos's parents were involved in a religious group called the Megiddo Mission led by L.T. Nichols. Nichols was shot but not kiled in Oregon, so he ordered the group to sell their land and goods to move into Dodge County. This group erected many small buildings and a church in Ellington, where the foundation can still be seen. After fourteen years Nichols ordered the group to move out of Dodge, Amos's parents followed the church but Amos decided to build his life in Dodge. He later met Emily Jane Keith who he married in 1910. They had four children, Jessie, Lyle, George, and Keith. Emily passed away in December of 1940 at the age of 6, she is also buried in Concord.

Amos graduated from Canfield Business College of Owatonna and was employed in West Concord at the Pioneer Harness Shop from 1901 to 1926. Later Amos and his son Lyle woud go into the woodworking business starting Bryant & Bryant woodworking.

Lyle Bryant was born October 15th, 1914 in Ellington Township. When Lyle was four years old they family moved into West Concord just behind Ginny's. Lyle graduated from West Concord school in 1933. In 1942, Lyle went off to fight in WWII and was trained as an airplane mechanic, being staioned in the Azure Islands, which are West of Portugal in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Lyle served from 1942 to 1945 and actually stayed overseas after the war for work. He later returned home where he started the carpentry shop with his family. Amos died in 1967 from cancer, and Lyle on January 1st, 1987 from a fire in his home.

Ann Elizabeth Cain Wood

Ann was born to James and Rachel Cain on December 5th, 1860 in a log cabin. Rachel came to the Mantorville area in 1856 and settled near Batch Grove just north of Mantorville. Ann was the oldest child of 5 children, all continuing to live in the area around Concord. On February 13th, 1879 she married Millard Fillmore Wood. Wood's family owned the beautiful Woodlawn Farm which raised purebred Angus cattle, having up to 125 head at once!

Ann was a progressive woman, not receiving a formal education but was very educated. She helped start the Neighborhood Improvement Society (NIS) which assisted widowed mothers with children. Ann had once child, Edna Bernice Wood, on April 7th, 1882. Edan attended rural school, and eventually West Concord High School. She then graduated from the Austin School of Music. Edna, her husband, and 4 children lived on the farm with Ann and Millard.

On January 24th, 1946 Edna passed away on the farm, living her entire 85 years in Dodge County. Millard passed away years before on August 28th, 1938.

Edgar Robinson

Edgar was born on August 25th, 1880 to Inona and Thomas Robinson. He was born in Roscoe and is the oldest of 8 children, his grandparents being some of the first pioneers to settle in Roscoe. Edgar and his wife Mary had 6 children and often visited Inona and Thomas's farm in the Village of West Concord.

Mary Robinson passed away at the age of 104, living from April 21st, 1882 to May 3rd, 1986. Edgar passed away at 88 years old on August 25th, 1968.

Watson G. Avery

Watson was born in 1840 in Pennsylvania. Watson's great grandfather, Ezekiel Avery, was a soldier in the American Revolution. His family lived in many locations before finally taking their Conestoga wagon north from Iowa and settling in Concord, Minnesota. Watson's father purchased a general merchandise store where Watson worked providing the locals necessary goods for early settlement. Watson was later promoted to partner and the store was renamed to J. M. Avery & Son, with Watson being the "son."

When the railroad bypassed Concord to the west, Watson was quite upset because he had recently taken full ownership of the general store. Jeremiah Avery, Watson's father, died in 1889 and Watson's brother used his inheritance to buy half interest in the Concord Store.

Four years later, Watons passed away at the young age of 54. He left many family members behind that helped run the store, and the Concord area is still home to some descendants of the Avery family.