[Note: For more information on Tours by Grace, visit: https://www.toursbygrace.com/] Last week, I told you I planned to feature some local (to me) cemeteries in my next blog posts. But this week, I realized I didn’t want to do that. In the past, I’ve tried to write about my adventures chronologically. However, sometimes I get the urge to do something different. When you make the rules, you can do that. Today I’m starting a new series on London’s Westminster Abbey, which I visited in June 2023. There’s a bit of a story behind my relationship with this place, but I’ll try to keep it brief. It wa ..read more

I’m wrapping up my series on Iowa City’s Oakland Cemetery today, which brings my July 2019 Iowa Road Trip to an end as well. Oakland Cemetery has plenty of beautiful trees. Last week, some of the veteran graves I shared with you were made of white bronze (zinc). These are some of my favorite markers because in this part of the country, I don’t see too many of them. Because the Monumental White Bronze Co. of Bridgeport, Conn. had a factory in Des Moines, Iowa, zinc markers are easy to find in Hawkeye state cemeteries. When I came across the Carleton family white bronze marker at Oakland, I was ..read more

In my last post, I introduced you to Iowa City, Iowa’s Oakland Cemetery and focused on the story of the Black Angel. This week, I’ve got some veterans I’d like to honor by sharing their stories. During the Civil War, Iowa contributed 48 regiments of state infantry, one regiment of black infantry, nine regiments of cavalry, and four artillery batteries. In addition to these federally mustered troops, the state also raised a number of home guard or militia units. In other words, a lot of soldiers! Near the front of Oakland is the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) section where you’ll find a handf ..read more

Iowa City is only about 15 miles west of West Branch and is the home of the University of Iowa. We stayed in a hotel there overnight and headed for Oakland Cemetery the next morning. Oakland Cemetery is managed by the Iowa City Parks & Recreation Department. According to its website, Oakland Cemetery was deeded to the people of Iowa City by the Iowa territorial legislature on Feb. 13, 1843. The original plot was one block square. The cemetery now encompasses 40 acres. Oakland Cemetery is a non-perpetual care cemetery supported by city taxes. The staff is committed to the maintenance and pr ..read more

When I realized we would be driving right past the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa on our journey back to Omaha, I was determine that we’d stop. We wouldn’t have time to visit the library itself, but if it was possible to get a glimpse of Hoover’s grave, I was going to try. This was my first official U.S. presidential grave! I’ve seen 10 more since, but seeing Hoover’s was special to me. Picture of Herbert Clark Hoover in 1877. (Photo Source: Herbert Hoover Library) Born in West Branch, Iowa Herbert Clark Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa on Aug. 10, 1874, making hi ..read more

It’s not often I visit a large cemetery and only visit a few graves, then take off. But in the case of Anamosa, Iowa’s Riverside Cemetery, that is exactly what I did. Sometimes time is not on my side. You might remember that I talked about artist Grant Wood a few months ago when I was writing about Cedar Rapids’ Oak Hill Cemetery because Dr. Byron McKeeby is buried there. A dentist in real life, he stood is as the model for the farmer in Wood’s classic “American Gothic” painting. In a nutshell, Riverside Cemetery has about 4,720 memorials listed on Find a Grave with the earliest death date lis ..read more

Last week, I introduced you to the Anamosa State Penitentiary (ASP) Cemetery and shared some of the stories I uncovered while researching the graves. I hope you’re ready for a few more! ASP Cemetery was neatly mowed the day we visited in July 2019. “Until Sane” One of the more bizarre stories I came across at the ASP Cemetery was about Truman J. Gilchrist. His last name was misspelled on his grave marker. Then I saw on his Find a grave memorial was that he had been committed to ASP for safekeeping “until sane”. If that doesn’t make you want to dig deeper, I don’t know what would. Born in 1865 ..read more

Since cemeteries are viewed by many as outdoor museums, it isn’t a stretch for me to say that I’m a bit of a museum junkie. It doesn’t take much to get me to visit one, the more obscure the topic the better. I love learning about anything and everything! When I was doing research for this road trip, I discovered that Iowa’s Anamosa State Penitentiary (ASP) not only had a museum, it had a cemetery that’s open to the public. There was no way I was going to miss out on that! So we headed east from Springville to Anamosa, a brief 10 mile ride. I was also interested in visiting Anamosa to visit the ..read more

Last week, I shared a number of white bronze (zinc) monuments at Springville Cemetery in Linn County, Iowa. Today I’m going to share some additional monuments that got my attention (made of other materials). In reviewing my photos, I came across one that caught my eye because it has a Georgia connection. A native of Iowa, Isaac E. Robinson was only 21 when he died far from home in Rome, Ga. during the Civil War. An estimated 76,242 Iowa men (out of a total population of 674,913 in 1860) served in the military during the Civil War, many in combat units attached to the Western armies. About 13,0 ..read more

After leaving Cedar Rapids, we headed northeast 30 miles to Springville Cemetery. Springville Cemetery has an estimated 2,350 memorials on Find a Grave. Adjoining St. Isidore Cemetery seems to have between 50 to 100 graves. Springville Cemetery is located about 30 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids. Springville’s earliest graves date from the 1840s, before Iowa became the 29th state in 1846. But one of the reasons I put Springville on our itinerary was to see for myself one of the largest white bronze (zinc) monuments I’d ever come across online. It has quite a story of the family it represents a ..read more