George W. Bell (Former Slave, Served with Union Army and Settled in Waukegan)-- Part 1

One of the people buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Waukegan is George W. Bell and has been featured in the well-known annual Cemetery Walk.

He was born into slavery in Tennessee and captured by the Union Army during the Civil War and served with the army.  In the 1880s he and his family moved to Waukegan, becoming one of the first permanent black families to live there.

He is buried on Oakwood Cemetery.  Born 16 October 1816  Died 6 December 1910.

--Old Secesh

Elijah Middlebrook Haines, His Wife and Son

From Find A Grave

ELIJAH MIDDLEBROOK HAINES

Born 21 April 1822  Oneida County, New York

Died 25 April 1889  Libertyville, Lake County, Illinois

Burial Oakwood Cemetery, Waukegan, Illinois

His gravestone mentions that he was the founder of Hainesville, Illinois.

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Also buried at Oakwood, and by him, his wife, MELINDA GRISWOLD WRIGHT HAINES

Birth:  18 February 1825  Herkimer, New York

Death:  28 June 1881, Waukegan, Illinois (age 58)

Burial:  Oakwood Cemetery, Waukegan, Illinois

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JOHN CHARLES HAINES, son

Birth:  14 February 1850  Illinois

Death:  2 January 1892 (age 41)  Seattle, Washington

Burial:  Lake View Cemetery  Seattle, Washington

I am so glad that Elijah and Melinda were not buried in the lost cemetery named Cranberry Lake Cemetery.

--Old Secesh

Oakwood Cemetery in Waukegan, Illinois

From Find A Grave

I looked up this cemetery to see what the site had to say about Elijah M. Haines being buried there.  He is not listed in Famous Memorials, which is surprising after what I have learned about him.

As of 2012, a photograph has been taken of every headstone in the cemetery.

The cemetery is located on the shores of Lake Michigan in Waukegan and has a wonderful view of it.  It is owned and maintained by the City of Waukegan and also shares land with St. Mary's but they are two separate cemeteries.

The four people listed as famous::

Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck--  (1882-1936)  U.S. Congressman

William Ernest Mason--  ( 1850-1921)   U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senator.

George Clarke Rogers  (1839-1915)  Civil War brevet brigadier general.  I will write about him in this blog.

Alson Smith Sherman  (1811-1903)  Chicago mayor.

--Old Secesh

Some More on Elijah M. Haines

I got together with my buddy Bob earlier today and figured this would be a good time to ask him about what he knows about Elijah Haines (he has played Elijah, the founder of Hainesville, Illinois and quite an important person in the early history, including Civil War, of Lake County, Illinois).

Elijah Haines never had a permanent home in Hainesville and lived in Waukegan where he taught school and studied law.  When he was in Hainesville, he stayed at his mother's.

He did meet Abraham Lincoln in Chicago where they both attended a meeting about improvements to Illinois harbors and rivers.  It is very likely that Lincoln stayed at Elijah Haines' home twice.

I wasn't sure about Haines' role in the Andrew Johnson movement and could find nothing on the internet about this movement.  However, I know there was a move to impeach Johnson that fell just barely short.  So this most likely was what that statement was about.  Since I knew that Haines was no longer a Republican by then, because of his dislike of the Radical Republicans, he would have been with the people opposing his impeachment.

Also, Haines is not buried at the lost Cranberry Lake Cemetery but at the Oakwood Cemetery in Waukegan, Illinois, which would have made sense since this is where he lived most of the time.  This is still there.  I couldn't find out any information about his grave though.

--Old Secesh