 
In 1851, Jesse and Lucinda Hadley deeded a small, irregularly shaped piece of land to the town of Fountain Green; their compensation was $10.00. The stipulation was that the land would be used as a burial area. In fact, it had already been used for that purpose; the deed formalized it's use as such, undoubtedly with the hope that the resting places of loved ones would be protected. If only that intent had been honored through the years. The burying place is still on the records but it's overgrown (as evidenced by the above photograph, taken in 1999) and long forgotten.
It is located on private property to the north and east of Fountain Green. Various owners have allowed stock to roam freely for many, many years and there are few tombstones remaining intact.
In 1961 Miss Mary H. Siegfried of Denver, Illinois, visited the cemetery and reported the following. Miss Siegfried's text is shown in italics:
Two weeks ago, we had occasion to go to one of our pioneer cemeteries known as the old Hadley Burial ground. This cemetery is situated in W1/2 of the northwest quarter of Fountain Green Township was deeded to the Town of Fountain Green by Jesse Hadley in 1851 for use as a burial ground.
After walking some distance through a feed lot and pasture, we found the cemetery in a complete state of desolation.
Mr. Hadley's stone, one of those we went to locate and photograph, was finally found after scraping off four inches of grass and dirt with a shovel, and was broken across the date inscription.
In all, we located eight stones, several by jabbing with a shovel where the grass appeared to be drying. Some graves were marked with large rocks and no inscription.
One of special historic significance bore the following inscription:
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In memory of
Thomas Humphrey,
a native of Ireland
who died of wounds
received whilst bravely
charging a cannon at the
battle of Nauvoo
28 Sept. AD, 1846,
Age 28 year.
The_________________
_____________Mormons
The last two lines were weathered so as to be unreadable. |
| This is a very large slab lying flat and imbedded in the earth. It was still whole and legible as of 1999. |
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Jesse Hadley
Died Sept 7, 1859
Age 74 Year. 11 mo. 20 days
As of 1999, only the top portion of this tombstone remained. No other pieces were evident.
See:  Jesse and Lucinda Hadley |
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James Currey
Died Aug 13,1852
in the 85th year of his age
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See: James Curry or Currey |
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Sacred to the memory of
Elisha Hunter Beckwith
Died Sept 6,1843
Age 46 years, 5 mo., 28 days
Miss Siegfried was mistaken on this transcription. Elisha's middle name is clearly visible as Huntly. Unfortunately, her documentation has been much copied and republished. The family name passed down through several generations was Huntley.
See: Elisha and Betsy Beckwith
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Margell W. Beebe
Son of A. A. & L. Beebe
Died Aug 20,1849
Age l yr., 8 mo., 27 days
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See: Arius A. and Lucinda Beebe
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Lucinda Hadley
Wife of Jesse Hadley
Died Jan 29,1860
Age 70 years, 9 mo., 10 days
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| The tombstones for Jesse and Lucinda were purchased at the same time, so if Lucinda's marker were still intact, it would probably match Jesse's stone. |
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Victoria Duff
dau of J.G. and M. L. Duff
Died Sept 17,1850
Age 4 yr., 5 mo., 10 days
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| Either the reading of this stone was in error, or there was a problem with the information recorded in the 1850 Federal Census listing for her parents,Joshua G. and Martha L. Duff. |
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William H. Miller
Son of J. P. and H. L. Miller
Died Jan. 18, 1854
Age l year, 7 mo., 10 days
of such is the Kingdom of Heaven
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The place must have been used as a cemetery prior to 1851 as half of the burials were before that date.
Among the names were Beebe, Beckwith, Currey, Hadley, Duff, and Miller, all prominent pioneers of the locality.
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