Fackler's Grove Cemetery Restoration

The Ely Community History Society, along with Robert Hach, Jr. of Ely, and the Big Grove Township Trustees are planning a project to restore the old Fackler's Grove Cemetery located near the intersection of Seven Sister’s Road and Polk Avenue south of Ely.  This is a pioneer cemetery with some of the earliest settlers of the area buried within it, but it is in a sad state of disrepair. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We are looking for individuals and organization, youth or adult, interested in helping with this project.  Once the weather clears in the spring of 2013 we plan on organizing an informational meeting for interested parties.

Please call Barb Horak at 319-848-4074, Clary Illian at 848-4963 or contact us via e-mail or mail if you wish to be involved in this project either with physical work or financial donation.
 
Ely Community History Society
P.O. Box 191
Ely, Iowa 52227
Email:


Please feel free to comment below! (Click where it says "comments" below for the comment box)

For further information please click
the "Fackler's Grove Cemetery Project" tab above.

 

Unknown Wright family photos

Please CLICK HERE to see all the photos

One of the collections at the Ely Community History Center Archives contains a folder of scanned photos labeled "Unknown Wright Family Photos".  The collection was donated by Wilma Carson, formerly of Ely.   Does anyone recognize people in these photos?  If so, please email us at the address in the right column.

I have found the following family in the 1900 Census.  I do not know if this is the same Wright family.

(From www.familysearch.org)
1900 U.S. CENSUS
name:     Z L Wright
event place: ED 86 Putnam Township, Linn, Iowa, United States
birth date:     Jan 1867    birthplace: Wisconsin
relationship to head of household: Head
father's birthplace:     New York     mother's birthplace:     Canada Fr
race or color: White     gender:     Male
marital status: Married     years married: 10    estimated marriage year: 1890

Household / Gender / Age / Birthplace
head     Z L Wright     M     33     Wisconsin
wife     Clara Wright    F     28     Wisconsin
son     Floyd L Wright   M     9     Wisconsin
daughter     Zella Wright     F     8     Wisconsin

Citing this Record: "United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M92K-XWY), Z L Wright, ED 86 Putnam Township, Linn, Iowa, United States; citing sheet 8A, family 146, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1240443.

Graham / Hall photos

UPDATE - 2/8/2020
 

Linda Hey, a local historian has verified that when they built the house where Robert Novotny formerly lived in Shueyville, they built it behind this old house. They moved the old house to the east of the main Shueyville corner (120th and Curtis Bridge Road) where Leonard Zalesky lived.   The address of this house today is 2914 120th St. NE, Cedar Rapids, Ia.  This is a picture from Google Maps of what that house looks like today, just east of the 120th and Curtis Bridge Rd.

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The below photos were sent in by Pat Vichas, hoping that someone could help identify them.

The first is a gathering of people in front of a house believed to be the home where Pat's great-grandmother Elizabeth (Hall) Graham lived in Shueyville, Iowa or nearby.  (Jefferson Township, Johnson County, Iowa)

Pat has identified Frank and Edith (Graham) Popham are 7th and 8th from left in the top row.  Elizabeth Hall Graham was Edith Popham's mother; in all, Elizabeth had 5 daughters.

Pat would like to know any information on the house - if it is still there.  Also information on the people in the photo.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.
Once open in another window, you may need to click
on the photo again to get the largest version.

The below is a later photo of the house. Is this house still standing in or near Shueyville?  Please let us know.

A blow-up from a 1900 Johnson County, Jefferson Township map shows the approximate location of the J.W. Graham property and house. We do not know if it is the same as the above house.

 Some background:

Copy of an article by Elizabeth (Hall) Graham (Memories of Elizabeth (Hall) Graham, who came to the Shueyville area in 1855 and lived near Shueyville for 91 years. The newspaper is not identified, but the author is listed as Louise Johnston. Year it was written is estimated about 1946.)

From History of Johnson County, Iowa, 1883. - Biography:

Father of Elizabeth (Hall) Graham:   Thomas R. Hall (deceased), was born on the 15th day of December, 1819, in Albermarle County , VA ; was the son of Richie and Sarah Hall; was raised on a farm; learned the carpenter trade. August 10, 1843.  He was married to Miss Nancy M. Martin of Augusta County, VA. They have six children; John W., Elizabeth E., wife of J.W. Graham; Robert C., Eliza C., Cinderella C., and Cora A. In January, 1855 he came to Iowa , and settled in Johnson County; first in Shueyville, where he followed his trade. He purchased 240 acres of land in section 9 and moved there, where he farmed and worked at his trade up to the time of his death, which occurred November 22, 1871 . He was a member of the Methodist Church , and held the office of Justice of the Peace and trustee of his township. He was a good citizen, a faithful husband, and a kind father.

Click for all unidentified photos

Country schools-Hazel Green School

 

Hazel Green School (pictured above) was located east of Shueyville, Iowa in Big Grove Township, Section 3.  If you have information or photos to share on this school, please contact us!

We are also looking for information and photos on the Sulek country school, located  east of Shueyville in Jefferson Township Section 1.

If you have memories, photos or information to share on any of the country schools in our area of coverage (Ely, Western and Shueyville plus surrounding countryside), please contact us.

Hazel Green country school

This photo is from Vern and Kay Erenberger and shows children in front of Hazel Green School.  The Erenbergers recently celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.  Kay said that this is the first time they met.  Kay is the small girl on the left in the front row and Vern is the boy in the suit at the far right of the second row.  We could use some help with the identities of the other children.  Be sure to click the photo to enlarge it!

 

IDENTIFIED: 
Front row: from left -1- Kay Erenberg; 2-Theresa McNamara, 3 unknown, 4 unknown, 5 unknown; 6-Kenneth Erenberger

Second row: 1 unknown, 2 unknown, 3 unknown; 4 unknown; 5-Donald Erenberger (face toward camera); 6-Vern Erenberger

Back row: 1 unknown; 2 unknown; 3 unknown; 4-Donald Erenberger 5 unknown; 6 unknown, 7-Gene McNamara; 8 unknown

Joseph Woitishek & Jan Hanus, Ely merchants

John Prastka was born in 1885 in Oxford Junction but grew up in Ely.  Preceding the Ely Centennial in 1972 he hand-wrote his memories of early Ely.  He gave his writing to the Ely Legion, and they are now part of our collections.  He knew Joseph. Woitishek because his brother clerked for him in his store, which is now the building that houses the Post Office in Ely.

Following are a couple descriptions of early people in Ely.

JOSEPH WOITISHEK (Vojtisek in Czech)  

Caption: Joseph Woitishek was born in Moravia in 1837.
In 1853 he and his family arrived in Galveston, Texas and made their
way up the Mississippi, coming to Hoosier Grove (now Ely) in 1854, where
he bought land and farmed. Later he operated a general store
and was involved in the grain trade.

Mr. Prastka writes:
“Mr. Joseph Woitisek, Ely’s foremost financial success and richest person and merchant, had a lingo so much different than most people.  He wore a full beard about like Santa Claus is pictured, only his hair and beard were black or dark brown.  His talk was fanciful and he used so many phrases which differed from what an ordinary person ever uses.  He was not direct and to the point.  He beat about the bush.  .....such as “Yes, Mr. so and so, it could be just like this and how could it be otherwise?”  “For instance” was used a lot, also “that is”.  There were many fanciful words mixed and interwoven between his talk.  He also used them in his Bohemian languge.   “Ku prikadu totish” – “That is of course” was used the most.  He was nick-named by the Bohemians “Old Totish”.  ................The story goes on to tell about how Woitishek played checkers and who he played them with ...   "Woitishek lived in the house behind the store and “raised many different colored chickens and delighted in feeding them.  He would call out names he had for each one and throw the hen a few kernels of corn off the palm of his hand, and the chickens gathered all around him.

See a newer blog post about Joseph - a translation of a history about him from a publication in the Czech language.

  JAN HANUS

An early ad for Jan Hanus Undertaking, Ely, Iowa.

Mr. Prastka writes:  “Mr. Hanus was an undertaker who wore chin whiskers, a small man in stature and he loved his daily nip of brandy at the saloons – a very restless type to the point of being nervous.  He had long waits between funerals and so had to raise a hog or two and kept many chickens in his barn yard.  He was good at carving walnut and finishing it, making nice bureaus and trunks, etc.  I think when Ely was new he made caskets with nice handles on and lined the inside.  (John Prastka used to hang around with a Hanus son, and tells of helping to clean the hearse before funerals.)  He also says, “When I was reported at Ely as dead at the time I got fever in the Navy, Mr. Hanus made a few trips to the train depot to see if I’d arrived there as a corpse!”  However, John was very much alive.

A copy of a translation of the Hanus ad from
 the Solon Economy newspaper, about 1895