• "Forsythe Cemetery, Hancock, Illinois, Tombstone Photographs".

• Category: Original

The following people are either known or said to be buried the Forsyth family cemetery:

1. Alpha L. Forsyth
2. Lucinda Ann (Witt) Forsyth
3. William Henry Forsyth (Alpha L.'s son)
4. Joel D. Forsyth (Alpha L.'s son)
5. Alpha Forsyth Jr. (Alpha L.'s son)
6. Robert Layson Forsyth (Alpha L.'s son)
7. Alpha Layson Forsyth (William's son)
8. Lulu Forsyth (Joel's daughter)
9. Hester (black maid)

Only stones for William Henry Forsyth and Alpha Layson Forsyth have been found.

The following description was provided by Brenda Bennett:

    It is about a mile across the Houston Twp., Adams Co. / Chili Twp., Hancock Co. line. He [her father] said it is entirely overgrown with daylilies. There is one large stone that says Forsythe, that is obvious from the road. He fought his way through the daylilies and found two smaller stones. One for William and one for Alpha. He said that there may have been more stones but that the area was so overgrown that he didn't continue. He just wanted to verify that this was the right spot. Williams stone looks like it was originally a larger three piece stone but it has toppled. He also said that there were foundation stones along the edge of the field that indicate a house was there too. He knows the gentleman (he calls him "old guy") who owns the land. He is also a Forsythe descendant. ... this "old guy" says there was a black maid that the family thought so much of that she is buried there too.
    I made it out to the Forsythe Cemetary, Hebron and Ebeneezer on Memorial Sunday. The Forsythe Cemetary is much as my Father had described it. Daylilies and rosebushes entirely cover the ground. We searched for other stones but it was not easy, the ground is so thickly covered that we could easily have missed them. However, the large spire and the two stones we found were in a row. This plus the length and width of the enclosed section make it look like there was room for about six people, in a row. We did find a couple of places where there where "low" spots in that row, that my father said were probably burial spots. The daylilies were so thick that they could have literally grown over the stones. In fact, Alpha L.'s stone had toppled off its foundation and was nearly grown over. You can see the marks in the picture where it was down in the tubers.
    My father has done alot of restoration work at another local cemetary and he examined the stone... it was in good shape (no danger of breaking) so we did raise it enough to get the picture. I wish I could have found more for you, we looked as much as we could, but it was rough going. My sister had worn shorts....she abandoned the search when the rosebushes became to much. There were also gopher holes hidden among the lilies. One of us was constantly tripping. Some of the gopher holes were large enough to swallow your leg to a point above the knee (personal experience). That was when we quit. It is a pretty spot though, in the summer the lilies and roses will bloom. There is a large old shade tree to one side, and the cemetary rests atop a small hill, overlooking a creek. Corn and bean fields stretch for as far as you can see. Peaceful, quiet, yet rustic.
    Wm F's stones were seperated by Alpha's. If you are looking at the picture I sent that shows the spire, Alphas stone was about 3 ft to the right and set back about a foot. Wm's second stone is a couple feet to the right of Alphas. It was not unusually for families of that time period to put up more than one stone (when they could afford it, many of these large stones had to be shipped from the East by riverboat and then brought the rest of the way by wagon). This was no small accomplishment, I have several examples from the Bennett side where they would put up a large "family" stone marking the plot and then put smaller individual grave markers. Often, in cases such as this spire the bottom is a four sided square and a different family member would be named on each side. I have also seen cases were a large stone marks the front of the plot, listing just the family name, and then individual foot stones are added for each member. It is my best guess that the spire was meant to be used in this manner, the Forsythe name faces the road (west), Wm's data is then listed on the north side of the stone. The smaller stones also faced the west.

• 
• Text: Photograph taken 30 MAY 1999, provided courtesy of Brenda Bennett
  
  "Taken from the northeast, it shows the large spire that is visible from the road. On one side it says Forsyth in large letters"
  
  Eight Feet Tall Marble Shaft
  Forsythe on Base
  Inscription on one side
  
  William H. Forsyth
  Died March 11, 1871
  Aged 26 ys, 5 mo, 13 ds
  How many hopes lie buried here.

• 
• Submitter: Brenda Bennett
• Photo Taken: 30 MAY 1999
• Text:
  
  WILLIAM H. FORSYTH
  Died
  March 11, 1871
  AGED
  26 y's, 5 m's 13 d's
  How many hopes lie buried here.

• 
• Submitter: Brenda Bennett
• Photo Taken: 30 MAY 1999
• Text:
  
  "Smaller stone for William H."
  
  WILLIAM H. FORSYTH
  Died
  March 11, 1871
  AGED
  26 yrs, 5 mo 13 ds

• 
• Text: Photograph taken by author in Joel Forsyth's backyard. He had previously rescued the stone.
  
  WILLIAM H. FORSYTH
  Died
  March 11, 1871
  AGED
  26 yrs, 5 mo 13 ds

• 
• Submitter: Brenda Bennett
• Photo Taken: 30 MAY 1999
• Text:
  
  Alpha L.
  son of
  WH & ML Forsyth
  BORN July 24, 1866
  DIED July 30, 1884