Quest is on to restore history graveyard
Along the edge of Cady Cemetery in Inverness lies Samuel Freeman. Born in the late 1780s, his headstone leans precariously close to the uneven ground.
Nearby is Adelia Wilson, just 36 when she died in 1857. A prominent crack threatens to split her marker in two, while a wooden frame props it upright.
The Catlow family plot remains mostly intact, but the entire Elvidge clan is close to toppling over.
The final resting place for some of the earliest pioneers of Barrington, Inverness and Palatine looks abandoned. Set 50 yards off Ela Road on what was once Cady Orchard, the cemetery has fallen victim to vandals, the elements and neglect. Inscriptions are faded. Headstones are broken or missing.
Looking to restore the dilapidated cemetery are the Inverness-based Clarinda Cady Questers.
"It's a shame we haven't been more respectful to these people," said Jean Pavlica, a Quester. "This could be a piece of history we're proud of, something students could come see."
She envisions a cemetery that would honor the more than 50 residents, including veterans of the War of 1812 and the Civil War, buried there between 1841 and 1964.
Pavlica recently asked Palatine Township, the cemetery's owner, for matching funds up to $7,000. The money would help replace the fence installed in 1924 and patched up in 1974.
Before the headstones are restored, the top priority is to secure its perimeter, since Cady Cemetery has been a favorite target of vandals. According to Constance Rawa's book "Pioneer Cemeteries of Palatine Township," several youths were caught in the 1960s trying to dig up a grave. In the 1970s, someone tried to drive through the front gate. And in 1984, the main Cady monument was cracked in half.
Five years ago, the Daily Herald reported that the headstone of 10-year-old Martha Jane Hunnewell had been found in Mount Prospect.
The Questers, an international group that supports the preservation of historic artifacts and landmarks, estimate a new fence will cost $18,000. Pavlica said the group will ask the village of Inverness for money and organize fundraisers. She also hopes descendants may want to contribute, just as one relative donated the wrought-iron front gate.
On board is Palatine Township Assessor Terry Kelly. He told trustees that over the last four years, $74,000 was budgeted for improvements to the township's five cemeteries, which also include Hillside, Wolfrum, Salem and Sutherland. Of that, the township spent just $4,700. That's $236 per cemetery annually.
"That seems pretty ludicrous," said Kelly, adding the township spent close to $24,000 this year on the cemeteries' landscaping and mowing.
Trustees are likely to make a ruling on the proposal in December.
An Eagle Scout service project has given Cady Cemetery's restoration efforts momentum. Richard Jackson, a senior at Fremd High School, recently led volunteers who cleared brush; sanded, primed and repainted the gate; and built wooden cages to secure and reposition fallen headstones.
"The significance of the project kind of dawned on me as I surveyed the condition of the various headstones and realized there are a lot of people there from before Illinois was even a state," said Jackson, 18, who'll study mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University next fall.
Jackson donated his project's remaining $50 to the Questers, a contribution Pavlica hopes to see more of soon.
Interested in donating? E-mail Pavlica at botany325@aol.com.