Newberry Pioneer Cemetery - Argyle

NEWBERRY

Posted By: Sue Simonich (email)
Date: 4/10/2002 at 13:03:17

Hello

I am interested in finding anyone with information about the old pioneer graveyard near Argyle as described below. It is believed that it is the old Newberry Cemetery. Does anyone have knowledge of this cemetery or the people who were interred there.

In 1993 the State Archealogist got involved in investigating the site because they were told there was a graveyard there, and a road was proposed to go through it. There was some investigation into it, and I have a report from the Current State Archealogist. But it doesn't address the inhabitants of the cemetery. Anyone out there know.

I have been working with Erma Derosear at the Donnellson library on this, and she suggested that we post a query here regarding this.

Here's the highlights of what we know, as written to the State Archeaologist

Back in 1993 one of your archaeolgists (Toby Morrow) was investigating an old cemetery outside of Argyle, Iowa. It had been destroyed by modern owners (circa 1940) of the land and the stones were plowed into the ground or otherwise destroyed. At the time of the investigation, Mr. Morrow wrote the following:

"Mrs. Klingler,
Here are my notes on the unmarked cemetery N. of Argyle. The cemetery is located near the SE corner of Sec. 5, Des Moines Township (about 1/2 miles north of Argyle) on the Dan Mueller property. Raymond Peel remembered the cemetery from when he was a boy and said the stones were removed around the 1940's.

Signed,
Toby Morrow"

"I was wondering if there was any other information about this that was ever gleaned by the State Archeaolgist, and if the graves were protected, or if they were moved? I am aware that a highway was planned for the area. It was determined at the time there were approximately fourteen bodies buried there.

I am currently doing research on the Newberry family, and this possibly could have been an old Mormon cemetery, as it is known that Brigham Young camped on Newberry land when they were in exodus across Iowa toward Council Bluffs. I have a letter stating as such from the 1940's.

The two original Newberry people from my family were James Washington Newberry and Abraham B. Newberry who were the sons of James A. Newberry. It is possible that they were on the land around 1838 before the land was sold out from under the Indians (Half Breed Tract) and purchased by the LDS Church. Both Newberry's were members of Joseph Smith's Church and possibly some blood quantum of Native American. The land when it was homesteaded by the Newberry's was said to have been about 3,000 acres - held jointly by the two brothers. Part of the land was lost in a shady deal by an heir sometime before the turn of the century.

I am currently trying to gather more information about the land from the time it was owned by the Indians to the modern day. However, I am not even sure that the farm encompassed this tract where the old cemetery was found. But I have my suspicions and I am working toward finding out."

If anyone on the Lee Co. message boards has information about the inhabitants of this cemetery, I would be grateful to hear about it.