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Fairview Cemetery
Council Bluffs

Fairview Cemetery    

The Kinsman Civil War Monument, Fairview Cemetery, Council Bluffs

The first burial place found in the vicinity of Council Bluffs, Iowa, was on a high bluff near the Mynster Spring, where were the bones of hundreds of people supposed to be of Indians, of all ages, and all mixed together, and covered only to a depth of from one to two feet. The next established after the advent of the white man, where the Pierce Street school now stands. This was also an Indian burying ground and established after the mission was started among them, as shown by the Christian emblems found in the
Fairview Cemetery
graves when the remains were removed. What is now FAIRVIEW CEMETERY was next and was started by the Mormons. The ground at that time belonged to the Government and was appropriated by whoever saw fit. Fairview, being the oldest and nearest, has as yet the greatest number of graves, especially of the old settlers. At the northern part, on the highest point, is the soldiers' burial place, in the center of which is the KINSMAN monument, surrounded by the graves of his comrades. This part is especially intended for such as had no lots of their own, and many soldiers are buried on their family lots. Among these are Dr. HENRY OSBORN, surgeon; Major LYMAN; Dr. ALEX SHOEMAKER; HARMON SHOEMAKER; Colonel ADDISON COCHRAN, and many others. (Extracted from 1907 History of Pottawattamie Co., Iowa) A visit to the Kinsman monument, and photos taken by Mrs. Renee (Brazeal) Pfannkuch, show a large granite monument with a bronze relief/bust of Colonel William H. Kinsman, born July 11, 1832, in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, killed in Battle of Black River Bayou, May 17, 1863. The monument reads: "By mid-May 1863, the Union forces of Major General Ulysses S. Grant had captured Jackson, Mississippi, and wheeled west to attack and encircle Vicksburg. In the vanguard of the federal assault was the 23d Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment commanded by Colonel William H. Kinsman of Council Bluffs. On the morning of May 16, 1863, the Twenty-Third led the charge against the Confederate troops, defending the Black River, the last natural barrier protecting the south's remaining vital city on the Mississippi River. Kinsman was fatally wounded as he led the Iowans into a volley of Confederate fire; he died the following morning and was buried at the battle site. In the late 1800's, veterans of Kinsman's command, with the encouragement and help of General Grenville M. Dodge, recovered and returned the Colonel's remains to Council Bluffs. On May 17, 1902, the monument celebrating the Colonel's life, military career, and devotion to the Union was dedicated. General Dodge presided at the ceremony." In addition, in 1997 the monument and area were renovated and a brick walkway placed leading to the monument. A granite stone was placed at that time which reads: "A project of the Bluffs Arts Council, Council Bluffs, Iowa, November 11, 1997. Funded by a gift in memory of James A. Fox, 102nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, of Peder Pederson, 46th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment, of James H. Jordan, 9th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, of Charles Jordan, 17th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and of William Robinson, of the Ship's Company USS Thomas A. Benton, an ironclad of the Mississippi River Flotilla. 'The Union Forever'."

Fairview Cemetery


Additional Civil War veteran burials at Fairview Cemetery include:
  Patrick Cooney, 1822 - 1902, 11th Ohio Cavalry
  Jobe A. Haines, 1847 - 1906, Co. D, 4th Iowa Cavalry
  Joseph Haines, 1849-1923, 4th Iowa Cavalry
  W. N. Hatch, died 15 January 1908, Co. D, 10th Illinois Cavalry.

Source:
Above photos and personal research by Mona (Sarratt) Knight and by Mrs. Renee (Brazeal) Pfannkuch, also from 1907 History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

Copyright (c) Mona Knight. All rights reserved except permission granted to reproduce or distribute to not-for-profit individuals or organizations.

For a list of those interred at Fairview Cemetery, as well as photographs of gravestones, click here.

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Miscellaneous Listings

Name Dates Row Notes
 Hilling, Ellen M. 14 May 1838-22 May 1924 2 Wife of George W.
 Hilling, George W. died 25 Oct 1908 2 Co C 27th IA Inf
 Keller, M. Elise 24 Aug 1850-23 Jul 1910 2 Masonic Symbol
 Keller, John 23 Oct 1815-2 Apr 1908 2 Masonic Symbol
 McNeal, Charles 1839-20 Feb 1910 2 Co G 151 ILL Inf, Marker 345
 Buhler, Justus died 7 Apr 1907 2 Co D 37th ILL Inf
 Savage, William died 14 Mar 1907 2 Co D 34th ILL Inf
 Wall, Dr. Wm R. 28 Feb 1822-4 Sep 1910 2 GAR on stone
 Alexander, J. P. 2 July 1832-19 Apr 1912 3 Co B 209 PA Inf
 Alexander, Sarah M. 9 June 1836-13 June 1915 3 Wife of J P
 Cassady, Samuel H. ? - 24 Dec 1873   * a.k.a Casady.  See Civil War Vets
 Submitted by Gail Meyer Kilgore except where noted.

* Submitted by Patrick Sullivan


Cemetery Burials taken from posted Obituaries

Name Born Died Buried Age
Mrs. Laura Service (Servis) 11 Dec 1934 10 Dec 2002 13 Dec 2002 54 yrs
Calvin A Servis   16 Oct 1940   68 yrs
George Frederick Hehl   8 Nov 1916 12 Nov 1916  
Daniel J. Donahue   19 Dec 200 23 Dec 2002 79 yrs
Kenneth E. Thayer   20 Dec 2002 23 Dec 2002 73 yrs
Helen P. Wallace 6 Jul 1931 29 Nov 2002 3 Dec 2002 71 yrs
Contributed by Constance Diamond.