John Finney was a native of Bowling Green, Warren County, Kentucky and came with his parents to Missouri in 1832. They settled in Warren County and he later moved to Franklin County in 1845.
On 23 October 1845, John Finney of Warren County, was married in Franklin County to Miss Louisa "Louisey" Elizabeth Roark, a daughter of John & Elizabeth (Napper) Roark of Berger.
John and Louisey Finney were the parents of nine children. Namely; William Roark, Nancy Jane, John M., James Harrison, Elige T., Zimri Carter, Timothy, Benjamin F. and Mary Finney.
The Finney family was well-to-do and highly respected in the community. They were very private people and kept close to home. That could explain why most of them died single.
By 1888, the land owned by John Finney consisted of 750 acres. A piece of the land had formerly been owned by the Cole Family and is the parcel where the cemetery is located. The Finney graves are located in a row in the back of the cemetery and two graves are located in the front of the cemetery. Down the middle there are approximately eight fieldstones believed to mark the graves of Cole family members.
However, James H. Finney, had an African-American hired hand named Howard Bland. It could be that some of his family is buried there.
John Finney was a Master Mason. He and his son, William R. Finney, was affiliated with the Robertsville Lodge #363, A.F. & A.M.
William Roark is the only one of the Finney children known to have married. On 04 Dec 1876, in Jefferson County, he married Virginia F. North, a daughter of Arthur C. and Pauline E. (Watkins) North. Virginia died in 1923 and was buried near House Springs, Missouri. They are known to have had one daughter, Elizabeth called "Bessie" and a son named Frederic. Elizabeth "Bessie" Finney married John M. Allee who was considerably older. They resided in St. Louis County, but he was buried in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, near Eldon, Miller Co., Missouri. He had children by his first wife who died in 1899. Frederic Finney, age 19, was living in Jefferson County with his grandmother, Paulina North, in the 1900 census.
Elige Finney committed suicide by cutting his own throat with a razor. He was never married. His brother, John M. Finney also committed suicide. He shot himself in the heart.
Zimri Finney had grabbed his fiddle and started playing, then slumped over and died. When his body was found, the bow was still in his hand.
The Finney Cemetery was visited by members of our group in November 2006. At that time, the results of a previous windstorm had left cedar trees broken and mangled all over the cemetery. It was a horrible sight.
In the spring of 2007, our members began the laborious task of uncovering the tombstones. It took several long days of chainsaw work to view the cemetery lawn once more. The debris removed was burned next to the cemetery at the proper time allowed by law. Miraculously, none of the grave markers were damaged. One larger stone had been knocked off its base. The group is seeking outside help to get it back upright again.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
FINNEY CEMETERY
CALVEY TOWNSHIP, FRANKLIN CO. MISSOURI
Township 42 North, Range 2 East, Section 21
Near Robertsville, Franklin County, Missouri
Township 42 North, Range 2 East, Section 21
Near Robertsville, Franklin County, Missouri
FINNEY, ELIGE T. 12 OCT 1861 26 DEC 1909
Not lost, blest thought, But gone before, Where we shall meet, To part no more.
FINNEY, JOHN 22 AUG 1822 19 APR 1909
FINNEY, LOUISEY ELIZABETH 12 FEB 1824 07 JAN 1900
FINNEY, JOHN M. 23 DEC 1853 27 APR 1894
FINNEY, W. R. (Mason) 27 JUN 1847 01 FEB 1896
FINNEY, NANCY JANE 12 NOV 1849 10 APR 1940
FINNEY, JAMES H. 11 SEP 1855 06 SEP 1953
FINNEY, MARY 08 FEB 1878 08 FEB 1878
FINNEY, BENJAMIN F. 18 JAN 1866 12 DEC 1866
FINNEY, TIMOTHY No Stone No Dates
Monday, January 14, 2008
VITT-BURCHARDT CEMETERY
From Your President:
On January 12, 2008 our crew tackled the Vitt-Burchardt Family Cemetery near Campbellton. January was chosen because of the extreme overgrowth in the cemetery. We chose wisely. The weather couldn’t have been better, with sunshine and highs in the upper forties.
Our small but effective crew is certainly worth their weight in gold. Beginning at 9:00 a.m., they had removed nearly all of the brush and undergrowth by 11:00! Our biggest stumbling block was getting the rather wet brush pile to ignite. However, by lunch time, the fire was sufficient to roast the hotdog's that a couple provided for our midday snack.
A special thanks to our friends who live in the a historic limestone house nearby. It was at their suggestion, and with much of their help, that this workday was accomplished. I am confident that they will maintain the cemetery for many years to come. Also, a big thanks to the man who owns the field surrounding the cemetery. He readily agreed to the cleanup and allowed us to burn the brush in his field.
The last burial at Vitt-Burchardt was in 1945. That year saw the end of World War II and the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As Mrs. Ida Vitt’s casket was lowered into the earth, one can imagine the sorrow of her four surviving sons and her three grandchildren. Twenty-nine years earlier, Mrs. Vitt would have stood by the side of her husband’s grave. Julius Vitt was tragically killed when stepping over a fence with a loaded gun. The gun went off and Julius joined his relatives in the family graveyard.
A little place with a large amount of human tragedy. Infants and small children nearly outnumber the amount of adults buried here. Such was common a hundred and more years ago. As of yesterday, this sad place looks much brighter and so much better! We can hope that the scattered descendants of the Vitts and Burkhardts will appreciate what has been done. And, don’t we all feel a little better?
This is a small family plot located on private property. The cemetery is in a field and is surrounded by an iron fence and when visited in the summer of 2002 and January 2008, it was extremely overgrown with multi-flora roses, poison ivy and other vegetation.
Vitt, Pauline Oct. 9, 1864 January 29, 1873
Vitt, Anna T., geb. Schmidt 19 Apr. 1841 4 Jan. 1912
Vitt, Henry 22 Oct. 1835 1 Mar. 1920
Vitt, Arthur W. Aug. 31, 1888 Oct. 28, 1888
Burchardt, Theckla March 11, 1885 Oct. 6, 1889
Burchardt, William July 4, 1859 Feb. 5, 1888
Burchardt, Ida A. B. Sept. 14, 1883 Oct. 3, 1889
Vitt, Adele C. May 4, 1900 Jan. 9, 1901
Vitt, Julius Oct. 10, 1860 Nov. 30, 1916
Vitt, Ida Sept. 15, 1864 March 31, 1945
On January 12, 2008 our crew tackled the Vitt-Burchardt Family Cemetery near Campbellton. January was chosen because of the extreme overgrowth in the cemetery. We chose wisely. The weather couldn’t have been better, with sunshine and highs in the upper forties.
Our small but effective crew is certainly worth their weight in gold. Beginning at 9:00 a.m., they had removed nearly all of the brush and undergrowth by 11:00! Our biggest stumbling block was getting the rather wet brush pile to ignite. However, by lunch time, the fire was sufficient to roast the hotdog's that a couple provided for our midday snack.
A special thanks to our friends who live in the a historic limestone house nearby. It was at their suggestion, and with much of their help, that this workday was accomplished. I am confident that they will maintain the cemetery for many years to come. Also, a big thanks to the man who owns the field surrounding the cemetery. He readily agreed to the cleanup and allowed us to burn the brush in his field.
The last burial at Vitt-Burchardt was in 1945. That year saw the end of World War II and the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As Mrs. Ida Vitt’s casket was lowered into the earth, one can imagine the sorrow of her four surviving sons and her three grandchildren. Twenty-nine years earlier, Mrs. Vitt would have stood by the side of her husband’s grave. Julius Vitt was tragically killed when stepping over a fence with a loaded gun. The gun went off and Julius joined his relatives in the family graveyard.
A little place with a large amount of human tragedy. Infants and small children nearly outnumber the amount of adults buried here. Such was common a hundred and more years ago. As of yesterday, this sad place looks much brighter and so much better! We can hope that the scattered descendants of the Vitts and Burkhardts will appreciate what has been done. And, don’t we all feel a little better?
VITT-BURCHARDT FAMILY CEMETERY
GPS: 38º 32.916; W091º 08.302; Elevation 681
GPS: 38º 32.916; W091º 08.302; Elevation 681
This is a small family plot located on private property. The cemetery is in a field and is surrounded by an iron fence and when visited in the summer of 2002 and January 2008, it was extremely overgrown with multi-flora roses, poison ivy and other vegetation.
Vitt, Pauline Oct. 9, 1864 January 29, 1873
Vitt, Anna T., geb. Schmidt 19 Apr. 1841 4 Jan. 1912
Vitt, Henry 22 Oct. 1835 1 Mar. 1920
Vitt, Arthur W. Aug. 31, 1888 Oct. 28, 1888
Burchardt, Theckla March 11, 1885 Oct. 6, 1889
Burchardt, William July 4, 1859 Feb. 5, 1888
Burchardt, Ida A. B. Sept. 14, 1883 Oct. 3, 1889
Vitt, Adele C. May 4, 1900 Jan. 9, 1901
Vitt, Julius Oct. 10, 1860 Nov. 30, 1916
Vitt, Ida Sept. 15, 1864 March 31, 1945
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