It is said that the first burial in this tiny family cemetery is that of William Wiley, son of Benjamin and Margaret Herd Wiley, and husband of Cassandra, who died 7 September 1838 at the age of twenty-eight. But another possibility is that William and Cassandra’s daughter Milinda Wiley was indeed the first. Her gravestone only states, “Born 21 July 1833” and no death date has been carved. Many times, stillbirths are recorded in this manner, with only one date to indicate both birth and death occurred on the same date. So, that question remains unanswered. If this 1833 burial is correctly the first to be buried here, then Wiley family cemetery is in fact the third oldest cemetery in this area.
There are only ten burials on this little hill. It was first recorded in 1966 and a note describes it as, “ten tombstones, four trees, two stumps and one native boulder.” It was a little fenced in area on a hill peacefully located in the middle of a field, a little hike from the nearest road.
The last burial to take place was William R. Wiley, a Civil War soldier. The son of Benjamin F. and Sarah Brumhead Wiley, William had enlisted in Joliet for three years on 13 January 1861. On 22 November1861 he was discharged due to a disability. He died soon after on 5 January 1862 and was buried in the family cemetery.
In 1988 Lexington High School sophomore Luke Berry adopted the task of cleaning up this forgotten rural cemetery as part of an Eagle Scout project. With help recruited from his scout troop, they worked to clear off brush, weeds, grasses, tree limbs, rocks, and debris. They resurrected fallen tombstones, up righted them, and fenced this burial ground within a field.
In 2020 this small family cemetery is in Lexington Township Section 27, just west of North 2800 East Road, a little north of East 2100 North Road, and still, it is on a small hill in the middle of a field.
There are only ten burials on this little hill. It was first recorded in 1966 and a note describes it as, “ten tombstones, four trees, two stumps and one native boulder.” It was a little fenced in area on a hill peacefully located in the middle of a field, a little hike from the nearest road.
The last burial to take place was William R. Wiley, a Civil War soldier. The son of Benjamin F. and Sarah Brumhead Wiley, William had enlisted in Joliet for three years on 13 January 1861. On 22 November1861 he was discharged due to a disability. He died soon after on 5 January 1862 and was buried in the family cemetery.
In 1988 Lexington High School sophomore Luke Berry adopted the task of cleaning up this forgotten rural cemetery as part of an Eagle Scout project. With help recruited from his scout troop, they worked to clear off brush, weeds, grasses, tree limbs, rocks, and debris. They resurrected fallen tombstones, up righted them, and fenced this burial ground within a field.
In 2020 this small family cemetery is in Lexington Township Section 27, just west of North 2800 East Road, a little north of East 2100 North Road, and still, it is on a small hill in the middle of a field.
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Use link to visit this Cemetery on Find A Grave:
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2711998/wiley-family-cemetery
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2711998/wiley-family-cemetery