Daughters of the American Revolution at Oak Ridge Cemetery

The Springfield Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution organized on Feb. 11, 1895 and received its charter on Nov. 5, 1895. The chapter’s prime organizer and first regent was Kate Chatterton (Mrs. Charles) Hickox. 

The charter document was framed in 1903 with wood from the home of Abraham Lincoln, where many of the chapter’s earliest meetings were held. (Charter member Josephine Remann Edwards and her family lived in the home for more than 20 years while she and her husband Albert served as the home’s custodians.)

Twenty of the 24 charter members are buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Here are the names and grave locations for all 20. The suggested tour begins at the grave of Kate Chatterton Hickox, organizing regent. People taking this tour will want to drive.

Credit: Most of the information for this tour was compiled for a commemorative booklet issued by the Springfield Chapter NSDAR for the chapter’s 125th anniversary in 2020. Research was done by Mary Rose Payne Barringer, chapter historian, and Lynda Mae Spaniol Kerstein. 

Grave-finding at Oak Ridge

The city of Springfield website includes an interactive map of Oak Ridge Cemetery. Use grave locations noted below to find individual burial sites. (If the map’s search function doesn’t work, you can drag and scroll through the map to find the correct block and site.)

However, be aware that many gravestones lie flat with the ground; that may make it harder to find a specific grave even when you’ve located it using the map.

Yates Family plot: Sisters Frances Elizabeth Yates (1864-1922), Grace Eliska Yates (1853-1939) and Julia Stith Yates (1856-1943) Block 10 GPS Grace, 39.81743N, 89.56319W; Frances, 39.82474N, 89.65727W; Julia, 39.82490N, 89.65716W

Descendants of: Lt. Col. William Yates

The Yates sisters lived in the family home on East Cook Street with their parents, brothers and four half-siblings for many decades. They were prominent in the business and social life of Springfield.

Jane Ridgely Jones (1846-1925) Block 10 GPS 39.82571N, 89.65784W

Descendant of: Eliphalet Huntington, Ebenezer Lathrop Sr., Lt. Ebenezer Lathrop Jr.

Jane Jones’ father, Nicholas Ridgely, founded a local bank, and the family was well known for its involvement in local civic and social affairs,

Ellen Huntington Henkle (1853-1919) Block B GPS 39.82758N, 89.65898W

Descendant of: Ebenezer Lathrop Sr., Capt. Elijah Clayes, Eliphalet Huntington, Lt. Ebenezer Lathrop Jr., Daniel Forbes Sr., Pvt. Fortunatus Nichols

Ellen Henkle and her sisters Alice Knap and Clara Dods were all musical prodigies, but Henkle was the best known, singing at virtually every major civic ceremony held in Springfield during the last three decades of the 19th century.

In addition to their direct descent from a half-dozen Revolutionary War soldiers, the sisters were related to Samuel Huntington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and president of the Continental Congress during the war. (Their grandfather was Huntington’s nephew.)

Caroline Beers Kane (1827-1912) Block 7 GPS 39.82654N, 89.65776W

Descendant of: Zachariah Beers

Later in life, Caroline Kane often remembered a marbles game she played as a child with Abraham Lincoln. She was playing with other children, she said, and Lincoln asked to join them. Asked who won, she reported, “Why, Lincoln did, of course. He was bigger than us and was an expert at marbles.”

Louise Broadwell Hickox (1862-1934) Block 7 GPS 39.82656N, 89.65670W

Descendant of: Maj. Joseph Lindsly

Louise Hickox served as vice regent, among other offices, with the Springfield Chapter and was active in the Springfield Woman’s Club and other civic and social organizations. She was the sister-in-law of Springfield Chapter organizer Kate Chatterton Hickox.

Mary Julia Remann (1844-1922) Block 7 GPS 39.82618N, 89.65704W

Descendant of: Capt. James Black, Lt. Isaac Fuller, Lt. Col. Andrew Porter, Lt. Levi Todd, Samuel Briggs, Samuel McDowell Sr., Robert Parker, Benjamin Edwards

Mary Remann served as the Springfield chapter’s first historian. She was the sister of Josephine Edwards, an aunt of Georgie Edwards and cousin of Louise Black Stericker.

Mary Remann’s funeral was held in the Lincoln Home, where her niece, Mary Edwards Brown, was caretaker.

Alice Huntington Knap (1843-1900) Block 14 GPS 39.82490N, 89.65650W

Descendant of: Capt. Elijah Clayes, Ebenezer Lathrop Sr., Eliphalet Huntington, Lt. Ebenezer Lathrop Jr.,  Daniel Forbes Sr., Pvt. Fortunatus Nichols

As another of the musical Huntington sisters, Alice Knap, a virtuoso on piano and organ, often accompanied vocal performances by Ellen Henkle. She also taught music at the Betty Stuart Institute, attended by the daughters of Springfield’s most prominent citizens. Harry Pratt (1901-1956) Block 32 (39°49’21.5″N 89°39’16.7″W)

Florence Griswold (1868-1917) Block 31 GPS 39.82149N, 89.65542W

Descendant of: Pvt. Peter Robinson

Florence Griswold traded in real estate in partnership with her brothers Will and Wayland, to the extent that a Springfield subdivision is named after her. She also was a talented watercolor artist, winning several awards at the Illinois State Fair.

Four Springfield Chapter charter members are buried elsewhere: Clara Huntington Dods (1849-1923) in Cherryville, Kan.; Ida Carey Burns (1856-1929) in Macomb, Ill.; Amaryllis Tuttle Gillett (1857-1921) in Elkhart, Ill.; and Savillah T. Hinrichsen (1853-1917) in Jacksonville, Ill.