Kankakee Township
LaPorte County, Indiana
Anyone wishing to donate burial or family tree
information about families in this or any LaPorte County cemetery,
please
contact Deanna at laportecountyin@yahoo.com
Brief History of Rolling Prairie
& Rolling Prairie Cemetery
accumulated and offered by Carol
Grott
Town of Rolling
Prairie .....The road, Michigan Street, was originally known as the
Michigan Road. The United States government commissioned it in 1826.
The
following year the United States Congress granted Indiana 10,000 acres to
"build" the Michigan Road from Michigan City through Kankakee Township
into St.
Joseph County. In 1830 the first settlers came to northern Kankakee Township.
At that time the settlement was called Nauvoo.
Nauvoo grew slowly because of
the nearby Indians, the threat of the Blackhawk War, and a rival town called
Byron.
Byron was located between Highway 2 and 350 North in Southern Kankakee
Township. In 1835 a post office was established in Byron,
and in 1837 the town
itself was laid out and platted in the southern part of the Township 37.
Meanwhile in 1832 W. J. Walker bought at public sale the land of Nauvoo.
Settlers who were already here were allowed to remain.
In 1852 the Northern
Indiana Railroad came to Nauvoo. The railroad brought death to the town of
Byron and prosperity to Nauvoo.
Walker plated the land located in the Norther
part of Township 37 and changed the name from Nauvoo to Portland.
In 1853 a
train depot was built and later the post office came to Portland. The name of
the town was then changed to Rolling Prairie
because there was already a town
of Portland in Indiana.
History of Rolling Prairie Cemetery
The Rolling Prairie Cemetery is one of the oldest in the
county.
In 1834 a log schoolhouse was built on Michigan Road at the front
of the cemetery where the McCarty monument now stands.
Within a year the
schoolhouse burned and a frame school house was built on the same site. In 1835
Alexander Blackburn gave the original piece
of land that lay at the rear of the
school yard to be used for a cemetery. Most cemeteries were located on the
highest ground near the town,
much as this one is, because of the view and the
difficulty in farming hilly ground. The land was cleared of oak and hazel and
Mr. Ezekiel Provolt and
Mr. Alexander Blackburn staked the property into lots.
In 1876 the school was moved to the east end of town where the bank stands
today (2001),
and that land up front was added to the cemetery. Now the
cemetery fronted the Michigan Road. In 1894 five additional acres to the west
were purchased
from the Nesbitt Estate. In 1902 the cemetery was incorporated
by the County Commissioners, and five trustees were elected to oversee the
cemetery.
In the original cemetery agreement I found to interesting
by-laws.
11. The priced of a lot shall be $15 or $20 each, "according to the
location in the cemetery.
12. All land not needed for burial purposes shall
be rented to the highest bidder for cash each year, or it may be seeded and the
grass sold to the highest bidder."
Many of the cemetery records were stored in the school house. When the school burned the records were lost.
There are 288 veterans buried here including 5 from War of 1812 and at least 49 Civil Wars Veterans.
Other interesting facts of this cemetery are:
Ezekiel, Eliza and John Provolt - built the first cabin in Rolling Prairie; built where McGuire's house now stands across the street from the cemetery.
Alexander Blackburn who gave land for the cemetery and has
some of his children that died young buried in the cemetery,
moved on to
McDonough County, Illinois when he sold out in 1853. He died in McDonough
County in 1902.
Dr. and Mrs. Helmen - lived in the house to the east of the
cemetery. They frequently walked in the cemetery.
When Dr. Helmen died, Mrs.
Helmen had a fence put up with a gate near his grave so that she could visit
him.
George Reynolds - died in 1855. His grave marker looks like a Greek or Roman column.
Joshua Coplin - first murder victim in LaPorte County. The person that murdered him is buried outside the fence at Lamb's Chapel.
Mrs. Pease is thought to be the first burial in the cemetery in 1835.
Information correction sent in Ed Shultz
Herman
Wirt Wordens father Herman Brooks Worden had five brothers in the civil war,
Herman was wounded at the battle
or the wilderness, two were killed in action
two others were wounded and my ggrandfather came out without a scratch.
I
believe that Wirt had Two brothers and four sisters. Wirt was the lawyer for
Belle Gunness' hired man.
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall also lived in the house to the east.
They planted the cedars along the east side of the cemetery
and the maples
along Michigan. They are buried in the corner of their property just outside
the cemetery.
Civil War
MO
= Mustered out
David S Couchman 1860 Fed Census - Kankakee twp, pg
298 is 44 yrs old from Virginia and his wife Mary, 42 from Ind and
2 of their
children Sarah F and Henry H show as 17 yrs old from Indiana. David enlists in
Co. A, 151st Inf. Reg. Ind. as a Priv.
He was MO - 19 Sep 1865 Nashville, TN. -
David, (Mary) Eliza and Henry moved to Nebraska - 1870 Fed Cens. Washington
Co.,
The City of Fort Calhoun pg 5
William H. Ocker also signed up Co. A, 151st Inf Reg Ind on 25 Jan 1865 and he died 10 Mar 1865 Louisville, KY
Samuel VanAkin claimed his residence as Rolling
Prairie, Indiana when he enlisted as a Priv 08 Feb 1865 into Co. D, 147th Inf
Reg Illinois.
But he died on the 28 of April 1865 in Dalton, GA
Pictures of Tour given by Carol Grott on August 25 and 26, 2001
This site done by Deanna West