Cemetery Descriptions
Brighton Township
Brighton (or Marne) Cemetery was established by patent from the State of Iowa on Sept. 19, 1888 in Section 16 of Brighton Township. This cemetery was used prior to this as a burial location, however as early burials include Mrs. William Berry in 1859 (whose body was later exhumed and transferred to Oakwood/Lewis Cemetery) and Isolene Hune in 1865.
Pymosa Township
Byrd Family Cemetery (now abandoned) is located in Section 31 of Pymosa Township. Several family members of the Byrd family were buried here, but the stones were removed to the Atlantic Cemetery.
Lorah (or Pymosa) Cemetery is located in Section 22 of Pymosa Township. Land for this cemetery was deeded in 1856 by James Mayhew and James Brinkerhoff. The first burial was the child of James Brinkerhoff whose body was moved from the family yard to the cemetery. There are about 100 graves, with the last being in about 1935.
Benton Township
Wiota Catholic Cemetery is located in Section 34 of Benton Township. The cemetery was established in 1900 and was deeded to St. Joseph Church in 1913. The first burial was August L. Hank in 1900 and there are approximately 60 graves located there. Records for the burials were transferred to the St. Mary's Church in Anita following the closing of St. Joseph Church.
Highland Cemetery located in Section 2 of Benton Township. This cemetery was laid out in 1881. Deed to the land was conveyed in 1888. This site originally had a Methodist Church built on the grounds. There are about 85 graves. The first burial was George Van Slike, son of C. A. and S. A. Van Slike, in 1881. The last burial was Walter Marsh in 1959.
Grant Township
Evergreen Cemetery is located in Section 22 of Grant Township, northeast of the town of Anita on the east side of the White Pole Road/Old Highway 6. It was organized in 1879 and the first burial was Jay McMahon in 1880.
Abandoned Cemetery is located south of Turkey Creek in Section 27 of Grant Township. This was an early cemetery with only one stone, with the name Afton and dated 1879, remaining in 1980. (Other bodies are known to have been exhumed.)
Unknown Cemetery was located in Section 29 or 32 in Grant Township. It was established by the first white settler in the area, Dr. G. S. Morrison. There is no record of the location or the number of burials there. Dr. Morrison and his wife are buried in the Wiota Cemetery, so the graves could have been moved.
Washington Township
Yetzer Family Cemetery (abandoned) was located in Section 1 of Washington Township. An orchard in the 1920's contained a small fenced-in section where at least three stones were. The stones, which were Yetzer family members, were removed to the Atlantic Cemetery.
Strittmatter Family Cemetery (abandoned) was located in Section 23 of Washington Township. There are no stones, but during the 1960's some stones were uncovered. An older resident recalls the names being Strittmatter.
Grove Township
Unknown Cemetery was located in Grove Township on the east side of South Chestnut Street, approximately where the Chestnut Hills Condominium now stands in the town of Atlantic. It was only used for a short time and there are no records of burials there. They possibly were removed to the Atlantic Cemetery.
Southlawn Memorial Gardens located in Section 17 of Grove Township. This cemetery was established in 1962.
Atlantic Cemetery is located in Section 10 of Grove Township. The Atlantic Cemetery Association was organized in 1874, but the first burial is believed to be Ida Conrad in 1863. A mausoleum was build in 1909, but was removed in 1968 and the bodies were buried elsewhere in the cemetery.
Atlantic Catholic Cemetery is located in Section 10 of Grove Township. This adjoins the Atlantic Cemetery and is owned by St. Peter and Paul's Catholic Church. It was established shortly after 1874.
Grove City (abandoned) located in Section 12 of Grove Township, where the town of Grove City was located. It has been reported that several single-burials were made it this vicinity, but nothing remains.
Heath Cemetery (abandoned) in Section 34 of Grove Township. When William Heath sold his land to Eli Craft in 1864 a small corner was not sold and was set aside for burial purposes. There were at least four burials, but nothing remains of this small cemetery.
Franklin Township
Wiota (or Jameson) Cemetery is located in Section 7 of Franklin Township. This cemetery was established in 1855 with the first burial, a child of W.W. Jameson, in 1855. Some of the inscriptions are in German.
Judd (or McGee) Cemetery (abandoned) is located in Section 18 of Franklin Township. The first burial was a child of William Judd who died in 1855. The cemetery contains about 12 burials.
Norway Center Cemetery is located in Section 27 of Franklin Township. The land was deeded in 1883 and the first burial was in 1880.
Franklin Lutheran Cemetery is located in Section 35 of Franklin Township. Originally there was a Lutheran Church on the grounds, but the new church was built across the road in Union Township and the old church was torn down. The land was given to the church in 1882 when early burials started. Many of the inscriptions on the stones are in German.
Lincoln Township
Lincoln Center Cemetery is located in Section 21 of Lincoln Township. It was deeded in 1878 and the first burial was Mrs. Biggs, wife of Abram Biggs. The 1980 Cass County History Book indicates the last burial here was in 1936,
Cass Township
Oakwood (or Lewis) Cemetery is located in Section 11 of Cass Township. It was organized in 1867. Many were reburied in this cemetery who were originally very early single-burials elsewhere in Cass Township. These would have been some of the first settlers, since Cass Township was the first area to be settled.
Smith Cemetery is located in Section 30 of Cass Township. It was deeded in 1874, but burials started about 1855.
Union Township
Greenwood Cemetery is located in Section 29 of Union Township. It was established in 1887, but the earliest grave was Carrie Hosfield in 1880.
Abandoned Cemetery is located in Section 28 of Union Township. There were about six to eight graves in this cemetery, according to older residents, and the grandparents of Hilary Hoyt are said to have been buried here. The recorder's office deed for the land includes the cemetery.
Abandoned Cemetery is located in the east side of Section 19 of Union Township. No records of this cemetery could be found in the courthouse, but a farmer recalls uncovering a cemetery marker. Residents of the area believe the grandparents of a William Woherer were buried there. A Bethel Church was located on the northwest corner of this section at one time.
Massena Township
Massena Cemetery located in Section 16 of Massena Township. This cemetery was purchased in 1877 and patented in 1886. The first burial was in 1878, a child named Maggie Moore. The cemetery is located on the west side of Highway 148, roughly two and one-half miles north of Massena.
St. Patrick Catholic Church Cemetery is located in Section 33 of Massena Township. It was established in 1914 and deeded in 1917.
Pleasant Township
Pleasant Township Cemetery is located in Section 17 of Pleasant Township. It was started after 1900. It was first known as the Mackrill Cemetery, then later renamed Pleasant Township Cemetery. The south portion of this cemetery is reserved for Catholic burials. The cemetery is located on the east side of Highway 48, one and one-half miles south of Griswold.
Lowman Cemetery is located in Section 34 of Pleasant Township, five miles south of Griswold and two and one-half miles east. It was organized in 1870 and the first burial was Ida Guess, daughter of Eli A. and Sarah Guess, in 1871. From 1880 to the 1950's a church was located on the grounds.
Noble Township
Noble Center Cemetery is located in Section 21 of Noble Township and is next to the United Methodist Church. The first burial was in 1883. The cemetery is two miles south of Lyman on the west side of Highway 71.
St. John's Cemetery is located in Section 15 of Noble Township. The first section was donated in 1884 to St. John's Church. The earliest burials are Louise Vetter and John Michol in 1885. St. John's is on the east side of Highway 71, one mile south of Lyman.
Weirich (or German) Cemetery is located in Section 15 of Noble Township, one mile south and one mile east of Lyman. The first burial was Franklin Weirich, infant son of V. J. and Caroline Weirich, in 1871. The cemetery was originally named the German Cemetery, but it was renamed during World War I to Weirich Cemetery.
Newlon's Grove Cemetery is located in Section 1 of Noble Township. One of the first burials was Carrie Smith in 1870. From Lyman, the cemetery is tow and one-half miles east and three-quarters of a mile north.
Edna Township
Unknown Cemetery located in either Section 15 or 16 of Edna Township, about four miles south of Cumberland. Conflicting reports indicate it was either on the east side of the road in Section 15 or the west side of the road in Section 16. This cemetery contained about four graves, but nothing remains today.
Reno (Reno Methodist) Cemetery is located in Section 33 of Edna Township, five miles south and one mile west of Cumberland. It was established with the first burial in 1855, supposedly a small child of William and Edna Townsend, but the land was not donated until 1861. A section on on the east slope of the cemetery contains no markers and is said to contain the earliest graves which were marked by wooden markers.
Reno St. Timothy ( or Calvary) Catholic Cemetery is located in Section 22 of Edna Township. The land was deeded in 1892.
Victoria Township
Victoria Township Cemetery is located in Section 21 of Victoria Township. It was established about 1878 and deeded in 1882. Some of the earliest burials included Annie, Briggs, Robert Angus and Patrick Clinton.