Ernest Kobs stands in the cemetery where his ancestors are buried south of Bennington. The land is now part of a nature preserve owned and operated by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Photo by Rebecca S. Gratz for the Flatwater Free Press
Reprinted from Flat Water Press
Ernest Kobs knows his family history.
He knows his great-grandparents both emigrated from Germany, married in 1870, and, in 1874, bought and then worked a farm in northwest Douglas County. He knows they’re both buried on the land, but pinpointing exactly where is a bit fuzzy.
“He’s either buried on my great-grandmother’s left or to her right,” Ernest Kobs says of his great-grandfather. “We just don’t know which.”
While the land has changed hands several times, the family cemetery they established in 1879 remains.
The Kobs family burial ground, now part of a nature preserve owned and operated by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is one of hundreds of private cemeteries scattered throughout Nebraska.
Some are active, others haven’t had a burial in decades. Some contain only a few graves, while others are home to more than 100 headstones and markers.
They all have history, some of it documented with official state historical markers, yet many depend on local do-gooders and other low-key guardian angels to ensure their upkeep.
People like Larry Carlson.
Carlson doubles as cemetery association president and caretaker – meaning he mows the grounds – at Farmers’ Valley Cemetery, which sits about 15 miles west of McCool Junction. His daughter serves as association secretary.
“It’s pride and duty both to care for this cemetery,” Carlson said. “It’s such a peaceful place in the middle of a section.”
Farmers’ Valley is an active cemetery with more than 100 graves, including those of Civil War veterans. Relatives from around the country converge there each Memorial Day for a potluck meal. Members of a local American Legion post place flags throughout the cemetery and conduct a memorial service.
The cemetery’s significance became evident a few years back when vandals damaged gravestones and a fence. Word spread and the association raised more than $50,000 for repairs, Carlson said.
“We had people from all over the United States call us and help. We learned about people buried here that we didn’t even know about.”
The Kobs family also isn’t quite sure who all is buried in their cemetery. A state historical marker erected by the family in 2015 states that as many as 25 Kobses are buried there.
“Mom thinks it’s closer to 27 or 28,” says Ernest Kobs. Then, he admits he isn’t sure whether only members of the Kobs family are buried there. “The family had lots of hired hands. It’s likely some were buried there.”
Every county in Nebraska likely has a cemetery similar to the Kobs family cemetery, said Crystal Werger, director of the Dawson County Historical Society and Museum. “Probably more than one.”
These cemeteries are mostly rural and either connected to a church, a community or a homesteading family, Werger said. Nebraska once was filled with rural churches. Most had cemeteries.
“When populations shifted and congregations moved to town, parishioners still cared for the cemeteries,” she said.
The Kobs family’s final resting place is one of 65 cemeteries with an official state historical marker, according to Autumn Langemeier, the Nebraska State Historical Society’s historic marker programs coordinator. Overall, there are more than 600 markers across the state.
Langemeier relies on reports from state roads workers, local law enforcement officers and tourists to alert her when historical markers start to show their age. The historical places they represent, however, typically fall outside the state’s purview, she said.
Kobs said he is comforted knowing that UNO’s Department of Biology will keep watch over the family cemetery long after he is buried there.
UNO received a donated quarter section of land in 1959 and converted it to native prairie. After a housing development project fell through 15 years ago, UNO started buying adjacent land, which included the cemetery, and expanded the preserve.
Today, UNO uses Glacier Creek Preserve for research, teaching and community engagement.
When a spring storm blew through the area last year, it dropped tree limbs and damaged a fence and some gravestones. Preserve staff spent the summer clearing debris and repairing damage, said Tom Bragg, a biology professor and preserve director. The repairs will continue this spring.
“We feel a responsibility for the cemetery,” Bragg said.
Aside from Farmers’ Valley Cemetery, Hamilton County contains 38 other cemeteries, the majority of which are rural, some with just a few gravestones and some on private land, said Tina Larson, executive director of the Plainsmen Museum and Hamilton County Historical Society. The county is fortunate to have cemetery associations and community groups, and a Veterans Service officer cares for them, she said.
Larson said she always learns something when she walks a cemetery. “I look at the headstones – they’re a page from a history book.”
Dawson County has a remote cemetery of its own – one that didn’t have a champion and fell into disrepair. Enter John and Katie Kugler, whose only connection to the Rosehill Cemetery was driving by it each week on their way to Sunday worship services.
“We first noticed the wooden gate was falling down. We thought that needed to be fixed,” John Kugler said.
So, they installed a metal gate to keep the cattle out and started searching for a map of grave sites. No luck. The Kuglers started mowing the cemetery and uncovered gravestones – some short, others larger, and several that were knocked over. “We tried to set them up.”
The Kuglers located the original deed for the cemetery, located near what was once known as Buffalo Community.
“None of these people are around anymore, and their families aren’t here either. That’s where we are right now,” John Kugler said.
Kugler said he and his wife have developed a personal interest in seeing Rosehill restored. A historical marker may someday be in order, he said.
“My wife fell in love with this cemetery. She’s decided she wants to be buried at Rosehill. If she’s there, I’m there.”
