Winnebago County Grace Lutheran Cemetery History 8396 Steeple Hill Dr. Winchester Generously Contributed by Janet Eiler
While driving along Hwy 45 in the township of Winchester, one will come across the glory of a Cross standing tall at the top of the steep hill in Winchester, Winnebago County, Wisconsin. This tall steeple can be seen for many miles around and represents a strong faith that started with the Norwegian settlers from the mid-1800’s. The faith continues today to reach out at this rural church of Winchester, WI.
Grace Lutheran Evangelical Lutheran Church and its Cemetery have a very interesting history, but to truly appreciate it one must read all that the church has to offer. The small cemetery located at the top of the hill in Winchester, Winnebago County, WI got its start by 1848 by the early settlers of Winchester. The land for a cemetery was chosen before a congregation was actually formed.
The first recorded death was that of Ole Anunson who died on November 15, 1850 who was only 7 years and 10 months old. It is not for certain that little Ole is buried within the cemetery as there has never been any proof found of his burial location.
The first recorded burial is of John Hanson who was born in 1848 and died in June 1853. John was the son of Hans & Raghild (Gundersdtr) Hanson. His grave is located in Block 1, Plot 181. This location would be in the oldest part of the cemetery, which would be between the 2nd & 3rd roads on the North side of the present church.
Other cemetery trivia is that the earliest birth date found in the cemetery records is that of Andew Westerfer who was alive from 1774 - 1864. The first steel vault used in this cemetery was by Thea Austin in Block 1, Lot 50 who was alive from 1859 – 1931. The James Christianson plot was the first and only plot that was completely covered with concrete and is located in Block 2, Plot 40. James apparently did this for perpetual care reasons.
The Lutheran church of Winchester was officially formed on October 25, 1850 at Ole Sersland’s barn with 86 members present and its official name became the Norwegian Lutheran Congregation. It is located in Section 24, Township 20, Range 15 in the SW Corner of the NW¼ of NW¼ in Winchester Township, Winnebago County, Wisconsin.
The Norwegian Lutheran Congregation bought its first piece of property on October 20, 1852 from Kittel and Anlau (Olson) Kittleson for $10.00. This would be the current Block 1 of the cemetery and it consisted of two acres. The first church building would eventually be built on the SW corner of this block.
On June 10, 1871 the congregation purchased more land from Ole & Isabelle Kittleson for $10.00 which would become part of Block 2 of the cemetery. Part of this land would later become the site of the 2nd Lutheran Church of Winchester, Winnebago Co, WI.
Other land purchases were from John & Susan Clarke on March 19, 1874 for $20.00. This land was located on the outskirts of the previous land and its purpose was to install a board fence around Block 1.
On April 19, 1881 land was bought from Ole & Isabelle Kittleson for $56.00. This piece of land would also be part of Block 2 of the cemetery and would eventually be where the present day church was built. This land was laid out in 1894. The first burial in Block 2 was that of Bert Olein Holverson, the infant son of Holver & Hattie Holverson.
John, Lena, and Johanna Dahlstrom sold land to the congregation on February 28, 1929 for $125.00. This would become the 2nd addition to Block 1 and it also corrected a typographical error of a previous deed.
Another piece of land acquired by the Lutheran congregation, that would become Block 3 of the cemetery, was purchased from Herbert C. Harrison for $327.00 on March 29, 1950. Herbert was the administrator of the John Harrison estate. Block 3 was laid out in 1950 but the first burial didn’t take place until 1960 when Brian Keith Helgeson, the infant son of Leslie and Hazel Helgeson, was laid to rest on Plot 44.
And finally, on March 19, 1958, the congregation purchased additional land from the Kittleson Family (Nila Lascelles, Mildred Kittleson Wiedner, Robert and Lois Ann Kittleson, and Lydia Kittlson). This area would become Blocks 4 & 5 of the cemetery and is where the current South Church Entry and Parking Lot is located. Block 4 was laid out in 1968 and its first burial was that of Amasa McNamee, the son of Barnabus & Mercy McNamee, who was laid to rest on Plot 3 in July of 1968. Located south of Block 4 is Block 5 which is still presently undeveloped
In the 1850’s, the beginning of the Lutheran cemetery, a burial only cost 37½ cents per burial. Grace Lutheran Church’s cemetery currently has 3,452 Burial sites with 1,994 still available.
Things quieted down in 1860 when many of the males left Winchester to serve in the Civil War. Grace has their share of God-fearing men who served their country with pride. Within the quiet perimeter of the cemetery you will presently find 122 dedicated Soldiers. The breakdown of these veterans and the wars they served are: 24 Civil War Veterans, 31 World War I Veterans, 49 World War II Veterans, 7 Korean Veterans, 6 Vietnam Veterans, 1 Persian Gulf Veteran, 3 who served in both World War II and Korea, and 1 who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
Problems came for the Lutheran congregation in Winchester in 1870 when a division occurred within their membership. Thirty-three families withdrew and formed the 2nd Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Winchester. This division was due to a disagreement over the need for ‘personal conversion experience’ and by the reactions to Rev. Homme’s vigorous assertions of his pastorial authority.
This prompted the building of a second church, which was built just south of the original church building (probably the lounge area of the present church). Both churches sat side by side and were served by two different pastors.
One wouldn’t think but this division also caused a division in the cemetery. A fence was installed in the cemetery dividing it in half as well. The fence ran North and South in the middle of the road of Block 1.
An old story has been told that someone actually removed their loved one from the ‘wrong side’ of the cemetery and reinterred them on the ‘right side’. There was never any record made of this removal so present day caretakers do not know who this person actually was.
In 1926 a permanent cemetery committee was formed which is still in effect today. The Cemetery Committee’s responsibilities include:
1. Accurate placement of each burial
2. Grave Digging & Covering
3. Grass Cut & Maintaining a nice looking cemetery.
4. Keeping Accurate Records
5. Endowment funds are used wisely
I would like to extend a huge thank you to David & Connie Christianson and Judy DeCoster for all their help in supplying me with the church records so this database could be made available to the public! Without them this would not have been possible.
This compilation of records is an alphabetized list of the actual church records housed at Grace Lutheran Church of Winchester. The information is complete up to September 1, 2004. The Block and Lot numbers have been included to aid in searching for your loved ones should you decide to visit this quiet country cemetery.
Grace Lutheran cemetery staff members and volunteers have gone the extra effort in trying to locate obituaries and pictures for their interned souls. Burials that have an obituary or picture on file at Grace Lutheran are indicated by an “O” or “P”. Please keep in mind that the obituary and picture info can be continuously changing as new ones are found or submitted. If you have a picture or obit you would like to share contact David Christianson, he would be more than happy to add it to the archives!
You will also find a column that would indicate whether or not your ancestor was a veteran. In the main database it is indicated with an *. I have included a separate database that lists the veterans with their known military information. Again, if you have military information to share please contact David Christianson!
I truly hope this database offers you another source of information for you to enjoy!
Sources:
Grace Lutheran Church – Cemetery Records compiled by David Christianson & Judy DeCoster
