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'History of the Main Cemetery', Cemetery Records of Mercer County, IL,
DAR comp, v 3, pg 28-30
Location - E ½ NW ¼ Twp 15, 14 N - 4 W Mercer County, Illinois.
The ancestral burial ground of the Main family is on land once owned by
Riley Main, a native of Litchfield, Connecticut. By covered wagon, he,
his wife Martha, and [sic]sone of their children and grandchildren had
come to Mercer County, Illinois in 1852 from Crawford county, Indiana.
There is no written record of the cemetery's origin, but the data on the
oldest tombstones tells a story. It marks the grave of Mary Main, 14
years of age, whose death occurred on Nov, 5, 1852, not long after the
arrival in the new country. She was the youngest daughter of the family,
and very obviously her parents laid out the burial ground near their
home as a last resting place for her and other relatives and friends.
By the close of 1865, the plot contained 16 more graves. One was that of
Riley's wife and another that of their youngest child, James Wesley, who
died of measles at Fort Donaldson, Tennessee, while in the service of
his country. The monument at the grave of this 19 year old soldiers
appropriately surmounted by an overturned basket of flowers. Robert
Dodson of Co. G. 30th Illinois Infantry is also buried there. He was a
nephew of Martha Main and a son of Abiska and Eunice Walker Dodson.
The writer of this history has attended three burials in the cemetery;
those of her grandparents, William Riley and Sarah M Main, and John J.
Main, who was a brother of William Riley. After his death on December
24th, 1902, he was interred by the side of his wife, Caroline, but his
name was not inscribed on the monument bearing her name. The remains of
William Riley and his wife and a daughter, Lula, were removed to Aledo
Cemetery in the 1920's.
The last burial was in 1907 when 13 year old Florence Eva Knox was laid
to rest near her baby sister, Maudie Marie. They were the children of
Joseph and Alice Butcher Knox and both lie in unmarked graves. Their
sister, Mrs. Henry Harrison of Grandview, Iowa provided the above
information, and other data obtained from old newspaper items.
Martha Walker Main, a native of Green County, Kentucky, died in 1865,
and was outlived by Riley by 16 years. Together their remains rest in
the northwest corner of the spot so dear to them. Their home was but a
stone's throw to the southeast and was still standing in the early
1900's, but today the only reminder of the former occupants is the old
cemetery.
Ironically, the name Main has vanished from the county, but there are
many descendants of these two in the immediate area, and others have
scattered throughout the United States.
At this date, October 7, 1961, three of their grandchildren are living;
Mrs. W. T. Dean, Monmouth, Illinois; Mrs. D. L. McBride, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; and Oscar R. Main, Newport Beach, California. The
following great or great great grand-children reside in this section of
Illinois. Earl and Blaine Kileman, Mrs. Cleo Smith, Mrs. Samuel Carson,
Fred Bloomer, Mrs. Earnest D. Speer [the author of this work], Ward
Jones, Mrs. Lemoine Duncan, Mrs. William Douglas, Mrs. Merle Waugh,
Thomas Harrison. The preceding names are those of Mercer County
residents. Others are Mrs. Ward Callahan, Galesburg, Mrs. Harold Blair,
Monmouth; Arthur Bloomer, Rio, William Bloomer, Maquon; Lowell Deen,
Monmouth. Many of the above have children, grandchildren or great
grandchildren to add to the roster of Main descendants.
All are lineally descended from Ezekial Main, who, in 1661 was a
resident of Scituate, Massachusetts, in Plymouth Colony. He was of
English blood and had served as a soldier in the Narragansett Indian
War.
On the distaff side of the Main Walker union, there are kinfolk here
abouts, and the following are included in this group; Mrs. James Roth, a
niece of Robert Dodson, Harry D. Bird (Mercer county, Ill.), Curtis
Riley, Moline, and Kenneth and Wilbur Perrin, Monmouth, Illinois.
Owners of the land have been, - William Riley Main, Walker Main and
Elizabeth Main Speer, who disposed of a portion of the farm which
included the cemetery.
The plot became a shambles through many years of neglect, but it gives
promise of becoming what it once was, a verdant and beautiful God's
Acre. Credit for its restoration belongs to Rev. Glenn Catlin and his
co-workers, laboring in behalf of the Northern Illinois Camping
Association.
by Vesta B. Speer, a great granddaughter of Riley and Martha Main
Vesta B Bloomer was born 8 Jan 1890. She died 29 Aug 1988 in Aledo,
Mercer, IL. Vesta married Ernest D Speer, son of Walter Ormond Speer and
Agnes Isabel "Aggie" Dobbin, on 23 Nov 1912. Ernest was born 1887
(twin).
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