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As you walk through Oak Ridge Cemetery’s
beautiful 365 acres, it’s easy to forget that each tombstone
represents a life — a person with friends, enemies, heartbreaks, and
dreams. The recently published local book In
Lincoln’s Shadow: Oak Ridge Cemetery Chronicles helps us remember. In Lincoln’s Shadow tells
the stories of more than four dozen people who are buried or will be buried
in Oak Ridge. The Sangamon County Historical Society published it in 2007
to mark Oak Ridge’s sesquicentennial anniversary. “Anyone with
a family member buried at the Cemetery, or who owned a lot, was invited to
submit a brief biography of that person or family,” the book
explains. That open submission policy led to the inclusion of a
variety of writing abilities. Some profiles read like obituaries or family
genealogies. Some include terms (for example, “half-breed”)
that were common decades ago but might raise eyebrows today, and there are
factual errors. (The book’s disclaimer says the historical society
assumed and did not check the accuracy of each story.) However, there are gems hidden within. The subjects range from the recently deceased to
Springfield’s earliest citizens, and include such well-known names as
Barringer, Enos, Lanphier, and Tobin. Although Abraham Lincoln and his
family aren’t profiled, you get interesting personal glimpses of them
through their encounters with those in the book. Take Ozias Mather Hatch, for instance. It’s not
a name you hear a lot, but he had a poignant connection to
Springfield’s favorite son. Hatch was a businessman and Republican
officeholder who came to Springfield in the mid-19th century. His office
was next to the State Library, where lawyers, including Lincoln, gathered.
As a result, Ozias and Lincoln became friends.
“At Lincoln’s invitation,”
Hatch’s great-granddaughter writes, “Ozias accompanied him to
Antietam battlefield shortly after the bloody battle there. The two shared
a tent on the battleground.” After Lincoln’s assassination,
Ozias served on the Lincoln Monument Association and helped find a burial
spot for his friend’s body.
One of the strengths of In
Lincoln’s Shadow is its insider
perspective from family members. Anyone who’s been around Springfield a while
remembers the fashionable Herndon’s stores. For decades they were one
of “the” stores to hit during shopping forays. According to the book, when the Herndon brothers
— Lewis, John, and Richard — were adults, they met every day at
their mother’s for lunch and a nap before returning to work (two
worked at the store and one was a physician). Every night after work, at
least one son would drop by Mom’s to recap the store’s
performance that day. Then there’s the heartbreaking anecdote from the
Krell family, who, like so many long ago, lost a young daughter to illness.
“They would give her coins during her sickness to lift her spirits.
She would keep them in a little metal coin purse. I still have this purse
and the coins,” writes Tim E. Krell. In Lincoln’s Shadow costs $15 and can be purchased at Barnes & Noble, Prairie Archives, the
Sangamon County Historical Society office (308 E. Adams St.), the Oak Ridge
Cemetery office (1440 Monument Ave.), and the Sly Fox bookstore in Virden.
Tara McAndrew is a local freelance writer.
This article appears in Dec 20-26, 2007.
