History and directions: Hickory Grove Cemetery marked its Centennial year in 1969. The farm which the present Hickory Grove Cemetery is located was obtained by Government Land Grant by Thomas Harris in 1853. Mr. Harris died November 24, 1858, was buried on this farm, and the burial ground was known as the Harris Family Cemetery. However, the remains of Mr. Harris were later transferred to Rose Hill Cemetery, Petersburg, Illinois. On May 2, 1863, Mrs. Harris deeded the farm to a Mr. Francis VanEman. No more burials were made there for several years. On August 16, 1869. The VanEman family signed a deed to the trustees of the Duncan Cemetery for one and one-half acres of land to be used for a church and burial grounds. The trustees were Washington Hornbuckle, Isaac Miller and Anderson Duncan. Anderson Duncan gave the ground to the community for a cemetery. As far as is known, no church was ever erected. No charge was ever made for a burial lot. The date is not known when the name was changed to Hickory Grove Cemetery. The community was first called "Wolf". Later is was called "Garden Prairied" and is now known as Hickory Grove. The Hickory Grove Cemetery Board was reorganized in 1961 and Henry M. Whitehurst, Paul S. Wiseman and Edward "Jack" Wiseman were elected as trustees. Ethel Batterton was Secretary and Treasurer. Later a Hickory Grove Church was established.



Directions: Turn east off Route 97 at the Tallula Junction on to Gudgel Bridge Road and go for 2.3 miles to a grassy lane on the left. There is no marking of the cemetery, but you may spot the flag that is flying proudly at the cemetery which is located just 0.1 of a mile down the grassy lane left off Gudgel Bridge Road. The grassy lane is bordered on the West by a field and on the right by a hedge row of trees. The cemetery is lovely and very well kept. It is small, but has some majestic stones as many of the older and more charming cemeteries do.

There are, no doubt, errors in this transcription which was originally done by Mr. James Toal in the early 1980s. Some of the stones are very old, and very very difficult to read. However, as we take pictures of the stones and re-read the inscriptions, those errors will be identified and corrected. In the meantime, the transcription included here may help researchers who might be planning research trips to identify where their ancestor(s) are interred.