Wildermuth Family - Francis and David Wildermuth - Headstones

I took these pictures on our first Family History Tour, 2012 edition. 
I knew that the boys were buried in Lafayette County, Wisconsin, as the Wildermuth's had a homestead there in the 1840s and 1850s.So - we got lost in Northwest Illinois first, and then got reoriented with Brian's GPS. 

We ended up in a small narrow valley in La Salle County. It was very, very rural with a few cows in the valley and as almost dry stream running through it.

Brian stopped the car on the 2-track, and asked a man driving by if he knew where two boys graves were. The man said he would take us there, as it was only 4 houses down the road. He said that Elsie had 2 burials in her back yard.

Brian parked the car in front of Elsie's house and looked at me. He said - "ok there you go!" I sat in the car for a moment and took my driver's license out, got out of the car and knocked on Elsie's door. A very pleasant 50+ year old lady opened the door. I held out my driver's license and I said:

"Hi my name is Myra, and two of my relatives are buried in your backyard." Elsie smiled and took us for a tour of her property which started at the 2-track and went up a fairly steep hill.

As we rounded the house, she pointed out the old root cellar. She said that they had to get rid of the original root cellar as the amount of mold in it was atrocious.

She also said that the current house is on the same footprint as the original. Elsie's house was a white "New England" looking two story home. Elsie had electricity and a phone and that was it. No internet. She stayed at home and her husband worked all day. I am sure that this valley hadn't seen a stranger in 10 years!

We started up the hill in back - right behind the house - and through a small gate. Elsie said that there use to be a walnut grove planted there but most of the trees were gone - except for a few sprinkled about the steep hill. She led us to Francis' and David's graves.

The graves were surrounded by a  small wooden fence that her husband had put around them, so the cows wouldn't damage them. There was a very old tree standing over the graves.  About this time Elsie's husband came home and we ended up have a great talk.

After we got home I sent Elsie and husband a Christmas card and copies of the entries for the Wildermuth's who lived in the house. They wrote back and expressed their gratitude for having a history of the house and the people who first settled there. I think of Elsie and spouse often and hope they are well.

The story of the tragedy surrounding these two boys was discussed in a family history letter that my mother, and then I transcribed. The passage is as follows:

"While visiting the Farwells, Gurley [Reverend of the LDS faith] intended to rest and take time to consider his religious convictions, now weighing heavily on his mind. He had been there only one day when a tragedy occurred in the Wildermuth home. Francis Wildermuth accidentally stumbled and fell against the sharp end of the binding pole to the wagon he was driving. This was the second death in the Wildermuth family. David F., only 11 months old, had died August 6 1849 and the tragic death of the second son was a great shock."

Apparently the upshot to the service that Rev. Gurley gave for the 2 boys impressed their father so much that he joined the LDS faith on the spot.

The relatives of the family were all Methodist. But David [the father] had a falling out with the pastor there. The relatives told David, that the family was all going to hell. Within 6 months the rest of the family were baptized as LDS members.

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