One of the oldest cemeteries in our city is located in an area that is anything but peaceful. Cars and semi-trucks roar by the grounds where some of the poorest citizens of Davenport lay resting in a Potter’s Field and the wealthiest lay under intricately carved tombstones within carefully designed family lots.
The grounds of City Cemetery lie in this industrial area between Rockingham Road and River Drive, amazingly close to the Mississippi River. Tombstones have been displaced due to floodwaters, gophers and vandalism over the years. Efforts are being made by the City of Davenport’s Parks and Recreation Department to return the tombstones to their proper places, but the task has been made more difficult by a lack of documentation with regard to the burials. Enter an especially exciting discovery from the City of Davenport’s Archives!
The City Cemetery Sexton presented a monthly report to the City Council, and these were recently discovered, the earliest found being from 1857! These lists provide names and ages of deceased, dates and cause of death, and locations of burials for city residents, many of whom were buried in unmarked graves in the Potter’s Field portion of the City Cemetery. What a boon for genealogists and local historians! The staff is currently working to make the Davenport City Sexton records and other primary sources accessible to the public on our local history website, www.qcmemory.org and on the Upper Mississippi Valley Digital Image Archive, www.umvphotoarchive.org.
Great Articles. I especially enjoyed going to the PhotoArchive and looking at the photos… What great quality. I will come back again.
A daughter of my Great Grandfather was named Anna Margaretha Beck. My Great Grandfather, Asmus H Beck came to Davenport, Iowa in 1854 from Germany. They all moved to Council Bluff’s, Iowa before our Civil War. Anna was already married to Johann
Hinrich Schwartz in Germany. Anna was the only daughter that died in Davenport in about 1862 and I believe that she was buried in the Public Grounds City Cemetery . Is it possible to find her grave. I have been there but many of the graves are hard to read and I have heard that a fire destroyed their records. Also they had two children, Asmus H Schwartz , born 1853 in Germany and Christian Schwartz born 1855 in Davenport, Iowa. I do not know anything about their two children.
The efforts are continuing and beginning to pay off. Many stones have been repaired or replaced. The Sexton’s cottage is also being renovated as a visitor’s center. Please continue to ask your aldermen to support the preservation of the cemetery.
hello!
I was wondering if any records exist as to the grave sites of Dr. Michael and Catherine Horony. They both died in 1865. March/April
Thank you sooo much for your assistance!
Hi Angel! Thanks for your inquiry — we’ll add it to our research queue, though we do prefer to take questions through our online form at: http://www.davenportlibrary.com/genealogy-and-history/ask-a-genealogy-question/