Above: John Hamilton and Alma Lucas Marriage index from Ancestry.com
William Hamilton???
B: 1865
D: 1902
Blue Island Sun Standard
December 3, 1925
Original Plat map notations show the name
Wm. Hamilton
Above: Photocopy from Ferdinand Schappers
Mary Jane Briggs {Nee Hamilton}
Daughter of William
B: Unknown
D: Unknown
Below are other possible interments for lot #16. The following members of the William Hamilton family have been linked to being Buried in Bachelors Grove but so far no evidence has surfaced to support it other than names written on an old plot map.
One of Bachelors Grove's many burial mysteries, the stone pictured to the left sits in the south east corner of the cemetery that is lot #60. The name on the stone is that of a William Hamilton.
It has been speculated that this stone has been moved from lot #16 because of the matching name and that it belongs to the son of Patriarch William Hamilton of lot #16.
But an 1860's census (below left) shows that William Hamiltons son, William, was 21 yrs old that year. This would make his birth year 1839. Not matching the birth date on this stone.
So who really does this stone belong to?
As of yet we have not located any information that is a match to the name and dates on this stone.
5. John P. Roberson
Married Margaret Hamilton (above) 1881
B: 31 Dec 1848
D: 16 Oct 1917
4. Margaret Roberson {Nee Hamilton}
Daughter of William
B: 7 Feb 1847
D: 29 May 1922
Photocopy from Ferdinand Schappers Manuscript listing the members of the elder William Hamilton family .
Above: A paragraph from the 1935 Blue Island Sun Standard article Pioneers in Peaceful Rest.
A reporter for the paper walked through Bachelors Grove as Joseph Fulton accompanied him,giving an account of those buried in the cemetery. Here he mentions the Hamilton family plot.
1. William Hamilton
B: About 1807
D: Unknown
As with other lots, records
for the Hamilton family members are few and the information scarce. What is known about who is buried in lot #16 has been pieced together from a few different sources.
The five individuals listed first have some documentation of being buried in Bachelors Grove Cemetery. There are also a few that may be buried in this lot but have no evidence showing that they were.
Blue Island Sun Standard
June, 10 1954
3. Alma G. Hamilton {Nee Lucas}
B: 9 Jun 1857
D: 7 Jun 1954
Chicago Tribune
November 29, 1925
HAMILTON- John Hamilton , Nov. 28, beloved husband of Alma G., devoted father of Emily H. Morris of Chicago, John Emerson of San Fransico, and the late Florence Rohrer of San Diego. Funeral services at 174 Walnut St., Blue Island, Tuesday at 2:30. Interment Bachelors
Grove Cemetery.
John Hamiltons stone (pictured above) was one of the many stones that have gone missing from Bachelors Grove.
In July of 2013, it was discovered that the stone had been sitting in the back yard of a Joliet home for an estimated 23 years. Upon learning of the stones origin, the home owner made arrangements for the stone to be returned to the cemetery.
On July 11, 2013 John Hamiltons stone was returned to Bachelors Grove. The stone was placed close to where it is believed to have originally stood.
2. John Hamilton
B: 27 Jul 1842
D: 28 Dec 1925
Married Alma Georgiana Lucas 16 Nov 1882
William Hamilton
Dr. Chester Huckins Morris
J.P. Roberson
Margaret Roberson
Mary Briggs
Alma G. Hamilton
John Hamilton