Burial Records

Burial Records up to 1999

This is not just a verbatim copyof the burial records of Cedar BluffCemetery (View map). It was initially compiledfrom several sources of cemetery records including lot plat maps, lot/graveownership cards, burial permits, and other miscellaneous information madeavailable to the project volunteers. Additional data has been entered from gravestone inscriptions, but thatpart of the project has only been completed for a small portion of the cemeteryas of this date.  Also, some entries havebeen “enhanced” by data from the Social Security Death Index, newspaperobituaries, probate files, local histories, funeral home and monument companyrecords, county death records, etc.  The11,659 records in this database include burials through 1999. 

Over the 150 years of CedarBluff burials, there was a large variance in the record keeping expertise andlegibility of the handwriting of the sextons and their helpers, as well as thatof the fiduciary trusteeship of bank personnel. Using the supplementary sources mentioned above helped clarify some ofthese problems.

Many early burial records mayjust say “baby”, “Mrs. Smith”, or just “Jones”. Those without some distinguishable identification are excluded from thislist.  Also, most “pre-need” purchaserecords have not been included.

Therefore, this is not an“official” Cedar BluffCemetery record; it is a guide forthe family genealogist or historical researcher that simply was not previouslyavailable.  It is recommended thatserious genealogists seek original records as their documentation source ratherthan referencing this index. 

Codes and Format

Dates are shown asyear-month-day (e.g. 2026-03-30).  If itis known to be the death date, a suffix “D” is added.  Likewise if only the burial date is known,the suffix “B” is added.  If the deathdid not occur in Winnebago County, IL,and was noted on a record, the death location is included in the Notationscolumn.

If you are looking for a namelike DeWitt, DuFoe, or LaRoque, note that the software program we used sortscapital letters ahead of lower case letters. DeWitt will be ahead of Dean, DuFoe ahead of Duckett. and LaRoque aheadof Labella.

In the grave location columns,“LNS” means the location was not specified in available records, but we mayfind some of these later when copying marker inscriptions.  “CCB” means that if you wish information orhave knowledge of the burial site, you should contact the Cedar Bluff CemeterySexton.  “PF” originally meant Potter’sField, but includes other single grave burials; it is the open area in thenorthwest corner of the cemetery with mostly unmarked graves.

“X” in the Marker column indicatesthat the site was checked and there is some kind of marker for the person.  It may be an inscription on a large centralmonument, or individual headstones. “MEM” in the grave location columns means that the person was notprobably buried here, but was included in a memorial inscription on a monument.

In the Notations column, “V, CV,FGV, SV, or BV” notes that a vault was used. However, absence of this should not be interpreted as no vault.  For many years, vaults (of some type) havebeen required.

Cemetery History

CedarBluff CemeteryAssociation was formed February 18,1847.  Founding trustees wereE. H. Potter, Willard Wheeler, Bela Shaw, Selden M. Church, Hollis H. Holmes,and Lucius Clark.  Final organization wasmade November 28, 1851.  Twelve acres were purchased from Bela Shawfor $400.  The tract was surveyed byDuncan Ferguson, April 13, 2026(History of Rockford and WinnebagoCounty, Illinois, Charles A. Church, 1900). About 1905 - 1910, the cemetery nearly doubled in size by acquiring propertyeast to Davis Street.

In an article in the Rockford Morning Star of June 11, 1905, it was estimated thatthere had been approximately 4,000 burials in CedarBluff Cemeteryup to that time.  In the Rockford Daily Register Gazette of December 22, 1923, someone came upwith an estimate of 13,080 total burials, a badly exaggerated guess.  Based on records available to the compilersof this index, it is likely that the total number of burials at Cedar Bluffthrough 1999 is in the range of 12 - 13,000.

Acknowledgements

The Society first wishes tothank the Welte family, especially Jim and his son Jeff, for giving permissionas the current administrators of the CedarBluff Cemetery,for us to tackle this project.  Allrecords were made available, down to the last scrap of paper, in the cemetery“office”, as well as records at Bank One, successor to the Third National andFirst National Banks, the fiduciary trust overseers.

The four volumes of Obituaries from the Rockford Newspapers,abstracted and edited by John Molyneaux, covering 1840 - 1874 were a helpfulreference in verifying some records.

We also thank the followingSociety members who gave of their time and energies in the compilation of thedatabase to this stage.  This includedmicrofilm extraction, computer input, photocopying plat books and burialpermits, copying gravestone inscriptions, searching for obituaries, etc.