The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
In an unmarked grave, in a little unknown cemetery at 408 Crane Hill, Lomax, Illinois, is the resting place of Colonel Rezin Redman who came to Henderson County in 1825. Rezin was a veteran who served in the War of 1812 and is buried in Freeland Cemetery, a sectioned off grave yard adjacent to Crane Cemetery which is located on the Bluffs east of the Mississippi River and just off Illinois Route 96 east of Lomax.
In a clipping of a death notice which appeared in a Waterloo newspaper, it reads: “PIONEER WOMAN DIES” Waterloo, IL— August 3rd, Mrs. Emily P Vaughan, 90, whose father, Rezin Redman, built the first frame house on the present site of Burlington, which city now covers land he then owned, died here early today. Her parents were pioneers of Illinois and when they moved to the vicinity of Burlington, it was the heart of hostile Indian territory. She and her husband were among the early settlers of Blackhawk County, Iowa.
The request for a Veterans gravestone in Henderson County, came to Mike Rowley from Rezin Redman’s great great great grandson Dave Nation of Iowa, who will attend the ceremony on June 11th. The public is invited including VFW, American Legion, Military Order of Foreign Wars, Patriot Guard, the DAR, Color Guards of S.A.R., GSW 1812, SUVCW, local dignitaries, local historical societies, scouts and civic groups, historians and patriots. If there are any local ancestors that would like to come or who could take part in the ceremony, please call Mike Rowley at 515-975-0498 or email him at MJR1825@gmail.com.
Mike Rowley and Dave Nation are both fellow members of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (Iowa) and will be assisted by Adrian "Mike" Tubbs of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (Illinois) from Washington, IL.
The Monmouth Honor Guard with Commander of the Honor Guard, US Navy Veteran Scott Spitzer, will take part as well as the Commander of the Monmouth American Legion Post #301, Ret Colonel Gary Miller, USMC.
Rowley said the project was personal for him. His father Denton E. Rowley, was a combat medic in the Iowa National Guard and served in Europe during World War II. Denten returned from the war but died in 1965 from a service-related disability when Mike was only 8 years old. Mike spent a lot of time in Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, home to more than 80,000 souls which if considered a city, it would be the fifth largest in Iowa. Rowley said he spent a lot of time tending his dad's grave over the years and he recalls wondering why some military graves were marked while others were not.
The memory of neglect stayed with him, so two decades ago, he researched and applied for his first military marker for a veteran. Now with the help of his friend Bob Niffenegger, and his son Tim Rowley, they have researched and identified forgotten veterans buried in Woodland and placed permanent headstones on their graves. Their mission is to assure that these veterans' names and sacrifice are not lost to history.
Mike Rowley of Des Moines, Iowa with two of his friends, has kept busy during the long pandemic by acquiring headstones for over 200 unmarked veterans’ graves in 7 different states. Now Rowley is placing a stone in Henderson County, next week and will conduct a ceremony on Saturday, June 11th to commemorate the grave of Warren/Henderson counties' “first permanent white inhabitant,” according to Henderson County history.