Prominent Figures Buried in the Thomas Lincoln Cemetary

Pleasant Grove Township grew and thrived because of the individuals that settled the region in the 1830s. Many of the original settlers and their descendants are buried at the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery- too many to include in this website. Below is a small sample of influential people in the life of the township who are buried in the cemetery.

Reverend Daniel Barham

daniel barham

Reverend Daniel Barham's original grave marker was wood- there is still a small piece left, which can be seen here. Another monument was added later, which can be seen here.

daniel barham 2

Reverend Daniel Barham's grave marker. Barham was one of the first settlers in Pleasant Grove Township. It is believed that his wife, Lavina, is also buried in the cemetery, but her marker (which was likely wood, similar to Reverend Barham's) is gone.

His marker reads:

DANIEL BARHAM
1773-1850

Squire and Matilda Johnston Hall

Squire Hall and his wife, Matilda Johnston Hall, are buried directly east of Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln. Matilda Johnston Hall was Sarah Bush Lincoln's daughter from her first marriage. Both Squire and Matilda accompanied the Lincolns on their migration from Indiana to Coles County, Illinois in the 1830s. The couple had three sons and five daughters, including John Johnston Hall and Joseph A. Hall, both of whom are also buried in the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery. Squire Hall died in 1851, after which his wife married Reuben Moore. Despite her second marriage, she was buried next to her first husband. Squire Hall's original grave marker is still standing, thanks to metal braces holding it in place. A monument was placed next to his original marker by his grandson and family, which honors both Squire and Matilda.

hall braces

squire hall

A side view showing Squire Hall's original grave marker on the left and the new marker on the right

Reuben Moore

Reuben Moore's first wife, Mary, died in 1855. She is buried next to him in the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery. Moore married Matilda Johnston Hall on June 19, 1856. Reuben died on June 23, 1859 at the age of 61. After the death of Thomas Lincoln, Sarah Bush Lincoln moved in with the Moores; it as while she was living at their home that she last saw her stepson, Abraham Lincoln, when he came to visit his father's grave in 1861. The Moore house, a pre-Civil War structure, has been reconstructed and stands approximately one mile north of the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site.

rueben moore

Reuben Moore's grave marker, which has fallen and broken, has been cemented into the ground.

It reads:

REUBEN MOORE
BORN
Dec. 2, 1797
DIED
Jun. 22, 1859

John W. and Susan D. Baker

Susan D. Baker was the daughter of Isaac W. Rodgers, a resident of Pleasant Grove Township (Rodgers is also buried in the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery). John Baker served in the Civil War with the 5th Illinois Calvary, Co. E. John and Susan, who both lived near the cemetery, were members of the Shiloh Presbyterian Church. In 1898, John and Susan Baker deeded 4.10 acres of land north of the Shiloh Church and adjacent to the Gordon Graveyard to the Shiloh Cemetery Association for the purpose of adding land to the Gordon Graveyard. In 1912, the Bakers deeded an additional half acre of land to the Shiloh Cemetery Association. The first row of lots in the additional half acre of land was reserved for use by the Baker family. In 1935 the two sections (Gordon Graveyard and Shiloh Cemetery) were joined under the Thomas Lincoln Trustees and given the name the Thomas Lincoln Cemetery.

John W and Susan Baker