Landmarks: A 'scavenger hunt' through history leads to new grave markers for Civil War veterans in Monee

Apr. 1—For a long time, Rachel White thought a faded and weathered stone near where the old church building once stood at the far western end of St. Paul's Cemetery in Monee was marked "Roland."

But the stone was so ancient, there was no way to really tell who was buried in the section of single graves unassociated with larger, family plots.

White, whose ancestors were among the founders of St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Monee, had been delving into the church records in an attempt to organize them.

"It's a big job," she said. "Everything is in German and the records are spotty."

Amid all that old paperwork she found a list of Civil War veterans buried at St. Paul's, but it didn't match up with a modern ledger of the cemetery's legible stones. It seemed six of the veterans were in unmarked graves.

White also is a member of the Sauk Trail Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, which had started holding its monthly meetings at St. Paul's.

A partnership to get modern recognition for the Union Army soldiers was a good fit, so a committee from the DAR and members of the cemetery board teamed up to see what they could do.

"It's a natural thing for us to help them, and they help us by allowing us to use their space to meet," said Nancy Schlaes, of Homewood, the Sauk Trail Chapter regent. "It was right up our alley, with our mission of promoting patriotism, historic preservation and education."

That partnership resulted in a new Civil War grave marker for Francis Lafayette issued by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. It was placed in the cemetery in October 2021, during a ceremony attended by about 25 people as well as a group of 100th Illinois Volunteer Infantry regiment re-enactors in their bluecoat uniforms and slouch hats.

Lafayette had the honor of getting his grave marker first because he was the oddball of the group, White said.

"Lafayette is such a different name for our cemetery," she said. "Our cemetery is almost completely German. So I was trying to find out what the heck this guy with a French name was doing here."

Back in the mid-1800s especially, White said, nearly everyone in Monee was related. Lafayette was listed in state documents as a farmer from Montreal — an outsider.

"It doesn't look like he had any family ties to the area," she said.

He died in 1900 a few months shy of his 60th birthday, and though he shows up on burial records at St. Paul's, nobody is certain he ever had a marker of any permanence.

They did learn not all of Lafayette ended up interred in Monee. He was shot in the left arm during the battle of Chickamauga in Tennessee in September 1863, a year and a month after he mustered into the 100th Illinois Volunteers in Joliet at age 27. The arm was amputated and sometime afterward Lafayette ended up living with a family in Monee.

Next up for a marker was Philip Bohlander, the only veteran of the six on the list to die while the Civil War still raged.

Unlike Lafayette, he had strong family ties to Monee and to St. Paul's, and it's those links that became the strongest evidence the cemetery in Monee is his final resting spot.

"People like Philip Bohlander are tough because there's nothing there that really says his family bought a plot there," White said.

A ledger book in the cemetery archives contains a list of names, and each paid $5 to the cemetery. On an entry marked March 29, 1865, Peter Bohlander made a $5 purchase. It was two days after records indicate Philip Bohlander died at age 22 in a veterans hospital near Quincy, Illinois, likely from war-related disease or infection.

"That particular book wasn't labeled that well," White said. "But it was enough to get his stone from the government. We're pretty confident that he's there."

In fact, further research indicated the faded, weathered stone White thought read "Roland" may have marked Bohlander's grave.

State records indicate Philip Bohlander was a native of Germany who was employed as a merchant when he mustered into the 100th Illinois Infantry in Joliet at age 18, around the same time Lafayette joined.

Like Lafayette, Bohlander, the youngest of several siblings, wasn't buried with family, White said. His father ended up in a cemetery along Governors Highway in Richton Park and a brother is buried in Frankfort.

"They're all over the south suburbs," she said.

But Philip Bohlander will be the center of attention at a dedication ceremony at 2 p.m.April 16 at St. Paul's United Church of Christ Cemetery, 5323 W. Margaret St. in Monee, as Veterans Affairs came through with a new marker for him based on the Sauk Trail Chapter's work.

Schlaes said the company of Civil War re-enactors, muskets in hand, will once again be the color guard for the dedication, and it should be really fun.

But it's also an important event, she said, and putting forth the effort so these Civil War veterans have grave markers is an honorable endeavor.

"It honors our past and remembers what our ancestors fought for and defended," Schlaes said. "What they defended was important, and it's important for us to carry that legacy on.

"When we honor someone like Philip Bohlander, it just brings back what our nation stands for and what he fought for, along with so many veterans who have defended our country and our democracy. It really keeps it in peoples' forefront and helps them remember. And that's important."

Though she's chapter regent of a group officially linked to another historic war, there are very few veterans of the Revolutionary War buried here. In fact, there is only one in the area covered by the Sauk Trail Chapter — William Hewes, who is buried in Crete Cemetery.

So it's good to dig into some history, Schlaes said, getting to see some primary documents from the 1800s such as muster rolls.

Once Bohlander's marker is dedicated, the group will turn its attention to Jacob Gloor, who died in 1916 and served from 1862 to 1865.

They've got an undertaker receipt related to the 1884 death of Adam Sachs, an officer in the war who may have been wounded in 1863.

There also are partial translations from German language burial records regarding Monee residents Christian Koehler, who died in 1894 at age 74 and Johannes Schlothauer, a native of Prussia who died in 1904 at age 70.

It's all part of "the thrill of the hunt and discovery," White said.

"It's kind of like a scavenger hunt," she said. "It's so fun, and it's great to make connections between the family and the locations. I would love to find out more about their stories."

It's also work with lasting impact, White said, noting the dedication ceremony is a celebration that the "efforts have resulted in something tangible that people will see for years and years, even after I'm gone."

Landmarks is a weekly column by Paul Eisenberg exploring the people, places and things that have left an indelible mark on the Southland. He can be reached at peisenberg@tribpub.com.

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