Bill and Diana Sowers
, Lincoln County CoordinatorsTracee Hamilton, Lincoln County Coordinator
Interest in the unmarked graves on a hilltop west of Lincoln of a couple of war veterans, Charles G. Minnick and Joshua Simmons, continues to draw interest from many sources.
Sunday afternoon Mrs. Jessie M. Anson, McPherson librarian, and her son from McPherson, were in Lincoln and spent the afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Bill Headley, and visited the site of the graves.
Mrs. Anson, who is a granddaughter of Mr. Minnick and a cousin of Mrs. Simmons, was able to shed a good deal of light on the past history of both the old soldiers and their families which had not be revealed before.
Mrs. Anson's son, who is the Associated Press editor of the McPherson Daily Republican, brought along his camera and took a number of pictures of the remaining headstone at the Simmons graves and of the terrain surrounding the graves. However, it has not been definitely ascertained just where Mr. Minnick's grave is located, but it is known that he was the last to be buried in the family plot. Mr. Minnick was the father of Mrs. Simmons and spent several years in her home before he passed away.
A headstone has been ordered from the Veterans' Commission to be placed at the grave of Mr. Simmons, and plans are being made to hold some sort of a ceremony when the headstone is set, and Mrs. Anson and her son plan to return to Lincoln for the occasion.
A movement is also underway to secure a headstone for Mr. Minnick's grave as soon as the necessary information is available.
While there two old veterans served in different wars, Mr. Minnick in the War of 1812, and Mr. Simmons in the Civil War, their lives were intertwined to the extent that Mr. Minnick was Mr. Simmons' father-in-law, and it is quite unusual that both of their last resting places have remained unmarked throughout the years.