By Audrey Posten

Join the Clayton County Pioneer Cemetery Commission and Sperry Township officials on Saturday, June 27, for an event celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America.

Visit the Reed Pioneer Cemetery, located at 33762 A Ave. near Arlington, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a presentation by local historian David Beck about War of 1812 veteran Richard Speed, who is buried there. Please note the cemetery is located in Clayton County, but has an Arlington address.

Speed lived from around 1790 to 1858, and was a private in the New York Militia. Historical records show he moved to Clayton County around 1856 and died just two years later.

Speed is one of a dozen War of 1812 and Revolutionary War era veterans buried around Clayton County, according to information provided by the Clayton County Pioneer Cemetery Commission.

“We don’t always think of those wars in Iowa and in the Midwest,” said Ellen Collins, a member of the Clayton County Pioneer Cemetery Commission. “But these men fought in those early wars and made their lives here and passed away here.”

Collins believes the nation’s 250th birthday is the perfect time to highlight these connections.

“I think it will be interesting for people to learn about, and quite a few people like going to old cemeteries,” she said. “[Reed Pioneer Cemetery] is a nice cemetery, very well kept by the township and Pioneer Cemetery Commission.”

Visitors can attend the June 27 event any time between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Beck, who’s also a member of the commission, will speak about Speed and the War of 1812.

“This is one of a lot of different stories of early veterans,” Collins said.

Lyman Amsden (1793-1881) is buried at St. Paula’s Cemetery in Jefferson Township, between Elkport-Garber and Osterdock. Born in Ontario County, New York, Amsden served in the New York Militia from December 1813 to March 1814. He later lived in Clayton County for over 60 years.

Christopher Bolsinger (1788-1872) is buried in the Bolsinger Cemetery in Mallory Township, south of Osterdock. Bolsinger was a member of Lt. Col. Ball’s squadron with the Light Dragoons, U.S. Volunteers. He was an early settler in Mallory Township.

Thomas Carrington Bowles (1785-1857) is buried in the Monona City Cemetery. He was a private in the Maryland Militia, enlisting in August 1814 and discharged late in September that same year. He received 40 acres of land in Mendon Township as bounty land for serving in the war.

Jason S. Butler (c. 1795-c. 1870) is buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery in Sperry Township, near Volga. Butler was born in Connecticut and served in the New York Militia in 1814. He and his family came to Iowa in the 1850s, according to Census records.

William Allison Drips (1789-1881) is buried in the National Cemetery. He served in 1814 in a company of Pennsylvania Riflemen in the Pennsylvania Militia. Drips was issued a bounty land warrant for 160 acres in Minnesota but assigned the land to another man. By 1855, he was residing in Clayton County.

Levi Ellis (1783-1880) is buried in the Postville Cemetery in Grand Meadow Township, and lived just across the county line in Allamakee County. Born in New Hampshire, he served in the Vermont Militia and received a bounty land warrant for his service, also in Minnesota. He, too, assigned it to another individual. Census records put him in Iowa by 1860.

James McClelland (1790-1851) is buried in the McClelland Cemetery near Garnavillo. McClelland was a captain in the Pennsylvania Cavalry during the War of 1812, and according to historical documents, served under Gen. Harrison in the battles of Tippecanoe and Fort Meigs. He was among the pioneers who arrived in Clayton County in 1838, and lived in the Garnavillo area. McClelland received a warrant of 160 acres in Clayton Township as bounty for serving in the war, but died before the warrant was issued. It was then issued to his wife.

Thomas Miner (1796-1872) is buried in Council Hill Cemetery in Giard Township, near Monona. A native of Virginia, he served in the Virginia Militia in the War of 1812, before removing to Ohio. In 1856, he moved his family to Allamakee County, where a portion of his 100 acres was bounty land for serving in the war. He spent the remainder of his life on the homestead.

James Moody (unknown-1884) is buried in the Moody Cemetery in Mendon Township, near McGregor. He was a private in the Ohio Militia and came to Iowa from Ohio in 1849. He bought about 1,500 acres south of McGregor, on what would be known as Moody Ridge.

John Turner (around 1790-unknown) is buried in the Monona City Cemetery. His name appears on a muster roll for the New York Militia in 1814, and WPA graves registration records indicate he served in the War of 1812. Historical records said his gravestone also seems to confirm this, but has sunken too far to read the full inscription. The 1870 census lists him as a widower and retired farmer living in Monona Township. It is unknown when he died.

Jacob Winters (unknown-1855) is also buried in the Monona City Cemetery. He was wounded during the war near Fort Erie. Winters removed from New York to Clayton County in 1852, and was found in Monona Township on the Iowa census the year before he died.

Historical information provided by the Clayton County Pioneer Cemetery Commission indicates other War of 1812 and Revolutionary War veterans lived in or had connections to Clayton County, but were not buried in the county or their graves are unknown.