Sizer Cemetery History

From the "Ozaukee Press" newspaper, Thursday, September 23, 1948 --

Rejuvenate Century Old Cemetery
Call For Help to Clean Up Plot Near Saukville

Saukville -- Volunteers armed with axes, shovels, sickles, pruning shears and saws are being sought to help clean up one of Ozaukee county's pioneer cemeteries.

Everyone who wants to give a hand with this centennial project is asked to come to the old cemetery on country trunk O two and a half miles north of Saukville Saturday, Sept. 25. There will be someone there from 9 a.m. till evening. Wear heavy gloves and old clothes.

The cemetery is the resting place for over 30 of the county's pioneers. Most of them have no immediate survivors left in this area so the graves have long been neglected and the cemetery is a wilderness of brambles. The stones have been laid over the graves to prevent breakages by vandals and the elements.

The land for the community cemetery was donated by Lemuel Steuben Sizer, who settled there in 1846. The first burial was in 1849 and the last in 1884. The names on the stones include Robert and Franklin Ingersoll, both soldiers who died in the Civil war; Elizabeth Sears Sizer, whose husband fought in the Revolutionary war; Karker, Rhodes, Ginnell, Hubbard, Burrell, McHenry, Wadsworth, McCarthy, Hubert, Hamlyn, Brimner, Hallows and many others.

Anyone who has relatives buried in the cemetery is particularly requested to come out Saturday.

From the "Ozaukee Press" newspaper, Thursday, September 30, 1948 --

Cemetery Cleanup Was a Success
Descendant and Neighbors Turned Out to Help Sat.

Saukville -- The determination of the great granddaughter of one of Ozaukee county's pioneer settlers to do something about the deplorable condition of the cemetery in which many of her ancestors are buried paid off last Sunday. The old cemetery on highway O two miles north of Saukville was completely cleared of the mass of brambles and lilac bushes that have hidden it for nearly 40 years.

The woman with the will was Mrs. Arthur Sylvester of Milwaukee, the former Ada Sizer, whose great great grandfather, Lemuel Steuben Sizer, once owned the land on which he and some 30 early county settlers are buried. She received help from neighbors, other descendants and the county highway department.

Those who pitched in to help Mrs. Sylvester and her husband were Joseph Luftring and Mr. and Mrs. Ray Luftring, who now own the former Sizer farm; Frank Lanser, who owns a farm down the road; Mr. and Mrs. Walter Sizer of Kenosha; Mrs. Arvid Weller, George Hirschinger and Ed Maechtle of Milwaukee; and Herb Peters, Clarence Hoeft and Alvin DeBano of the county highway department.

Walter Sizer is the great grandson of Lemuel while Mrs. Weller is a descendant of the J. D. Karker family which also migrated to this community in the pioneer days and is now buried in the little cemetery. At the time the entire settlement was made up of eastern "yankees," as can be seen by the names on the markers.

Started in 1846

The tiny cemetery and 500 acres of the rich farm land surrounding it once belonged to Lemuel Steuben Sizer, who came to Wisconsin from Middlefield, New York in the fall of 1846. He bought the 500 acres on the Milwaukee river in the town of Saukville, then known as Sackville in Washington Co., from a Col. Startweather. Lemuel donated land for a school and cemetery and sold parts of his land to his seven children. The neighborhood became known as Sizer settlement.

Eventually all the Sizers died or moved away from highway O. Last to go was Julius who exchanged his farm for a home in Port Washington in 1896. Of his 11 children, two daughters are still living. They are Clara Sizer Peffer in Washington and Mrs. Lois Sizer Maechtle of Port, both in their eighties. Walter Sizer, who was here Saturday, is a grandson of Julius.

Still a Problem

Now that the little plot is clean up, Mrs. Sylvester is still faced with the problem of how it is to be kept that way. She is the only descendant living in this vicinity and of course cannot do the work all herself. What she would like is for some service organization to take over the task as a project and keep up the cemetery as an historic landmark.

Now that the brush is cleared away on the Pioneer Community Cemetery on County Trunk O, north of Saukville, you may be interested in the results.

The markers found are as follows -- with the quaint epitaphs

The known graves which are not marked are as follows:

• Elizabeth Haner Sizer 1st wife of Julius W. Sizer died September, 1849 (first to be buried in cemetery).
• An infant child of Elizabeth Haner & Julius W. Sizer died September, 1849.
• Five infants belonging to one of Lemuel Steuben Sizer's daughters all buried in a row.
• Four infants of Ruth Ann Corwin Sizer, 2nd wife of Julius W. Sizer, and Julius W. Sizer - two of which were twins.
• Phoebe Ruth Maechtle, 1st child of Lois Sizer Maechtle and Jacob Maechtle born Jan 30th 1884, died Nov 17th 1884 (last to be buried in cemetery)

This makes a total of thirty-nine souls that are known to be buried on this plot. (Remains of a man by name of Godfrey were moved to Waubeka cemetery)