Red Oak is about 3 miles west of Bishop Hill, in the southern part of section 8 and the northern part of section 17 in Weller Township. I believe the cemetery is a little further west of the timber, just off of Highway 82. The first land purchased by Eric Jansson and Olof Olsson for the Bishop Hill Colony was in Red Oak. There was a cabin on the property where some of the colonists lived. When the ship carrying my great great grandmother had an outbreak of cholera in 1850, they were quarantined at Red Oak for a while before they were allowed to go to Bishop Hill. Bob Nelson