One of the oldest cemeteries in Madison County is nestled in the timbered area just off Vaughn Road. This historic site is the burial grounds for victims of the _Wood River Massacre_ (http://www.wrheritagecouncil.com/cemetery.htm#Massacre) of 1814, Revolutionary War soldier John Rattan, Veteran of the War of 1812 (a State Senator) and several veterans from the Civil War. The cemetery was started in the early 1800s by the Vaughn family who provided cemetery lots free to family members, friends and neighbors. Early pioneer families included the Vaughn, Haller, Starkey, Henry, Jones, Kendall, Berry and Lawrence families. It is a beautiful site, peaceful and quiet, amidst the ancient trees. .....The cemetery was deeded to the City of Wood River in 1985 by the Vaughn family. Shortly thereafter, the Wood River Heritage Council installed iron gates and cleaned and marked the gravesites that could be identified. That morning Rachel Reagan and her two children went to spend the day with her sister, Mrs. William Moore.Abel Moore's wife and children were there as was Miss Hannah Bates (who was the sister of Abel Moore's wife). The day was spent peacefully while the women talked and the children played games. They were all going to Abel Moore's house for supper that night. .....In the afternoon Rachel decided to go home and pick some green beans for the meal. Some of the children wanted to go along with her. All together there were Rachel's two children, two sons of Williams Moore, and two sons of Abel Moore. .....That was a total of seven, but they almost has eight. Hannah Bated decided to go along to visit a little more with Rachel, but a short time later Hannah turned back to the Moore house. Some people thought she may have had a premonition that something terrible was going to happen. Others say her shoes did not fit well and she was most uncomfortable. Whatever the reason, she returned to the Moore's House which was closer than Rachel's. It saved her life. .....About dark, William Moore returned home and found no one there. He then went to Abel's house. There he found his wife, Rachel and the children had not yet returned. .....William and his wife decided to search for them. His wife rode a horse through the woods and William walked along the wagon path. William had gone a very short distance when he discovered a body lying on the ground. It was dark and he could not identify the body. Thinking the Indians were having a general uprising, he wanted to warn the other people oin the area and get them to safety. He first went to Abel's house and got Abel's wife and her remaining children. They headed for William's house to get his family, having no idea if his wife had returned from her search. When they for to the house they saw her horse. William's wife came running out of the house and told her husband she thought Indians had killed them all. .....While she was in the woods she came across a human figure lying in the path. She got down from her horse and in the darkness she saw Rachel's little boy sitting beside his lifeless mother. She didn't look any further. She picked up the wounded child and hurried home. The child died the next day. .....At dawn the scene of the tragedy was found and the bodies of the children (scattered all along the path) indicated that they had tried to escape. .....The victims were taken to the burial ground which is now known as Vaughn Cemetery where they were buried in three graves, but only one headstone with the names of all those who were killed. The news of the massacre spread quickly, and the men of th area hastened to track the Indians. They, in time found out the number of Indians were small. It was not a regular war party who killed the seven helpless victims, but a group of renegade Indians bent on revenge against the white people. .....Hatred was so intense against the Indians, the territorial legislature enacted a system of bounties for the killing of hostile Indians. The government offered $50 for the killing of an Indian who entered a settlement with murderous intent.

Strange this appears now. I was just at this site searching for the Massacre victims graves. Abel Moore was my great great grandfather. If anyone has any further information on Abel Moore's family I would appreciate haring from you. Sharon -----Original Message----- From: PALMEEM@aol.com [mailto:PALMEEM@aol.com] Sent: Thursday, October 21, 2004 7:15 PM To: ILMADISO-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ILMADISO-L] Vaughn Hill Cemetery One of the oldest cemeteries in Madison County is nestled in the timbered area just off Vaughn Road. This historic site is the burial grounds for victims of the _Wood River Massacre_ (http://www.wrheritagecouncil.com/cemetery.htm#Massacre) of 1814, Revolutionary War soldier John Rattan, Veteran of the War of 1812 (a State Senator) and several veterans from the Civil War. The cemetery was started in the early 1800s by the Vaughn family who provided cemetery lots free to family members, friends and neighbors. Early pioneer families included the Vaughn, Haller, Starkey, Henry, Jones, Kendall, Berry and Lawrence families. It is a beautiful site, peaceful and quiet, amidst the ancient trees. .....The cemetery was deeded to the City of Wood River in 1985 by the Vaughn family. Shortly thereafter, the Wood River Heritage Council installed iron gates and cleaned and marked the gravesites that could be identified. That morning Rachel Reagan and her two children went to spend the day with her sister, Mrs. William Moore.Abel Moore's wife and children were there as was Miss Hannah Bates (who was the sister of Abel Moore's wife). The day was spent peacefully while the women talked and the children played games. They were all going to Abel Moore's house for supper that night. .....In the afternoon Rachel decided to go home and pick some green beans for the meal. Some of the children wanted to go along with her. All together there were Rachel's two children, two sons of Williams Moore, and two sons of Abel Moore. .....That was a total of seven, but they almost has eight. Hannah Bated decided to go along to visit a little more with Rachel, but a short time later Hannah turned back to the Moore house. Some people thought she may have had a premonition that something terrible was going to happen. Others say her shoes did not fit well and she was most uncomfortable. Whatever the reason, she returned to the Moore's House which was closer than Rachel's. It saved her life. .....About dark, William Moore returned home and found no one there. He then went to Abel's house. There he found his wife, Rachel and the children had not yet returned. .....William and his wife decided to search for them. His wife rode a horse through the woods and William walked along the wagon path. William had gone a very short distance when he discovered a body lying on the ground. It was dark and he could not identify the body. Thinking the Indians were having a general uprising, he wanted to warn the other people oin the area and get them to safety. He first went to Abel's house and got Abel's wife and her remaining children. They headed for William's house to get his family, having no idea if his wife had returned from her search. When they for to the house they saw her horse. William's wife came running out of the house and told her husband she thought Indians had killed them all. .....While she was in the woods she came across a human figure lying in the path. She got down from her horse and in the darkness she saw Rachel's little boy sitting beside his lifeless mother. She didn't look any further. She picked up the wounded child and hurried home. The child died the next day. .....At dawn the scene of the tragedy was found and the bodies of the children (scattered all along the path) indicated that they had tried to escape. .....The victims were taken to the burial ground which is now known as Vaughn Cemetery where they were buried in three graves, but only one headstone with the names of all those who were killed. The news of the massacre spread quickly, and the men of th area hastened to track the Indians. They, in time found out the number of Indians were small. It was not a regular war party who killed the seven helpless victims, but a group of renegade Indians bent on revenge against the white people. .....Hatred was so intense against the Indians, the territorial legislature enacted a system of bounties for the killing of hostile Indians. The government offered $50 for the killing of an Indian who entered a settlement with murderous intent. ==== ILMADISO Mailing List ==== Visit the Madison County ILGenWeb home page! http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmadiso/index.htm