Jurisdiction: Niles City
Established: 1836
Status: Active
Location:
Cemetery Governing Body: Niles City
Location of Cemetery Records: Silverbrook Cemetery Office
Size: 60 acres
Silverbrook Cemetery is named after the brook that runs through the property and was established in 1836 by George Bond, who purchased the original 6 acres. The mausoleum was erected in 1926 and is names Silverbrook Abbey. The cemetery has grown periodically over the years and now contains over 29,000 graves.
From “The History of Berrien and Van Buren Counties, Michigan” by D. W. Ensign:
“In the Elijah Lacey addition to the village of Niles, made on the 19thday of April 1832, a square piece of ground was reserved for burial purposes, and was used as a place of interment for some years. The remains of Elijah Lacey and wife and one or two children, Obed P. Lacey, and their father and mother, Ephraim Lacey and wife, and S. D. Walling, still lie there. Isaac Gray was buried there, his remains were afterwards removed to the city cemetery. About 1836 a tract of six acres was purchased of George N. Bond for a cemetery, and this has been added to by a purchase of eleven acres from Mr. Bond, making a total of seventeen acres. By direction of the Common Council of the city in 1838, George H. Starr surveyed the ground into lots, and the sale of these was commenced. Silver Brook passes through a portion of the ground, and it is known as “Silver Brook Cemetery”.
Many veterans are buried in Silverbrook Cemetery’s Veterans' Plot on the east side of the cemetery near the Abbey. One of those is Major Eli Griffin, who served in the 19th Michigan during the Civil War and died at the Battle of Lost Mountain in Georgia.
Other Veterans' graves include that of Joseph Albert Nolan, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1902 for his service in the Philippines. He enlisted in 1899 at the age of 42, and in 1900 he traveled 22 miles through forests with a Filipino guide to get help for his unit, which was under attack.
From “Historical Sketches of Berrien County Volume 4” by Robert C. Myers:
“General Henry Morrow, a great Civil War Union General made his home in Niles during the late nineteenth century. Morrow was born in Warrenton, Virginia on July 10, 1829. He served as a Unites States Senator and served in the Mexican War. Shortly before the Civil War broke out, Henry Morrow married Bell Graves from Niles. He served as Colonel and Commander of the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry of the Iron Brigade. General Henry Morrow died in Hot Springs, Arkansas on February 1, 1891 and his body rests in Silverbrook Cemetery.”
‘Dagmar Stegman was a Danish Daredevil who was born in Copenhagen in 1904. After immigrating to Chicago, she began barnstorming and wing walking throughout the area. On October 19, 1925, Dagmar climbed aloft for another parachute jump in an airplane piloted by Willis Kysor. A large crowd gathered at the Niles Airport and watched but something went terribly wrong. When Dagmar slid off the wing, the harness slipped up so far under her arms that she could not reach the release and she dangled hopelessly 2,000 feet into the air. Pilot Willis Kysor realized her predicament. He circled low over the airport and cut the engine while telling the onlookers to follow him to Barron Lake. Kysor flew above the water until rescuers arrived. The plan was to have her unbuckle herself and drop into the water but the instructions were either misunderstood or she misjudged the distance. Dagmar dropped at 200 feet up. Joseph Goodman was directly below and she bobbed unconscious to the surface where he grabbed her until another boater arrived. An auto rushed her to the hospital but she died of injuries an hour later. Dagmar Stegman rests today at Silverbrook Cemetery and Willis Kysor went on to run the flying school at Niles Airport but died in October 1938 in an airplane crash in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.”
Many political nobles are buried in Silverbrook Cemetery. From the Political Graveyard.com:
“Thomas Fitzgerald (1796-1855) -- of St. Joseph, Michigan. Born in Germantown, Herkimer County, New York, April 10, 1796. Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812; member of Indiana state house of representatives, 1825-27; probate judge, 1829; member of University of Michigan board of regents, 1837; member of Michigan state house of representatives from Berrien County, 1839; candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan, 1839; U.S. Senator from Michigan, 1848-49; probate judge, 1852-55. Died in Niles, Michigan March 25,
1855. Interment at Silverbrook Cemetery. “
“Edward La Rue Hamilton (1857-1923) -- of Niles, Michigan. Born in Niles Township, Michigan, December 9, 1857. Republican. Lawyer;
U.S. Representative from Michigan 4th District, 1897-1921. Died in St. Joseph, Michigan November 2, 1923. Interment at Silverbrook Cemetery.”
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Some pioneer Black settlers have their final resting spots in Silverbrook Cemetery, including those of artist Lottie Wilson and members of the Finley family. Lottie Wilson lived in the late 19th and early 20th century and is perhaps best known for her painting of Abraham Lincoln and Sojourner Truth, which now hangs in the Niles Community Library. The Finleys’ are believed to be the oldest black family in the area. The first Finley to live in Niles was Pasquel Finley, a white Frenchman who married a black woman named Sarah. He arrived in Niles in 1850 and settled on Lake Street. He and his wife helped blacks escape along the Underground Railroad. Two of Pasquel and Sarah Finley’s sons fought with the Michigan Volunteer Colored Army during the Civil War.
Maybe less known to the residents, but someone who had a valuable impact on Niles is Malinda Dittmer. The monument over her grave is perhaps the most distinctive in the entire cemetery because it is the only one to feature an angel. She died in 1948 in South Bend, Indiana at the age of 74 and is buried next to her parents. Her last wishes were to give all her money, $50,000, to build the Malinda L. Dittmer Maiden Ladies Home for Unfortunates. Unfortunately, this was never done, but her money did go to pay for the care of older people who could not pay their own way.
In early 2002, national news coverage of an event in Georgia came very close to home. The story was that of the Tri-State Crematory in Walker County, Georgia who were being investigated after police found hundreds of discarded bodies on the property, many of those sent there to be cremated. With the uncertainty surrounding this grim practice, many families questioned if the ashes they received where those of their loved ones. This was the case with the Oliver Harpole family. After having his ashes exumed, initial tests determined that the ashes were human but Georgia officials told them that there was a 99% chance they were not Oliver Harpole’s. Oliver Harpole was born on May 21, 1943 and died on December 30, 2000 in Tennessee where he was living, although he had lived most of his life in Niles. Although ashes were buried in the family plot, the family still awaits to re-inter the real Oliver Harpole ashes.
Written By Chriss Lyon
For more information on burials in this cemetery, contact:
Friends of Silverbrook Cemetery
P.O. Box 215
Niles, MI 49120
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