Searching For the William Marsh Family

We have written about the William Marsh family in the past.  Longtime residents of Blue Hill Township, they lived in the township from 1877 until about 1903.  Overtime the Marsh family suffered a number of misfortunes.  Mrs. Marsh, Elizabeth Ann Hull, gave birth to twelve children, one survived to adulthood.  Of those children, five of them died during a diphtheria crisis in October and November of 1880.  A few years later, another child was killed in a horse riding accident.  Still later, another died from pneumonia and another died from appendicitis.  

During these horrific episodes in the Marsh family, William Marsh served the roll of sexton for the Blue Mound, also known known as the Blue Hill, Cemetery.  Given his proximity to the cemetery, it seems logical his family would be buried there.  The obituary for Elizabeth Marsh notes that she is buried at Blue Hill.

Unfortunately, there are no grave markers for the Marsh family.  Outside of brief news announcements and short lines of burial records, nothing exists to document the pain and misery of this family. Dedicated Sherburne History Center volunteers Phyllis Scroggins and Diana Schansberg searched the small cemetery for evidence of the Marsh Family.  There are not many markers in the cemetery.  And yet, we haven’t found anything.  But we will continue to search.

Phyllis Scroggins and Diana Schansberg at the Blue Hill Cemetery, 

26 October 2015.

                                         A view of Blue Mound Cemetery, 2015