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This website is dedicated to the Pilcher Memorial Cemetery and to our Pilcher family ancestors, and is a means to record our family history.  It is also a way to connect or reconnect with other Pilcher descendants.  Please feel free to write  a memory of your branch of the family or send it to me and I will post it.   We will have a lot of Pilcher history on this page in the near future.  

The Cemetery is a memorial to our ancestors, John Pilcher and Harriett Lang Arlington Pilcher.  According to my records (which may not be all that correct), they had 10 children:  Josephine (Felson and then Lampson)       Charley (wife Mary).    Minnie     (Hamilton).  Grace   (Springer).  Etta (Brownrigg).  Mary Virginia (Phillips).  Bill (Nell).    Amelia  or Millie (Hill). and two other children, whose names I do not know.   

As you can imagine, the gravestones in the Pilcher Memorial Cemetery, Walthill, were in need of repair as they date from the late 1800's.  Some had broken or fallen over, and  all needed cleaning.  We received a $1000 grant from the Pender Economic Committee and then received donations totaling $1300 from various Pilcher relatives.   So this project was funded in part by the Thurston County Visitors Improvement Fund.  We could not have accomplished this without their grant!!  

Earl Boston of West Point Monument worked with us  to meet our grant deadline, and he and his crew repaired, cleaned, and straightened the stones. The wording on the stones can clearly be read. They are beautiful! You can see the gravestones in the slide show or gallery.  Earl created this memorial page free of charge for us!  He also installed a chip on the stone of John Pilcher, so the family history can be accessed via smart phone for visitors at the cemetery.     We are so pleased and happy to be able to honor the Pilcher family founders in this cemetery.  We also owe thanks to the Cooney family.  The cemetery is located on their farm, and they have mowed and cared for our cemetery for years.  

The historic wooden sign at the cemetery fell from the fence, and is currently in Boise, Idaho, where our relatives Nancy Blanksma and her sister, Lauri, are working to restore it.  They have found a professional sign person to help with this.   According to NebraskaGravestone.org, the following people are listed as being in the cemetery, although I think there are more.

     John and Harriett Pilcher; James Joseph Byers II, Mabel Chase, Galen Gill, Frank H. Hamilton, James Hamilton, John Hamilton, Minnie B. Hamilton, Grace Thelma Hill, Josephine Lamson,  Mary Virginia Phillips, Agnes Pilcher, Charles Pilcher, Susie Rush, and Ben Trueblood.  I believe there are two Brownings there also.  

Our plans are to restore the sign, work on the fence around the cemetery, and repair the steps leading to the cemetery, as they are unusable.  Then we would like to set up a fund for maintenance.  If you are interested in donating or would like more information, please let me know.  And please record the history of your branch of the family.  Also please, correct me if I have any misinformation!

Thanks!    Patty Karcher, descendant of Mary Virginia Pilcher, daughter of John and Harriet Pilcher, 

pattyk981@hotmail.com

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A little history shared by Patty Karcher

August 20, 2018

Here is a little history.  Our ancestor Major Joshua Pilcher (1790-1884) was a fur deal and explorer and actually named Chimney Rock.  There is plaque at Chimney Rock telling that.  He married Porporine, of the Omaha Tribe and they had a son, John, (Nita Tonga) who is buried in the cemetery. Porporine died of cholera, and John was adopted by Chief Big Elk as Joshua returned to exploring.  John married Harriet Land Arlington  (who was adopted into the tribe also), and they lived on the Omaha Reservation, where John served as Chief of the Omaha Indian Police and tribal interpreter.  Harriett is also in the cemetery.  They had 10 children.  My great grandmother, Mary Virginia Phillips is buried there, as are some of the other children.   It is from the ancestors of the children of John and Harriett that I am receiving donations for the cemetery.   Anyway - I could carry on and on!  Fortunately, many of our ancestors left records and accounts of our history

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