Long Cemetery is an unused, defunct cemetery slightly south of Rockford, IL and was on the early Richard Long farm. It may have started as a private or farm cemetery for the Long family and neighbors. The earliest known burial there happened in 1849 although it is mentioned in a newspaper article that an earlier burial occurred in 1830. Update: In September 2011 another gravestone was uncovered for a Brentner infant that was dated 1842. In 1860 Richard & Margaret Long deeded two acres for the cemetery to the Long Cemetery association. The directors named for the association at that time were John Pelley, Lemuel Fuller and John C. Chappell. In 2012 while checking the probate file of Charles Collins Jewell a receipt was found proving that Charles was the secretary & treasurer of Long Cemetery at his death. He held $7.39 of cemetery funds at his death and his administrator transferred it to John C. Chappell who was the following secretary treasurer. It appears that the cemetery deteriorated in the later 1800s and for an unknown length of time (possibly up into the 1940s) interments there were re-interred in other cemeteries. In the period 1905 thru 1908 a community effort was made to revitalize or preserve Long Cemetery. A petition for Long Cemetery was presented to the Winnebago County Board of supervisors, another petitiion went to the State of Illinois and a charter for Long cemetery was issued by the Illinois Secretary of State. In 1908 Lemuel Fuller, as the last surviving member of the original Long Cemetery Association (this one was voluntary), deeded the cemetery to the new, chartered cemetery association. An 1873 plat of Long Cemetery was also recorded with these documents at this time. It does not appear that the cemetery revitalized. Most likely this effort was to preserve it as a cemetery and not let it revert to farm land as is hinted at in 1894, 1906 & 1908 newspaper articles. There is a newspaper article from about 1935 detailing the condition of Long Cemetery at that time and it appears to been unusally decrepit at that time for the 1908 effort to have suceeded at revitalization. Also burials of most of the signers on the petitions are in cemeteries other than Long. This seems to also indicate that the intent at that time was to preserve the cemetery. In more recent times the North Central Illinois Genealogical Society inventoried the stones there and found nine. My information at this time is that the gravestones have been removed and none are in the cemetery although those burials they marked are still there. Most of the burials listed here come from the 1935 article in the Rockford Star newspaper and the information from the cemetery inventory. Additional burials will be added as information is found in other sources showing a burial there.
The following is a list of apparent lot holders and lots taken from the plat map of Long (also Long's or Corey) Cemetery surveyed in 1873. These lot holders (and/or family members) appear to have been, or are buried there. Lot holders are: Mrs. A. Lagrange** (10), Barrett (17), A. P. Minnick (1/4 lot) (20), R. Shepherd (29), J. C. Chappell* (30), C. C. Jewett (Jewell) (43), J. H. Hicks (44), M. W. Parkisson (53), D. A. Sears* (54), Alfred Sears* (55), George Crawford (56), J. Ryne (Jeremiah Ryan) (63) Memorial# 80672547, L. Fuller* (64), N. Barber* (68), H. Ingalls* (77), John Pelly (Pelley)* (78), Orrin Pelly (Pelley) (79), Daniel Fuller (80), L. Fuller* (81), John Sluyter* (87), James Webb**** (88), D. S. Hartwell (89), Dexter Russell (91) memorial# 17025855, Alfred Champlin* (102), C. A. Champlin (103), John H. Webb+++ (105) & Charles Falcon* (116).
The 1906 petition signers were: Lemuel Fuller*, Charles Fuller*, C. C. Burlingame, L. B. Fuller*, A. E. Cutler, J. Van Dorn*, I. Elliot, F. McFarland, Jacob Mackey*, W. F. Pelley++, Charles E. Johns*, J. H. Davey+, Jas. N. Harris* & W. F. Hudler*. The 1908 petition signers were Wm. R. Corey*, Geo. McGregor*, Chas. E. Johns*, W. H. Bodine++, W. F. Pelley++ & J. H. Davey+. Most of these petition signers are buried in Greenwood Cemetery and elsewhere. It does not appear they had an interest in being buried in Long Cemetery, some at that time already owning plots in Greenwood cemetery and elsewhere. This seems to indicate they had no intention of burial in Long and reinforces the idea that the 1905-1908 efforts were for the preservation of the cemetery.

*See burials this name in Greenwood Cemetery.
+See burials this name in Cedar Bluff Cemetery.
**See burials this name in Byron Cemetery (Ogle County).
++See burial this name in St. James & St Mary Cemetery.
+++See burial this name in Chattanooga National Cemetery, Hamilton County, TN.
****See burial this name in Monroe Cemetery, Lincoln County, KS.

(this is an ongoing work and there is more to come)