10/24/2021
P R E S E R V I N G H I S T O R Y. 🪦
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Henry W. Robertson, a native of Breckinridge County, Kentucky, was born on February 2, 1849. Robertson, a popular old name in Kentucky, was also affiliated with the Meadors, Seatons, Lambs, and Burgesses - all families who found their way from Kentucky to Washington County, Nebraska.
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We know that Henry's early life is a little murky, but in 1872, we learned that he married Emmaline Burgess, daughter of William and Mary Burgess (both buried in Rose Hill). Over the course of the next 5-7 years, Henry and Emmaline moved to Nebraska with her parents, and they brought along their two small daughters - Ada and Lillian.
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On May 22, 1882, Henry died. From what, we have no idea. We are currently looking for an obituary. His two daughters are buried nearby - Ada McKillips in Kennard and Lillian in Elk City. There's still a lot of mystery surrounding Henry, but we are currently in the mood to figure out his story.
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In the meantime, we figured out his stone. Originally, pieces of the stone had been buried in the ground. Dad and I took a spade and fence stake out to the cemetery and poked around. Ultimately, we retrieved the pieces; however, some of the stone has just, unfortunately, disintegrated. Armed with a brush, soap, and water, dad and I scrubbed away at the stone until a lot of the writing was legible.
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Dad is of the belief that Henry's stone was intentionally destroyed, but it's hard for me to wrap my clearly naive mind around that idea. Who would do that? Despite the theory, this gravestone was knocked around.
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We'll keep you posted on what we learn! Every single day, we learn something new, but for now...we plan on grabbing some concrete and setting Henry's stone back to normal. Wish us luck!
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Remember that you can D O N A T E to our online website - www.rosehillnebraska.com! Every penny counts. x o
