Linwood Pioneer Cemetery
Johnson County, Kansas
Photos by Linda Lewis, all rights reserved.
Linwood Pioneer Cemetery
3600 W 95th Street
Leawood, Johnson County, Kansas
Lattitude / Longitude
38° 57' 26" N, 94° 37' 38" W
38.957200, -94.627200
Driving Directions
From Kansas City, take I35 South 5 miles to 18th Street Expressway exit. Turn left (east) on 18th St. Expressway - Roe Blvd. Continue south on Roe Blvd to 95th Street. Turn left (east) on 95th Street and continue to Mission Road. Located in the parking lot of the strip mall on the northeast corner in front of Seasonal Concepts. A post office is immediately east of the cemetery.
This old cemetery is located just east of the intersection of 95th Street and Mission Road between Ranch Mart shopping center and the U.S. Post Office. The cemetery is enclosed by an iron fence and because the shopping area has been graded all around it, stands higher than street level. It is nicely maintained, and a very familiar landmark. It is something of a curiosity because of its location -- right in the middle of all the commerce and activity in this busy suburban area.
Photos by Linda Lewis, all rights reserved.
A Leawood Lions Project plaque is affixed to the iron fence at the entranceway.
Original transcription provided by Margaret Bates, from an old survey. This transcription was updated July 2005 by Linda Lewis, by walking the cemetery, photographing, and transcribing the stones.
ALT, Austin
27 Sep 1881
28y 5d
BAKER, Alexander
06 Mar 1835 - 27 Feb 1897
footstone "A.B." - Masonic Emblem
BAKER, Geo. H.
08 Apr 1887
21y 7m 2d
BAKER, Laura May
01 May 1883 - 15 Jan 1884
footstone "L. M. R. Daughter of Alexander & Martha Baker"
BAKER, W. E.
died 17 May 1885
footstone "W. E. B." (stone broken)
BRANDON, James P.
09 Jul 1891
68y 7m 4d
BRANDON, Mila
01 Oct 1877
40y 11m 20d
footstone "M. B. Wife of James P. Brandon"
COLLINS, Ralph N.
22 Sep 1903
10y 6m
DION, Vergena
died 27 Oct 1897
footstone "V. D. Wife of Peter Dion"
DONNELLY, Hester Ann
1818 - 1883
HIATT, Elizabeth A.
24 Sep 1879
18d
"Daughter of W. H. & M. E. Hiatt"
HIATT, Ollie May
28 Mar 1884
3m 2d
"Daughter of W. H. & M. E. Hiatt"
HIATT, Willis G.
21 Mar 1881
2m 28d
"Son of W. H. & M. E. Hiatt"
HOWELL, Richard
27 Oct 1827 - 22 Jan 1896
HOWELL, Susan
born 10 May 1829 (only date)
"Wife of Richard Howell"
KEYS, Hazel
11 Jun 1900 - 20 Jul 1901
LELLWICH, Infant
died 1900
"Son of F. & M. A."
MATNEY, Ennis A.
22 Feb 1890 - 03 Oct 1890
"Son of E.H. & Julia Matney"
RIPPETO, Clarissa A.
11 Jan 1849 - 20 Jul 1894
45y 6m 9d
RIPPETO, David J.
05 Oct 1883 - 23 Aug 1899
15y 10m 18d
footstone "D. J. R. Son of W. H. & C. H. Rippeto"
RIPPETO, James A.
1844 - 1915
RIPPETO, James F.
31 Dec 1877 - 25 Jun 1878
0y 5m 25d
RIPPETO, Harrison
06 Oct 1873 - 18 Oct 1873
0y 0m 12d
RIPPETO, Sarah L.
05 Nov 1874 - 24 Jul 1876
1y 8m 19d
RIPPETO, Sarah T.
1822 - 1896
footstone "Sarah"
RIPPETO, William H.
10 Nov 1842 - 22 Nov 1888
46y 0m 12d
WEBB, Benjamin F.
11 Oct 1823 - 01 Dec 1897
WEBB, Jane C.
born 31 Oct 1821
"Wife of B.F. Webb"
WYATT, James W.
17 Mar 1862 - 20 Sep 1915
WYATT, Calvin G.
28 Dec 1849 - 27 Dec 1922
footstone "C.G.W."
WYATT, Lillie G.
03 Dec 1880 - 13 Feb 1897
footstone "L.G.W. Wife of Beau Grotty"
WYATT, Louis
23 Jul 1814 - 15 Mar 1893
The following survey is the one that was done in July 2005 by Linda Lewis. The viewer is encouraged to compare the two lists for any discrepancies. Linda reports that many of the names on the list above are now almost totally obliterated.
?? ??
28 yr
?? ??
10 Mar 1890
?? ??
Mother
?? ??
? 1823
s/w Clarence S ??
?? Clarence S.
30 Jul 1873
4 y 7 m
s/w ??
?? James P
11 yr
Footstone: J P H
?? Myrtle H
09 Mar 1877 - 12 Feb 1896
Wife of Leta
Ault Austin
Sep
Baker Alexander
16 Mar 1885-27 Feb 1897
Masonic Emblem - Footstone A.B.
Baker Geo. H.
8-Apr
Baker Laura May
01 May 1883 - 15-Jan-44
Daughter of A & Martha Baker - Footstone L. M. R.
Baker W E
17 May 1885
Footstone W. E. B. (stone broken)
Bond Joel A
26 Dec 1849 - 29 Mar 1894
Brandon James P
9-Jul
Brandon Mila
01 Oct 1877
Wife of James P. Brandon - Footstone M. B.
Browning R.May
01 Jul 1881
2 y 2 m
Daughter of S & M T Browning
Collin Ralph N
22-Sep-03
10 y 6 m
Dion Vergena
27 Mar 1807
50 yr - Wife of Peter Dion - Footstone V. D.
Donnelly Hester Ann
Forney Catherine
30 Mar 1880 - 53 y 6 m
Hiatt Elizabeth A.
13 Aug ????
Daughter of W. H. & M. E. Hiatt
Hiatt Ollie May
Mar
Daughter of W. H. & M. E. Hiatt
Hiatt Willis G
21 Mar 1881
Son of W. H. & M. E. Hiatt
Howell Richard
27 Oct 1827 - 22 Jan 1896
s/w Susan Howell
Howell Susan
10 May 1829- none
His Wife
s/w Richard Howell
Hutton ??
09 1887
Hutton Infant
20 Nov 1873
J W & M J Hutton
Hutton Willie
12 Aug 1875
Son of J. W. & M. J. Hutton
Keys Hazel
11-Jun-00 - 20-Jul-01
Laughlin Mary A.
1864 - 1903
Mother Former Baucom
Lellwich Infant
Son of F. & M. A.
Matney Ennis A.
Feb
Son of E.H. & Julia Matney
Phillips I. N.
11 Feb 1807 - 15 Aug 1887
Son of W. P. & M. Phillips Footstone: I. N. P.
Phillips Minerva C.
26 Jul 1846 - 25-Aug-24
79 y 2 m
Wife of W P Phillips
Phillips Podosca R.
30 Oct 1891
30 y 8 m
Dau of W. P. & M. Phillips
Phillips Sarah
23 1807 - 24 Nov 1887
Footstone: S. P.
Phillips W. P.
13 May 1882 - 23 Mar 1898
Father stone Footstone: W. P. P.
Pincomb Clara Pauline
14-May-19
Pincomb John Shapland
15 Dec 1839 - 15-Jan-14
Pincomb Robert
07 May 1887
82 y 8 m
Pincomb Sarah M.
20 Jan 1890
37 y 9 m
Wife of John S Pincom
Regnier Helen B.
18-Feb-16 - 17-Mar-04
s/w Victor L Regnier
Regnier Victor L.
19-Oct-17 - 4-Jan-00
s/w Helen B Regnier
Rippeto Allen
23 May 1870
Son of W. H. & E. Ripptoe
Rippeto Clarissa
11 Jan 1849 - 20 Jul 1894
Rippeto David J.
5 Aug
Son of W. H. & C. H. Rippeto - Footstone D. J. R.
Rippeto Eveline
Wife of W. Ripetto
Rippeto Harrison
6
Rippeto James A.
1844 - 1915
s/w Sarah T. Rippeto
Rippeto James F.
Jun
Rippeto Sarah L.
5- Jul
Rippeto Sarah T.
1822 - 1896
Footstone Sarah
s/w James A Rippeto
Rippeto William H.
Stuteville Mary E.
01 May 1813
21 Jan 1898
Wife of T. B. Stuteville
Stuteville Thomas B.
11 Apr 1801 - 02 Feb 1890
Sweigerd John
08 Jul 1881
27 y 6 m
Teas
18 Nov 1881
Infant son of W. C. & M. J. Teas
Tennison James D.
20 Nov 1823 - 19 Jun 1877
Footstone: J. D. T.
Thomas Elijah
18 Sep 1806 - 06 Feb 1892
s/w Julia Thomas
Thomas Elizabeth
1854 - 1911
s/w William H Thomas
Thomas Etta
1863 - 1883
Sister
Thomas James M.
20 Nov 1855 - 28-Jul-17
Thomas Julia
25 Aug 1810 - 13 Mar 1882
s/w Elijah Thomas
Thomas Percy E.
1896 - 1914
Son of J M & C R Thomas
Thomas William H.
1835 - 1913
s/w Elizabeth Thomas
Walker Caroline
1847
Aletha Walker
1830
Infant Daughters
s/w Margaret Walker
Walker Margaret
1859
Aletha Walker - 1830
Infant Daughters
s/w Caroline Walker
Webb Benjamin F.
11 Oct 1823 - 01 Dec 1897
Freemason symbol
Webb Jane C.
31 Oct 1821 - none
Wife of B. F. Webb
Williams B. M.
19 Apr 1880
6 y 10 m
Wyatt Calvin G.
27-Dec-22
Footstone C. G. W.
Wyatt James W.
17 Mar 1862 - 20 1915
Wyatt Lillie C.
3
Wife of Beau Crotty - Footstone L.G.W.
Wyatt Louis
23 Jul 1814 - 15 1893
A Little History of the Cemetery
A Satirical Look at Linwood
By Linda Lewis
In about 1853, the government traded the Indians out of Ohio and Missouri and gave them lands in Kansas and Oklahoma. Indian Dr. Grey Eyes got a tract of land where the Linwood Cemetery now is situated, and it was deeded in about 1859. It is said that Grey Eyes used part of his land for a burial ground. In the 1860s, when the government pressured the tribes in Kansas to sell most of their land, and relocated them in Oklahoma, Grey Eyes sold the land to Simeon W. Peeples, a prosperous Johnson County farmer. And about this time, the area of Leawood became known as Linwood, and served as a stop-over for people traveling from Olathe to Kansas City, Missouri.
Peeples eventually donated the tract, on 10 Jun 1873, to the Methodist Episcopal Church to build a church and cemetery. In 1872 they collected for it and the Linwood Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1873. It had a traveling preacher who preached 3 churches on Sunday. It was built behind the cemetery (north side) facing J. M. Liggett Rd (now 95th Street) with the 2-acre cemetery as its front yard. It was platted out very neatly with big family lots that would hold 5 people and wide aisles between, had a road and a foot path. Where the post office sits was part of the cemetery, and it went further back to the north as well.
The church lasted 50 years, and many of the names in the cemetery were church founders and elders. The membership died or moved away and the church was empty, and eventually torn down. That takes us to the 1930s or so. Individuals took care of their own family plots, and the cemetery was active until the 1940s. The church was gone and it went to seed, then some of the descendents banded together for a few years and formed an organization to take care of the cemetery. They had a meeting in 1957 and one in 1958 to clean up the cemetery. At this time there were over 100 graves. By then Linwood was gone, and Leawood had been incorporated and area development was going on big-time with all the JC Nichols tiny towns.
Along came Vic Regnier, who bought the land on both sides of 95th Street, and proceeded to develop Ranchmart center. Vic wanted the cemetery moved out of the way to make room for a 6-story office building. It is said that he arranged for a backhoe and dump truck to come in the night and begin digging up graves. In any case, somebody went to a judge and got it stopped. Some graves were moved, but the fate of others is really not clear. Many of the stones had already been removed before the restraining order was given, and before bodies were actually moved, making identification of the graves tricky at best. There was a great hue and cry from the public, and the court ordered him to keep the cemetery and take care of it, but some graves could be moved for the Post Office. But apparently any unmarked graves were ignored, and literally just got paved over.
So the cemetery was reduced to the odd, square piece of land it is today, and Vic was supposed to take care of it. His plans were ruined because of the cemetery, and he did little to maintain it, but just let it overgrow. Again there was a great hue and cry – and the Linwood Ladies Club (consisting of 5 concerned ladies) adopted the cemetery, cleaned it up, and spent their own money to keep it up and decorated.
In the late 1970s, a hearing was held to propose the building of a Wades restaurant on the east side of the cemetery. The awning of the cemetery was to overhang the east side of the cemetery, meaning some of the large trees had to be removed. In exchange, Waids agreed to provide a free water hydrant that could be used to water the cemetery. The restaurant was in existance several years, but the uproar never completely died away, for then the restaurant closed, the building (and awning) was torn down.
There were newspaper articles about all the great work the ladies of the Linwood Ladies Club did. But the ladies got old, and started dying, and weren’t able to cover the expenses or do all the hard work anymore, so they had to give it up in the mid-1990s. There was a big meeting (city or court or something) about the concern that Regnier would just let it all go. The newspaper articles talk about how he had many code violations on Ranchmart and had let it go to ruin too. So there was a big ordeal, and the Lions Club stepped up and convinced Vic to let them take care of it – and they did. 100%. Nothing from Vic.
Now it’s 2004 and Vic is dead. His son, who owns the bank on the corner of Nall and 95th, can't decide where he should be buried, so he stores him for a while, then remembers he owns a cemetery. So Vic and his wife Helen were buried in the cemetery he tried to obliterate nearly a half-century before. They are buried in the two above-ground tombs put there in 2004. The Lions plotted out a 4-lot plot, and they did in a place no one was buried. But the graves (which are meant to be moveable) were actually placed on top of 3 unmarked graves. But for now, there they sit in their favorite cemetery. Next time you drive by it, glance over and wave at Vic and think about him lying in his Ranchmart cemetery.
Other interesting tidbits: in the 1880s – 1900s, grave robbing was bad at Linwood. Apparently they dug up the whole body and took it. Caskets or pine boxes weren’t always used. Myrtle Manis Talor was buried by her husband and daughter, in her wedding gown and bow. They came back to the grave the next day and she was gone all but the bow. They put out the word that if she’d only be returned, they wouldn’t try to find out who it was. She was found the next day across 95th Street from the cemetery, wrapped in burlap. A year later, Alexander Baker died, and his family spent several nights, keeping vigil against grave robbers. One person was exhumed to be moved to a family plot, and the grave was empty. In 1932, James D. Tennison's body was exhumed for a court trial – apparently his wife murdered her second husband by poison, and they found out that was what happened to her first husband, the one they exhumed, and she was convicted. The first husband was one of the founding ME church elders.
Return to Johnson County Page
Return to Kansas Page