In the early 1840's, a group of settlers residing in the southeast portion of Jefferson County decided they needed a place of worship in their own community of Moores Prairie. The churches closest to them, Lovilia, Spring Garden, and Liberty, were too far to travel.

On 15 Jan 1841, James Anderson Drew, a local farmer, and his wife Nancy conveyed one and one-half acres to the "officers of the United Baptist Church of christ at Sugar Camp Creek" for the price of $3.75. Signing as officers of the church were William Sturman and AP. Whitlow.

The following year a small log church was completed on the north side of the Old Goshen Road. "The presbytery examined the standing of these brethern that was desirous to come into a constitution at Sugar Camp Meeting House and found them orthodox and holding the necessary qualifications." Thus, Sugar Camp Creek Church opened its doors for membership 26 Feb 1842.

Between 1847 and 1857 Carter Wilkey and his wife Malinda conveyed more land to the trustees of the Sugar Camp Meeting House.

In November 1847 the Wilkey's conveyed land for $10 to trustees of Sugar Camp Creek Church. Those trustees who received the deed to the Meeting House were Phillip Beardin, Reuben Lionberger, John Clark, Abel Allen, and Nathan Nooner.

On 25 Apr 1848 the Wilkey's conveyed another acre for $5 to the trustees of the church, John Lowery, William Sturman, and John Gibbs.

For $10 Mr. and Mrs. Wilkey conveyed two more acres of land to the same trustees of the church on 27 May 1848.

The Wilkey's and Charles and Sarah McClure conveyed land to Sugar Camp Creek Church on 16 Oct 1857. The Wilkey's received $1 for their land while the McClure's received $2 for theirs. Trustees of the church were John Gibbs, Young S. Lowery and John Lowery. As time progressed, death took its toll on the small community of early settlers, and they had to look for a suitable burial ground. Even before the construction of the log church, they began to bury their dead on the north side of the Goshen Road, not far from where their new building would eventually be built.

As additional deaths occurred over the years, more grave lots were required. After a time, graves were located on both sides of the Old Goshen Road. Someone unfamiliar with the cemetery might think that two different burial grounds were placed across the road from each other. On 12 Nov 1895, Thomas Wilkey, a single person, received $60 for conveying more land to the "Old Sugar camp Graveyards." Trustees of the cemetery were J. Lionberger, Jeremiah David, Charles Judd, James Sherley, and Mart Sturman.

On 8 Oct 1900, David A. Lowery, John M. Durham and W.P. Lowery, trustees of the described lands used as a cemetery, conveyed for $1 the land to Joshua Epperson, John Hughes, W.T. Nooner, James Sherley, Theo. Judd, Lafe Sturman. AJ. Lionberger, and their successors in office. For $1 Willis Irvin and A.J. Lionberger, Trustees of the United Baptist Church of Sugar Camp, conveyed two acres of land to J.A. Epperson, W.T. Nooner, J. Wells, John Hughes, AJ. Lionberger, J.H. Zahn, Willis Irvin, Theo. Judd, and Lafe Sturman as trustees on 4 Dec 1900. By 1912 interest was growing to organize a Cemetery Association. In an article printed in both the Belle Rive Enterprise and the Dahlgren Echo, people were invited to bring their lunches and to help clean up the yard. The committee hoped to take some action for the future control and management of the cemetery. Although a good number of people met 7 Sept 1912 and did work on the graves, no further action was taken on management of the cemetery. Elias Kuykendall was elected president of the committee and Shelby Kniffen was elected secretary. Another meeting was set for 24 Sept 1912. Another notice appeared 12 Sept 1912 in the Dahlgren Echo, encouraging people to attend the Sept 24 meeting designated to cleaning off yard, appointing new trustees, and formulating and adopting new plans for future management and control of the graveyard. On 10 Sept 1912, John Nooner, Turner Waters, Alba Waters, Willis Irvin, AJ. Lionberger, and Willard Yates petitioned the Secretary of State to organize a cemetery association to be called the Moores Prairie Sugar Camp Cemetery Association. Charles Judd, a practical surveyor, was then hired to survey the two sides of the cemetery. He finished Plat A (north side) on 17 Dec 1912 and Plat B (south side) on 22 Jan 1913.

On 10 May 1912, Moores Prairie Sugar Camp Cemetery (formerly knows as Sugar Camp Cemetery) became a duly Chartered and Incorporated Corporation under the laws of the State of Illinois. The new trustees were John Nooner, Alba Waters, Turner Waters, Willis A. Irvin, Willard Yates, and A.J. Lionberger.

Over the years the cemetery has seen many changes from the time of its first recorded burial in 1837 until its land one in 1991. For a period of time, it was neglected. Although much work still needs to be done, many of the stones have been repaired and reset, and the cemetery is will-kept and very attractive. Present trustees are Harold Miller, Sarah Capps, Harvey Brake, Phyllis Tucker, Harry Fred Denham, Doris Minor, Eugene Lee Irvin, and Ollie May Summers.

Sources: Original deeds of Sugar Camp Cemetery; notes from Dorothy Miller; History of Belle Rive and Dahlgren.

Willis and Sidney Topping

Submitted by: Frances Kern Scott
Route 1
Belle Rive, IL 62810

Willis Topping (b. 1860) and his brother Sidney (b. 1857) with their wives Ida Ferguson (b. 1870) and Adeline Martin (b. 1843) went to Nebraska about 1884 to homestead and find the American dream. On 21 Feb 1889, Willis and Ida's only child, Ida Pearl, was born. Sidney and Adeline's family also grew with Hattie May's birth in 1884 and Minnie J. in 1886. They already had a son, Robert W. who was born in Illinois in 1880 before their move to Nebraska.

After a few years they discovered that Nebraska was not the land of milk and honey. They became homesick for good old southern Illinois, so they packed up and came back to Moores Prairie around 1895-1898. (Both families are listed in the 1900 Moores Prairie census.) Sidney did not have train fare for all his family, so he put Hattie and Minnie in a piano box and shipped them along with the rest of their belongings. In those days people, animals, and freight were all on the same train and the passengers could go freely to any car to check on their horses, etc. Sidney would go to the baggage car and let the girls, who were around 6 and 8 years of age, out and then when it was time for the tickets to be punched, he put them back into the box. The girls suffered no ill effects from this unorthodox means of travel.

Later Willis and Ida's daughter Pearl married James Arthur Kern. In April 1906 they began housekeeping in the southeast corner of Moores Prairie. They needed a closet and a barn door. Sidney fancied himself a carpenter, so James asked him to build these items for him. James bought pine for the closet and oak for the barn door. He left to go teach school and when he came home, Sidney had built the closet out of oak and the barn door out of pine. Two days later the mule ticked the barn door down, but seventy years later when Willis and Ida's son Arthur Willis Kern (b. 1919) remodeled the house, the oak closet was still standing and in excellent condition.

Willis and Ida Topping were my great-grandparents and Sidney Topping was my great-greatuncle. Hawkins County, Tennessee, Families Between 1850 and 1860 a number of families from Hawkins Co., TN settled in Moores Prairie Township. A comparison of the 1850 Tennessee census index and the 1860 Moores Prairie Township, Jefferson Co., Illinois census showed that the following families left Eastern Tennessee and settled there: Benjamin and Elizabeth Lovin, Charles and Marcaria Cleghorn, Absalom and Louisa Davis, James and Emeline Tucker, Anderson and Nancy Davis, Nancy Fisher, Allen and Martha Lovin, and John and Mariah Heck. Others came, probably with this same group, and settled just across the line in Hamilton Co., IL.