Tombstone Tuesday - Byron Atkinson and Lillie Jones Atkinson

Byron Atkinson and his wife, Lillie, are buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Greenwood, Nebraska.


Byron's parents, John Atkinson and Ann Grunshaw Atkinson, are buried at the Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery, a few miles away. Their tombstone was featured on Tombstone Tuesday last week.


The tombstone of Byron's brother, Nelson Atkinson, is also at Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery and was featured on Tombstone Tuesday two weeks ago.

Byron was born in Wisconsin on March 5, 1850. According to his obituary, the family moved to Nebraska circa 1865, two years prior to Nebraska statehood.


1870 census records show Byron, age 20, living with his parents and sister Eunice in Lancaster county, Nebraska. He married Lillie Jones on September 23, 1873, according to Lancaster county marriage records. [source: Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society database]

Census records show Byron and Lillie starting their family and living in Oak Creek, Butler county, Nebraska in 1880 and 1885. In 1900, they lived in Brainard Village in Butler county. Daughter Ollie had moved out of the family home by this time, but children Charlie and Minnie were living with Byron and Lillie. Also living with the Atkinsons were Lillie's father, William Jones, a niece, Carrie Jones, and a nephew, Elmer Jones.

The 1910 census shows Byron and Lillie again living in Oak Creek, Butler county, Nebraska and by 1920 they had moved to Greenwood, Cass county, today about 20 miles north of Lincoln.

The information reported on the census records is interesting to me because Byron's 1931 obituary states that  he had resided in Greenwood for 16 years (probably accurate) and prior to that, he had lived in Lancaster county for 65 years. The census shows that he had lived in Nebraska for 65 years, but not in Lancaster county the entire time. Tip: Don't accept anything as fact without checking several sources!

Byron Atkinson
1850 -1931


Early Nebraska Pioneer

Tombstone Tuesday - John and Ann Atkinson - Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery

John Atkinson and Ann Grunshaw Atkinson - Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery - Greenwood, Nebraska

This is the second in a series of posts about interments at Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery, north of Greenwood, Nebraska.

John Atkinson was born in Lancashire, England in 1800 and arrived in the United States sometime before 1832. He was married to Ann Grunshaw, also of Lancashire, England. Both names are on the tombstone, although no dates are listed for Ann. She died 10 years after her husband and presumed to be buried by her husband.

The Atkinsons lived in Rhode Island, where their third child, Nelson Atkinson, was born. Another son born in Rhode Island was Samuel. After the family moved to Wisconsin, they had two more children, Byron and Eunice.

The family then settled in Nebraska. By 1857, when Nebraska was still a territory, they moved to Rock Creek, west of Greenwood and erected a saw mill.

Reference: Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery: The Lives of Those Interred, fourth edition, edited by Rose Anne Hockstra

Tombstone Tuesday - Nelson Atkinson - Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery

Nelson Atkinson
Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery - Greenwood, Nebraska

This is the first of my Tombstone Tuesdays featuring interments from Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery, north of Greenwood, Nebraska. Click here for my original post about this cemetery.

As I mentioned in my original blog post, none of those interred at this cemetery are my direct line ancestors, but many are what I call shirttail kin. Nelson Atkinson is one of those people, whose relationship to me is that he was the brother-in-law of my great grand aunt. You can't get more shirttail than that!

Nelson Atkinson was born in Rhode Island on June 20, 1841. He died June 20, 1869. According to the book, Sheffer Pioneer Cemetery: The Lives of Those Interred edited by Rose Anne Hockstra, Nelson operated a mill on Rock Creek, west of Greenwood. The book states, "There was a flood on June 20, 1869, and Nelson jumped into the water to try to dislodge a log jam. His brother Byde tried to jump in to save him, but he was held back by the other men there." Nelson left behind his widow, Lydia, and two daughters, Elcina and Matilda. A son, Nelson Jr., was born two months after his father's death. Lydia returned to Wisconsin, married and gave birth to eight more children. (source: Sheffer book).

Nelson's death is documented in the U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedule of persons who died during the year ending June 1, 1870. He died at the age of 28 from drowning in Lancaster county, Nebraska.

Nelson was the son of John Atkinson and Ann Grunshaw.