Cemeteries – In Search of Robert Wixom

The various cemeteries in Farmington today all had their roots in early pioneer Michigan and were born out of the tragic reality of life. Here is a brief look at the cemeteries, known and unknown that were part of the early settlement of our area.

The oldest cemetery is the Utley Burying Ground, known today as the East Farmington Cemetery. It is located on the north side of 12 Mile Road between Middlebelt and Inkster Roads in the northeast quadrant of Farmington Township. It is on land that originally was part of the Utley farm, and which was donated by Peleg S. Utley. Sanford M. Utley brought his family to settle in Michigan, arriving in July 1824. Upon arrival, Sanford’s wife, Patience, fell from their wagon, and later died from the fall. She was the first white person to die in Farmington, and she was buried on Sept. 26, 1824, the same day that John Collins was born. He was the first white child born in Farmington Township.

The next cemetery created was the Farmington Village Cemetery, today called Oakwood Cemetery. It is located on the north side of Grand River Road, on the western edge of Farmington City. The first person buried here was a Mr. Green who was the first shoemaker in the Township. He lived, worked, and died in a log cabin he built on the west side of Drake Road, just north of Grand River Road. He was carried by his mourners from his cabin to the cemetery after he died in 1825.

The Quaker Burial-Ground was the next to be initiated. It is located on land donated by Arthur Power for the Quaker Meeting House and the Cemetery on the east side of Gill Road, a little south of Grand River Road. The first buried there are Selinda and Phebe Minerva Power who were Nathan Power’s wife and 7-year-old daughter. Nathan was Arthur’s son and the area’s first school teacher. Mother and daughter were buried together in one grave on August 7, 1832, the same day they died from the Cholera epidemic sweeping the area.

Next was the Wolcott Cemetery, now known as the North Farmington Cemetery, which was established shortly before its Cemetery Association was incorporated in March 1837. It is located on the east side of Farmington Road a short distance south of 14 Mile Road. Originally, its location was within the confines of the Village of North Farmington, now long gone. The cemetery association was under the leadership of Chauncey D. Wolcott, Orange Culver, and John H. Button. The first person buried there was the young daughter of Austin Nichols, her burial taking place before the incorporation. Due to various deficiencies, the original association was dissolved, then re-incorporated in February 1874. The cemetery is still in private hands and managed by the same association. It is the final resting place of soldiers of all the wars of the United States.

The last of the current cemeteries to be initiated was the Baptist Church Grave-Yard, located on the southeast corner of 12 Mile and Halsted Roads, and now known as the West Farmington Cemetery. It occupies land that was next to where the old Baptist Church of 1835 was first built. Land for the cemetery was purchased by a group of Baptists from land owner Thomas Johns in February 1842. The first person buried there is the son of Thomas Johns.

There once was a small family burying-ground that could be called the Wixom Grave-Yard, originally located on the northeast corner of 11 mile and Farmington Roads. All originally buried there were Wixom family members except one (Mrs. Conrad Hayner), and it was located on the old Wixom farm. The family patriarch, Robert Wixom was buried there, and later, once formal cemeteries were established, most of the graves were relocated to the official cemeteries. However, the location of Robert Wixom has never been established, leaving some to speculate that his now unmarked grave could still be waiting to be found on his original farm site.

Another small family burial plot was the Courter Family Grave-Yard, located on the family farm, across Grand River Road from the Wixom Inn on the road’s north side just west of Halsted Road. These graves were also relocated to organized cemeteries once they were established.

Finally, there was the Thomas Johns Burial-Ground, an informal cemetery located on the Johns farm on the east side of Halsted about halfway between 11 and 12 Mile Roads. It had acquired about 50 graves by the time the Baptist Cemetery was established about a half mile away. These graves were later relocated to the Baptist Cemetery.