Wyuka Cemetery Explained

Wyuka Cemetery
Location:	3600 O St., Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Coordinates:	40.8169°N -96.665°W
Built:	1869
Architect:	Hawkins, J.H.W.; Lamoreaux, L.A.
Architecture:	Romanesque
Added:	July 19, 1982
Refnum:	82003198

Wyuka Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In 1890, Lincoln's Bnai Jeshurun Congregation, a Reform congregation, began using a section of Wyuka.^[1]

History

Wyuka Cemetery was established in Lincoln, Nebraska, by an act of the Nebraska Legislature in 1869, which sought to provide a cemetery for the state capital city founded two years prior. The trustees rejected the first cemetery site along Salt Creek to the west of Lincoln due to flooding concerns and instead purchased 80 acres of land east of the city. Wyuka Cemetery has since expanded to over 140 acres between “O” Street and Vine Street.^[2]

The iron fence surrounding the cemetery was originally erected around the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus.^[3] The Board of Regents authorized the construction of the fence in 1891, and the fence enclosed the original campus until 1925 when it was removed due to safety concerns because fire engines could not pass through the width of the gates.

Wyuka Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is considered a prime example of the rural cemetery form.^[4]

Notable interments

• Hazel Abel (1888–1966), US Senator^{[5] [6]}
• Victor Emanuel Anderson (1902–1962), Governor of Nebraska^[7]
• Charles W. Bryan (1867–1945), Mayor of Lincoln and Governor of Nebraska^[8]
• Elmer J. Burkett (1867–1935), US Senator^[9]
• Amasa Cobb (1823–1905), US Congressman^[10]
• Emily M. J. Cooley (1831-1917), religious and temperance leader^[11]
• Oren Sturman Copeland (1887–1958), US Congressman^[12]

• Elizabeth Hawley Everett (1857-1940), clubwoman, suffragist, author, magazine founder/editor, school principal, superintendent of schools
• J. James Exon (1921–2005), Governor of Nebraska and US Senator^[13]
• Eugene Jerome Hainer (1851–1929), US Congressman^[14]

• Don Hollenbeck (1905–1954), Radio newscaster and commentator
• John Larkin (1901–1965), Hollywood screenwriter^[15]
• Gilbert L. Laws (1838–1907), US Congressman^[16]
• Gordon MacRae (1921–1986), singer and actor^[17]
• Turner M. Marquett (1829–1894), US Congressman^[18]

• Samuel Roy McKelvie (1881–1956), Governor of Nebraska^[19]
• Milton Montgomery (1825–1897), Civil War Brevet Brigadier General
• Albinus Nance (1848–1911), Governor of Nebraska ^[20]
• Louise Pound (1872–1958), American folklorist, linguist, and English professor^[21]
• William A. Poynter (1848–1909), Governor of Nebraska^[19]
• Peter Sauer (1900–1949), Russian-born World Wrestling champion using the ring name Ray Steele^[22]

• Charles Starkweather (1938–1959), spree killer^{[23] [24]}
• Jesse Burr Strode (1845–1924), US Congressman^[25]
• John Milton Thayer (1820–1906), Governor of Nebraska and US Senator^[19]
• Roy Henry Thorpe (1874–1951), US Congressman^[26]
• Bobby Rae Williams (1942–2012), professional football player

External links

• Wyuka Cemetery

Notes and References

1. Zenner, W.P. (1988) Persistence and flexibility: anthropological perspectives on the American Jewish experience. SUNY Press. p. 245.
2. Web site: Wyuka Funeral Home & Cemetery . July 9, 2022 . History . July 9, 2022 . Wyuka Funeral Home & Cemetery . en-US.
3. Web site: University of Nebraska-Lincoln . July 9, 2022 . UNL Historic Buildings – Iron Fence . July 9, 2022 . UNL Historic Buildings.
4. Web site: National Register of Historic Places . July 19, 1982 . Nebraska SP Wyuka Cemetery . July 9, 2022 . National Archives Catalog.
5. Web site: Hazel Abel. NebraskaGravestones.org. 2014-06-02.
6. Web site: Hazel Abel. Matt. Ryerson. JournalStar.com. 15 March 2016 .
7. Web site: Victor Emanuel Anderson. 3 January 2019 .
8. Web site: InterLinc: City of Lincoln: Mayor's Office: Past Mayors of Lincoln, NE. lincoln.ne.gov. Oct 5, 2020.
9. Web site: Bioguide Search. bioguide.congress.gov.
10. Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 177.
11. News: Emily M. J. Cooley, died at Blair, Nebraska, 26 Nov 1917. Interment, Wyuka Cemetery. . 29 December 2023 . Lincoln Journal Star . . 27 November 1917 . 12 . en.
12. Web site: . Copeland, Oren Sturman . June 27, 2021 .
13. Web site: J.James Exon. Matt. Ryerson. JournalStar.com. 15 March 2016 .
14. Web site: . Hainer, Eugene Jerome . June 27, 2021.
15. Book:
    1. 7296
    . 3rd. Scott. Wilson. Gregory W. (forward). Mank. 2016. McFarland & Company, Inc.. 978-0786479924. 948561021.
16. Web site: . Laws, Gilbert Lafayette . June 27, 2021 .
17. Book:
    1. 7977
    . 3rd. Scott. Wilson. Gregory W. (forward). Mank. 2016. McFarland & Company, Inc.. 978-0786479924. 948561021.
18. Web site: . Marquett, Turner Mastin . June 27, 2021 .
19. Thomas E. Spencer (1998). Where They're Buried, p. 422,
20. Web site: Albinus Nance. 3 January 2019 .
21. News: Pound . . 20 . 1958-07-01 . June 27, 2021 . Newspapers.com.
22. Book:
    1. 12066
    . 3rd. Scott. Wilson. Gregory W. (forward). Mank. 2016. McFarland & Company, Inc.. 978-0786479924. 948561021.
23. Zimmer, Ed. (2009). "Wyuka Cemetery: A Driving & Walking Tour". Retrieved July 9, 2022
24. Book:
    1. 's12040/12041
    . 3rd. Scott. Wilson. Gregory W. (forward). Mank. 2016. McFarland & Company, Inc.. 978-0786479924. 948561021.
25. Web site: . Connell, William James . June 27, 2021 .
26. Web site: . Thorpe, Roy Henry . June 27, 2021 .