By Shirley Willard
Fulton County Historian

FULTON COUNTY — A historic tour of IOOF Cemetery, 620 West Third Street, Rochester, will be at 11 a.m. Aug. 13.  Costumed historians will stand by the grave and tell about the deceased person’s life and accomplishments.

This will be held rain or shine so bring umbrella, maybe a folding chair and water to drink.

Six historic people buried in the IOOF Cemetery will be portrayed by volunteer actors. Each presentation will be given only once and will be about 10 minutes long.

The presentations will be in this order:

• Col. Isaac Washington Brown, the Bird and Bee Man, who traveled all over the U.S. giving speeches to save the birds, will be portrayed by Shirley Kern Needham.
• Robert Wiley, a veteran of the War of 1812 and whose son George W. Wiley was the first white child born in Richland Township, will be portrayed by Alan McPherson.
• Nellie Babcock, Rochester’s only lady Mayor, will be portrayed by Maria Kelsey.
• Samuel Miller, a soldier who in Indiana 5th Cavalry Company I and was a prisoner in Andersonville during the Civil War, portrayed by Matthew Miller, a junior in teacher Rex Reinholt’s history class at Rochester High School. Ted Schafer, a Civil War re-enactor at Plymouth, lent his Civil War uniform and gun.
• Marguerite Miller, author of “Home Folks” about old settlers in Fulton County, newspaper editor and Chautauqua speaker, will be portrayed by Shirley Willard.
• Herman Daake, who founded the Safety Legion of America, will be portrayed by Mayor Ted Denton.

Caroline Jones, president of the Genealogy Section of Fulton County Historical Society, will be the guide to lead groups to each grave. Helen Slisher and Susan Onstott will greet people at the IOOF entrance. This is a free event. The public is invited.