For more info on the Root Street Cemetery, the history of Aurora and its early settlers, landmarks, historic homes and descendants of early settlers, please visit: https://eastauroracemetery.wordpress.com/

I became interested in genealogy when I discovered my paternal great grandmother died shortly after giving birth to her 7th child. She was born in a thatched roof cottage in County Roscommon in Ireland in 1860 that is still owned by her family. As of 2022, I have over 24,000 names in my database and have discovered many interesting ancestors: Eleanor of Aquitaine is my 23 great grandmother. I have also created over 700 memorials for individuals buried in the East Aurora/ Root Street cemetery from burial records found at FamlySearch.org.

My latest endeavor is researching the East Aurora/Root Street Cemetery in Aurora, IL. It was established in 1848. Many of the pioneers of Aurora are buried there as well as a few Spanish American and Civil War Veterans, one of which is Captain William Franklin Blakeslee (7th cousin 2x removed) who died during the Battle of Stones River in Tennessee during the Civil War. Reverend John Edgecomb Clark (27th cousin) is also buried there. He was instrumental in the creation of the first Christian high school in Aurora, called the Clark Seminary and later called the Jennings Seminary.

Over the years most of the headstones fell into disrepair and were eventually removed and used for landfill at the Phillips Park Golf Course. Some were also deposited along the banks of Mastodon Lake in the park that we hope to recover and return to the cemetery (if we can find them).

Efforts have been made over the years to maintain the cemetery. In 2000, the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War had all the gravestones of the veterans there replaced. I am in the process of forming a group of volunteers and calling ourselves the Friends of Root Street Cemetery (FRSC). If you are interested in being a part of this ambitious and historic endeavor, please contact me.

Famous connections:

Charlemagne 33rd great grandfather

Alfred the Great 30th great grandfather

William the Conqueror 25th great grandfather

King Henry II 23rd great grandfather

Eleanor of Aquitaine 23rd great grandmother

William Marshall, the Greatest Knight 23 great grandfather

Edward I (Longshanks) 20th great grandfather

John Howland passenger on the Mayflower 9th great grandfather Richard Warren passenger on the Mayflower 10th great grandfather

Elizabeth Tilley passenger on the Mayflower 9th great grandmother

Distant relatives:

Eli Whitney 12th cousin

Abraham Lincoln 13th cousin 3x removed

Franklin Delano Roosevelt 7th cousin 1x removed

Thomas Jefferson 12th cousin 4 x removed

James Garfield 6th cousin 3 x removed

Queen Elizabeth 14th cousin

Princess Diana 16th cousin 1 x removed

Winston Churchill 16th cousin 1 x removed

Henry David Thoreau 5th cousin 4 x removed

Laura ingalls Wilder 8th cousin 2x removed

Johnny Appleseed (Chapman) 5th cousin 6x removed

George Washington 9th cousin 6x removed

Ulysses S. Grant 6th cousin 5 x removed

John Adams 26th cousin 1 x removed

Frank Lloyd Wright 6th cousin 4x removed

Sally Field 11th cousin 1 x removed

Richard Gere 11th cousin

Taylor Swift 7th cousin 2 x removed

Meghan Markle 18th cousin

If you have any additions or corrections for my memorials, please let me know and I'll try to correct them.