by Rosella Goering Brandt
A number of years ago after our heritage trip to Ukraine/Russia, I was reading up on Goering history. I found that Johann Gering, 1804-1878 and his second wife, Barbara Stucky Sehner, 1840-1904 had settled in Freeman, South Dakota. The ship was SS City of Richmond. They are listed on the ship list along with five year old daughter, Anna. Note that Barbara was 36 years younger than Johann and that Johann fathered his young daughter at age 70. This Johann is the grandson of Mossi and the great grandfather of Johnnie B. Johann most likely lived at another surrounding village, so did not migrate with the Kotosufa group. The story in the Sioux City newspaper says this group wanted to migrate to Freeman where another relative had apparently settled. But a railroad rep told the group that conditions were very poor there and steered them to Sioux City. The Mennonites were unhappy there and after hearing reports that Freeman settlers were doing well, they settled in Freeman/Yankton area.
So when Art and I read that, we decided to go to Freeman to see the area and visit his grave. But as we read further, we found a prairie fire had burned all the tomb stones which were made of wood. So we didn’t go. Just recently in 2013, the church decided to recognize the many people whose tomb stones were burned. The following article appeared in the Schweitzer Salt. I was very interested to read that. This is part of that article. It is surprising that crosses were used. Almost no Mennonites ever used crosses.
“The cemetery at Salem-Zion Mennonite Church was one of the earliest cemeteries in the larger Freeman Community, with the first burial recorded in 1875, just one year after these immigrants arrived from the Ukraine. In the earliest years the cemetery was also used by non-Mennonite neighbors around the church.
Graves of those first burials were marked with wood crosses on which the names were written or carved. However in 1889 a major prairie fire destroyed these wooden markers, and subsequent fires also destroyed replacement markers. So while church records contain the names of many of those buried in this old section of the cemetery, the specific burial location is no longer known.
The memorial marker to be dedicated at this service lists the names of all those known to be buried in this old part of the cemetery, honoring the memory of those early pioneers and their many children buried there as well. There are at least 95 unmarked graves in this part of the cemetery whose names appear on this marker.”
The marker was dedicated at the Salem-Zion Mennonite Church cemetery in Freeman, South Dakota, on September 29, 2013.