Wayne Township is accepting donations in money, muscle and expertise to maintain the Mount Jackson Cemetery.
The cemetery at 400 North Tibbs Avenue is more than 200 years old, but there’s little information about who’s buried there.
According to Trustee Jeb Bardon, a fire destroyed the township’s cemetery files in the 1960s. In the 1980s, it attempted to make a new cemetery roster with the help of local scouts by writing down the names on all the visible headstones.
Many of those headstones have since been destroyed by weather or vandalism, and Bardon said he’d like to get the help of local historians to get a more accurate picture of who’s buried at the cemetery.
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Cash-strapped township needs your help preserving historic cemetery
Wayne Township asking for donations, time and expertise to care for Mount Jackson cemetery.
From what’s known, it’s clear that the cemetery was the final resting place for the descendants of many notable westside families, such as the Hardings, Stouts and Cossells.
It’s also where westsiders who helped write the city’s history are buried. Here are some of their stories.
A soldier and a settler’s descendant
In the southwestern portion of the cemetery is a headstone with the inscription “Soldier, carpenter, family man.”
It belongs to William S. McCormick, a Civil War veteran of the 51st Indiana Infantry Regiment and a descendent of Indianapolis settler John McCormick.
He and three of his brothers were part of the same unit, which fought in the battles of Nashville and Franklin in Tennessee and the Battle of Dalton, Georgia. Only three of the brothers made it back home alive.
After the war, McCormick lived in Haughville, where he worked as a carpenter until his death in 1918.
A Confederate soldier for a while
Also buried at the cemetery is Hampton Callis, a Trimble County, Kentucky native who joined the Confederate army at age 17.
He signed up to be a part of the 9th Kentucky Cavalry in September 1862, but the following month he disappeared. His unit listed him as a deserter, but Callis was actually taken prisoner by Union forces.
After the war, Callis moved to Indianapolis and worked as a carpenter until his death in 1903.
An officer killed by his own partner
Patrolman John E. McKinney is buried in Section 19 of the cemetery near Tibbs Avenue.
McKinney lived in West Indianapolis at 1337 S. Kappes St., but was assigned to patrol Irvington with his partner, Patrolman Arthur Moore.
According to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department biography of officers killed in the line of duty, on March 8, 1912, both officers began their shift by stopping at a saloon for drinks.
McKinney started the night with whiskey while Moore began with gin, and as they continued their patrol they stopped at more saloons along the way.
The two began to argue about whether McKinney was a difficult officer to work with. The argument grew and Moore eventually pulled out his revolver and shot McKinney three times.
McKinney was taken to the hospital and was not expected to survive long. Moore stayed at the scene.
Both had different versions of what happened. McKinney told investigators Moore suddenly pulled his gun out and fired at him, while Moore said he fired because McKinney was taking his own gun out.
McKinney died of his wounds on March 31, and Moore was charged with murder. He was tried in Martinsville and was found not guilty.
The last man executed by hanging
George Williams, the last man to be executed by hanging in Indiana, is buried in Mount Jackson Cemetery.
He was sentenced to death for killing Indianapolis police officer Edward Petticord in 1906.
In September that year, Petticord and his partner Charles J. Russell ran into Williams and his friend Jesse Coe near 24th Street and Indianapolis Avenue.
When Russell stepped forward to search Coe, Coe pulled out a gun and shot him three times before running away.
His partner, Petticord, chased Coe before being shot by Williams in the back.
Both officers would later die. Williams was caught soon after the shootings and tried for Petticord’s murder.
After 17 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Williams guilty and sentenced him to death by hanging. Williams was executed in Michigan City in 1907.
After his death, Williams’ body was returned to Indianapolis. His two brothers couldn’t afford his burial, so they held a viewing to collect money from locals. More than 2,500 viewed his body and many left a small amount of money.
Ultimately, the brothers were able to raise enough money to bury him at Mount Jackson Cemetery.
Coe was later found in Kentucky in 1908 and was killed by a posse sent to apprehend him.
In 1913, the Indiana General Assembly changed the state’s official form of execution to the electric chair, which it used until 1994.
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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