First burials in the Plumer Settlement were made in Saar's Field. Fearing that the graves in Saar's Field would one day be lost, the Plumer Settlement Cemetery was established across the road from the Salem German Evangelical Lutheran Church during the ministry of Pastor Samuel Estel (August 1872 - July 1874). The first grave in the new cemetery was that of Johann Plumer's wife, Maria Plumer, who was born in 1796 and died on December 10, 1859. She had originally been buried in Saar's Field, but was later moved to the new cemetery.

The cemetery is well-kept. Many of the stones have German inscriptions. However, some limestone markers are difficult or impossible to read and others are broken or misplaced. Furthermore, some of the lots have no stones or markers.

Every Memorial Day, descendents of the pioneers and friends gather at the church for a special memorial service, and then cross the road for a brief ceremony at the cemetery. Everyone is invited to attend this memorial service and visitors are always welcome.

New (May, 2010): Please click here for information about donating toward the repair of memorial stones at both Plumer and St. John (Mineola) cemeteries.

The following list of burials at Plumer Settlement Cemetery was compiled from various sources, primarily "Mills County Iowa Cemeteries", which is current only through about 1980. This book, published by the Clarinda Publishing Company, was the end result of a project begun in 1975 by the Hastings Federated Womens Club to transcribe all of the gravestones in Mills County, Iowa. I would like to acknowledge their efforts and thank them for publishing this valuable information. Every year or so I try to "walk" the cemetery to find anything new since my previous visit. I then make any changes to this listing.

Please provide comments, feedback, or corrections to me, Keith Brandt, at: Keith.J.Brandt@gmail.com.

Notes:

1. Church/Cemetery Records have been copied to microfilm. They can be viewed at the Pottawattamie County Genealogical Society in Council Bluffs, or ordered from an LDS Family History Center. The Film Number is 2209255.

2. Gravestone Photos. Click a camera icon () in the "Notes" column for a "popup" photo of the gravestone. All photos were taken by Keith Brandt, Sandi Wheatley and Randy Beck.