History of the
Short Cemetery
In the mid to late 1800s John Reinhard preempted the property on which the Short Cemetery is now located. On 7 Aug 1885 Ellen Crane purchased the property (V8 p 484 of Kendall County Deed Records). Franz Strauch bought the property on 15 Dec 1885 (V9 pp 20, 21).
The Strauch's neighbors at this time included the John T Short family and the Lemuel Newman family. In 1887 Lealer Newman, one-year-old daughter of Lemuel Newman, died and was buried on this property (there may have already been unmarked graves there). In 1898 Sam Gover, the father-in-law of John T Short, died and was buried there. Numerous others were buried
on the location.
Franz Strauch sold the property to his son Benno Strauch on 6 May 1918 (V33, pp 143, 144).
In 1923 Frankie Mae Piper Brafford, nineteen year old daughter of Kip Piper, died two weeks after giving birth and was buried on this property.
On 25 Jul 1939 Benno Strauch had one acre of property surveyed around the gravesites and sold it to the Heirs of John T Short, L Newman, and Kip Piper
(V58 p 256, 257). A permanent easement was given to provide access to the
cemetery from Auberle Crossing Road (now Kreutzberg Road).