Way
out in the middle of nowhere, along South Dakota highway 28, sits a quiet
little unobtrusive cemetery. It’s something
you could drive by a million times and never realize it was there – unless you happened
to see the white sign saying, “Peck Cemetery - Dakota Territory” hanging from a
fencepost. Although the few remaining
stones are toppled and broken, someone neatly mows the final resting place of
these pioneers, all of them with their stories that have mostly been lost to
time. Most of the stones are unidentifiable,
but among them sits the grave of Mary A. Rounding, a young woman who left this
earth in 1883, far from her home.
Mary was the daughter of John and
Cynthia Rounding of Mount Carmel, Illinois.
Her father was in the service of the Union Army and died before his
daughter had even turned two years old.
A member of Company G, 41st Infantry, he fought in the
infamous Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee. This bloody, savage battle lasted two
days, hard fought by both sides. It was
an important victory for the Union as it allowed Ulysses S. Grant to penetrate
the interior of the South and make his way to Corinth, Mississippi. The wounded hero survived for a short time,
but sanitation was lacking and disease was rampant. Two weeks after the end of the battle, John
succumbed to his illness and wounds on April 20, 1862. His widow was left to raise their tiny
daughter without him. He was a
hero. But not the only hero in his
family.
Young Mary, the namesake of her
maternal grandmother, grew to young adulthood with her mother, stepfather, and seven
half-siblings. In the spring of 1882,
she left her family behind and accompanied her great-uncle, Capt. Samuel B.
Lingenfelter and his wife Mary Eliza to Altoona township, Dakota Territory. Mrs. Lingenfelter had several children, and
also was in the later stage of consumption so Mary’s presence was greatly needed
and valued.
On a stormy evening in August 1883
everything changed. A vicious cyclone
hit the Altoona area, destroying buildings, crops, livestock, and anything in
its path - which unfortunately included the Lingenfelter home. Mary shielded the children from flying debris
and hail the size of chicken eggs. While
trying to rescue them from the rubble, Mary sustained a serious spine injury and died less than a week later.
Mrs. Lingenfelter, who herself would pass away two months afterward, spoke
with the highest of praise for Mary. Heroism
must run in their family.
Out there in the middle of
nowhere, under a broken gravestone, lies Mary Rounding. She was a valiant soul who, like her father,
gave her all – her very life – for the good of others. Her story deserves to be heard and known and
remembered. SHE deserves to be known and
remembered.
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