"Baltus Lenington, In 1-Grave Cemetery West of City, Dead 80 Years"
"Had Made Request That He Be Buried Along New Illinois Central Railroad"

In a one-grave cemetery, perhaps the smallest cemetery in the world and located near what is known as the Flansburg crossing, about 5 miles west of Freeport where state highway No. 5 crosses the Illinois Central railroad tracks, lies the body of Baltus Lenington, a pioneer in this section of the state who died 80 years ago Sunday, Feb. 5, 1853. On the tombstone marking the site of the grave appears the following inscription:

Several varied stories have been told as to why Lenington was buried there. A story frequently told that Lenington was killed on the railroad and that the Illinois Central railroad company buried him there has been discounted, parents of living persons having declared that Lenington died a natural death, while the fact that he died in 1853, a year or two before the railroad traversed this region, gives additional proof that his death was not due to a railroad accident.

Acquires Land from U. S.

Turning back the pages of history it is found that land on which this lone grave is located was acquired from the government in a land grant issued to Baltus Lenington himself on March 24, 1843. This information is found in a description of a tract of land in this region contained in an abstract now in the possession of A. E. Martin, 320 North West avenue, whose father, Stephen Martin, acquired a portion of the original Lenington tract many years ago. Information has been handed down to persons living today that Lenington at one time owned a farm on which his grave is now located. The abstract goes on to state that Lenington sold a strip of land through his farm to the Illinois Central railroad company on July 22, 1852, (about 7 months before he died) for $199. That Lenington was married is indicated by the fact that his wife's name appears on the abstract now in Mr. Martin's possession.

Parents Lived There, Too

It has also been stated by old timers that a set of buildings once stood a short distance west of the "little cemetery." It is also claimed that Lenington's parents lived in this section during the early days, but no one appears to know just where they came from, nor where they are buried. Lenington, however, had a son, named after him, who is said to have died in Iowa. Following the death of Lenington his widow remarried. Old residents have told their children that she married a man by the name of John Edwards, the couple afterward migrating further westward.

With Lenington's death occurring but seven months after he sold a strip of his land to the Illinois Central railroad company he was undoubtedly certain the railroad would extend through his farm. The reason for Lenington being buried in this lone grave is told by living persons whose parents knew the Lenington family. According to this claim he had expressed a desire before his death that he be buried on this particular tract so he "could hear the trains go by.""