Bott Cemetery Established in 1858
Bott Cemetery is located a little over one mile south of Brighton, on the east side of Illinois Highway 111/267.
Bott Cemetery had its beginning as a family cemetery in 1858, when Martin and Maria Bott buried their four-year old daughter beneath a large tree on a piece of high ground on the Bott farm.
Martin Bott deeded Bott Cemetery to St. John’s Evangelical Church on Sept. 30, 1880, ten years after the 1870 founding of St. John’s. Members of the St. John’s congregation were being buried in Bott Cemetery from the church’s early days. The first death listed in the records of St. John’s is Hanna Wilhelmine Brockschmied, who died on Sept. 14, 1871, at the age of 71 years and 9 months, and was buried the next day in Bott Cemetery.
St. John’s United Church of Christ continues to hold the deed to Bott Cemetery, and raises funds to maintain it, with continued involvement from Bott family members. And while most members of St. John’s and the surrounding community choose to be buried in the Brighton City Cemetery, there is still to this day the occasional burial in the Bott Cemetery.
Three members of the St. John’s congregation make up the Bott Cemetery Board, which is in charge of raising and managing cemetery funds, and oversees the care of the cemetery. The main fundraiser for Bott Cemetery is an annual trivia night held on a Saturday in February.
Members of the Bott Cemetery Board
Tom Kolosieke, President
Allen Jones, Treasurer
Barb (Bott) Brenner, Secretary
For more information about Bott Cemetery, email St. John's or call the church at 372-3737.
Bott Cemetery had its beginning as a family cemetery in 1858, when Martin and Maria Bott buried their four-year old daughter beneath a large tree on a piece of high ground on the Bott farm.
Martin Bott deeded Bott Cemetery to St. John’s Evangelical Church on Sept. 30, 1880, ten years after the 1870 founding of St. John’s. Members of the St. John’s congregation were being buried in Bott Cemetery from the church’s early days. The first death listed in the records of St. John’s is Hanna Wilhelmine Brockschmied, who died on Sept. 14, 1871, at the age of 71 years and 9 months, and was buried the next day in Bott Cemetery.
St. John’s United Church of Christ continues to hold the deed to Bott Cemetery, and raises funds to maintain it, with continued involvement from Bott family members. And while most members of St. John’s and the surrounding community choose to be buried in the Brighton City Cemetery, there is still to this day the occasional burial in the Bott Cemetery.
Three members of the St. John’s congregation make up the Bott Cemetery Board, which is in charge of raising and managing cemetery funds, and oversees the care of the cemetery. The main fundraiser for Bott Cemetery is an annual trivia night held on a Saturday in February.
Members of the Bott Cemetery Board
Tom Kolosieke, President
Allen Jones, Treasurer
Barb (Bott) Brenner, Secretary
For more information about Bott Cemetery, email St. John's or call the church at 372-3737.
