About The Graveyard

Middle child of James and Martha Dinsmore. At the age of thirty-nine she inherited the 400 acre farm from her father, while also raising her two nieces, Patty and Sally. A published poet, she kept a journal detailing almost each day of the fifty-four years that she managed the farm—a priceless Boone County artifact. Julia made the farm a sanctuary from the outside world, and her family and friends visited often. (Read Her Biography)

The eldest daughter of James and Martha, Isabella was the only child to marry. She wed her 1st cousin, Charles Flandrau, in James’ parlor in 1859, and the two moved to Minnesota, where Charles was a respected lawyer. Both of her daughters were born on the farm. Isabella died after the birth of her 2nd child. (Read Her Biography)

Martha was the 15th child of Alexander and Jane Rucker Macomb. She was born in New York and married James Dinsmore in May of 1829. Three of her children survived infancy and she instilled in them her respect for education. (Read Her Biography)

The youngest child of James and Martha, Susan died at the age of 15 in a boating accident on Lake Erie with her cousin, Mary Ann Goodrich. (Read Her Biography)

Born in New Hampshire, James moved to Mississippi and then Louisiana, becoming wealthy through sugar cane, cotton, and slavery. Perhaps tiring of the uncertainty of those markets, he moved to Boone County and became a diversified, scientific farmer. (Read His Biography)

Little Molly, the first-born of Thomas Dinsmoor and his wife, Eugenia Wadsworth Dinsmoor (a former tutor to James’ daughters), died before her second birthday.  According to family history, the little girl was sick and fell backward into the dining room fireplace, striking her head on the andirons. She died soon after, probably from the wound becoming infected.

While visiting the Dinsmore family for Christmas, Catharine took ill and died.  Since her body was not returned to New York to be buried, she may have had a highly contagious disease like cholera.  Although her brother, B.F. Goodrich, visited the Dinsmore farm several times, it was Catharine’s cousin, Julia, who eventually purchased her headstone.

Sally, the younger daughter of Isabella and Charles Flandrau , was born at the Dinsmore farm in Boone County. Raised by her Aunt Julia Dinsmore, Sally attended Miss Porter’s school in Connecticut and in 1891 married Frank Cutcheon. The couple had homes in Santa Barbara and Long Island and then inherited Aunt Julia’s farm in 1926. (Read Her Biography)

Born in Dexter, Michigan, Frank was a young lawyer in Charles Flandrau’s law firm when he met and married Sally Flandrau. The couple never had children, but took a deep interest in their niece, Isabella Selmes. Frank became a very successful corporate lawyer in New York City. (Read His Biography)

The eldest daughter of Charles and Isabella Flandrau, Patty was born on the Dinsmore farm. After her mother’s death in 1867, she came to Boone County to live with her grandpa and Aunt Julia. She attended Miss Nourse’s school in Cincinnati where her interest in writing and drawing was encouraged. At the age of 21, Patty married Tilden Selmes and the couple had one child, Isabella. After Tilden’s early death, Patty ran a ham business on the farm. Her intelligence and wit attracted men like Teddy Roosevelt and Gutzon Borglum. (Read Her Biography)

Tilden was born in Hannibal, Missouri, to Tilden and Sarah Benton Selmes.  A graduate of Yale, he moved to St. Paul to practice law.  It was there that he met and married Patty Flandrau. The couple moved to Tilden’s ranch near Mandan, Dakota Territory, where they befriended Teddy Roosevelt.  Tilden was diagnosed with stomach cancer at the age of 41 and died at the Dinsmore farm.  (Read His Biography)

Born and raised in Scotland, Robert came to America as a young adult and befriended the Roosevelt and Selmes families and became a member of the Rough Riders. In 1908, three years after his marriage to the 19-year old Isabella, Robert was diagnosed with tuberculosis. He moved his family to New Mexico and outlived the doctors’ predictions. (Read His Biography)

Like her mother before her, Isabella was born on the Dinsmore farm. Although educated in St. Paul, she always returned to Boone County to spend her summers. At the age of 19, Isabella was married to Robert H.M. Ferguson. They had two children. One year after Robert died, Isabella married his friend, John Greenway, and the couple had one son. After Greenway’s death, his widow opened the Arizona Inn and became that state’s first Congresswoman. She later married Harry King, who outlived her. (Read Her Biography)

John was born in Huntsville, Alabama, and graduated from Yale University with an engineering degree. Rising to the upper echelons of the mining industry, Greenway was also a Rough Rider and was a brevetted Brigadier General. In 1923, he married Isabella Ferguson. His death came three years later after a gall bladder operation. (Read His Biography)

Martha was born in New York, but grew up in the mountains of western New Mexico. A very sociable and well- traveled young lady, she married a journalist, Charles Breasted, when she was 26. The couple had 4 children. It was Martha who chose to turn the Dinsmore farm into a museum. (Read Her Biography)

Nancy was born a slave. She belonged to the Minor family of Natchez, when James Dinsmore purchased her in the 1820s. Brought to Kentucky with the family, she ran away in September, 1865, but returned in 1878 when she could no longer make a living for herself. She remained on the farm with Julia until her death. (Read Her Biography)

Coah was born in Africa and sold into slavery as a boy. Owned by the Minor family of Natchez, he worked on the Dinsmore’s Louisiana plantation. James purchased him and brought him to Kentucky. He requested to be buried in a shroud. (Read His Biography)

Like Nancy, Jilson was purchased from the Minor family, but Eliza was bought from a Virginian. The couple remained in Louisiana when James moved to Kentucky, but later followed him there. After the Civil War, they remained on the farm as tenants, moving to Rising Sun, Indiana, in 1874, with money James left them in his will. (Read Their Biographies)