Andrew Cemetery Friend, NE

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Friend, NE
Andrew Cemetery Friend, NE

Board Members: Bill Bruntz, John Steyer, Marla Weber, Paul Johansen, Will Yokel, and Jill Speece

05/23/2026

For eight years William Yokel has been organizing and leading the placement of flags at each of the veterans' graves buried in our local cemeteries. William chose this responsibility as his Eagle Scout project, and had actually helped with this tradition prior to that project while in Cub/Boy Scouts. He gained his experience from his predecessor, Ron Corbett. The process of placing the flags at all four cemeteries (Catholic, Johnson, Turkey Creek and Andrew) easily takes a half day or more, depending upon the weather.
Placing the 383 flags at these cemeteries would take much longer without the help of volunteers. This year's volunteers included Evan Brahmstedt, Joel Vossler, Riley Leif, Grady Bresson and Brenson Brandt. Thanks for honoring all the veterans in our area!

05/22/2026

The first widely recognized national observance of Decoration Day took place on May 30, 1868. Over the decades, Decoration Day became more widely recognized, and by the 1890s, nearly all Northern states had officially adopted it as a holiday. The name “Memorial Day” gradually replaced “Decoration Day” through the early 20th century, though the older name persisted in some areas well into the 1960s. In 1971, Memorial Day was officially recognized as a federal holiday, and its observance was moved to the last Monday in May as part of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
The Memorial Day service at Andrew Cemetery, sponsored by the Friend American Legion, will begin at 11:00. Pastor Jeff Jensen, from Geneva, will be the speaker.

05/19/2026

Thanks to "Mother Nature", recent rains have made the cemetery yard so much greener! Ongoing mowing and trimming is being completed. New mulch was added to berms. Flowers already decorate many graves. All this helps make the cemetery look its best for Memorial Day weekend.

05/18/2026

Every life has a story… Charles Wesley “Cheesey” Smith was born June 3, 1863 in Oakland, Ontario Canada. Charles had two sisters and two brothers; all of which remained in Canada throughout their lives. Charles moved to Friend, Nebraska some time after 1881. He became the operator of the town’s cheese factory that was built in 1881 by D.L. Fletcher. This was a profitable investment for Fletcher, as Friendville Cheese Factory was known for a very good grade of cheese. This factory was located just a little south of the present day Country Clubhouse. The factory was 20’ by 24’ and cost $800 to construct. It had the capacity to make 400 pounds of cheese each day. Other manufacturing in Friend at this time included a barbed wire factory, a brickyard, a broom factory and a cigar factory (locations unknown). A glove factory was also operating where the Saline County shop is now located. Sadly, very little is known about "Cheesey." No sources indicated if he had married or had children. Charles did remain in Friend until his death on January 18, 1946. His headstone, in Block 11, only listed his date of death and that he was 84 years old. This conflicts with the local obituary listing him as 82. Either way he outlived all of his siblings.

05/13/2026

Every life has a story… William Gordon was born in McComb, Illinois on June 11, 1839. He was one of five children born to Willis and Mary Gordon. He was married to Mary Durrell in Fulton, Colorado on November 7, 1865. Mary Emily Durrell was also born in Illinois. To this couple, seven children were born. Three children died in infancy. Four other children included Margaret, Ralph, Walter and George. While returning from an Odd Fellows meeting in Illinois, of which he was a charter member, William suffered an unimaginable accident on the railroad; resulting in having one leg severed. In 1889, William and Mary brought their family to Nebraska and purchased a home near Friend. In 1914, William suffered a stroke which left him an invalid. His wife, Mary, had died October 1, 1896 in Friend at the age of 52. William died nine years after his stroke on December 19, 1925. He was 86. The couple is buried in Block 9, Lot 338. (Daughter Margaret Effie Gordon Henry is also buried at Andrew and their son, Ralph, died when 25 years old. He is buried at Andrew Cemetery too.

05/05/2026

Every life has a story… William Worth Thomas was born May 24, 1848 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. His father died when he was 15 years old. Three years later in 1866, he and his brother left Pennsylvania, first working as farmhands in Dixon, Illinois. In 1870, they moved west to Nebraska, homesteading in Saline County near Friend. On September 24, 1874 William married Miss Parthenia (aka Berthenia) Moore of Ashland, Nebraska. Parthenia was born in Ohio in 1856. The couple had three known children: Alverda May Thomas Barclay (1877-1943), Elva A. Thomas Carter (1881-1976) and a son whose name and information was not available. William was a loyal member of the Congregational Church, attending church every Sabbath. William was also an active member of the Masonic Lodge and Odd Fellows. He served 50 years with the Odd Fellows and had completed his term of Worthy Master of Masonic Silver Cord Lodge No. 221 prior to his death. (His obituary mentioned his son died seven years before William (in 1929) but that son’s name was not stated.) William Thomas died on December 23, 1936, following several months of a lingering illness preceded by a breakdown two years prior to his death in Illinois. It appears he had been living with his daughter Elva Carter and her family. His wife, Parthenia, lived to be 92-93, dying in 1949. Both William and Parthenia were returned home to Friend for burial at Andrew.

05/01/2026

The old sexton's house and the directory at Andrew Cemetery are getting updated. Many shingles were lost with last year's storms so new tin roofs are being installed. Check out the new changes at the cemetery.

04/29/2026

New trees were planted today. THANKS to Wayne & Lorri MIlton and Harvey & Sandy Milton for their generous donation and continued support at Andrew Cemetery!

04/28/2026

Did you happen to see some activity at Andrew Cemetery recently? A very generous donation was given to Andrew Cemetery for removal of several old trees, stump grinding, and planting of new trees. With damage caused by storms and the age of many the cemetery's trees this has been an ongoing effort the past several years. Eight old cedar trees that were leaning precariously and others missing large limbs were removed this week. To replace those removed, eight new hardwood trees are being planted. A few flowering trees will also be added to enhance the main entrance.
If anyone is interested in contributing toward this project, donations can be sent to Andrew Cemetery, Friend City Hall, 235 Maple Street, Friend, NE 68359. Please designate if your donation is for additional trees to be added. Thank you for your generosity!!!

04/23/2026

Every life has a story… Adell Orvis Barney was born March 3, 1847. Her husband, Louis Peter (Esbjornsson) Barney was born in Sweden in January of 1850. The couple was married in Fillmore County on August 29, 1879. The couple had at least three children: Anna 1879-?, Emma Barney Stewart 1881-1954, and Fred 1883-1954 living in Monroe Precinct near Friend. Neither Adell nor Louis’s entries are on Findagrave list a child named Anna. This was found via census records. On Findagrave, Fred and Emma were listed as both being born in 1883; Fred was born in November and Emma born in December. Listing them a month apart made it confusing. Further research showed Emma’s birth year was actually 1881. Also, another child, Maude E Frink Haven is listed on Findagrave.com as a child of Adell but not listed with Louis. Continued searching showed that this is unlikely. Maude does have two brothers, Fred and Franc, and an unmarried sister, Anna (listed in her obituary) but Maude was not listed on any census with Adell and Louis in Friend. Findagrave also lists Francis as a child of Adell but other sources (including census reports) do not. Barney is a common name so it appears there may need to be more investigating; other than what is shared on Findagrave. (I greatly respect and admire those who post entries on Findagrave but genealogy can be confusing. If someone finds an error on Findagrave, the owner of the Findagrave post is listed at the bottom of the page. Contact can be made with this individual and share your knowledge so corrections can be updated.) Adell died September 22, 1921; she was 74 years old. Her husband, Louis Barney, died in 1905 at the age of 54 or 55. Both are buried at Andrew. All the other names mentioned in this post are also buried at Andrew; except Francis who is buried at St.Joseph’s cemetery.

Address

604 CO Road E
Friend, NE
68359

Website

https://www.findagrave.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Search-Find-Graves&utm_term=gravefinders&gclid

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