Volunteers & Acknowledgements:
Cemetery Photos: Justin Watkins, Jerry Prouhet, Dorris Keeven-Franke, Ron Franklin, Tom and Anna Knott Lange, David and Kathy Shearrer and others who contributed photos on the Facebook page and for the website.
2020/2021 Cemetery Restoration: Jerry Prouhet, Project Manager; Dorris Keeven-Franke, Volunteer Coordinator; and the volunteer team who worked to clear and restore the cemetery – with special thanks to Tom and Anna Lange, and Steve and Deb Stopke. Tom Lange provided tours and a behind the scenes look at the restoration process. Steve Stopke built the benches and fences out of the felled trees at the Cemetery.
Family Research and Ancestry Family Tree development: Gary Simpkins and Susanne Paradis have been researching the Black Walnut families and history of the Black Walnut community since 2018. They have developed over 45 Ancestry.com family trees to aid in the research which continues to this day. They were responsible for the creation of the QR codes which link the family groupings at the cemetery to the website family biographies.
Research Assistance: St. Charles County Historical Society – Justin Watkins and his work on the SCCHS Cemetery Data Base, as well as the volunteers led by Jim Peine who assisted us on our research trips. We are also grateful to the descendants of those buried at the cemetery have contributed their family histories and shared their memories of the Black Walnut Cemetery. We want to acknowledge the support of the Land Between the Rivers Historical Society, especially Margot Vossenkemper, Jerry Shulte, and Larry and Betty Kluesner.
Robbins Family Researchers: Merilee Colton and Susanne Paradis from California. Philip and Jonnie Rhea from Kansas are the researchers who documented the Robbins family and their journey from Connecticut to Missouri and families with whom they intermarried including the Mittalbargar, Mallerson, Garvin, and Best families.
Website and Domain Name Owner: Susanne Paradis
Website Design and Content Development: Susanne Paradis
Website Host: James P. Williams/Coast 2 Coast Web Host
Black Walnut Cemetery Facebook group administrators: Susanne Paradis and Gary Simpkins
The Black Walnut Cemetery Restoration Project Board: Susanne Paradis, President; Merilee Colton, Vice President; Jerry Prouhet, Secretary; Philip Rhea, Treasurer; and Dorris Keeven-Franke, Director. Created in 2020, this project became a reality after the Robbins family cousins who live in both Kansas and California returned to St. Charles, Missouri where their Robbins family lived in the 1800s and discovered their Robbins family and Black Walnut Community cemetery had been abandoned for over 100 years. They then spearheaded the drive to restore the cemetery and succeeded in generating new interest in its restoration and ongoing maintenance by the local community. As of November 2022 this Board dissolved, after the accomplishment of their goals.
This website was created on August 18, 2018 by Susanne Paradis to document the history of the Black Walnut Cemetery, the Robbins family and the other families buried there.