Oak Ridge Cemetery MN

NEWS: “The community was shocked this morning on learning of the sudden death of Henry B. Andrews, which occurred yesterday afternoon, Oct. 20, near Millersburg.

The gentleman, whose home was at the corner of Cedar and Pine streets, left home yesterday morning apparently in good health going to the vicinity of Millersburg to deliver nursery stock for Andrews' Rice County nursery.

About noon he was seen on the road a mile this side of Millersburg, by a Mr. Johnson, who noticed him walking beside his vehicle, and almost immediately he was seen to fall to the ground. On going to his aid Mr. J. found him unconscious. A physician was summoned, and word was sent to his family.

Mrs. Andrews at once procured a vehicle and went to bring him in, but he was dead when she reached the place where he was, and the remains were brought home last evening. It is thought that death resulted from apoplexy. (stroke)

The time of the funeral has not been fixed, but it will take place at the house, and the burial will be in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Age 57.

Deceased was a brother of John. P. Andrews and Mrs. Albert W. Stockton, of this city, and of Mrs. Cannon, of St. Louis. He leaves a wife, two sons, and one daughter.

~ Faribault Republican, Oct. 21, 1896 ~ “
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Henry was a proud member of the Andrews family and a Civil War vet. The family has 2 large plots at Oak Ridge where he rests alongside local Andrews Nursery founder brother John Pratt Andrews, their mother Almira, their wives, and many of their children. The Andrews family is still involved with Oak Ridge, which is an honor. They have strong and deep roots!

Henry and John's parents, Almira and Daniel, came with their 5 children to Faribault in 1863, ages 7 to 24. Sadly Mother Almira committed su***de soon afterwards at age 52 in 1866, found drowned in a well! (see pic)

She was given the unique hand carved crucifix stone in the Andrews plot. Father Daniel moved south soon after her death and is buried in Mississippi.

In1868, at age 22, son John worked for tree nurseryman Mr. David Humphrey (who is also buried at Oak Ridge) to gain experience, and then started up his own business, the Andrews Nursery in 1872. He got much of the family involved including Henry. This company became one of the areas largest employers for decades, producing fruit trees, evergreens, and bushes.

The apple orchard at Trumps today was once owned by the Andrews. People might also know of the 1920's 18 acre Andrews nursery facility which was sold in recent years and remodeled, located at 3050 197th street. Some of the old buildings are still there.

In 1867 Henry married Laura Earnhart and they had their first child a year later, William.

Their first daughter came next, “Nellie,” but sadly while at grade school was taken suddenly ill, and was given permission to go home.

She became worse on the way and stopped at the house of her aunt, from which it was necessary to carry her to the home of her parents. Her disease was pronounced to be catarrhal meningitis, from which she died soon afterwards.

Her age was 12. She is spoken of as having been an unusually bright, pleasing child, and a great favorite with her school mates.

Henry and Laura had a second son, Harold, but he died at 11 months and rests next to his grandmother Almira. Son Stanley came in 1884 and he worked much of his life alongside brother William but never married. Stanley was the fourth of this family to be laid to rest with us, followed by Father Henry, as spoken of above in 1896, then Mother Laura in 1899 at just age 53. Laura had stomach cancer.

Daughter Josephine was born in 1876 and stayed home until father Henry and mother Laura had passed-on, then married in 1902 and moved to North Dakota, living a long life there.

Henry's brother John and his wife Elizabeth far outlived Henry and Laura. John lived to 1934, passing on at age 87, and Elizabeth in 1943 at age 96. They had 7 children, many being great grandparents to people still living here today. Rather remarkable.

Other local family lines tied to the Andrews include the Earnhart, Gorham, Stockton, Bacon, Frink, and Weston lines. Details and related stories will be shared about these lines as we discover them.

Everyone deserves to be remembered.

Oh, you're going to like this story!

While mowing this week we noticed a beautiful flowering peony had blossomed in Section 3 located in the Barnett plot at the north-end of the cemetery. So stunning!

Looking more closely at the foot of the plant was the partially sunken marker for “S. Olive Baker” who died at just age 51 in 1928. Presumably this peony was planted sometime near the time of her death, making this peony almost 100 years old. Yes, peonies can live that long.

It's pretty likely that this peony came from the World famous Faribault Brand peony farm started by August Brand in 1868 and which continued until 1955 when it was taken over by the Tischler brothers.

The marker notes S. Olive Baker was a wonderful spouse, a helping-hand, and a fine parent; attributes most people strive to be in life and hope to be remembered for. Let's learn more about her.

She was born in southwestern Iowa as Sarah Olive Huff, the second child of 16 to Aaron and Lucy Huff. At age 16 she married Lewis Avery and had 2 children with him, Charles and Goldie. They divorced around 1901 but she remarried in 1903 to carpenter Herbert Victor Baker, and he adopted her 2 children. Good man.

Sarah Olive and Herbert then had 2 children of their own, Foss and Nicholl, and by 1920 the family of 6 moved to Faribault.

Herb was employed as a cabinet maker for E.M. Leach & Sons Lumber company. Herb also loved the violin, but being left-handed, he had to make his own “lefty” violins for himself. He became well known for this specialty and began making violins for other such “lefties.”

By the mid-1920s, the older children had moved out and youngest daughter Nicholl married local boy Reggie Prinzing and moved to Cannon City. Son Foss was just then graduating from Carleton and was also about to move out on his own. Sarah Olive and Herbert had suddenly reached life's empty nest phase.

So are you now ready for the plot twist?

Sadly in May of 1928, Sarah's father Aaron died at age 72 in Colorado. Her mother Lucy, also 72, was now left living alone. Ironically, it wasn't but a few months after this that our beloved Sarah Olive herself fell sick and died in Faribault. She was just 51, and left grieving husband Herbert a widower at age 64.

So let's see. Mother Lucy just lost her husband and daughter, and was now living alone. Herbert lost his wife and was also now all alone. It seems obvious that in the process of helping each other through the grief that they became closer. Perhaps he saw a lot of Sarah in her mother Lucy, and Lucy saw a lot of her husband Aaron in Herbert.

So yes, despite the raised eyebrows and whispers it would cause locally, they knew there would also be many accepting smiles by those close. So on April 27th 1930, just 17 months after dear Sarah Olive passed away, Son-In-Law Herbert Baker married Mother-In-Law Lucy Huff in Faribault. See pic.

Ya just gotta love it!

It's a bit fuzzy about what happened next but it looks like they ended up in California for the next 16 years, with Lucy passing on at age 90 and Herb 2 years later at age 83. Good for them. Let love prevail.

And now you know the rest of the story, one inspired by a lovely peony.

Everyone deserves to be remembered.

Memorial weekend is very special. Cemetery caretakers make a concerted effort to prepare the grounds nicely for families to come out to honor their family's Veterans who died in war. This practice began in 1868.

Cemeteries place flags at graves of all their Vets as a sign of the deep gratitude we all have for their sacrifice fighting for Freedom and Liberty through the years. At Oak Ridge, we are especially proud of the 119 Vets who rest in our care, which is nearly 1 in 4 of the adult men buried with us. That's exceptional, and it's an honor we hold dear.

As mentioned in our April 2026 article, we asked for support to place Date Tags on 6 more of our Civil War Vets' headstones this year. Support was swift and the work has been completed. (see pics). Thank you!!

Our Date Tag sponsors this year were:
Mary Lynn Andrews - Sergeant George S. Norton and Pvt Myron J. Perkins
Jane Berghoff - Corporal David Reed and Private Hugh Smith
Greg Zimprich - Sergeant Charles E. Smith and Major Rev. Edwin C. Sanders

Volunteers have now placed flags, and they look great and will fly all season. We welcome families and the public to come honor our Vets.

Do you have a few spare flowering annuals handy? Feel free to visit and plant them at one or more Vet graves that you are drawn to. They would appreciate it! Hostas are also welcome. OR, look over the list attached to find a family name you recognize and at least visit them to say Thank You. See the large map at the pump house to help locate grave site locations.

We also welcome families to come “tidy up” the grave sites where their relatives or friends rest. Several families were out doing just that in the last few days. It's so nice to see. Water is available at the pump house.

Thanks again to all who follow and support Oak Ridge, and we do hope you have a pleasant Holiday.

Everyone deserves to be remembered.

Spring chores. So far 60 hrs spent collecting up Oak Ridge leaves with help from Jason Krogh here. Lynda B, Laurie K, Becky B, Tom R, and Jane B, picked up all the sticks prior to first mow too. The sticks filled a large trailer, then off they went to the compost site. Thank you all!