Submitted by Steve Hanken
Reuben Gardner Merrill
Fontana Cemetery
Hazelton, Buchanan Co. Iowa
(Aug 2, 1821 - Jan 16, 1865)
Age 42 yrs, 4 ms, 25 ds.
Note: there is a discrepancy in his date of death. His tombstone and cemetery records say he died Jan. 22, 1864. HOWEVER, his service with Co. H, 1st Iowa Cavalry, and widow's pension records convinces me that the 1864 date is an error. The information from the pension record says he died "Jan 16, 1865 Hazelton, Buchanan Co, Ia while home on leave. (I can only speculate, but sometimes in January, it is hard to transition to a new year. Perhaps they accidentally put 1864, because that year had just ended.)