On October 18, 1831, John W. Burch and his wife Peggy, conveyed property rights to John Sappington, Thomas Antrobus, and Seebyrd England, the trustees of the Franklin M. E. Church, to a piece of land 23 rods by 13 rods. A log church first stood on this ground and was afterward moved to a site on Blaine Street. Prior to 1840, interments were made on the west end of the ridge. The first burial was that of a child who belonged to some movers who had camped near the road in 1828. Many graves are unmarked and lost. After the destruction of the church and the erection of a new building on the public square, burials were made on the old church lot, but without any system, records or organization. On August 18, 1908, the Franklin Cemetery Association of Franklin, Illinois was incorporated under the general cemetery act of Illinois.