At age 23, Nelson Dewey left his parents' home in Hamilton, New York, and traveled by stagecoach, steamer, sailing vessel, horseback, and on foot to Wisconsin, arriving in Cassville in June 1836 about two weeks before Wisconsin was officially established as a territory. He soon became active in politics, and when Grant County was organized the next year, he became its first Register of Deeds and moved to Lancaster. He then entered the Territorial Legislature, and when Wisconsin became the 30th state in 1848, he was elected its first governor. Although many expected him to continue in politics because he had reached such high office at age 35, he disliked politics and returned to Grant County. In 1854 he began acquiring land at Cassville and developed a 2,000 acre plantation called Stonefield, today preserved in Nelson Dewey State Park. He died July 20, 1889, and his was the last burial in this cemetery.