Elk Grove Village in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Fifer Eli Skinner

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 27, 2026

1. Fifer Eli Skinner Marker

Inscription. Revolutionary Soldier
1775–1783

Erected by Daughters of the American Revolution, General Henry Dearborn Chapter.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 42° 2.373′ N, 87° 58.984′ W. Memorial is in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, in Cook County. It is on Cemetery Lane 0.1 miles east of Arlington Heights Road, on the left when traveling north. The memorial is in Elk Grove Cemetery. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 92 North Arlington Heights Road, Elk Grove Village IL 60007, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in Greater Chicago.

It is also in the American Midwest.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Great Lakes,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this

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marker, measured as the crow flies: Revolutionary War Veterans (a few steps from this marker); Aaron Miner (a few steps from this marker); Elk Grove Cemetery (a few steps from this marker); North American Elk (approx. 0.6 miles away); Reverend J. Ward Morrison Boulevard (approx. 2.4 miles away); Klehm's Island (approx. 2.7 miles away); Veteran's Memorial Park (approx. 2.8 miles away); a different marker also named Veterans Memorial Park (approx. 2.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Elk Grove Village.

More about this memorial. Eli Skinner has two gravestones here at Elk Grove Cemetery, an aging but readable one that appears to be the original from 1851, and directly in front of it one in the style of an official veterans headstone that says "Fifer Eli Skinner" and is affixed with the D.A.R. plaque.

The Chicago-area D.A.R. chapter erected two memorials here at Elk Grove in honor of Skinner and another veteran named Aaron Miner, who are believed to be the only Revolutionary War veterans buried in Cook County. Miner's memorial is a short walk west of Eli Skinner's grave.

This small graveyard just yards away

Skinner family plot at Elk Grove Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 27, 2026

2. Skinner family plot at Elk Grove Cemetery

Eli Skinner is buried next two his son Joel's two wives and four of his grandchildren.

from Interstate 90 was in an incorporated part of Cook County until 2025, when it was annexed by Elk Grove Village. The village led efforts to restore the cemetery, which included adding a new fence and restoring the gravestones, many of which had decayed over the decades.

Regarding Fifer Eli Skinner. Eli Skinner was 14 years old when he enlisted with the Massachusetts militia after the British marched on Lexington and Concord in 1775. Too young to see combat, he served as a fifer. After the war he had 10 children — nine with his first wife, Lucinda, who died in 1907, and one with his second wife, Eleanor. Skinner spent most of his post-war life as a farmer in Vermont and Massachusetts. He was in his late 80s when he relocated to Elk Grove, apparently with his third-born child, Joel, a War of 1812 veteran. Although Joel died in Iowa in 1881 and is buried there, his two wives are both buried at this cemetery, as are two of his daughters and two of his sons, one of whom was named after Eli. The elder Eli Skinner died at age 91 in 1851.

Also see . . . Find a Grave: Eli Skinner. This listing includes photos of the site

Eli Skinner's original gravestone image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 27, 2026

3. Eli Skinner's original gravestone

that appear to pre-date the 2025-26 restoration of Elk Grove Cemetery. (Submitted on October 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.)

Elk Grove Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Sean P. Flynn, October 27, 2026

4. Elk Grove Cemetery

A historical marker about the two Revolutionary War veterans buried at Elk Grove is just inside the gate, which was completed in 2026. Eli Skinner's burial site is about two or three rows behind the marker.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois. This page has been viewed 5 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 28, 2026, by Sean P. Flynn of Oak Park, Illinois.