In the 1915 "Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota", edited by Maj. R.I. Holcombe and William H. Bingham, they wrote: ‘ ... The first death of a white person was that of a man who was knocked from the steamer Equator, in the summer of 1855, at the boat landing. His was the first burial in the cemetery and the funeral services were conducted by Mr. Griffin. The name of the man was never made known.’ (page 230). and ‘... The site of the public cemetery was purchased from Frederick Greiner and surveyed by J.O. Brunius in 1863. [doesn’t specify Mount Hope or Carver cemetery, as this may also be known]’ (page 231).