 Like many early Minnesotans, they were born in New York and made their way west in stages—in their case, by way of Peoria County, Illinois.They bought land at what later became the corner of Cedar Avenue and Lake Street in South Minneapolis.The Laymans seem to have gotten into the cemetery business by happenstance when, soon after they arrived, a Baptist pastor asked to bury his infant son, Carlton Cressey (or Cressy), on their land.