The
News
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Police seek cemetery vandals
April 11, 2007
Photo: Vyto Starinskas / Rutland
Herald
Rutland
Police officer Steve Schutt is seeking the vandals who hit more than 50
tombstones with paintballs at the Calvary Cemetery in Rutland causing more than
$20,000 in damage. Cemetery officials found the damage early this morning. See
Thursday's Rutland Herald for a story with all the details as well as comments
about the vandalism.
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From: Tom Giffin
To: Henry Woodbury
Subject: Fw: Recovered head stone
Date
sent: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 19:45:27 -0500
Henry,
The
other stone issue ahs been solved. Could you put this on the site?
TOM
Hello,
I contacted the Veteran Administration in
charge of monuments in Washington DC. It is Interesting that Washington has a
department for everything. The administrator that I talked with informed me
that in 1998 a Douglas L Carter monument was delivered to the Veteran's
Cemetery in Randolph. I contacted the Colchester Police Dept and gave them the
info from Washington.
He called the Vet's Cemetery and they told
him to call the Vet's Center in VT (which I already did that AM) The Detective
neglected to tell me that there were numbers on the back of the stone which
identified the owner of the aforementioned stone.
The detective contacted the veteran's
surviving son and confirmed all the information. The son was not interested in
the broken stone as long as there was a permanent stone in Randolph. Upon
further investigation the Douglas L Carter stone is in place in Randolph, VT,
where it belongs. The stone, which the Detective has in his possession, is a
stone that was discarded from the carver for whatever reason and ended up being
thrown on someone's lawn in Colchester.
Edward Fournier
Detective
Colchester Police Department
So another mystery solved.
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The latest on the stolen stones just in, by Margaret R Jenks
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Read all about the great gravestone theft, re-theft, & recovery, etc. below.
Also in more readable form is the President’s most recent report.
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Tuesday, November 07, 2006
From: Margaret R Jenks
To: Henry Woodbury, Tom Giffin
Subject: Correction
Date sent: Tue,
7 Nov 2006 16:43:10 -0500
Hi,
Dawn Hance says I made an error in
one of the last messages. Abel Wright. b. CT, married 1766 at Lebanon, CT [not
NH] Mary Lyman. She thinks he is the one who died in 1828. The father of this
Abel, Benjamin Wright died 1798 & is buried in White River. She checked the
pension records & the only Abel was in Rutland, then NY State. She
recommends searching Norwich, Thetford, East Thetford & White River. In
1810 there are numerous Wrights in Norwich,
Thetford & Hartford.
Lets hope Art Peale can find the
Wright Cemetery Road & a cemetery. He did find what he thinks is the
Waterman children's footstone in the Pompanoosuc cemetery.
One down, one to go.
Peggy
Sunday October 22, 2006
From: Tom Giffin
To: Henry Woodbury
Subject: Re: Tombstone with history found again - Walter GriffinDate sent: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 17:29:29 -0400One more thing,
The Detective in Belfast, ME has an officer that has relatives in Barre, VT and in the very near future they will be bringing the stones back to VT.
From: Tom Giffin
To: Henry Woodbury
Subject: Waterman stoneDate sent: Sun, 22 Oct 2006 17:24:36 -0400Just got this from Peggy. She also confirms Norwich as the origin of the stones.From: Margaret R Jenks
To: Tom Giffin
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2006 8:01 AM
Subject: Waterman stone
The picture of the stone in the article you just sent reads for Deliverance, "died in his 3rd. year" That is a 3 not a 7.
On the IGI I found, last evening, Samuel Waterman & wife Sarah Woodward with these children with the same death dates, a dau. Abigail d. 6 March 1783 & a couple of other children. The parents b. CT, but then all of Norwich, Windsor Co., VT. Then in the 1790 census: Samuel Waterman, Norwich, Windsor Co., with 3 males +16, 2 males - 16 & 3 females. In 1800 Norwich, Lemuel Waterman, & the family fits exactly with the IGI sheet except for an extra male 26/45 who could easily be a hire man. Several places I have found Lemuel & Samuel mixed up due to the old writing.
At the GSV meeting yesterday I was told the VT vital records are on the NEHGS site. I will try that this am. & let you know. In any case, I am pretty sure the Waterman stone belongs in Norwich where there should be one for dau. Abigail, d. 6 March 1783 age about 7. I wish we had a date for Mary Wright wife of Abel. 1790 census, Addison co., Weybridge, has an Abel Wright as does Orange Co., Thetford.
From: Henry Woodbury
To: Tom Giffin
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2006 5:18 PM Subject: Re: Tombstone with history found again - Walter Griffin Well, that is the best part, and the first I heard. Thanks.___________________________________________________________________________
Saturday October 21, 2006
From: Tom Giffin
To: Henry Woodbury
Subject: Re: Tombstone with history found again - Walter GriffinDate sent: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:41:28 -0400Yep,
It came from Norwich Vt. I have been in touch with the Norwich Historical Society and the stone carver lived in Norwich and there is a Waterman burial site in Norwich. The Detective from Belfast also stated that they had a Norwich, VT. This has been quite the story!
From: Henry Woodbury
To: Tom Giffin
Sent: Saturday, October 21, 2006 6:23 PM Subject: Re: Tombstone with history found again - Walter Griffin We still don't know where in VT it came from, though, do we?See more (far below) on this page.
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Sunday, October 8, 2006
Elmwood Cemetery in need of repairs
Published: Sunday, October 8, 2006
By John Briggs
Free Press Staff Writer
Robyn Miller has counted 259 grave markers in Burlington's Elmwood Cemetery in need of repair. Some are broken, some have fallen and some have been vandalized.
A tree has pushed up through the headstone of Harriet Eldon Read, 1835-1906, wife of Rev. M.M. Colburn.
"Some day this is going to be us," said Miller's sister, Jean Hudson, pointing to a fallen headstone as they walked through the neatly mowed city cemetery last week.
"There's no one around to take care of some of these people," Miller said.
"It's like they've been forgotten," her sister said.
The two women are determined to restore their neighborhood cemetery to respectability. They've begun collecting money for a repair fund and would like the city to safeguard it.
Miller thinks she would be able to repair some stones and straighten some of the vertical headstone tablets at risk of falling. She's also willing to put the money she earns at her second job to work on the cause. Hudson said she would donate money she can earn by collecting cans.
"If we don't get many donations," she said, "we'll work our way through it to make it look good. I'm so driven by this."
From Elmwood Avenue or North Street, the old city-owned cemetery, established in 1790, looks good. The cemetery is regularly mowed and cleaned of trash and used needles by a Parks and Recreation Department crew. A fence, a bonus of the North Street restoration project, newly borders the five acres.
The neatness is a thin facade. Inside the fence, the cemetery is deteriorating quickly.
The caretaker's venerable slate-roofed tool house, tucked nearly out of sight from the street on the east side of the cemetery, is unpainted -- except for graffiti -- and is in urgent need of repair.
At least two sinkholes --cavities formed over the top of old, unvaulted caskets that have disintegrated -- endanger other monuments, the grounds crew on their mowers and anyone walking through the cemetery.
The headstone of Edwin Laduke, who died in 1921, and his wife Bertha, 1943, is perilously close to falling into the largest sinkhole. A dim, fallen headstone remembers Semanthe Bliss, who died at age 16 in February 1812.
Displaced headstones, some split in two, and monuments damaged by vandalism mark many old cemeteries in the state, said Tom Giffin, president of the nonprofit Vermont Old Cemetery Association.
He said Elmwood, with 1,500 gravestones, is typical in its disrepair of municipal cemeteries in larger cities across the state.
"The larger the city," he said, "the less likely they are to pay. They choose not to have money available." Georgia, Montpelier, Hyde Park and some other towns across the state, he said, have done well in restoring their old cemeteries, "but in larger communities, you don't see the ownership of the history."
He said the association has some grant money available for restoration work and would be happy to consult with city officials and volunteers in Burlington about the Elmwood Cemetery.
Giffin and Joy Fagan, current president of the Vermont Cemetery Association and past president of the New England Cemetery Association, said under state law the city is responsible for keeping its three municipal cemeteries in good repair, although the law, archaic in its expectations, stipulates that no more than $500 a year can be spent for such work.
In old cemeteries such as Elmwood, Fagan said, family no longer exists to take care of many graves and monuments, and the responsibility -- and liability risks -- devolve onto the city.
"It behooves any city to take an interest and responsibility," she said, "but with municipal cemeteries, we are on the very bottom of the funding totem pole."
Spurred by Miller's interest in Elmwood, the City Attorney's Office is "looking into" the city's statutory obligations, said Assistant City Attorney Ken Schatz.
Parks and Recreation Director Wayne Gross, who also acts as superintendent of the three municipal cemeteries, agreed that the headstones in Elmwood need work but said the cemetery budget is dedicated primarily to grounds maintenance.
"It pays for the salary of a couple of people," he said. "There's not enough to do much beyond that."
Lakeview Cemetery on North Avenue, the city's only active cemetery, also has pressing needs, Gross said, including a new fence, roadwork and other infrastructure upgrades.
Gross and Rita Church, chairwoman of Burlington's Cemetery Commission, said they would welcome Miller at the next commission meeting, scheduled for Oct. 16.
"We're open to any kind of suggestion," Church said. "A fund to help with the old stones would be very helpful. Stones are very expensive, and you need help from everyone."
Tony Socinski, who owned Densmore Monuments on Shelburne Road in South Burlington for many years, said restoration of the thin, vertical markers common in the early 19th century would be both time consuming and expensive.
"You want to see what's down there," he said. "You go down and put a good base, crushed stone or gravel, and then pour a concrete footing below frost and do the best you can to rectify the joint and reseal that."
Resetting each stone, Socinski said, would cost between $300 and $400 – or roughly $90,000 for the Elmwood Cemetery, if Miller's assessment of the disrepair is accurate.
Miller and Hudson grew up in the Old North End, and Miller said she took the cemetery for granted until she noticed the fallen stones as she walked by with her dog, Anthony.
She went in for a closer look and was surprised and distressed to see how widespread the deterioration has become. It hurt particularly, she said, because a friend is buried there.
"Here she is," Miller said, pointing to a headstone in good repair: Cecile Pecue, 1914-2003. Miller, who reads meters for the Burlington Electric Department, said she became acquainted with Pecue on her rounds.
"She was so lonely, she'd have me sit down and talk to her," Miller said. Pecue and her husband, George, 1900-1981, who is buried beside her, had no children and there is "no one left," Miller said, to tend her grave.
Pecue's funeral drew just a handful of neighbors and church members.
"She told me her husband used to call her his yellow rose," Miller said, brushing her hand over her friend's gravestone, "and he planted a rose bush right by the house step. She was so sweet."
Contact John Briggs at 660-1863 or jbriggs@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com. To help The Vermont Old Cemetery Association has grants available to help with the restoration of old cemeteries. For more information, call association President Tom Giffin at (802) 773-3253. He can be reached by email at TGIFvt@msn.com.
Robyn Miller can be reached at (802) 233-4516
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Stolen stone Hi Tom Gershom Bartlet, born 1723 Bolton, carved the stones in the article, CT, d. 1798 Pompanoosuc, VT. He moved to VT in 1772 where he carved stones of slate. Jim Slater, "The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern CI...", 1987, p. 15 the stones I have seen up & down the CT River are a slate that has a rusty color. Dr. Ernest Caulfield's search for the "Hook & Eye Man" reprinted from the CT Hist. Soc. Bulletin, in Markers VIII, Journal of the Association for Gravestone Studies, 1991, p.310-337. Dr. Caufield searched up & down the Ct. River valley till he found Bartlet's gravestone that was in very bad condition. He has a military stone for his service in the Revolution. The stones are found as far north as E. Ryegate. The map shows stones were found in Hartford, VT. Now on the LDS Familysearch.org I found: Abel Wright, b. 18 Aug. 1742 Lebanon, CT, son of Benjamin & Rachel (Owen) Wright. Abel d. Feb. 1828 Hartford, VT. He m. 26 Nov. 1766 Lebanon, CT, Mary Lyman, dau. of John & Mary (-) Lyman, I did not find her death. 2 children, b. Lebanon, CT, 1767 & 1769, both d. in Aug. 1776. In another entry, Abel & Mary were m. ca. 1781 Lebanon, Grafton, NH. This does not seem right. There were also possible other wives for Abel Wright. I hope this helps. Keep me posted. Did you send the article to AGS? Peggy__________________________________________________________________________
Here
are a few small items that may be of interest:
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From: Tom
Giffin
Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 2:04 PM
This was at the Dellwood Cemetery
in Manchester
These are kids from the Floodbrook School who participated with the
Hildene Curator, Brian Knight (and me) cleaning Civil War soldiers' stones.
They did a GREAT JOB
Could any of these pictures be used in the VOCA Web?
TOM
Click here to
view the pictures
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Here's another one to look at: The Indian Stones in Reading, VT.
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BALTIMORE TO ERECT A MEMORIAL LIST
Having run out of room to bury their dead, or even scatter their ashes, the Town of Baltimore discussed how to commemorate their townspeople who have died and been buried elsewhere.
A solution brought up and accepted by those present at Town Meeting on Tuesday March 7th was to erect a large bulletin board or memorial at the cemetery, and to enter thereon the names of all Baltimore persons who died since 1910, the date of the last burial in the town's small cemetery. John Klein, a resident who lives near the cemetery, volunteered to look into methods of erecting the commemorative marker.
In April of 1997 VOCA sponsored a Workshop at the cemetery organized by Cemetery Commissioner Marjorie Constantine, and taught by Charles Marchant of VOCA. At that time all inscriptions were copied from the existing stones, many were repaired, and at a later date town residents did further repair to some of the stones.Commissioner Constantine would like to hear how other Vermont Cemetery Boards have approached memorializing their town's dead without purchasing new land for new burial grounds. Her address is 217 Graves Road, Baltimore VT 05143-9585, telephone 263-5226.___________________________________________________________________________
Dear Mr. Giffin
I really liked your ideas promoted in your editorial-requirements for youthful offenders, VOCA's partnership with the YCC and Charlie Marchant and Arthur Hyde's involvement with the YCC program.
My dad, Leon W. Dean would be so amazed and pleased to know how far the association has progressed since 1958!! Keep up the Torch ad encouraging its passage to our youth.
Lorna D. Brown
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Updated Thursday, April 12, 2007