Cemeteries freak a lot of people out but to the historian and the genealogist a cemetery is a wealth of information. A cemetery reflects the culture and, some times the bigotry of a community. It tells the story of the community that surrounds it, who lived, who died, how many from the community were lost to war or epidemic. In an old cemetery you can find the founders of the village, the clergy, the children that passed on too early, and the lovers who shared a life together and reside together into eternity. A cemetery truly is just a city underground.
Before we were humans as we know ourselves, pre-man built cemeteries for their dead. They cared for their dead, honored them and set aside a place of rest where families could lie together in the after life and living relatives could come and pay their respects. Such tenderness speaks to the very ancient, pre-civilization belief that the spirit of man does not die, that life is precious and family to be remembered.
Elephants are, to my knowledge,( feel free to enlighten me if I am mistaken) the only other animal besides man that sets aside a separate place for the herd to go and rest in death. Cemeteries are sacred, hallowed and eternal.
Some things to take into consideration before setting out to look for unknown relatives in a cemetery is, when did they live and die? What religion were they? Were they immigrants, from where and when did they arrive? Prior to the early 1800's America was a predominantly protestant country. Prior to the early-mid-1800's few communities where Jews and Catholics practiced had separate churches or cemeteries for them. Burials were either done in the protestant cemetery or in a common village or poor man cemetery. When placed in a protestant cemetery the Jews and Catholics were often set apart from the others so when looking for your family look along the edges of the older part of the cemetery.
German, Italian and Irish immigrants often had sections of the cemetery set aside for them. This reflects the peculiar bigotry of the times. The Germans chose to separate themselves from the rest and often had the money to insure they had the best locations. In many villages there are German cemeteries, purchased by the German immigrants to insure they would rest with their own people.
Well into the 1960's large Catholic cemeteries had sections for the Irish, the Italian, the Polish. Families were generally buried within close proximity to each other, so if you find one relation you may discover several more you did not know you were looking for.
But enough of all this jabber. I suspect that what you are really looking for is more names to see if your family might be here. I have some cemetery listings from the Schuyler county NY area that I will include here.
The Peck Farm - in some instances farmers or people with land would bury their families on the property. That was before the laws interfered with this process. It can still be done but it is much more difficult than just digging a grave and putting someone in the ground.
Information for this post comes from http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyschuyl/HecCemMp.html. The Peck farm is located in the township of Hector near the club Seneca road. Turn left towards the lake to find this grave yard. -
MARTIN PECK born -10/8/1759 died 9/30/1808
CLARISSA PECK- DAUGHTER OF MARTIN& LUCY, WIFE OF CHARLES EVERTS born 5/6/1787 died 5/6/1818
NANCY BAILEY PECK- WIFE OF JOEL PECK born 1/7/1797 died 8/10/1832
LEVI H. PECK, SON OF JOEL & NANCY PECK born 7/7/1819 died 11/9/1823
ALBERT PECK, SON OF JOEL & NANCY PECK born 4/12/1823, died 8/24/1825
OLIVER CASE, SON OF ADAM & ELMIRA CASE born 2/3/1834, died 11/17/1839
LUCY TENANT PECK, WIFE OF MARTIN PECK born 1760 died 8/19/1805
POLLY PECK CASE DAUGHTER OF MARTIN & LUCY PECK, FIRST WIFE OF ADAM CASE born 12/1/1794, died 9/30/1830
ADAM CASE HUSBAND OF POLLY CASE no dates provided.
If you are interested in the Peck family there is an entire family history available through the above noted web site.
The Caitlin Odessa Cemetery in Schuyler county town of Catherine was located where the Odessa town hall now stands. The head stones were removed in April 1911 and relocated to the North West Corner of the Laurel hill Cemetery. I am not sure if the bodies were also moved or just the stones. It is probable that just the stones were moved as there was likely not much left of the bodies and caskets to be able to move. Hmmm sounds like the stuff of a good horror story. Has anyone heard of any hauntings at the Odessa town hall ? Well, let's see who might be doing the haunting:
CAITLIN-ODESSA CEMETERY
RHONDA ADAMY ( NO DATES, THE SCHULER COUNTY HISTORY MUSEUM HAS THE ADAMY GENEALOGY ON FILE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS FAMILY.)
LYMAN ARCHER BORN UNKNOWN, DIED 1849
SARAH BEERS, WIFE OF WAKEMAN BEERS, DIED 1859
WAKEMAN BEERS BORN 3/20/1788 DIED 4/23/1861
?BUCHANAN, WIFE OF SOLOMON, DAUGHTER OF HIRAM BROWN, DIED 7/20/1855 AGE 24
EZRA BUEL DIED 6/20/1850 AGE 50
AARON BULKLEY DIED 8/23/1870 AGE 68
EBENEZER BULKLEY BORN 1/22/1770 DIED 4/20/1830
HANNAH BULKLEY, WIFE OF EBENEZER DIED 1848 AGE 88
JOHN BULKLEY, SON OF HANNAH AND EBENEZER DIED 9/6/1826 AGE 21
MARY BULKLEY, WIFE OF CANEN, DIED 7/22/1880, AGE 70
MOSES BULKLEY, SON OF EBENEZER DIED 8/18/1826 AGE 23
dR. jARVIS dARLING DIED 12/26/1853 AGE 58
LUCY DARLING, WIFE OF SAMUEL DIED 6/18/1836 AGE 73
HULDAH DAVIS, WIFE OF NATHANIEL DIED 7/23/1826 AGE 58
EBENEZER DAVIS, SON OF JOHN & LUCINDA DIED 1840 AGE 2
NATHANIEL DAVIS DIED 8/26/1826 AGE 62
Sarah DAVIS, DAUGHTER OF JOHN & LUCINDA, DIED 10/13/1843 AGE 7
eDWARD eUMANS, SON OF MORRIS & MAY DIED 1860
ADELIA FOSTER, DAUGHTER OF JOHN & LAURA, DIED 1827 AGE 26 DAYS
LAURA FOSTER, WIFE OF JOHN DIED 1831
SAMUEL FOSTER DIED 8/11/1826 AGE 26
JONATHAN GANOUNG DIED 1/24/1861, AGE 55
MARY GRAVES, WIFE OF BELA GRAVES, DAUGHTER OF ROBERT & DIANA HOWARD, DIED 7/18/1831, AGE 23
LETILLA GREEN DIED 9/12/1840
JANE ARLY HOWARD DAUGHTER OF ROBERT & DIANA DIED 10/22/1837, AGE 20
JOHN A. JOHNSON (NO DATES)
SARAH JOHNSON, WIFE OF JOHN, DIED 6/18/1874, AGE 76
DANIEL KING, SON OF JEHAIL & MARY, DIED 1863 AGE 10
GURDIN MILLER DIED 8/1818
MAY B. MISNER DAUGHTER OF HENRY & SARAH DIED 1853
EDWIN M. MORGAN DIED 1870
GEORGE MORGAN DIED 1/19/1878
GEORGE W., SON OF CHARLES & KATE, DIED 1/18/1871, AGE 4 MONTHS
JOHN O. MORGAN DIED 1851
SARAH J. MORGAN ( NO DATES)
MINNIE M. NELSON, DAUGHTER OF A&B, DIED 8/18/1860, AGE 29
JANE ELIZABETH OGDEN, WIFE OF SAMUEL, DIED 11/27/1870
POLLY PORTER DIED 1/18/1847
MARGARET SEAMAN, WIFE OF CHAUNCEY DIED 3/8/1837
MELISSA SHELDON DIED 5/26/1860
JAMES SOULE ( NO DATES)
DANIEL J. THOMAS, SON OF WILLIAM& C.J. DIED 8/10/1863, AGE 19 MONTHS
ELMIRA M. UPDIKE DIED 7/28/1842
MINNIE UPDIKE DIED 8/18/1869
Wakeman Beers was born in connecticu on 3/20/1788. He moved to Odessa in 1832 and worked as a grocer. Wakeman died on 4/23/1861. In 1852 he married a second time to Anna ?. They were married in Odessa. Anna was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. She moved to Yates NY where she married a Campbell and had a son, Henry Campbell in 1833. In 1835 Anna moved to Odessa. In 1855 Henry is found living with Anna and Wakeman Beers in Odessa. He works as a carpenter. Wakeman's first wife, Sarah died in 1853. Her stone is listed as reading died in 1859 but it is incorrect. It is possible to stone was inscribed following Wakeman's death or that the translation of the stone was incorrect. Wakeman and Sarah had at least one son, Ephram born in 1820.
as i say at the end of each post, if there is something you would like to see, a family member you are looking for, etc. let me know and I will do my best to track down the information to post here. Stay tuned for our next post on the random genealogist. Think spring.
Before we were humans as we know ourselves, pre-man built cemeteries for their dead. They cared for their dead, honored them and set aside a place of rest where families could lie together in the after life and living relatives could come and pay their respects. Such tenderness speaks to the very ancient, pre-civilization belief that the spirit of man does not die, that life is precious and family to be remembered.
Elephants are, to my knowledge,( feel free to enlighten me if I am mistaken) the only other animal besides man that sets aside a separate place for the herd to go and rest in death. Cemeteries are sacred, hallowed and eternal.
Some things to take into consideration before setting out to look for unknown relatives in a cemetery is, when did they live and die? What religion were they? Were they immigrants, from where and when did they arrive? Prior to the early 1800's America was a predominantly protestant country. Prior to the early-mid-1800's few communities where Jews and Catholics practiced had separate churches or cemeteries for them. Burials were either done in the protestant cemetery or in a common village or poor man cemetery. When placed in a protestant cemetery the Jews and Catholics were often set apart from the others so when looking for your family look along the edges of the older part of the cemetery.
German, Italian and Irish immigrants often had sections of the cemetery set aside for them. This reflects the peculiar bigotry of the times. The Germans chose to separate themselves from the rest and often had the money to insure they had the best locations. In many villages there are German cemeteries, purchased by the German immigrants to insure they would rest with their own people.
Well into the 1960's large Catholic cemeteries had sections for the Irish, the Italian, the Polish. Families were generally buried within close proximity to each other, so if you find one relation you may discover several more you did not know you were looking for.
But enough of all this jabber. I suspect that what you are really looking for is more names to see if your family might be here. I have some cemetery listings from the Schuyler county NY area that I will include here.
The Peck Farm - in some instances farmers or people with land would bury their families on the property. That was before the laws interfered with this process. It can still be done but it is much more difficult than just digging a grave and putting someone in the ground.
Information for this post comes from http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nyschuyl/HecCemMp.html. The Peck farm is located in the township of Hector near the club Seneca road. Turn left towards the lake to find this grave yard. -
MARTIN PECK born -10/8/1759 died 9/30/1808
CLARISSA PECK- DAUGHTER OF MARTIN& LUCY, WIFE OF CHARLES EVERTS born 5/6/1787 died 5/6/1818
NANCY BAILEY PECK- WIFE OF JOEL PECK born 1/7/1797 died 8/10/1832
LEVI H. PECK, SON OF JOEL & NANCY PECK born 7/7/1819 died 11/9/1823
ALBERT PECK, SON OF JOEL & NANCY PECK born 4/12/1823, died 8/24/1825
OLIVER CASE, SON OF ADAM & ELMIRA CASE born 2/3/1834, died 11/17/1839
LUCY TENANT PECK, WIFE OF MARTIN PECK born 1760 died 8/19/1805
POLLY PECK CASE DAUGHTER OF MARTIN & LUCY PECK, FIRST WIFE OF ADAM CASE born 12/1/1794, died 9/30/1830
ADAM CASE HUSBAND OF POLLY CASE no dates provided.
If you are interested in the Peck family there is an entire family history available through the above noted web site.
The Caitlin Odessa Cemetery in Schuyler county town of Catherine was located where the Odessa town hall now stands. The head stones were removed in April 1911 and relocated to the North West Corner of the Laurel hill Cemetery. I am not sure if the bodies were also moved or just the stones. It is probable that just the stones were moved as there was likely not much left of the bodies and caskets to be able to move. Hmmm sounds like the stuff of a good horror story. Has anyone heard of any hauntings at the Odessa town hall ? Well, let's see who might be doing the haunting:
CAITLIN-ODESSA CEMETERY
RHONDA ADAMY ( NO DATES, THE SCHULER COUNTY HISTORY MUSEUM HAS THE ADAMY GENEALOGY ON FILE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS FAMILY.)
LYMAN ARCHER BORN UNKNOWN, DIED 1849
SARAH BEERS, WIFE OF WAKEMAN BEERS, DIED 1859
WAKEMAN BEERS BORN 3/20/1788 DIED 4/23/1861
?BUCHANAN, WIFE OF SOLOMON, DAUGHTER OF HIRAM BROWN, DIED 7/20/1855 AGE 24
EZRA BUEL DIED 6/20/1850 AGE 50
AARON BULKLEY DIED 8/23/1870 AGE 68
EBENEZER BULKLEY BORN 1/22/1770 DIED 4/20/1830
HANNAH BULKLEY, WIFE OF EBENEZER DIED 1848 AGE 88
JOHN BULKLEY, SON OF HANNAH AND EBENEZER DIED 9/6/1826 AGE 21
MARY BULKLEY, WIFE OF CANEN, DIED 7/22/1880, AGE 70
MOSES BULKLEY, SON OF EBENEZER DIED 8/18/1826 AGE 23
dR. jARVIS dARLING DIED 12/26/1853 AGE 58
LUCY DARLING, WIFE OF SAMUEL DIED 6/18/1836 AGE 73
HULDAH DAVIS, WIFE OF NATHANIEL DIED 7/23/1826 AGE 58
EBENEZER DAVIS, SON OF JOHN & LUCINDA DIED 1840 AGE 2
NATHANIEL DAVIS DIED 8/26/1826 AGE 62
Sarah DAVIS, DAUGHTER OF JOHN & LUCINDA, DIED 10/13/1843 AGE 7
eDWARD eUMANS, SON OF MORRIS & MAY DIED 1860
ADELIA FOSTER, DAUGHTER OF JOHN & LAURA, DIED 1827 AGE 26 DAYS
LAURA FOSTER, WIFE OF JOHN DIED 1831
SAMUEL FOSTER DIED 8/11/1826 AGE 26
JONATHAN GANOUNG DIED 1/24/1861, AGE 55
MARY GRAVES, WIFE OF BELA GRAVES, DAUGHTER OF ROBERT & DIANA HOWARD, DIED 7/18/1831, AGE 23
LETILLA GREEN DIED 9/12/1840
JANE ARLY HOWARD DAUGHTER OF ROBERT & DIANA DIED 10/22/1837, AGE 20
JOHN A. JOHNSON (NO DATES)
SARAH JOHNSON, WIFE OF JOHN, DIED 6/18/1874, AGE 76
DANIEL KING, SON OF JEHAIL & MARY, DIED 1863 AGE 10
GURDIN MILLER DIED 8/1818
MAY B. MISNER DAUGHTER OF HENRY & SARAH DIED 1853
EDWIN M. MORGAN DIED 1870
GEORGE MORGAN DIED 1/19/1878
GEORGE W., SON OF CHARLES & KATE, DIED 1/18/1871, AGE 4 MONTHS
JOHN O. MORGAN DIED 1851
SARAH J. MORGAN ( NO DATES)
MINNIE M. NELSON, DAUGHTER OF A&B, DIED 8/18/1860, AGE 29
JANE ELIZABETH OGDEN, WIFE OF SAMUEL, DIED 11/27/1870
POLLY PORTER DIED 1/18/1847
MARGARET SEAMAN, WIFE OF CHAUNCEY DIED 3/8/1837
MELISSA SHELDON DIED 5/26/1860
JAMES SOULE ( NO DATES)
DANIEL J. THOMAS, SON OF WILLIAM& C.J. DIED 8/10/1863, AGE 19 MONTHS
ELMIRA M. UPDIKE DIED 7/28/1842
MINNIE UPDIKE DIED 8/18/1869
Wakeman Beers was born in connecticu on 3/20/1788. He moved to Odessa in 1832 and worked as a grocer. Wakeman died on 4/23/1861. In 1852 he married a second time to Anna ?. They were married in Odessa. Anna was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. She moved to Yates NY where she married a Campbell and had a son, Henry Campbell in 1833. In 1835 Anna moved to Odessa. In 1855 Henry is found living with Anna and Wakeman Beers in Odessa. He works as a carpenter. Wakeman's first wife, Sarah died in 1853. Her stone is listed as reading died in 1859 but it is incorrect. It is possible to stone was inscribed following Wakeman's death or that the translation of the stone was incorrect. Wakeman and Sarah had at least one son, Ephram born in 1820.
as i say at the end of each post, if there is something you would like to see, a family member you are looking for, etc. let me know and I will do my best to track down the information to post here. Stay tuned for our next post on the random genealogist. Think spring.
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