Today was such a beautiful day that I had to take the opportunity to inventory another cemetery. Today I went out to Post Creek Cemetery in Catlin, Chemung NY. My intention was to get pictures, which I did. Before I left I checked to see if the Post Creek Cemetery had already been inventoried for www.FindA Grave.com ( Find a Grave is a free website that posts cemetery information from all around the world that is given to them by local historians, family researchers, etc. It is a worthwhile site and I recommend checking it out, but caution that just because you do not see your loved one in the cemetery you thought they would be in does not mean they are not there). They had a record of it with a total of 29 graves.
When I arrived I was certain there were more than 29 graves in the Cemetery. With my daughter in tow I set out to photograph and inventory what I could. Many of the stones are illegible. Some have sunk into the ground so far that only the top protrudes. Others have been weather worn smooth; still others have had the top portion chipped away. There were several that we found that we could not read but could feel that there was still writing, if only I had taken some materials to get rubbings. Sadly, I had not planned that far ahead.
There is a very large section in the center for the cemetery that has clearly held graves. The ground is depressed where caskets have shifted and decayed, but there is no evidence that these spots had headstones. Not everyone is able to afford a stone. Even today it is not uncommon for someone to go years, and possibly forever without a proper headstone. Today the funeral parlor places a temporary bronze placard on the site. A hundred to two hundred years ago they may have used wooden markers, which have long since decayed back into the soil.
We carefully went stone-by-stone to record what we could; working from front to back, the front nearest route 414 was evidently the oldest section of the cemetery. There are a few new graves in the rear, so the cemetery is still somewhat active.
When I compared our list with the list on Find a Grave I was surprised at how many names they did not have and that they had a few we did not find. This is why it is so important when working on a family history to go to the actual locations. It is really great that so much information is now available online, but one has to scrutinize the data carefully. Most information you find online has been gathered and made available by people like you and I that understand the value of preserving this information and making it available to the public. Most of the sites do not have time or money to verify that information is correct or complete. It is typically collected, transcribed and made available through volunteer efforts as a labor of love. In this case most of the information was sent in by Todd Walker on 2-5-2011.
Research is time consuming and tedious, taking painstaking hours to search and verify every last piece of data to insure each piece is as correct as possible and makes sense within the time frame of the project you are working on. But when you find results it is like a pan handler of the 1890’s sifting out the silt and finding that one nugget of gold. One piece of data will sustain a researcher for uncountable hours, until the next piece is found. When you are fortunate you strike a rich vein and the information seems to pour out like water. It is very addicting and very exhilarating in its own way.
Finding your information online is nice and makes it much easier to trace family living at a distance, but there is nothing that compares to the feeling one gets when one finds the data on one’s own, whether it be an old forgotten record, a carelessly hidden will or a forgotten and weather worn headstone. Spring is here now so put on your old shoes or mud boots, grab a camera, a note pad and a pen, and get on out to say hello to long lost relations. They are there just waiting for you to stop by.
THE POST CREEK CEMETERY-CATLIN CHEMUNG NY
Located on the corner of route 414 and Post Creek road near the Chemung/Steuben County Line.
The following names appear in the www.findagrave.com web site. I have made a notation as to whether or not I also located the grave.
Bucher, Annie A b. unknown d. Apr. 30, 1881 New York, USA (I was unable to locate)
Bucher, Catherine A Perrigo b. 1847 d. Dec. 18, 1923 (Located)
Bucher, Clyde b. 1906 d. 1993 (located)
Bucher, Elvira E b. Oct. 9, 1858 d. Jun. 19, 1881 (located)
Bucher, Emma E b. unknown d. Dec., 1881 (located)
Bucher, Ethel b. 1876 d. Mar. 24, 1879 (unable to locate)
Bucher, Ferris L b. 1879 d. 1948 (located)
Bucher, Milo b. 1852 d. 1927 (Located)
Bucher, Simeon b. 1858 d. 1942 (located)
Bucher, Ursula Ann Smith b. 1848 d. 1934 (located)
Cady, Ella b. 1866 d. 1893 (located)
Cady, Mark b. 1864 d. 1937 (located)
Dann, Cornelia Robyler b. Sep. 8, 1857 d. Aug. 29, 1931 (located)
Dann, William E b. Nov., 1853 d. 1877 (located. I think stone reads death in 1915,)
Gee, Margaret W Cook or Betis b. May, 1813 d. Sep. 25, 1841 (unable to locate)
McElwee, George b. Sep. 30, 1856 d. Apr. 12, 1891 (unable to locate)
McElwee, Jane Waite b. Jan. 4, 1823 d. Oct. 26, 1889 (located)
McElwee, William Edward, II b. Oct. 4, 1820 d. Nov. 20, 1893 (unable to locate)
Middaugh, Sarah Smith b. unknown d. Mar., 1928 (unable to locate)
Morrow, James Humphrey b. Aug. 30, 1845 d. Jul. 20, 1936 (unable to locate)
Morrow, Nancy A McElwee b. Jun. 16, 1848 d. Feb. 2, 1929 (unable to locate)
Sturdevant, Eaden Emerson b. Sep. 20, 1880 d. Oct. 10, 1936 (located)
Sturdevant, Frank L b. Jan. 17, 1907 d. Feb. 5, 1989 (located)
Sturdevant, Kathy Ann b. Oct. 5, 1952 d. Oct. 23, 1957 (Located)
Sturdevant, Leon W b. Dec. 24, 1917 d. Mar. 4, 1986 (Located)
Sturdevant, Luella b. 1886 d. 1962 (Located)
Weaver, Abraham b. Jan. 12, 1798 d. Apr. 20, 1878 (located)
Weaver, Catherine b. Mar. 25, 1795 d. Aug. 29, 1881 (unable to locate)
Weaver, Lewis b. 1821 d. 1889 (unable to locate)
Please note that I am not saying the people I was unable to find are not here. Many of the stones and monuments were in such poor condition they were unreadable.
The following is a list of the additional people I found in my inventory. Many of the stones were difficult to read so dates may not be exact. They are also not in alphabetical order, but in the order we located them moving front to back, row by row. While it is easier to locate names in an alphabetical list and most sites that inventory cemeteries use this practice, I am not overly fond of it. Families tend to be buried in clusters. Many times clues are found from the proximity of the grave to the other graves around them. With the Bucher family they appear to have been fond of small monuments with several people buried in one location and the names added to the various sides of the monument. It is unfortunate that the weather has been so hard on these stones.
Samuel Bucher died 9/4/1883 age 71yrs 9 months 2 days
George W. Bucher son of Samuel and Nancy Busher died?-16-1841 age 6 days
Sophonia B. Bucher Daughter of Samuel and Nancy Bucher died 8/6/1840 age 3 yrs, 2 months, 1 day
Samuel S. Bucher son of Samuel and Nancy Bucher died 9-15-1867 age 19 years 1 day.
Nancy Bucher- Wife of Samuel Bucher died 3-22-1892 aged 83 years 1 month 15 days
?? Daughter of J & J Bucher died 8-5-1810 age 1 year
Jacob Bucher died 8-25-1843 age 68 years 1 month 23 days
Jane Bucher wife of Jacob Bucher died 3-25-1860 age 77 years 2 months 11 days
Frank W. Bucher Died 7-5-?
Cogswell Died 2-7-1891
Cora Cogswell 1879-1882
Arthur Cogswell 1884-1885
Gertrude Cogswell 1897-1898
Avis E. Cogswell Daughter of ? and Sally died 7-2-1883 age 13 years 2 months 2 days
David E. Cogswell died 12-7-1877 age 18 years 7 months 3 days
Sally Ann Cogswell, Wife of Beuell Cogswell died 7-28-1888 age 61 years 20 days
Franklin L. Hamilton son of William & Jane Hamilton died 4-21-1862
Stewart F. Hamilton died 2-23-1860 age 7 months
Milo Hamilton Died 2-27-1860 60 years
Children of William and Jane Hamilton ( unreadable0
Unreadable and sunken stone probably William Hamilton
Jane Hamilton wife of William B12-17-1819 D. 3-30-1904
Emily Bucher (Unreadable )
Mary A. Bucher wife of Milo Bucher B. 12-3-1826 D 2-5-1884 age 65
George Bucher son of William Bucher d 3-?-1851
John Willis Bucher D. 2-11-1851 age 1 year
Milo Bucher (unreadable)
Milo Bucher Jr. D 1851
Robert T. Bucher 1939-1912
Margaret Bucher wife of Robert T. Bucher 1839-1909
John Mouten (Unreadable)
(unreadable) died 6-8-1880
Florence C. Dann ( Mother) 1889-1976
George W. Morrow (Father ) 1872-1955
Jane Perry 1847-1925
Hiram Perry 1848-1924
Herman ? (unreadable)
Lewis Weaver Co.D. 141 Regement NY 1821-1889- wounded in the battle of Atlanta Georgia 1864.
Sally A. Weaver wife of Lewis (no dates) (all of the weavers appear on one stone but dates are unreadable)
Viola weaver,
Oscar weaver
Catherine weaver
Lane Weaver
Katie Weaver
Edward weaver
Frederick Bucher b. 7-2-1814-d.2-5-1888
Lewis E. Kniffin 1832-1868
Mary Kniffin Vanals 1836-1911
Ethel Corwin 1884-1885
Claude S. Corwin 1890-1893
Hank Corwin 1854-1923
Nora his wife (unreadable0
Lewis Halm 1873-1950
Mollie Halm 1882-1952
Mary Halm wife of William 1884-?
George Son of William and Mary Halm d.2-10-1883
Nancy McElwen 1846-1929
James H. Morrow Co D. 50 Regiment NY Engineers b. 8-30-1845 d.7-20-1936
? McElwen b.10-4-18920-?
“Our Baby” Mary Hamilton- Infant death unreadable date
Theodore Davenport 1867-1955
Lillian Davenport 1866-1951
Violet M. Bucher 1885-1956
Olive M. Call wife of Silas E. Call d. 10/10/1867
Seely E. Buck 1829-1899
Lucinda Benson his wife 1830-1880
Richard Eaton Sturdivant b.9-1-1914- d.10-10-1936
Lesley Leon Sturdivant b.12-15-1941-d.12-15-1941
Ella N. Cook 1864-1858
David E. Cook 1848-1919
James Delison Carpenter b.6-29-1995- D.10-14-2003
Nora Ann Gallaher b. 7-25-1940
Mary J. Brown wife of C.D. Brown 1860-1903
Samuel Yaple d. 8-15-1887
Ernest Edward Hooey NY PFC Co. B 302 Engineers WWI b. 3-25-1891 D. 3-23-1954
Leroy E. Hooey NY Wagoneer Sup. Co, 307 Infantry WWI b3-22-1888- D. 4/21/1962
Libbie Hooey 1893-1982
Sabrina Beebe D. 9-28-1900 age 78
Bertie Beebe (no date)
Amos Beebe (no date)
Jarry Beebe (no date)
Amos Kimble no date (research indicates b1828-d.12-31-1898
Mary Kimble his wife b. 10-7-1834 d. 1891
Leonard Middough 1874-1943
Nellie Middough 1876-19?
John Middough 1841-1912 Co. G. 5oth NY engineers
Sarah H. Middough- wife of John Middough 1846-1978
Roger Rinehart 1940-1967
Gladys M. Rinehart 1912-2002
Lester L. Rinehart 1911-1988
Jess Newton 1865-1938
Mina Newton his wife 1866-1934
Smith (unreadable)
Cemetery Pictures to follow
When I arrived I was certain there were more than 29 graves in the Cemetery. With my daughter in tow I set out to photograph and inventory what I could. Many of the stones are illegible. Some have sunk into the ground so far that only the top protrudes. Others have been weather worn smooth; still others have had the top portion chipped away. There were several that we found that we could not read but could feel that there was still writing, if only I had taken some materials to get rubbings. Sadly, I had not planned that far ahead.
There is a very large section in the center for the cemetery that has clearly held graves. The ground is depressed where caskets have shifted and decayed, but there is no evidence that these spots had headstones. Not everyone is able to afford a stone. Even today it is not uncommon for someone to go years, and possibly forever without a proper headstone. Today the funeral parlor places a temporary bronze placard on the site. A hundred to two hundred years ago they may have used wooden markers, which have long since decayed back into the soil.
We carefully went stone-by-stone to record what we could; working from front to back, the front nearest route 414 was evidently the oldest section of the cemetery. There are a few new graves in the rear, so the cemetery is still somewhat active.
When I compared our list with the list on Find a Grave I was surprised at how many names they did not have and that they had a few we did not find. This is why it is so important when working on a family history to go to the actual locations. It is really great that so much information is now available online, but one has to scrutinize the data carefully. Most information you find online has been gathered and made available by people like you and I that understand the value of preserving this information and making it available to the public. Most of the sites do not have time or money to verify that information is correct or complete. It is typically collected, transcribed and made available through volunteer efforts as a labor of love. In this case most of the information was sent in by Todd Walker on 2-5-2011.
Research is time consuming and tedious, taking painstaking hours to search and verify every last piece of data to insure each piece is as correct as possible and makes sense within the time frame of the project you are working on. But when you find results it is like a pan handler of the 1890’s sifting out the silt and finding that one nugget of gold. One piece of data will sustain a researcher for uncountable hours, until the next piece is found. When you are fortunate you strike a rich vein and the information seems to pour out like water. It is very addicting and very exhilarating in its own way.
Finding your information online is nice and makes it much easier to trace family living at a distance, but there is nothing that compares to the feeling one gets when one finds the data on one’s own, whether it be an old forgotten record, a carelessly hidden will or a forgotten and weather worn headstone. Spring is here now so put on your old shoes or mud boots, grab a camera, a note pad and a pen, and get on out to say hello to long lost relations. They are there just waiting for you to stop by.
THE POST CREEK CEMETERY-CATLIN CHEMUNG NY
Located on the corner of route 414 and Post Creek road near the Chemung/Steuben County Line.
The following names appear in the www.findagrave.com web site. I have made a notation as to whether or not I also located the grave.
Bucher, Annie A b. unknown d. Apr. 30, 1881 New York, USA (I was unable to locate)
Bucher, Catherine A Perrigo b. 1847 d. Dec. 18, 1923 (Located)
Bucher, Clyde b. 1906 d. 1993 (located)
Bucher, Elvira E b. Oct. 9, 1858 d. Jun. 19, 1881 (located)
Bucher, Emma E b. unknown d. Dec., 1881 (located)
Bucher, Ethel b. 1876 d. Mar. 24, 1879 (unable to locate)
Bucher, Ferris L b. 1879 d. 1948 (located)
Bucher, Milo b. 1852 d. 1927 (Located)
Bucher, Simeon b. 1858 d. 1942 (located)
Bucher, Ursula Ann Smith b. 1848 d. 1934 (located)
Cady, Ella b. 1866 d. 1893 (located)
Cady, Mark b. 1864 d. 1937 (located)
Dann, Cornelia Robyler b. Sep. 8, 1857 d. Aug. 29, 1931 (located)
Dann, William E b. Nov., 1853 d. 1877 (located. I think stone reads death in 1915,)
Gee, Margaret W Cook or Betis b. May, 1813 d. Sep. 25, 1841 (unable to locate)
McElwee, George b. Sep. 30, 1856 d. Apr. 12, 1891 (unable to locate)
McElwee, Jane Waite b. Jan. 4, 1823 d. Oct. 26, 1889 (located)
McElwee, William Edward, II b. Oct. 4, 1820 d. Nov. 20, 1893 (unable to locate)
Middaugh, Sarah Smith b. unknown d. Mar., 1928 (unable to locate)
Morrow, James Humphrey b. Aug. 30, 1845 d. Jul. 20, 1936 (unable to locate)
Morrow, Nancy A McElwee b. Jun. 16, 1848 d. Feb. 2, 1929 (unable to locate)
Sturdevant, Eaden Emerson b. Sep. 20, 1880 d. Oct. 10, 1936 (located)
Sturdevant, Frank L b. Jan. 17, 1907 d. Feb. 5, 1989 (located)
Sturdevant, Kathy Ann b. Oct. 5, 1952 d. Oct. 23, 1957 (Located)
Sturdevant, Leon W b. Dec. 24, 1917 d. Mar. 4, 1986 (Located)
Sturdevant, Luella b. 1886 d. 1962 (Located)
Weaver, Abraham b. Jan. 12, 1798 d. Apr. 20, 1878 (located)
Weaver, Catherine b. Mar. 25, 1795 d. Aug. 29, 1881 (unable to locate)
Weaver, Lewis b. 1821 d. 1889 (unable to locate)
Please note that I am not saying the people I was unable to find are not here. Many of the stones and monuments were in such poor condition they were unreadable.
The following is a list of the additional people I found in my inventory. Many of the stones were difficult to read so dates may not be exact. They are also not in alphabetical order, but in the order we located them moving front to back, row by row. While it is easier to locate names in an alphabetical list and most sites that inventory cemeteries use this practice, I am not overly fond of it. Families tend to be buried in clusters. Many times clues are found from the proximity of the grave to the other graves around them. With the Bucher family they appear to have been fond of small monuments with several people buried in one location and the names added to the various sides of the monument. It is unfortunate that the weather has been so hard on these stones.
Samuel Bucher died 9/4/1883 age 71yrs 9 months 2 days
George W. Bucher son of Samuel and Nancy Busher died?-16-1841 age 6 days
Sophonia B. Bucher Daughter of Samuel and Nancy Bucher died 8/6/1840 age 3 yrs, 2 months, 1 day
Samuel S. Bucher son of Samuel and Nancy Bucher died 9-15-1867 age 19 years 1 day.
Nancy Bucher- Wife of Samuel Bucher died 3-22-1892 aged 83 years 1 month 15 days
?? Daughter of J & J Bucher died 8-5-1810 age 1 year
Jacob Bucher died 8-25-1843 age 68 years 1 month 23 days
Jane Bucher wife of Jacob Bucher died 3-25-1860 age 77 years 2 months 11 days
Frank W. Bucher Died 7-5-?
Cogswell Died 2-7-1891
Cora Cogswell 1879-1882
Arthur Cogswell 1884-1885
Gertrude Cogswell 1897-1898
Avis E. Cogswell Daughter of ? and Sally died 7-2-1883 age 13 years 2 months 2 days
David E. Cogswell died 12-7-1877 age 18 years 7 months 3 days
Sally Ann Cogswell, Wife of Beuell Cogswell died 7-28-1888 age 61 years 20 days
Franklin L. Hamilton son of William & Jane Hamilton died 4-21-1862
Stewart F. Hamilton died 2-23-1860 age 7 months
Milo Hamilton Died 2-27-1860 60 years
Children of William and Jane Hamilton ( unreadable0
Unreadable and sunken stone probably William Hamilton
Jane Hamilton wife of William B12-17-1819 D. 3-30-1904
Emily Bucher (Unreadable )
Mary A. Bucher wife of Milo Bucher B. 12-3-1826 D 2-5-1884 age 65
George Bucher son of William Bucher d 3-?-1851
John Willis Bucher D. 2-11-1851 age 1 year
Milo Bucher (unreadable)
Milo Bucher Jr. D 1851
Robert T. Bucher 1939-1912
Margaret Bucher wife of Robert T. Bucher 1839-1909
John Mouten (Unreadable)
(unreadable) died 6-8-1880
Florence C. Dann ( Mother) 1889-1976
George W. Morrow (Father ) 1872-1955
Jane Perry 1847-1925
Hiram Perry 1848-1924
Herman ? (unreadable)
Lewis Weaver Co.D. 141 Regement NY 1821-1889- wounded in the battle of Atlanta Georgia 1864.
Sally A. Weaver wife of Lewis (no dates) (all of the weavers appear on one stone but dates are unreadable)
Viola weaver,
Oscar weaver
Catherine weaver
Lane Weaver
Katie Weaver
Edward weaver
Frederick Bucher b. 7-2-1814-d.2-5-1888
Lewis E. Kniffin 1832-1868
Mary Kniffin Vanals 1836-1911
Ethel Corwin 1884-1885
Claude S. Corwin 1890-1893
Hank Corwin 1854-1923
Nora his wife (unreadable0
Lewis Halm 1873-1950
Mollie Halm 1882-1952
Mary Halm wife of William 1884-?
George Son of William and Mary Halm d.2-10-1883
Nancy McElwen 1846-1929
James H. Morrow Co D. 50 Regiment NY Engineers b. 8-30-1845 d.7-20-1936
? McElwen b.10-4-18920-?
“Our Baby” Mary Hamilton- Infant death unreadable date
Theodore Davenport 1867-1955
Lillian Davenport 1866-1951
Violet M. Bucher 1885-1956
Olive M. Call wife of Silas E. Call d. 10/10/1867
Seely E. Buck 1829-1899
Lucinda Benson his wife 1830-1880
Richard Eaton Sturdivant b.9-1-1914- d.10-10-1936
Lesley Leon Sturdivant b.12-15-1941-d.12-15-1941
Ella N. Cook 1864-1858
David E. Cook 1848-1919
James Delison Carpenter b.6-29-1995- D.10-14-2003
Nora Ann Gallaher b. 7-25-1940
Mary J. Brown wife of C.D. Brown 1860-1903
Samuel Yaple d. 8-15-1887
Ernest Edward Hooey NY PFC Co. B 302 Engineers WWI b. 3-25-1891 D. 3-23-1954
Leroy E. Hooey NY Wagoneer Sup. Co, 307 Infantry WWI b3-22-1888- D. 4/21/1962
Libbie Hooey 1893-1982
Sabrina Beebe D. 9-28-1900 age 78
Bertie Beebe (no date)
Amos Beebe (no date)
Jarry Beebe (no date)
Amos Kimble no date (research indicates b1828-d.12-31-1898
Mary Kimble his wife b. 10-7-1834 d. 1891
Leonard Middough 1874-1943
Nellie Middough 1876-19?
John Middough 1841-1912 Co. G. 5oth NY engineers
Sarah H. Middough- wife of John Middough 1846-1978
Roger Rinehart 1940-1967
Gladys M. Rinehart 1912-2002
Lester L. Rinehart 1911-1988
Jess Newton 1865-1938
Mina Newton his wife 1866-1934
Smith (unreadable)
Cemetery Pictures to follow
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