June 14, 2002

Be sure to check out the vast amount of information on the St. Mary's Cemetery (old), Town of Potsdam, very generously provided by John Austin.

October 4, 2000

Leon Burnap, Town of Norfolk Historian, very kindly e-mailed me and brought to my attention the fact that Jim Spencer and the Norfolk American Legion had spent considerable time at the Kyle Cemetery (Also known as the Lost Nation Cemetery), making it look better. They repaired stones, reset stones in their foundations, and otherwise made improvements in this cemetery's appearance. As a direct result of their efforts, two more names were added to the Kyle Cemetery, when I re-visited it. A Francis Wine and a person with the last name of Went, but otherwise not legible were added.

On August 26th and 27th, the Town of Brasher had their 175th Anniversary Celebration, and the weather cooperated, and they had a great week-end of activities. I visited the Town of Brasher museum in Helena, and saw a great many people and a great many displays on the 27th. Also visited the District V School House which was open. This school house is located right in front of the Shean's Corners Cemetery and is in great shape. Also took some digital photos of the cemetery, which are now on the webpage.

If you are interested in cemetery restoration, be sure to check out the details regarding joining the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, which you will find at the bottom of this page. From the Autumn 2000 VOCA newsletter: "Cleaning stones--VOCA frowns on steam cleaning, for this is too strong a pressure, it blows away top layer of stone. It is best to use water, a bristle brush, and a mixture of 1/4 cup ammonia to 1 gallon of water. Then rinse well. Do not use bleach unless you have water to rinse VERY WELL; bleach continues to work its way into the stone and wears it prematurely. Gawet Memorials in the Rutland (VT) area are good people to consult for advice."

This organization is very active in the preserving and restoration of old cemeteries.

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If you are in this area, and are looking for information on local history or the local cemeteries, don't overlook the small museums in this county that are usually only open during the summer. Usually, you find an in-house expert on duty, that is only too happy to provide information. This is an attempt to list some of those museums and their hours. If you have additions or corrections, please let me know.

HOPKINTON--The Hopkinton Historical Group will hold an open house from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 9, at the museum. Refreshments will be served. The museum will be open for the summer from 2 to 4 p.m. every Sunday through Labor Day.

STOCKHOLM-- The Town of Stockholm Museum and History Center is open every Tuesday from 1-3 p.m. in the Municipal Building, Winthrop through Aug. 29, except it will not be open on July 4.

NORWOOD--The Norwood Museum, 39 North Main St., Norwood, is open from 2 to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday. Curator Gerald LaComb invites everyone in the area to come and visit the museum. There are many interesting articles and displays for everyone to enjoy.

PARISHVILLE--The Parishville Museum (located on the main street in Parishville, in a beautiful old house), is open July and August, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 1 to 3 p.m.

POTSDAM--

MASSENA--

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The following article was taken from the Thursday, June 15, 2000 edition of the Daily

Courier-Observer, page11)

PARISHVILLE--Parishville Town Historian Emma Remington has completed a long-

term project to obtain flags and Revolutionary War markers plus two Continental Plaques

for the Revolutionary patriots of Parishville.

There were many more Revolutionary soldiers who resided and are buried in Parishville

cemeteries than previously believed. When Emma saw the listing, she took her camera

and with her grandson, located these patriots.

Then she made application to the Veterans Administration for their markers, flags and the

two plaques for those cemetery stones badly corroded.

Emma has this arranged in a booklet with the pertinent information and photos.

A dedication ceremony is planned for this summer, date to be announced. The

Nihanawate Chapter of The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) commend

Reminton for a job well done.

There are eight Revolutionary War Patriots from Parishville. They are Elijah Allen,

Hillcrest Cemetery; Zadoc Bloss, Chapel Hill Cemetery, (plaque); Benjamin Brand,

Hillcrest Cemetery, (plaque); Benjamin Cross, Hillcrest Cemetery; Jabez Olmstead,

Riverside Cemetery; Hiram Peck, Hillcrest Cemetery; Frederick Strobeck, Riverside

Cemetery; Jonathan Weller, Riverside Cemetery. All have revolutionary War markers

and flags.

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If you are interested in local history, be sure and visit the Edwards Museum website, if you haven't already. It's a neat site!

Also, if you see a name listed in one of my stone census, and would like to see a digital photo of the stone, or a small number of stones, then please email me and I will make them available to you.

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 Note: Francis R. Gates passed away on April 7, 2003. (Obituary)

Francis Gates (popgator@northnet.org) has emailed me with many digital photos of various local cemeteries. He also has produced some great cemetery maps for several cemeteries.

Pleasant Mound Cemetery, Town of Colton---map and database

Evergreen Cemetery, Town of Canton--map

Fairview Cemetery, Town of Canton--map and database, plus uncovering a Lost Cemetery, at that location

Hermon Cemetery, Town of Hermon,--map and database for four distinct areas of this cemetery

St. Therese Cemetery, Town of Lawrence,--new map and layout of a new cemetery

St. Mary's Cemetery, Town of Waddington--maps and databases for all three cemeteries

Fred Jahne (jahne@northnet.org) (Trustee, St. Mary's Parish), sent me a recent email telling me about their recent restoration efforts at the original St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. 127 graves starting in 1819 to the latest (1916) have been documented with the possibility of more graves being discovered as they reassemble broken stones. (This census is available at Anne Cady's website). (See below).

I met Herb Judd a couple weeks ago at the St. Lawrence County Historical Association archives (he is an active volunteer at SLCHA), and also very instrumental in the operation of Crary Mills Cemetery. We had a nice visit about cemeteries and the upkeep. He was telling me that their cemetery prides itself on digging every grave by hand. (And there are many rocks in that cemetery, according to Herb)! If you're driving by that cemetery, take note of how great it looks!

If you have an interest in repairing gravestones, or even just knowing the types of material that the stones are made from, then take a look at the following webpage. They have an excellent book that is available for $10.00 plus shipping which covers a lot of ground--a chapter on identifying stone and metal (including a brief description of the formation of rocks within the earth), a chapter on cleaning stone, ten common repairs, and mortars. For the price, its a great reference book.

Another great bargain I think is a subscription to the Vermont Old Cemetery Association. If you subscribe you will receive a newsletter regarding old cemeteries in Vermont. 1 year--$5.00, 5 years--$20.00. Make check payable to VOCA, and mail to Richard Jacobson, 7 Harbor Ridge Road, South Burlington, VT 05403.