Elijah Stanton (d.1849) -- A Revolutionary Soldier

 

Photo by DJ Paul dated 1 Jun 2024 (not copyrighted)

The rural graves of Connecticut Revolutionary War private soldier Elijah Stanton (1754-1849), his beloved wife Lucy (Goodell) Stanton (d.1836), and their son John Warren Stanton (d.1838) were tended in May/June 2024, the yard work included manually pulling surrounding weeds assisted by a weed/grass string trimmer.  Afterwards, Elijah's moss/mold stained headstone was treated with Wet & Forget brand moss, mold, mildew, & algae stain remover outdoor surface cleaner. Wet & Forget is one product suggested by the U.S. Veterans Cemetery Administration for headstone cleaning. The bleach-free, non-acidic, and phosphate-free product is claimed over time, to kill all sorts of mold, mildew, and moss without scrubbing. We will make a return trip to these graves located in Eatonville Cemetery (aka Eaton's Bush Cemetery), to check the headstone stain removal process.

Also, a strong shout-out is extended to the Herkimer Town Council (of Herkimer County, New York), the Town of Herkimer Highway Superintendent Ken Ward and his highway department employees for keeping the cemetery well mowed – this noted with highest pleasure.  Many thanks!

NOTE: Click HERE to view additional information at Find A Grave.

Cemetery Upkeep Unacceptable

Stevens Cemetery Front Gate Signage

Six southern Schoharie County and northern Delaware County cemeteries (New York State) were visited on Traditional Memorial Day, May 30, 2018.  I'm happy to report that our many ancestor's monuments located here remain in good shape.  And all but one cemetery seem to be well-maintained by highly concerned caretakers.  The single exception is Harpersfield Rural Cemetery (aka: Stevens Cemetery).  Stevens Cemetery is found in a neglected state; whereas, it is apparent the grounds have not been mowed in 2018.  Further, several mounds of autumn leaves are piled along the southern high rock wall fence, likely left there since late fall 2017.  The good news here is that the several known U.S. Miltary Veterans interred at Stevens Cemetery all had an earned freshly placed new American Flag affixed to their graves.  But the high grasses of this cemetery lawn fundamentally and disgustingly nearly cover these earned American Flags. This condition represents a high dishonor to those many Revolutionary War, Civil War, and various World War Veterans interred here. 

Cemetery view from inside front gate, dated 30 May 2018.

Stevens Cemetery maintenance is supported by a significant endowment for perpetual care of cemetery grounds.  The cited cemetery care endowment is presumed administered by some appointed competent authority, an authority who has failed in presumed cemetery oversight responsibility.

Marginal cemetery maintenance at Stevens is an ongoing problem noted over the past several years, but this year has reached a totally unacceptable level of neglect.  The cemetery perpetual care administrators are respectfully and forcefully asked to take swift action to engage a more patriotic and care-minded paid cemetery maintenance crew. The current Stevens Cemetery maintenance situation is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!  Simply put, for goodness sake -- a detailed cemetery lawn maintenance activity must be done about one week (+/- a couple days) PRIOR to Memorial Day!

Presented below are a few gravesite photos dated 30 May 2018.  Note:  The weed-eating noted was done by the post author using a limited battery-operated device on the morning of Traditional Memorial Day 2018.  

Revolutionary Soldier Captain James Smith, his wife Mary Hubbard, their son Nehemiah and wife Hannah Guernsey and family.

Graves of Colonel Joel Mack and wife Susannah.
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Revolutionary War Soldier James Smith Jr. and wife Elizabeth Shailer.  James is the son of aforementioned Captain James and Mary Hubbard Smith. 

Respectfully submitted,

DJ Paul, CWO4 (ret.)

United States Navy

German Flatts, NY, USA

  

A Soldier and Sailor of the Revolutionary War

Frederick Smith grave site, with Revolutionary War Veteran marker and American Flag holder.  

In Haddam, Connecticut, when our 5^th Great Grandpa Frederick Smith was born on March First 1760, his father Captain James Smith was aged 21, and his mother the former Miss Mary Hubbard was aged 19. Mary Hubbard Smith and husband Captain James Smith are one pair of our 6^th Great Grandparents. As a teenage soldier, their eldest son Frederick Smith served as an enlisted private soldier during the Revolutionary War, part of the fighting Connecticut Militia, with likely service as a soldier in the Revolutionary War Militia Company his dad commanded. Then in 1778, young Frederick served a five-month stint as an able-bodied seaman and privateer aboard the American Brig New Broom, an armed-for-war brig outfitted with 16-guns, then commanded by Captain Israel Bishop sailing from New London, Connecticut. Unfortunately, on October 22, 1778 this good ship and crew of New Broom were captured off Nantucket Shoals by the gallant sailors of two British warships HMS Ariel and HMS Savage. The captured New Broom was redirected by escort to New York City Harbor. Frederick was held as a POW for one month at New York City. Then he and other enlisted sailors were presumably paroled by British authority (naval officers were typically held by the British as POW on one of those dreadful prison ships). Frederick's Revolutionary War military service was then likely over, as a honor-bound condition of his POW parole.

Basic sail configuration of a late 18th century brig

In the summer of 1780, Frederick married the local beauty Miss Sarah Brainerd in ceremony at their mutual hometown Haddam, Connecticut. At some point prior to 1790, his parents Captain James and Mary Hubbard Smith removed their entire family from Haddam, Connecticut to Harpersfield, Delaware County, New York, where they had earlier purchased a couple large lots from the original Colonel John Harper Land Patent. One of these Harpersfield lots was sub-divided by Captain James and Mary Smith to thus give equal farming acreage to each of his four adult sons. One contemporary account states that Captain Smith removed his entire family from Haddam to Delaware County, NY because he did not want his sons to become sailors, a area vocation not then unusual for male residents of Haddam, Connecticut -- then a busy inland port less than twenty miles from Long Island Sound on the navigable Connecticut River.  

The Frederick and Sarah Brainerd Smith marriage produced four children, the eldest a daughter Hannah – she being our 4^th Great Grandmother. Following Sarah's untimely death in February 1828, Frederick re-married Ms. Isabella Norton in a local New York State ceremony. He out-lived his second wife Isabella, she passing in 1841. Frederick did not marry a third time, he died a widower on July 17, 1852, in the Hamlet of Jefferson, Schoharie County, NY, USA, passing at the impressive age of 92. Frederick was interred at North Harpersfield Cemetery, North Harpersfield, Delaware County, New York, where his beloved two wives are also interred by his side.

Frederick Smith Family Plot, North Harpersfield Cemetery, Town of Harpersfield, Delaware County, New York, USA.  Second wife Isabella lower left, first wife Sarah is lower center, and Frederick center right (with Memorial American Flag). 

The reconstructed War of 1812 U.S. Brig Niagara,

perhaps 25% larger than a typical Revolutionary War brig

See: Click Here