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

  

Surname Connections Between the Smith and Brainerd Families in Middlesex County, Connecticut

Sarah [Brainerd] Smith (1762-1828)

Lieutenant David Smith (d.1756, Haddam, CT) and his wife Dorothy [Brainerd] Smith (d.1754, Haddam, CT) are our 7^th Great Grandparents, and the parents of Revolutionary War Veteran Captain James Smith (d.1831, Harpersfield, NY). Captain James Smith married Mary Hubbard (d.1832, Harpersfield, NY) in 1759 Haddam, Middlesex County, Connecticut, their eldest child being our 5^th Great Grandfather and Revolutionary War Veteran Frederick Smith (d.1852, Harpersfield, NY). Our Fall 2016 Haddam-area cemetery and library visits focused on Brainerd and Smith family research. Findings confirm the interesting fact where 5th Great Grandfather Frederick Smith and his first wife our 5^th Great Grandmother Sarah Brainerd (d.1828, Harpersfield, NY), share the same 2nd Great Grandparents.  These common ancestors are Brainerd Family colonial progenitors Deacon Daniel Brainerd (d.1715, Haddam, CT) and Hannah Lynn (Spencer) Brainerd (d.1691, Haddam, CT). Frederick and Sarah [Brainerd] Smith are thus 3rd cousins, their fourth child is Hannah [Smith] Odell (d.1840, Jefferson, Schoharie County, NY). Hannah (Smith) Odell is our generation's 4^th Great Grandmother, and our last known surname direct-link to this Haddam, Connecticut colonial Smith Family.

Such inter-family and intra-family marriages in 17th century British Colonial ancestry are not typical, but actually not unusual.  In our Sheldon Family ancestry, 5th Great Grandmother Esther [Sheldon] Odell's maternal great-grandfather and her paternal great-great-grandfather are the same man (Mr. John Sheldon [S0023], d.1705).  In our Stanton lineage, 7th Great Grandparents William Stanton (d.1718, Stonington, CT) and Anne Stanton (d.1724, Stonington, CT) are first cousins (their respective fathers are full-brothers and the sons of Stonington, Connecticut founder Thomas Stanton [d.1677]).

Genealogy pursuit is fun, where the variety and breadth of ancestral anomalies found are simply striking. Several generations back on our paternal side we find two convicted murderers, one of these somehow arranged an early release from a life sentence in a Vermont prison, then removed to the mid-west where he became a significant landowner and local politician of some note.  A 7th Great Grandfather Thomas Sheldon (d.1758) was mortally-wounded-in-action serving as a militia soldier during the French and Indian War, Battle of Carillion, 8 Jul 1758 (aka The Battle of Ticonderoga). Our ancestry includes more than three dozen Revolutionary War Veterans (at least two died as POWs aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor), over a dozen American Civil War Union Veterans -- two of these infantry soldiers are 2nd great grandfathers and one distant cousin who died as a POW in rebel hands in that Andersonville hell-hole.  Additionally, our lineage holds a few senior British colonial military colonels, several company commanders, and a couple early New England militia generals. No murderers are known on our maternal side, but 75% of mom's ancestors are French, hailing from New France (now Quebec, Canada).  From what I know of "canucks" -- well, it seems unlikely these French ancestors were all pure as the driven Canadian snows. Finally, we also know mom's French ancestry likely holds some small percentage of DNA sourced by First Millennium Viking sailors.