Stories in Stone
Preserving History One Gravestone At A Time
Cemeteries
are the "Great American Novel" and every gravestone represents a chapter
in that novel. This site is our effort in writing a portion of that
novel by documenting cemeteries and preserving the stories of those
individuals buried in them.
Of the six counties (Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Clinton, and Essex) that comprise the "North Country" of New York, we primarily focus on Jefferson and Lewis Counties. Additionally as we travel the migration routes into Jefferson County, we also visit cemeteries along the route that brought pioneers into the area. Consequently you will also find information on several cemeteries in Oswego County. Our goal is to help preserve the rich history of this portion of the North Country and to assist you in your family research.
As part of our effort to document cemeteries and capture the stories of the individuals interred in them, we make extensive use of historical records. The census, baptisms, deaths, marriages, family histories, tax rolls, directories, and studies are aides we use to better understand each of the stories represented by gravestones. Information in each of the collections is under continuous review to catch errors and refine information as we develop better methods of interpreting and presenting the data. Also you may want to return periodically as we are always on the search for new sources of information. The News page provides a list of projects underway as well as those that have been recently completed.
The Graves of Veterans
So many have sacrificed so much in the defense of our great county. One aspect of our documenting cemeteries is to identify as many graves of veterans as possible. While organizations such as the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Daughters of the War of 1812, various Civil War organizations, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) have contributed enormously to the identification, preservation, and honoring of the graves of veterans, there are too many veterans whose graves have not been documented or honored. In order to pay respect to those who gave so much ensuring our way of life, we dedicate a significant portion of our research effort on identifying the graves of all veterans. In order to accomplish the identification of veterans graves, we need you help. From many of the stones it's impossible to determine if the individual was a veteran and historical records are woefully incomplete. If you know of a veteran buried in either Jefferson or Lewis County that we don't have listed, please let us know through the Contact page, so we can get them properly annotated.
We sincerely hope you enjoy your stay and find the information beneficial. Requests for specific information. sources or to report errors encountered on the site, please contact us via the Contact page.
Suggestions / comments on how to make this site more usable are greatly appreciated and can be forwarded using the Contact page.