New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association
July 14, 2001
The
summer meeting of the New Hampshire Old Graveyard Association was held at
Rye, NH on July 14, 2001. President Joan Casarotto presided. Bonnie Goodwin,
co-chair of the Rye Historical Society welcomed us. Louise Tallman introduced
Nat Wright, whose Eagle Scout project involved graveyard restoration. He was
in charge of organizing the work projects. He spoke briefly on his plans for
various sites in Rye.
Clark
Bagnall read the minutes of the spring meeting. They were approved with corrections.
Doris
Ashton, Corresponding Secretary, reminded everyone that she needs articles
for the rubbings. Be sure to include
the newspaper and date when sending articles.
Jean
Mertinooke read the Treasurer’s report. She reported a balance of $2,027.39.
Louise
Tallman noted that the Regional Planning Commission recently supplied a draft
copy of a map of Rye showing all graveyard locations. These maps are now available
for all towns in Rockingham County. Louise also noted that a recent historical
study of the Union Cemetery in Portsmouth recommended demolishing the receiving
tomb that has been unused for years. The façade of the tomb will be preserved.
Trina
Purcell reported that our USGS maps have been loaned to the Office of State
Planning. We have copies.
Louise
introduced our speaker, Roger Syphers of Syphers Monument Co. Mr. Syphers
has extensive experience in gravestone restoration in many towns in the Seacoast
area. He began by taking a course in gravestone restoration at the University
of Maine in Gorham. A recent restoration
project was done at the North Cemetery in Portsmouth. The Portsmouth Herald
was first approached as a source of funds to finance this work. The Portsmouth
Gas Company donated $5000.00 and the City of Portsmouth matched this amount.
Restoration work was started in the front and has reached about the center
of the cemetery. This is near the grave of William Whipple who was a signer
of the Declaration of Independence. Nearby is buried Prince Whipple, one of
William’s slaves. William Whipple was a privateer, and he captured a slave
ship. The slaves were auctioned off in Portsmouth.. One of the slaves was
the son of an African king and thus became known as Prince Whipple. He had
a brother named Cuffy. William Whipple offered Prince his freedom if he would
fight in the Revolutionary War. Prince survived the war, was made free, married,
and lived in a section of Portsmouth known as “the Hill”. His gravestone in
North Cemetery is a government marker.
Mr.
Syphers noted that tree roots are a considerable problem in this cemetery,
sometimes completely surrounding the base of a stone. There was a lot of broken
glass littering the cemetery. A few bones were also found. Mr. Syphers says
he is always on the lookout for ghosts in the cemetery. He always talks to
the people buried there and thanks them for their patience while he works
on their stone. Union Cemetery is near North. Homeless people broke into the
receiving tomb and set up a couch for their comfort.
Other
projects he has worked on include the restoration of the Soldiers and Sailors’
Monument in Kittery. This involved resetting four urns that weighed 1000 pounds
each. He had four new bases carved in Barre, VT. These were then connected
to the urns with stainless steel rods. He also had one top re-carved; in the
end everything matched. The flagstone walk was in bad shape from frost heaves.
Restoration of this walk turned out to be quite difficult. He also extracted
a time capsule, placed there in 1924 and added to later. He noted that poison
oak can be a hazard when working in old graveyards because the sap can be
spread by the wind. Seabrook has recently appropriated funds for graveyard
restoration. He noted that he had found one stone where the surname Green
was misspelled as “Geen”. He found one stone used to prop up another. Recently
while widening route 107, the grave of Nancy Gove was uncovered. She was reburied
in a new coffin. He erected a new stone. This site was right next to the church
on the corner of the road.
One
of the oldest sites in Seabrook is the Quaker Cemetery, which dates from about
1715. All stones were cleaned. In one summer he cleaned 6000 stones and repaired
2000. He uses his own cleaning solution with a power washer. He noted that
care must be taken when using a power washer. You have to balance the time
it takes to clean the stone against the possibility of damaging it. It is
important to clean all the way to the bottom of the stone. Some cleaning must
be redone periodically. There is a preservative available but it’s too expensive
for routine use. He recommends using a solution of bleach and water, allowing
it to sit for half a day. Use a very soft bristle brush and be very careful.
Wear old clothes and glasses. If a stone is leaning, the base must be repaired
first. He emphasized the need to do the work right the first time, so you
don’t need to go back.
He
also restored the Riverside Cemetery in New Castle. There was an obelisk in
the middle of the cemetery that was covered with lichen that had gotten into
the lettering. This stone recorded the names of people lost at sea on trips
to Boston and elsewhere. He has restored the Gove Cemetery. He also restored
the Seavy Cemetery in Rye. John Langdon Adams, a Seavy descendant, sponsored
this restoration. Initially there were only three stones visible; eventually
60 were found. There are 17 posts for a chain fence around the perimeter.
This project also involved setting up a bench at the site.
He
also spoke about the Whidden Cemetery on Route 1, near the Taco Belle. A car
ran into the cemetery, breaking two table stones. These stones were taken
for evidence in the court case. Arthur Cole’s wife is a descendant of some
of the people buried here. There are 24 graves in all. All stones will be
restored and a sign erected noting the date of the cemetery as 1794. Funds
must be raised by donation since the insurance money only pays for the two
broken stones.
He
also worked in the Pine Grove Cemetery in Hampton. He was able to give an
estimate of the cost to the Historical Commission that handles the funds.
There are not many people doing this type of restoration work. He recommended
forming a committee as the best way to obtain funds from the town for such
efforts.
After
this interesting talk, the business meeting commenced. Clark Bagnall gave
the Computer Committee report. The pages for the web site have been redone.
Site locations are now given in latitude and longitude as well as UTM coordinates.
The pages also contain buttons that link to the TopoZone site, which plots
the exact location on a USGS map. These maps can then be printed out as an
aid to locating the site. The new pages have been sent to the Society of Genealogist
but are not yet up. Clark displayed a sample of the maps.
Alex
Herlihy of the Rye Historical Society spoke briefly about their museum building.
He showed an 1898 town report in which the Cemetery Committee complained about
trash in the cemeteries. There are three grave markers currently in the museum.
A stone for John Foss was found under the tower of the church. This was moved
to the Foss graveyard. Ann Langdon’s marker was broken in many pieces. It
has been replaced with a plaque and the pieces moved to the museum. A Garland
stone was leaning against a barn. The barn burned and the heat damaged the
stone. It is now in the museum. Some stones were used to make a walkway. The
Historical Society is trying to obtain these for the museum.
The
fall meeting will be held September 8th in Hollis, NH. Ruth Greenway
spoke briefly about our meeting place. Joan Tinklepaugh will be the speaker.
After the business meeting adjourned, we toured the Historical Society’s museum,
and visited several local graveyards, including the Brackett massacre burial
site.
Respectfully
submitted,
Clark
H Bagnall
Recording
Secretary