George Hawkins 3 May 2022

 Extremely unusual.... stone in the Mount Moriah Cemetery, note the broken saber and neckcloth of George W Hawkins lieutenant colonel is that the 97th rectory RV killed at Hatchers Run died on 28th October 1864 36 years old. the stone reads: One of the brightest stars the galaxy of fallen heroes. His wife is Anna L Hawkins she was born in 1833 and died in 1919.

https://www.battlefields.org/.../civ.../battles/hatchers-run

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12710820/george-w-hawkins

Elizabeth (Betsy) Griscom- Ross April 2022

 Elizabeth Griscom who was born on 1 January 1752 N.J. her Father Samuel is a successful Carpenter and a Quaker he purchased 495 acres of land in the spring garden section North of the city of Philadelphia.

Elizabeth is also known as Betsy went to a friend's public School and church. She fell in love with John Ross who was the son of an Episcopalian rector at Christ Church. The two eloped in November 1773 and wed in New Jersey. Her wedding caused a split with her family and her being readout of the Quaker Meeting House.

The couple started an upholstery business in Philadelphia and you could find Betsy and her husband John at Christ Church sitting in pew 12. John was mortally wounded in an explosion while guarding ammunitions in 1776. He died on the 21st and was buried at Christ Church Cemetery

Betsy married in June of 1777 to Captain Joseph Ashburn a ceremony performed at Old Swedes Church on Swanson Street, Philadelphia PA. Joseph was captured by the British on a trip to West Indies he ended up in prison in England and died in March of 1782.

In May of 1783, Betsy married a third time to John Claypool the ceremony was performed at Christ Church. The couple had five daughters and John passed away in 1817 after years of illness.

Betsy died on 30 January 1836 and has been buried in three different locations. The free Quaker burial ground is on South 5th Street, Mount Moriah Cemetery, and now on Arch Street adjacent to the Betsy Ross house. In 1975 the American bicentennial city leaders ordered the remains of Betsy to be moved from Mount Moriah Cemetery to the Betsy Ross house. However, Cemetery workers found no remains beneath her tombstone. Bones found elsewhere in the family plot were deemed to be hers and we're reinterred at the Betsy Ross house.

Betsy's children: Clarissa Claypool, Susanna Claypool, Elizabeth Claypool, Jane Claypool, Harriet Claypool, Rachel Claypool, Susanna Claypool, and Acilla Ashburn.

https://historicphiladelphia.org/betsy-ross-house/what-to-see/

medicare.gov

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_Ross_House

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1619546/mount-moriah-cemetery

https://christchurchphila.org/

George Alfred Townsend March 2022

 March 2022

GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND Happy Tombstone Tuesday

I did some traveling last week and one of the places I wanted to visit was Gathland State Park, 900 Arnoldstown Road, Jefferson MD. I wanted to see the tomb of George Alfred Townsend and visit his home which is also the home of a large stone monument dedicated to the memory of Civil war correspondents. The A. T. (Appalachian Trail) also passes through Gathland. It’s a great place to park and hike a portion of the trail. George was born on 30 January 1841 in Georgetown, Delaware. Son of Stephan and Mary Milbourne Townsend. He married Elizabeth Evans Rhodes (1842-1903)in 1865 they had 2 children. They made their home on an estate they called Gapland in Crampton’s Gap on South Mountain, Maryland. Townsend became a household name in the U.S.A. when in April of 1865, he reported on President Abraham Lincoln's assassination at Ford’s Theater by the stage actor John Wilkes Booth. As Booth and his co-conspirators attempted to escape capture, Gath rushed to Washington to report on this national news. From April 17 until May 17, Gath reported on Booth’s capture and death and the capture and executions of his co-conspirators. Using his political connections, Townsend was able to interview high-level military and government personnel, police detectives, and eyewitnesses. He attended the co-conspirators’ trials, heard their verdicts, and watched their executions by hanging. Overall, Gath wrote nine “Letters” to the New York World, describing and analyzing the events that followed President Lincoln’s death. Shortly after, Gath’s “Letters” were bound together and published as The Life, Crime and Capture of John Wilkes Booth (1865). As one of the few first-hand accounts of the Lincoln assassination, Gath’s book is a rare primary source of information used by many Lincoln scholars even today. George built several buildings on his estate including a mausoleum. Over the door, there is an inscription “Good Night Gath”. George died 15 April 1914 at his daughter’s home in New York City. He and his wife are buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pa

The arch was completed in 1896, at fifty feet tall and forty feet wide, this monument has many architectural themes that were incorporated into the drawing stage. Looking at the monument today, you can see how Gath also incorporated his love for art and nature. In her book “George Alfred Townsend,” Ruthanna Hindes describes the monument best: “Above a Moorish arch sixteen feet high, built of Hummelstown purple stone are super-imposed three Roman arches. These are flanked on one side with a square crenelated tower, producing a bizarre and picturesque effect. Niches in different places shelter the carving of two horses’ heads, and symbolic terra cotta statuettes of Mercury, Electricity, and Poetry. Tables under the horses’ heads bear the suggestive words “Speed” and “Heed”; the heads are over the Roman arches. The three Roman arches are made of limestone from Creek Battlefield, Virginia, and each is nine feet high and six feet wide. These arches represent Description, Depiction, and Photography.” “The aforementioned tower contains a statue of Pan with the traditional pipes, and he is either half drawing or sheathing a Roman sword. Over a small turret on the opposite side of the tower is a gold vane of a pen bending a sword. At various places on the monument are quotations appropriate to the art of war correspondence. These are from a great variety of sources beginning with Old Testament verses. Perhaps the most striking feature of all are the tablets inscribed with the names of 157 correspondents and war artists who saw and described in narrative and picture almost all the events of the four years of the war.” [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12613560/george-alfred-townsend] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Alfred_Townsend] [http://allenbrowne.blogspot.com/2012/05/empty-tomb-and-lost-monument.html] [https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2038](https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=2038) [https://southmountaincw.wordpress.com/2012/01/29/tell-it-not-to-gath-a-brief-biography-of-george-alfred-townsend/

Ripley Family

 The Ripley family at Stone Church Cemetery, Centerville, Upper Mt. Bethel Twp., Northampton co., Pa.

 Happy Tuesday

     John Ripley died 27 April 1891 He was a Patriot of the Civil war and served in Co. G 153rd Union Infantry.

    John was born in Wurttemberg, Germany and was married when he enlisted. He was wounded in action on 2 May 1863 in Chancellorsville Va. when he was struck in the right arm by a shell fragment. He was also wounded in the back by those same fragments and his arm was later amputated in a field hospital, 4 inches below his shoulder. In 1864 he began receiving a pension of $8 a month, which increased to $45 a month in 1891.

     Catherine Ripley 15 June 1839-11 Dec. 1922 she was born in Baden Germany

Fredrisa their daughter 3 March 1877-1889

Jacob their son

The stone has been recently cleaned and easier read

Source: "We Fought Desperate" By Jeffrey D. Stocker

The Old Union Cemetery, Upper Mt. Bethel Township Northampton Co., Pa. Dec 2021

The Old Union Cemetery at Stone Church  is located in Upper Mount Bethel Township  Northampton County Pennsylvania.  The Cemetery grounds are maintained by a  board of directors representing the two churches  to which this burial ground has always belonged.  These churches are  Trinity United Church of Christ you can see it  in my photo.  The Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church  which is across the street can be seen in  the cemetery pictures.      The congregations of both churches  the German Evangelical Lutheran and the German Evangelical reformed  worshiped in the same building in the village of Stone Church  also known as Centerville. Early records refer to the old Union Cemetery  as Christ Church Cemetery because the congregations of both  denominations were known as Christ reformed and Christ Lutheran.      The original Church a stone  structure was located in the middle  of the now existing Cemetery.  The Stone Church thus the name  of the present-day community  was removed when in 1832 a  new brick building was erected  and occupied today by the  Trinity UCC congregation.  The congregations both worshiped in the  new building until 1910 when Christ Evangelical Lutheran congregation  built a new church located across the street from the cemetery. There are at least 769 Graves well over 200 years old many of those Graves  have been lost to time many are written in German. The earliest burial is of  Anne-Marie Goetthardt Correll died on August 8 1794. The last known burial of  Sarah Dildine 1909.

Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast

 

September 2021

     I have been tardy with the post…I have been traveling around the USA for about a month now. Seeing things and experiencing things day by day. I can’t even put it in words how blessed and grateful I am for the ability to go and share… all of it sigh.. Our country is an amazing place!!

     I was camping at a KOA in Argillite, Kentucky and I could hear bells, as in a bell tower. I did not think much of it until I pulled out of the campground and there was the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast, Argillite, Greenup Co., Kentucky. See Pictures here https://photos.app.goo.gl/aLPWm97mKRSs1Vgx5

The cemetery is pristine, maintained beyond perfection, I took some time and walked around. My research shows that Kentucky has five veteran cemeteries. The first opened in 2004. The total interments 12, 357. Giving so much for our country, a beautiful resting place honoring them in death.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aLPWm97mKRSs1Vgx5

https://veterans.ky.gov/cemeteries/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kdvaphotos/albums/72157669092619526

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2372587/kentucky-veterans-cemetery-northeast

https://veterans.ky.gov/cemeteries/Pages/KVCNE.aspx

https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ngl/

 

Rhoda Shoemaker Sept 2021

 September 2021

Metrotrails posted this week that they confirmed that Hialeah Picnic Area is in fact built on a cemetery, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Pa. We uncovered this epitaph near the south end of the grounds, and more inspection revealed what might have been 4 more graves, with the same recessed epitaphs embedded in other rock. There was also some evidence of what might have been cemetery delineation.

Hialeah Park is located in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, near Shawnee On Delaware, Pa. This is the Pa. side of the Delaware River.

The other stones had no legible markings, but this grave of a 5-year-old girl named Rhoda, who died in 1833, was quite clear.

I wrote a follow us to their post: Michelle Harrison

I've done Cemetery research in that area in Smithfield and Middle Smithfield Township for years, a matter of fact I wrote the book. This is a find that is not documented anywhere. The burial ground isn't even on the tocks Island damn survey. Hialeah picnic area originally was a small development of homes.

Metrotrails

It is on an official internal use-only map of the national park service done in the 1990s. That is the only reference to it I have found.

I took a walk over to Hialeah this am to take a look. It does not look to me like there are any other graves most of the ruble could be from steps and house or ever a fence around the stone. I do find it interesting the Rhoda stone is set in concrete. Think of it standing upright and then at some point falling and it has concrete around it. Was the concrete poured first then the stone pushed over into it, that seems more likely? The trees in the area of the stone are not old. The best view from a river house is the riverfront. I wonder if the stone was under a porch. The family home was across River Road. Usually, a family cemetery or I should say burial ground on family property becomes one because the land is not usable to the farmer. Rhoda family at that time lived in New Jersey. She died in February in the Northeast, The ground was frozen, it could have been the only spot that wasnt.

Let me tell you a little bit about Rhoda Shoemaker and her kin.. Rhoda was born about 1828- probably in N.J. she died17 Feb 1833 d/o Samuel 1791-Jan 1872 and Margaret Chambers Shoemaker. Rhoda is an unusual name, I thought family name and I found Samuels, mother. Rhoda Shoemaker (1) is buried in Calno Cemetery, Warren co., NJ. Worth a mention, I have been to Calno Cemetery a number of times. IT is a mess!!! Samuel and Margret lived in Pahaquarry, Warren Co., NJ. In 1830 he can be found on Census records for N.J. Samuels will was probated in New Jersey in 1872. There other children: Maryann 1820, Henry 1822, Moses, and Blandena 1830 were all baptized in the Minisink Valley Reformed Dutch Church (NY G& B pg 79, 81, 87). So how did Rhoda get buried in Pa.? It was not unusual for a family to travel back a forth across the river.

Hialeah Park was owned by the developer Frank LaBar (1884-1970). A private 18 house residential community, lived in year-round homes. The land which became Hialeah Park was part of the prominent Col. John Chamber (1740-1810) plantation of 342.5 acres. I find John in early tax records for Lower Smithfield Township, Northampton Co., Pa as early as1772. John Chambers was Margaret Chambers Shoemakers Father see will ( Chambers Pg 366 1809 NOH Vol-4-5) Number 949

The last owner of the lot where Rhoda is buried was American Land Company; a private home on the property. The original owner reported as A. J. Zabriskie this tract is where Rhoda Shoemaker is resting no other graves are reported.

The Newcomb house and property which is still standing and located along River Road was the dwelling of John Chambers. A portion of the house date back to 1768. The original deed states as follows: This Indenture made the first day of June in the right year in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, king, defender of the faith, ect., and in the year of our Lord Christ on thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight between Abraham J. Vanaken of the Township of Montague in the County of Sussex and province of New Jersey of one part and John Chambers of the Township of Smithfield in the county of Northampton and the province of Pennsylvania of the second part ect…

John Chambers passed the farm on to his son, Moses Rigg Chambers, and his wife Elizabeth Bush Chambers. The farm went on to in law John V. Bush by 1860. The farm was sold to the U.S. government in 1990.

https://www.facebook.com/metrotrails/posts/4336350843068087

Sophia Brown Bornheft

 

August 2021

Sophia Brown Bornheft

     I wandered through the McComas Cemetery, Canadensis, Barrett Township last week. Not the first time threw I was looking for a Price, but I could not stop myself from returning to the stones of Sophia Brown Bornheft.  And her sister Elizabeth Brown Bornheft.Were they married to the same Bornheft? The name BORNHOEFT is not a usual Barrett name. How intriguing. Sophia actually has 2 stones.

Sophia Brown was born in Pa.1857 daughter of Joseph (1820-1886) and Mary Daudt (1825-1917) Brown. John was a farmer from Germany. Settled with his family in Barrett Township, Pa. In June 1880 she is listed living with her family and is age 23. How and where did she meet Bornhoeft??? Not a local? It’s a guess that she met John Bornhoeft after June and got married in September or October 1880. Sophia and John had a son George born in Greene Township, Pike co., Pa. 20 May 1881.  Sophia died 8 days later on 28 May 1881.She is buried at the McComas cemetery near her sister and brother. Her father and mother are also buried nearby.

     Yes, Elizabeth Brown (1857-1934) married her sister's husband. John J. Bornhoeft born 26 August 1844  N.Y., NY s/o John and Dora Bancker Bornhoeft. John served with the Union 7^th Regiment, N.Y. Militia 1863.  The Pike County Dispatch 12 March 1891 tells us that John lived at Goose pond where he operated a sawmill he died 25 February 1891 Bath Beach Long island.  They had two children Anna and Edna. John is probably buried at the Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn NY. His father was buried there.

I had to laugh at one point I had done some research on Goose Pond. 

I just went a dug out my information: Bornhoeft - John Bornhoeft, died of 

Typhoid pneumonia at the residence of his mother, in Bath Beach, Long Island, 

during the early part of last week.  His funeral was held on last Thursday, 

at the above place, the services being private.  Mr. Bornhoeft was about

 48 years old and resided at Goose Pond, in

Pike county, on the border of this county, where he had a saw mill and turning

factory.  His father died a few months ago and he was in the city settling 

up the estate at the time of his death.  He had a handsome residence at Goose

Pond, neatly furnished and everything fitted out in royal fashion.  

He was a liberal and public-spirited man and very entertaining to his friends, 

of which he had a large circle in this county.  

He leaves a widow and several children to mourn his sudden death.

Bornhoeft - We are sorry to announce the death of Mr. John Bornhoeft.  

He went to New York to spend the winter with his wife and children, leaving John

Krummell as foreman to run his business here at Goose Pond, and died there. 

 He was made wealthy about a year ago by the death of his father. 

 He was a kind, large-hearted neighbor and a good friend to everybody.

  Goose Pond is one of the best drives for summer boarders and 

Mr. and Mrs. Bornhoeft always extended to them a welcome hand and made 

the visits very pleasant to all who came totheir beautiful place.  [Canadensis]

  Stroudsburg Times, Pub. Date: Thursday, March 5, 1891

 

     Goose Pond Road and Goose pond is gated and long. I did try to get a look at the area BUTTTT  the property is owned by Skytop Lodge, you would think Skytop was guarding the bullion depository!!! I found a source and after begging he still refused to give me a ride on his 4 wheeler, so I could check it out! I did question him and was told. There are no remnants of the mill or house. There are a number of hunting cabins on the road.  I was also told there are rattlesnakes everywhere, I can’t imagine him thinking a couple of snakes would scare this mountain girl?

      John Bornhoeft was the brother of Nancy Bornhoeft Krummell she was the wife of Francis Krummell and they were neighbors of the Brown family. John Krummell married Irene Brown sister to Sophia and Elizabeth. They probably also knew each other from their hometowns in Germany.

Thank you to the Pa historical and Museum Commission for access to George J. Bornheft WWI Veterans file

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2211740/mccomas-chapel-cemetery

Mary Angela Lync Bourquardez

 

August 2021

   This time of year always reminds me of Camping and swimming. Mary Angela Lynch Bourquardez was born 1 June 1887, she was the daughter of John and Anna Devine Lynch both of Ireland. She died 28 October 1947 Tobyhanna, Coolbaugh Twp., Monroe County. She is buried at St. Catherines Cemetery, Moscow, Lackawanna Co., Pa. I could not find her cemetery stone but did find the information on her death certificate. I could not find any information on her husband Alfred Bourquardez, but know they had lived in upstate New York for a little while.

    Mary founded Camp Tegawitha. The camp consisting of 600 acres along Route 611 in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County.  The camp was from about 1924 until 1994, became the home eight weeks out of the year for girls in the United States and abroad. The camp had cottages, the main house, and a private chapel. In 1929 Constance Applebee introduced field hockey in this country and the Pocono Hockey Camp at Camp Tegawitha started. The hockey camp was three weeks long and many college teams practiced at Tegawitha.

  Lake Lynchwood on the grounds of the camp was a manmade lake and was constructed for ice harvesting in about 1906. In 1999 public monies were used to purchase the property and the  Pocono Mountian Economic Development Corporation created an industrial park on the Camp Tegawitha property.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIYnij_rnms

https://www.poconorecord.com/photogallery/PR/20100611/news/611009999/PH/1

http://camptegawitha.com/index.html

https://www.pmedc.com/

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1703556/saint-catherine's-cemetery

Gifford Pinchot

 August 2021 thinking and wishing Gifford Pinchot a happy birthday

  Born in Simsbury, Connecticut on 11 August 1865 Gifford was the oldest son of James and Mary Eno Pinchot.  He married Cornelia Bryce (1881- 1960) He became the 28^th Governor of Pennsylvania serving from 1923-1927 and 1931-1935. He was the 1^st chief of the U.S. forest service.  Gifford Pinchot died on October 4, 1946, aged 81, from leukemia. He and Cornelia are interred at Milford Cemetery, Pike County Pa.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/gifford-pinchot.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelia_Bryce_Pinchot

https://youtu.be/WgFlbQiG3j0

https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/people/chiefs/gifford-pinchot-1865-1946/

Laurel Hill Cemetery July 2021

 

I have talked about visiting Laurel Hill Cemetery, Milford, Pike Co., Pa. before. I was invited to attend a program at the cemetery in the fall. Presenters stand at each gravesite and tell you about the person’s life. Laurel Hill Cemetery, was the first cemetery in Milford, the first burial took place in 1810 burials continued till about 1899 when the cemetery ran out of space and created Milford Cemetery located off Route 209. The cemetery along with Grey Towers the home of the Pinchot family was donated to the USDA Forest Service. Gifford Pinchot was a former two-time Governor of Pennsylvania. Gifford Pinchot went on to establish and serve as the first Chief of the US Forest Service.

The cemetery was neglected for many years and trees grew up and damaged most of the headstones. In 2001 after a bad storm which brought down many of those trees it became a hazard to the living. Rehab of the cemetery started a few years ago. Hazardous trees were removed, invasive plants and shrubs and bushes cleaning of stones and a dry-laid stone wall along Old Owego Turnpike. The Forest Service and The Pike County Historic Preservation Trust have done an amazing job at rehabilitation and continued maintenance of the cemetery. Cemeteries like this one always tell the history of the area and the first families to establish roots in an area. It’s an easy walk from the parking lot to the cemetery, would suggest closed-toed shoes.

https://www.greytowers.org/laurel-hill-cemetery/

https://www.greytowers.org/laurel-hill-cemetery-known.../