Evergreen Cemetery
The history thus far given of early burial places in Chautauqua County, may seem inappropriate in a work purporting to relate solely to Evergreen Cemetery. The people, however, who dwell in its vicinity, are interested in the burial places that preceded it, where lie their ancestors, their neighbors, and those whom once they knew. It is for these persons that the foregoing was prepared. The present opportunity is improved chiefly to preserve a record of these early burials and burial places.
The first places of burial in Chautauqua County were usually much neglected. It was not, however, through want of affection by the early settlers for departed friends that this was so. The pioneers as sacredly cherished the memory of their dead as do we of the present generation. They were poor, and the first step necessary to make for themselves homes, was to remove the formidable forests that stood everywhere around. The first process in clearing the land left the fields disfigured with stumps, and blackened logs, and consequently they were obliged to select for the sacred purposes of burial, unpromising places with forbidding surroundings. It was not practicable for them to even make such places pleasant, much less to adorn them. They had so little to encourage a taste for beautifying their burial grounds that they too often permitted them to grow up to weeds and briars. However, as circumstances grew more favorable, they began to care for the resting places of the dead.
Although the Old Burial Ground at Sinclairville was less neglected than most others, certain public-spirited citizens of the village, among whom were Alonzo Langworthy, B. W. Field, and John Dewey, saw that a decent respect for the dead demanded that more care should be taken of the graves than it had been common to bestow, Moreover, it was found impossible to procure title to the lots, and it was seen also, that the greater frequency of the burials would soon render the Old Burying Ground inadequate. Accordingly, a meeting was held by some of the citizens of the village at the office of Obed Edson, June 21, 1862, for the purpose of organizing an association under the "act authorizing the incorporation of rural cemetery societies, passed April 27, 1847." More than seven persons were in attendance as required by the act. B. W. Field was called to the chair, and John Dewey was chosen secretary. On motion of Alonzo Langworthy, it was resolved that the name by which the Association should be known should be "Evergreen Cemetery." Six trustees were chosen: Timothy D. Copp, John Dewey, William Wait, Bernard W. Field, Daniel B. Dorsett, and Alonzo Langworthy. Bernard W. Field was chosen President; Daniel B. Dorsett, Vice-President, and John Dewey, Secretary and Treasurer.
June 26, 1862, about one and three-quarters acre of land, lying north and adjoining the town cemetery, was purchased for the sum of one hundred dollars, and conveyed to the trustees by John M. Brunson and Hawley Green. The grounds bounded on the north by the pond at high-water mark, and lands of F. Holtz, east by the highway, south by the town burial ground, and west by the continuation of the west bounds of the town burial ground, northwest to the old Drummond Pond. This ground was laid out into lots, and mapped. Walks and drives were made, and shrubbery was set out. By the faithful attention and the skill of Mr. Field, the President and acting Superintendent, the grounds were soon changed from a barren hemlock knoll, to green lawns, adorned with tastefully-trimmed shrubbery.
EARLY DIFFICULTIES AND FINAL SUCCESS
At first, the Association encountered much opposition. Some respectable people seemed to believe that it was a speculation entered into for gain, while others assumed that it was to draw a distinction between citizens in the community, by providing better places of burial for some than others. Against these unjust prejudices the Association for a while had to contend. Upon the suggestion of Mr. Langworthy, one of the first steps taken was to remove the fence that separated the new cemetery from the old ground, making the two one burial place. All parts of the ground thereafter received equal attention. The members of the Association loaned it money and gave their time towards its development. By prudent and wise management, the Association has been made self-sustaining, kept out of debt, and has a handsome balance in the treasury. This has been accomplished without the aid of contributions from the public. The members of the Association have never asked for nor received donations from any source whatever. As improvements were made, and the grounds became more and more attractive, those who had early opposed it, became the most desirous to obtain choice lots within the new grounds, and finally all opposition ceased, and the cemetery became an object of general pride.
The demand for lots became so great that the necessity of acquiring new grounds became apparent, accordingly, for the sum of five hundred dollars the Association purchased of John M. Brunson and Hawley Green, a much larger tract, which adjoined the cemetery and old burying ground. The new purchase included the territory bounded on the north and west by the pond and the race issuing from it, and south by a line extending from the southwest corner of the cemetery to the race. It was surveyed and plotted, and a field of briars and thorns soon transformed into a lawn, with walks and drives, and burial lots. June 19, 1872, Hawley Green and Sheldon M. Hall, for the sum of two .hundred dollars. conveyed to the Association a considerable tract, bounded on the north by the last mentioned purchase, east by the lots of Richard D. Sherman and Martin B. Craw, south by the highway known upon the map of the village as Water street, and westerly by lines extending a little distance easterly of the race. This purchase includes a portion of the south slope of the hill or eminence upon which the cemetery is situated, extending the bounds of the cemetery to the highway, where a gateway was subsequently erected, and a southern entrance to the grounds established January 1, 1886. S. M. Hall, and the estate of Hawley Green, for the consideration of one hundred dollars, conveyed a small strip of land adjacent to the last above described piece, which extends the limits of the southern portion of the cemetery westerly to the race below the mill, and widens the front of the grounds along Water street, so that the boundaries of Evergreen Cemetery, including the Old Burying Ground, comprise about eight acres of land.
LAYING OUT AND IMPROVING THE GROUNDS.
Soon after the purchase of the two first mentioned tracts, they were laid out by Mr. Langworthy, and the Superintendent, Mr. Field, assisted by Obed Edson, who surveyed and made maps of each tract as it was acquired. John M. Edson, Jr., afterwards made a map of all the grounds belonging to the cemetery, including also the old burial grounds surveyed by him for that purpose. A lithographed copy of his map, reduced in size, accompanies this sketch.
It was only proposed when the Association was formed, to provide a moderate addition to the old burying ground, to supply an immediate local want. The first purchase of land comprised less than two acres. With so small a tract at their disposal, the founders of the cemetery were obliged to sacrifice, to some extent, their views of what a cemetery should be. And when subsequent additions were made, the territory was still so small in extent, and the number of burials so rapidly increased, that they were unable to wholly conform their plans to the natural beauties of the situation. Widely sweeping drives and walks, and ornamental areas, such as the natural features of the ground justified, would have required too lavish an appropriation of space. The Association have, however, in laying out the lots, avoided the stiff and straight lines of the conventional burying grounds of the past, and have, upon the steep sides and outer limits of the ground, preserved its natural beauty undisturbed.
The moderate limits of the cemetery, also influenced to some extent, the selection of the evergreen as the prevailing shrubbery. That being better adapted to limited areas, by reason of its compact growth. The artificial style of training would have been unjustifiable in more ample grounds, as unnatural, and in violation of correct taste, but is here compelled by the narrow space alloted to its growth. The faithful care bestowed by Mr. Field, the late Superintendent, and Mr. Kirk, his successor, in the cultivation of trees and shrubs; the close and skillful training required to prevent the branches from overshadowing the crowded lots, has resulted in a marvelous density and beauty of evergreen foliage.
The burial lots are laid out in various sizes, so that all persons can be suited in the quantity of the ground, as well as in location. Grading and putting lots in shape is done by the Association, so that the grade may harmonize with the general features of the particular locality. The prices of the lots vary with the desirableness of the location. Those who desire to secure but a single grave can do so without purchasing more ground-, as the Association has set aside good eligible ground for that purpose.
SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE GROUND.
Bernard V. Field died May 20th, 1884. He had been President and Superintendent of the Association for twenty-two years. During this period, encouraged and supported by the trustees and officers of the Association, through his assiduity, and remarkable skill in training the shrubbery, and his care of the lawn, this barren, and promontory, became a place of beauty. He gave it not merely his official attention, but bestowed upon it constant personal labor, for which he received but a modest compensation. Since the death of Mr. Field, under the careful supervision and constant attention of Mr. Kirk, the present Superintendent, the cemetery has been made more beautiful each year, until now it is unsurpassed by any in Western New York.
Further improvements and embellishments are contemplated, which in process of time will undoubtedly be made. Among other improvements a receiving vault, and the means for more perfectly supplying the grounds with water, are contemplated. The elevated situation of the cemetery, its irregular and diversified surface, render it dry and adapted to drainage, fitting it for the purposes for which it was designed, as well as greatly enhancing its beauty.
A most beautiful and striking situation can be chosen for a soldiers' monument, which ought at once to be erected, to perpetuate the memory of those interred here who fell or served in the defense of their country. There is no spot in all the country around that will warrant the erection of so fine, so costly a monument, as this. It is central, easy of access, and constantly visited - frequently by people from abroad, drawn here by the reputation the cemetery bears.
Many soldiers are buried in the old and new ground. The following were soldiers of the Revolution: Samuel Sinclear and Nathaniel Johnson. The latter participated in the battles that resulted in the capture of Burgoyne.
The following were soldiers in the last war with England: Sergeant Joel Burnell, who served at the battle of Buffalo; John McAllister, Sylvanus L. Henderson, Jesse Walker, John Sinclear, James Parsons, John Bowen, and Richard G. Burlingame.
The following soldiers of the Rebellion are buried here: Sergeant Hiram Waterman, of the 49th N. Y. Vols. He was killed October 19, 1864, at Cedar Creek. Sergeant Caleb J. Allen, of the 4th Iowa Cavalry. He participated in the siege of Vicksburg, was afterwards taken prisoner by the Confederates, and confined in both Belle Isle and Libby prisons. His health was so impaired by sickness and hardship that he died Jan. 2, 1864, soon after his release. Sergeant Charles H. Brown, of the 154th N. Y. Vols. He died December 7, 1864, near Springfield, Ga. Also Silas L. Bennett, Daniel Kelly, Cyrus W. Torry, Benjamin F. Gossett, Leland A. Kirk, Roswell W. Graves, Edward Richmond, George A. Richmond, George A. Clark, and Jonathan Ames. A memorial stone has also been erected in the grounds in honor of Sergeant William J. Allen, of the 145th N. Y. Vols. He was killed at the battle of Chancellorsville, October 19, 1864. In Evergreen Cemetery is buried Harriett E. Johnson, a daughter of Thomas Hart of Charlotte. She went to serve with the Union Army as a nurse to the sick and wounded soldiers. She died at Suffolk, Va., March 28, 1863, aged but twenty-one years.
Many well known citizens are buried in the cemetery, whose names are not here given. They often appear, however, in the list of lot owners given below. Perez Dewey, an early and prominent merchant of Sinclairville, was the first to be interred in the new grounds. He died November 13, 1861, and was buried in the old burying ground. His body was removed, and interred in the cemetery October 16, 1862. The second interment was that of Arthur Sylvester, an infant child of James Sylvester, who was buried December 12, 1862. In all, 1021 persons are interred in the cemetery - 722 in the old, and 299 in the new. A greater number lie buried in this sanctuary of the dead, than people the living village beside it. Here rest our friends - our nearest and dearest ones. Here we ourselves at last must lie. Indeed, how many heart strings bind us to this hallowed spot. How strong the impulse to embellish and adorn it, to plant a rose, or rear a stone, above the dust of a departed friend. To believe that we are to be laid to rest in some barren field, in a neglected grave, leads to gloomy thoughts, and inspires us with dismal themes:
"To talk of graves, of worms, and epitaphs, Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes, Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth."
While to know that we are to lie among pleasant shades, with fragrant flowers, green hills, and blooming fields around, reconciles us, even to the grave, and takes away the dread of death. We fancy if at last the couch is soft, it will bring sweet slumber and pleasant dreams, in the sleep that knows no waking.
The wish that we may rest at last in some attractive spot, amid cheerful sights and sounds, where our graves may be ever green, finds beautiful expression in Bryant's lines to June:
"I gazed upon to glorious sky
And the green mountains round;
And thought that when I came to lie
At rest within the ground,
'Twere pleasant, that in flowery June,
When brooks send up a cheerful tune,
And groves a joyous sound,
The sexton's hand my grave to make,
The rich, green mountain turf should break.A cell within the frozen mould,
A coffin borne through sleet,
And icy clods above it rolled,
While fierce the tempest beat
Away! - I will not think of these -
Blue be the sky and soft the breeze,
Earth green beneath the feet,
And be the damp mould gently pressed
Into my narrow place of rest.There through the long, long summer hours,
The golden light should lie,
And thick young herbs, and groups of flowers,
Stand in their beauty by.
The oriole should build, and tell
His love tale close beside my cell;
The idle butterfly
Should rest him there, and there be heard
The housewife bee and humming-bird.And what if cheerful shouts at noon
Come, from the village sent,
Or songs of maids, beneath the moon
With fairy laughter blent?
And what if in the evening light,
Bethrothed lovers walk in sight
Of my low monument?
I would the lovely scene around
Might know no sadder sight nor sound.I know, I know I should not see
The season's glorious show,
.Nor would its brightness shine for me,
Nor its wild music flow;
But if, around my place of sleep,
The friends I love should come to weep,
They might not haste to go.
Soft airs, and song, and light, and bloom,
Should keep them lingering by my tomb.These to their softened hearts should bear
The thought of what has been,
And speak of one who cannot share
The gladness of the scene;
Whose part, in all the pomp that fills
The circuit of the summer hills,
Is - that his grave is green;
And deeply would their hearts rejoice
To hear again his living voice."
Source: Page(s) 19-27, History of Evergreen Cemetery. by Obed Edson. Sinclairville, New York, Press of the Commercial, 1890.