Gaylordsville Historical Society

In 1737 the William Gaylord family set aside over an Acre of land as a burying place for those living near the northwest corner of the New Milford Township. William Gaylord had first settled in Gaylordsville in 1725 and died October 25, 1753 at age 73. William was the first person to be buried in the cemetery, which is located on the west side of the present Gaylord Road, approx. 3/4 of a mile south of the present Route 7 intersection with it. There are a total of 78 Gaylord's recorded as being buried in the Gaylordsville Cemetery.

In 1863 an Association was organized to take into consideration the enlarging and fencing of the cemetery, this Association was reorganized in 1866 as the Gaylordsville Cemetery Association. Sometime between 1866 and 1868 the association purchased an additional adjoining parcel of land from the Hungerford family, this is what is now the upper part (in older records referred to as the new part) of the Cemetery. Lots were distributed based on member contributions and the remaining lots were sold at a later date.

There are 5 Revolutionary War Veterans buried in the Gaylordsville Cemetery, Captain William Gaylord who died in 1800, Nathaniel Osborn and Captain Ephraim Sterling died 1811, Jonathan Giddings died 1817 and Nathaniel Terry who died in 1832. In addition there are 7 Civil War Veterans buried there, Barnett Camp who died in 1860, Alexander Cronkright and James Mosher died 1863, William Warner died 1862, Edwin Camp died 1867, Andrew Bailey died 1872, and George Brague who died in 1928.

There are no plots left for sale today, although there is still an occasional burial of a family member of the remaining plot owners.

Around 1900 the existing Gaylordsville Cemetery was filling up and there were no longer any plots for sale, so a new piece of ground containing four acres more or less was obtained from Alexander H. Barlow. This property is located a short distance north of the store on the road to South Kent. Here the Morningside Cemetery was created for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a burial place for the dead.

On October 19, 1901 the Morningside Cemetery Association was formed and on November 2, 1901 the original constitution and by-laws were adopted along with a plan for the cemetery.

The first burial in this cemetery was on December 5, 1901 when Charles Thomas was buried there. There were fourteen (14) remains transferred from the Gaylordsville Cemetery in later years, and reburied in Morningside, 3 from Bulls Bridge and 1 from the Kent Cemeteries. Eight of these transfers from the Gaylordsville Cemetery occurred in 1902. There are 2 Civil War Veterans buried in Morningside, Curtis Hall who died in 1888 whose remains were transferred from the Gaylordsville Cemetery in 1915, and Edmond Hatch who died and was buried in 1926.

On December 30, 1976, land containing an additional 0.4 acres more or less was deeded to the Cemetery Association by Robert D. & Doris C. Terhune, with the stipulation that the sale of plots in this section be restricted to residents or former residents of the Gaylordsville Fire District. (as such district existed at the date of the deed). These plots are located on the north boundary of the cemetery.

The Fanton Family Cemetery in Gaylordsville, is located about a quarter mile south of the South Kent line. The Cemetery is located approximately 200 feet in and to the right on the present Hebert Drive just off the South Kent Road. The Cemetery is quite small being surrounded by a two rail iron pipe fence supported by concrete posts with a large monument in the center of the area. The monument is identified by the words "A FAMILY MONUMENT" and "FANTON" which are inscribed on adjacent sides. In addition seven family members are noted as being buried there, they are:

Today the cemetery is in poor condition and in need of attention as it is overgrown with brush, weeds and trash. Not much is known by the local residents about the cemetery.

History

On January 18, 1737 William Gaylord and Stephen Noble set aside 1acre and 8 rods to serve as a "burying-place." The cemetery is located on what is now Gaylord Road south of the Gaylordsville School.

Much later, on February 18, 1863 a group of Gaylordsville citizens held a meeting to talk about the preservation of the cemetery. The outcome of the meeting was the Cemetery Association. The Association was reorganized in 1866 and Orra Warner was elected president. That same year, a committee was appointed to extend the graveyard. They asked the owner of the land, Mr. Hungerford, how much he wanted per acre and what conditions had to be met. He wanted $125.00 per acre and he wanted the rails on a fence and a carriage path kept in good condition. They agreed to the demands, but they wanted the price lowered. Mr. Hungerford agreed and sold them the land for $85.00 per acre. Anyone who pledged more than $5.00 received a plot. Colin H.Merwin, by pledging the most money, was able to select the first plot. The remaining plots were sold for $4.00-$10.00.

When the cemetery became crowded, a new one was built on South Kent Road. Now only people with old family plots can be buried in the Gaylordsville Cemetery.

The People

Many interesting people are buried in the Gaylordsville Cemetery.The Gaylords were the founders of Gaylordsville. There are over seventy Gaylords buried in the cemetery.

William Gaylord or Gaylard (1680-1753) was a surveyor who became attached to the area now known as Gaylordsville. He bought the land in bits and pieces, and according to legend, to keep the Native Americans happy, he bought it from them for a horse, mule, and two wheeled cart. He was the first person to be buried in the cemetery.

Ebenezer Gaylord (1746-1816) was part of a vigilante group during the American Revolution and discovered Tories hiding in a cave.

John Gaylord ( 1806-1896) was a shop owner who made scrip during the silver shortage called "shinplasters."

Sylvanus Merwin 1802-1884) was a very aggressive businessman. One day he overheard a group of surveyors saying where a railroad was going to be built. Almost immediately he bought land at the midway point and then struck a deal. He would let the railroad be built on his land if it would be used as a meal stop. The railroad people agreed to his demand. The hotel Mr. Merwin built was odd because it was big and fancy, with a ballroom, in the middle of nowhere.

Walter Frederick Bullock (1873-1942) was an English reporter who covered many important stories: The Wright Brothers, the Lindbergh flight, the Lindbergh's infant son's kidnapping and murder. He was the first person to cover the Titanic tragedy. In his later years, he moved to Gaylordsville.

There are many odd names in the cemetery. Here are some of them:Pamelia, Alta, Mahala, Ermina, Irana, Tryal, Kezia, Gamaliel, Asahel, Beebe, Ury, Abijah and Jabez.

Inscriptions

Here are two examples of babies' stones with poems:

"Charles G/son of/Orra &/Betsey Warner/Age 6 mo/&15 ds.
This little bud so young and fair,
Called hence by early doom
Just came to show how sweet a flower
In Paradise would bloom."

"In memory of/Lucy Mariah/daughter of/George W &/PhebeMarsh/who died/March 7, 1838/age 1 year/& 9 months.
Here rest thy dust sweet babe
till the Arch Angels trump shall
bid it rise to immortality; then
join thy spirit pure and be
forever blest."

Two children drowned. One boy, Wm Jay Roberts, was 11 and his body was found four months after he died. The other boy, Frederick Levan Tibbetts, died the month before his third birthday.

Many of the old stones have "AE" and then the age. AE is a Latin abbreviation for the word aetatis, which means age or aged.

It id very rare to find the name of the carver on the stone. I found 3 names: H. Bolles, G. Smith and H. S. Gillette.

Two men's stones tell that they fought in wars. Nathaniel Osborn was "for seven years a soldier of the Revolution." William C. Warner was in the Civil War and "died for his country Dec 23, 1862."

Carvings

There are some interesting and old carvings in the cemetery. The most common carving is a weeping willow tree with an urn under it.The willow stands for mourning over death. The urn is a funeral artifact. One stone had stars to show the rising spirit. One carving is called a "soul-effigy," which looks like a head with wings attached at the bottom of the neck.Under the effigy on the same stone is what appears to be a Bible. An odd thing is that some of the babies' stones had doves on them.

Most of the stones were plain slabs, but some are more interesting. In the newer part of the cemetery, some of the family plot markers are obelisks. Obelisks were first built by the Egyptians. In the 1800's, people became interested in Egypt and obelisks began to spring up everywhere (including cemeteries), such as the Washington Monument and the Kent Civil War Monument.

Alphabetical Listing of Burials in the Gaylordsville Cemetery