A Day of Remembrance

     Yesterday afternoon, Joel and I visited the old cemetery to bring new flags and wreathes to place at the Grand Trunk Veterans Memorial and, at the still recognizable graves, of two veterans of early wars in American history. This has become a part of our ritual for celebrating Memorial Day since undertaking the restoration of this cemetery.

The Grand Trunk Cemetery Veterans Memorial Honoring
Ten Veterans of The Revolution, The War of 1812
and The Civil War

The Graves of Simon Davis, Revolutionary War
and Francis Smith, War of 1812

     Over the years, since the first Memorial Day, then called Decoration Day,  was celebrated shortly after the Civil War, first, in various locations by individuals in separate communities, Memorial Day as we know it, has taken on significant meaning for families in the United States.  

     As a girl, I remember the visits to the cemetery to cleanup and plant at the graves of my grandfather and other relatives, loved ones who had passed away.  I remember parades to honor soldiers who had died on the battlefield and purchasing the red paper poppy to wear. I still do this today.

  Although Memorial Day did not become a federal holiday until 1971 by an act of Congress, it was celebrated by Americans across the nation for a very long time.  I found this short piece regarding the history of the day that I thought worth sharing.

     After World War I, the so-called, war to end all wars, people began to recognize all veterans who had died in America's wars.  This Memorial Day poster from 1917 with its vivid images shows this change of sentiment and regard.

 

     Memorial Day is a day to remember all our deceased Veterans, those who paid the ultimate price and died on the field of battle and those who served to win and preserve our freedom and liberty."We are the home of the 'free' because of the 'brave'."

   I've heard it said, that repeating the name of someone who has died is a small way to remember them and assure they will not be forgotten.  With this in mind, Joel and I read the names of our ancient veterans aloud with only the birds and squirrels to hear among the rustling leaves.  None-the-less, perhaps, dear reader, you will do the same to honor them.

SAMUEL BLAKE, PRIVATE

Born:  1794,  Died:  February 14, 1846

THE WAR OF 1812

WILLIAM BLAKE, PRIVATE

Born:  March 6, 1774,  Died:  October 1853

THE WAR OF 1812

SIMON DAVIS, PRIVATE

Born:  September 2, 1765,  Died:  March 17, 1810

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

ANDREW GRAVES, PRIVATE

Born:  1774,  Died:  November 28, 1860

THE WAR OF 1812

ENSIGN/LIEUT. CRISPUS GRAVES

Born:  1742,  Died:  March 14, 1818

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

JOSEPH LUNT, PRIVATE

Born:  April 3, 1757,  Died:  September 15, 1804

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

JOSEPH MERRILL, PRIVATE

Born:  1754,  Died:  April 8, 1823

THE WAR OF 1812

JAMES MOSELEY, PRIVATE

Born:  1836,  Died:  December 10, 1892

THE CIVIL WAR

JOHN SAWYER, JR.,PRIVATE

Born:  November 13, 1760,   Died:  December 6, 1842

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

AND

THE WAR OF 1812

JOSEPH MERRILL SAWYER, PRIVATE

Born:  August 1795,  Died:  June 1, 1875

THE WAR OF 1812

WILLIAM SAWYER, PRIVATE

Born:  1763,  Died:  May, 14, 1825

THE WAR OF 1812

FRANCIS SMITH, PRIVATE

Born:  1791,  Died:  June 1, 1840

THE WAR OF 1812

     

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     I came across this little poem and chose to read the first few stanzas as they seemed appropriate to the moment:

     Finally, to honor other unknown and long forgotten Veterans who may be interred in the Grand Trunk Cemetery in unmarked graves, we placed this wreath at the Early Settlers Memorial.

   We did not sing Taps.  We reserve that for more auspicious moments, and better voices.  I will share the words for those of you who might want to hum the tune yourselves as you celebrate this Memorial Day by visiting  a local Veterans cemetery or burial site.

    

The Search continues:

     In my last post, I posed the question" Why did they ( the neighbors and land owners) settle on this spot to bury their dead?"  No deed seems to exist establishing the burying ground.  There is no mention of the actual burying ground until 1814 when Thomas Blake sold property, originally belonging to his father John Blake inherited from his father, Jasper Blake. The burial ground is specifically noted as a surveyor's marker to establish property boundaries. 

     Obviously, a lot of family life was lived and history passed,  from the resettlement of the area from 1725, when Isaac Sawyer Sr., his children and grandchildren arrived,  and five to ten years later, Joseph Noyes, Isaac Ilsley, Jasper Blake and others.  Before delving into a discussion of these land owners, I want to try to understand some of the thinking and practices of the historic period.

     Each of these men and their families owned substantial farms; 100 or more acres of land,  running from our present Ray Street to the waters edge bordering on the old Back Cove Road (Ocean Avenue.)  It would be very interesting to plot out these farms and with the help of the Portland Public Works archivist, I really hope to be able to do this in the near future.
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     I recently visited the Quarry Run Dog Park at the juncture of Presumpscot Street and Ocean Avenue built sometime in the 90's at the foot of the old city landfill. As I walked through, I had an 'ah ha' moment.  Standing at the base of what looks like a giant meadow with walking paths which will take you to Maine Avenue and beyond.  There are remnants of the old rock walls which probably were part of farms: Sawyer's or Noyes'? I still need to trace the records through the City Assessor's office to see how far back they go; but that for another day!

Stones from original farm walls

View from top of the hill.

     It is very hard to imagine what the terrain was like in the 1730's, but this area peeked my curiosity.  Later, I will share what I've learned about the land owners, their property purchases and their impact on the history of Back Cove/East Deering and ultimately, the city of Portland.

      I recently borrowed an interesting little book from the University at Orono which provides some insight into burial practices, in rural New England and its frontier settlements; in particular, old Falmouth. 

     Mortuary Monuments and Burial Grounds of the Historic Period is described as a manual in archaeological methods, theory and techniques, written by Harold Mytum, published in 2004, by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York.  

     In the section:  North American Burial Grounds; Colonial North America, the author cites three main locations for formal burials:

• individual farmsteads
• community burial grounds
• in and around parish churches

     Farmstead burials often happened in clusters, not far from buildings. "Burials derived from one family farm or, at most, a few farms." pg. 18.  This might well fit the criteria for the Presumpscot/Grand Trunk Cemetery where the early farms were in close proximity to one another.

     Mytum also describes Community Burial Grounds which could also describe the Grand Trunk Cemetery as we know it today.  During the 17th century in New England, burial grounds were often a distance away from the center of a community's meeting house. Funeral processions traveled from the home of the deceased to the burial ground where a ceremony, probably civil, not necessarily religious was conducted.  

     As populations moved into dispersed settlements, in the late 17th century, burial grounds became more centrally located.  Funerals included a religious component with prayers, and, for the more prominent deceased, a sermon delivered at the meeting house.

     The rural farmstead burial grounds continued and are evident throughout Maine.  Small rural cemeteries are frequent.  Some are associated with particular churches, others for whole communities.  Although there is no deed establishing the burial ground from a particular land owner, it is clear that the site was chosen and used very early on.

     Those who follow this blog know that I am concerned about the history that has been lost or misplaced regarding the Back Cove/ East Deering early settlers. The survey conducted by the WPA in 1936 is incomplete because of the missing grave forms.  

     Earlier, I posted a photograph of the map of the cemetery drawn by the surveyors indicating the measurements, gate, rail and wooden fences.  The final report indicated there were 197 marked graves.  However, what do these numbers indicate from each of the individual graphs.  Were there more burials? What were they looking at,  and what evidence allowed them to pin point the 197 marked graves?  So much of Portland history still needs to be archived before it becomes lost forever.

Please note the numbers for each section as they were plotted by the surveyors.

     Finally, I want to thank Martha Zimicki, conservator from the group Spirits Alive,  for stepping forward to restore Agnes Wilcox memorial stone to its base.

Spirits Alive has done a fantastic job preserving our Eastern Cemetery.  I am grateful for their expertise and commitment.

     Memorial Day is approaching and we will lay flags at the Grand Trunk Veterans Memorial and the graves of Simon Davis, Revolutionary War, and Francis Smith, the War of 1812 veterans on Wednesday. 

We Remember

A LOVELY DAY FOR OUR ANNUAL SPRING CLEANUP AT THE GRAND TRUNK CEMETERY

     May 7th, 2017 turned out to be a day on which Mother Nature was kind....no rain, cool temperatures, a bit windy, but otherwise, perfect for this endeavor.  Leaves were piled into twenty or more bags, broken branches removed, shards of the never ending broken glass picked up, and the commitment to keep this little cemetery, with its remnants of broken memorials
dedicated to souls who lived long ago, is alive and well, because of the efforts of Portland Girl Scouts, family and Friends of the Grand Trunk Cemetery.

     I want to express my sincere appreciation to all who participated:

Lynda Allshouse      Janet Christopher, Machigonne Service Team
Rachel Stellmach, Troop 1940     Kathy and Ava Plourde, Troop 1094
Sophie Volk     Francesca Marinaro     Charlene Marinaro, Troop 1094
Jaden- Anna Morse     Beth and Subine O'Malley     Rob Levin
Staci Hanscom, Troop 1547      Brianna A.     Ava Googins
Leila Goan     Keegan P.     Cedar Levin, Troop 1940     Sarah K. Goan

     I apologize if I've left anyone out or misspelled a name.  Please let me know so that I can correct the record. Here are photos of these industrious souls.

     I am also grateful that Martha Zamicki, from Spirits Alive stopped by to take a look at Agnes Wilcox stone which had toppled from its base.  Martha assures me the repair to the stone will be easy for her.  That's good news since this gravestone is one of only two of the early stones which has survived in tact. The other belongs to the younger, Crispus Graves, grandson of Lieut. Crispus Graves and son to Andrew Graves.   

     As we walked along the bumpy pathway and looked at the bits of broken stones, I realized that as has always been the case since beginning this recovery project seven years ago, I have more questions than answers.  But one in particular has surfaced over the last few months, as I have looked more closely at the numerous early deeds belonging to the land owners whose farms were established along the rim of Back Cove and our present Ocean Avenue.  Why did they settle on this particular spot, surrounded by woods, a fair distance from their own homes to lay their dead to rest? This was, by no means, an easy task.  Family members would have had to carry the deceased in a wooden casket across fields and through woods either on foot or in a wagon on unpaved roads or foot paths.  More perplexing questions to follow very soon.

 The East Deering/Grand Trunk Cemetery is particularly lovely this spring because of the flourish of yellow color provided by the daffodils in full bloom.  I invite you to stop by.  Sit a while on the bench and enjoy a moment of quiet reflection and peace.