April DeathsRemembered/Spring Blossoms at the GTC 2023

Author's Note:  My apologies for this very brief post.  We have been away for two weeks and I'm still re-acclamating to being home.  I do, however want to call to mind the four individuals who died in the month of April and are interred at the Presumpscot/Grand Trunk Cemetery.  It is said that simply saying their names aloud, assures they will be remembered always!

Agnes Wilcox:  was born c. 1820 in Scotland and came to the United States with her first husband John Dixon and three children.  Sometime later, her husband died and she re-married George Wilcox.  Agnes Wilcox died at the age of 44 years old on April 2, 1864.  Her memorial stone is still intact and made of white marble.

Joanna Ilsley Galvin:  was one of nine children born to Jonathan (1738 -1809) and Dorcas Ingersoll Ilsley (1738 -1809), on February 14, 1769.  She married Irish School Master, Timothy Galvin shortly after his arrival in the United States.  Joanna was the mother of five children.  After her husband, Timothy's death, it appears Joanna went to Calais, Maine, probably with one of her sons until her death on April 4th, 1840.  There is some evidence that she may have been brought home to Portland, and laid to rest near her husband Tim and daughter Harriot Galvin.  A remnant of the grave site exists in the broken monument to Harriot Galvin.

Joseph Merrill:  was a resident of what is now East Deering, born in 1757 as one of the many Merrill's who settled in Maine.  Although his government issued monument memorializes his service in the Portland Rifle Company during the War of 1812 when he was about sixty years old, the truth is, he also served during the Revolutionary War when he was a much younger man.  Joseph Merrill was a farmer and apparently had a close relationship to Joseph Merrill Sawyer who became the executor of his will when he died.  Joseph Merrill died at the age of 65 on April 8, 1823.  The inscription on the monument has unfortunately started to fade.

Brackett Sawyer:  was born on March 19, 1775 to Zachariah (1732 - 1805) and Sarah Knight Sawyer (1735 - 1784).  He was the husband of Elizabeth Webb Sawyer (1782 - 1862), and the father of five children:  Brackett, (1817 - 1890), Almira, ((1801 - ?), Martha B., (1810 - 1887), John Skilling, (1815 - 1898), and Joel, (1804 - 1874).  Brackett Sawyer died on April 21st, 1851 at the age of 76 years.

Thomas Sawyer, Jr. : was the young twenty-two year old son of Thomas Sawyer who was a ship's captain, who died on April 21st, 1807.  Both he and his mother Susanna Sawyer are interred at the Presumpscot/Grand Trunk Cemetery.  Thomas Jr.'s monument was carved by the artist Bartlett Adams, and is still intact.  Visitors to the Cemetery who stop by the interpretive sign will recognize it as a marker on the map.

     Spring has finally arrived and the daffodils and spring hyacinths are in full bloom at the Presumpscot/ Grand Trunk Cemetery.  Each year since the beginning of the project to recover the ancient cemetery, Girl Scouts, their families and Friends of the Grand Trunk Cemetery gather to cleanup and plant bulbs.  This year, the array is so lovely.  Here are pictures to enjoy!  

     For those of you who live in the greater Portland area, I hope you will take the time to visit the cemetery and enjoy the spring blossoms.  Now that the school renovation and building project is nearly completed, there is parking in the back of the Presumpscot School on weekends.  During the week, and during school hours, it's best to use the walking path beside the playground to access the site.

    I am hoping to schedule a Spring Cleanup next month to prepare for Memorial Day.  We usually, schedule a time to lay flags and read the names of our deceased Veterans of the Revolution, War of 1812 and the Civil War.  I will keep followers of this blog posted! 

                                               Happy Spring to All!