Monday, May 23, 2016

Rhode Island Historical Cemetery, Cumberland 3 (May 23, 2016) -- Part II


Historical marker in the middle of the cemetery frontage on Dexter Street

West entrance into Cumberland Cemetery as of March 2010
East entrance into Cumberland Cemetery as of March 2010

After the incorporation of Cumberland Cemetery in 1870, the corporation began selling lots in the cemetery.  Handwritten notes of the various transactions and minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees are among the papers I have from my grandfather, Everett Shearman Carpenter. The notes provide information on the purchasers of various lots in the cemetery, the amount paid, the size and location of the lot, and, at some points, the balance of funds available to the Cumberland Cemetery trustees. The period covered by the notes is roughly thirty-seven years (1877 to 1914). 

Scanned images of the handwritten notes and my transcription of the documents are provided below. The use of the letters N, S, E, and W indicate the compass directions of north, south, east and west respectively.  The names that follow the compass directions are of lot owners in the direction indicated  from the subject lot.  Abbreviations such as N'ly, W'ly, S'ly, E'ly indicate northerly, westerly, etc. Carriageway, path, fence, and roadway refer to physical landmarks or structures existing on the cemetery site at the time of the notes and that were used to locate and identify lots that were sold.  Abbreviations such as "unocc" and "vac" mean that a lot in an indicated direction from the subject lot was "unoccupied" or "vacant." 




Nat C Dana   N Ezra Kent  -E- Thos A Jenckes - S Timothy Dexter W -
     carriageway  
                         Jan 25, 1877       10 X 22          $22.00 [1]

Sally Brown  E - Lyndal Pike  W 6 ft.,  N 13 ft.
                         Oct 14, 1881         6 X 13               7.80

Polly Chase  N - unoccupied  E Chas Hatfield  S - Naaman Bishop  W -
     Simon Whipple
                          Oct 29, 1883        7 X 14               9.80

Chas Hatfield  N - unocc  E - East Av  S - South Av  W - Polly Chase
                          Oct 29, 1883        9 X 14             12.60

Susan N. Hastings  N - unocc  E  Geo Derry  -S unocc  W - Eva Miller
                          June 14, 1883     7 X 20              14.00

Mrs. Sydney D.L. Jenckes  N - 11 ft from North Av  westerly 6 ft, thence
     S 12 ft  then E 6 ft,  N - 12 ft
                          Oct 14, 1881       6 X 12                7.20

Freeman Studley  - from Main Av 12'6" to stake, E'ly 21' to stake, S'ly
     25' to stake, W'ly 21' to stake, N'ly 25'
                           Nov 4, 1878          ?                    36.75

Sarah Patt  W - Main Av  E'ly 14'  S'ly 14'  W'ly 14" to Main Av
                           Oct 14, 1881      14 X 14            19.60

Thomas White  N - Lyndal Pike & Sally Brown - 15" wide -  S'ly 21'
                           June 30, 1884     315 ft2            31.50

William Lindsley  S - Susan Hastings  7' wide  - N'ly 8'
                           Dec 1, 188_          56 ft2              5.60

Thomas Deardon   in westerly portion of plot donated by JC Dexter
                           Jan 9, 1893        10 X 10           10.00

Mrs. Emma Lloyd  on northerly portion of plot donated by JC Dexter
                           Jan 9, 1893        10 X 10           10.00


Jan 1889 --
     Trustees to Confer w/ Town re property enclosing land east of
cemetery, said land having been deeded to the Town many
years ago for burial purposes by Capt. Elisha Waterman.  Northerly
portion of cemetery within the enclosure property of Jas C. Dexter
who offered to donate the land & give deed provided that is
should be cared for in a proper manner & be considered
a part of the cemetery.  Accepted.

Jan 1890   -- 21 persons present.     Bal $1208.95 [2]   Trustees, (JC Dexter - JC Fiske - Richard Waterman) empowered to have cemetery
surveyed and plat made.

      1891 --   Bal  $1257.85            Exp  26.27 (repairs)

      1892        "    $1243.16

      1893      $10 from Thomas Deardon, 10 from Mrs. Emma Lloyd
                    (lots 10 x 10)
                     Labor to John Paul (average $12 - 13 several years)

      1894       Interest 54.06 on +/- 1340       Bal  $1392.49

      1895       Bal (Oct 3, '94) 1434.37 Rc $24 lot Mrs. Cornelia C. Huling[3]
                                              and 10 John Ainsworth

      1898       Lot sold Clarence M. Cates    $24.75   Bal 1493.10 -382.10
                     = 1111.00  Building fence (1897)

      1901        Bal 789.84   ??  BF Waterman elected Sec - Treas.

      1912       Notices reward 10.00 for defacing property. Bal $1262.01
                     To see if any money available from Peek Fund!

      1916       Bal 1341.30         -- FINIS --     till June 29, 1939



5-17-01    Edward Ballou[?]   10 X 10

2-19-03    Annie Marden         10 X 10

1-23-03    John H. Haskins   N - Stewart  W fence  E  path  S- unocc
                                                 10 X 10

12-30-03  Elvira A. Stewart      5 X 10    (7.50)

4-19-05    James Fogg  in N.E. corner 10 N by 20 E-W

4-19-05    Wm. Deardon  W side west fence bet. G Mowry on N. Elvira
                 Stewart on S  -- 10 ft on path --

1-10-06    N - Deardon  W fence  S - Bishop  E by path
                                      20 running feet  $30

6-26-06    Samuel E. Carpenter [4] N - Deardon S Wm Wright E path
                                      W - fence

12-31-06  Geo. Baker  (25 X 10  $20.00)  W - vacant E - vacant 
                                     N Jas Fogg  S - roadway

12-31-06  Millett E. Hill  (10 X 10 - $10.00)  N - Bound.  S- Vac E - vac
                                     W - vac

5-6-10      Eber Miller [5]  (40 ft sq -  $40.00) N - Daniel Miller [?] W- Sally
                                    Whipple  E Vac  S  Vac

5-4-14      Mrs Isabel House  (10 X 16 - 25.00) adjoining lot of S.P. Dana

4-9-98      Clarence L. Roys   10 X 10  W'ly side of plat  next S & adjoin
                                    Clarence Cates



                                                                          Jan 7, 1889

          "The Trustees were instructed to confer with
the town authorities with reference to property enclosing
the land east of the cemetery, said land having been
deeded to the town many years ago for burial purposes
by Capt. Elisha Waterman."

                                                                         Jan 7, 1890

          "Trustees -- were empowered to have the cemetery
surveyed and a plat of said survey made",
" -- it was the sense of the meeting that but one
person should represent a family lot in the meetings
of the corporation!

                                                                        Jan 11, 1892

          "Mr. Fisk was re-elected President of the Board
and they were instructed to repair the fence of the
cemetery and make inquiry as to the bounds
of the disused burying grounds east of the tombs[?]."

                                                                         Jan 9, 1893

          "The Trustees were authorized to repair the cemetery
fence; to have cemetery surveyed and plat made, to re-establish
the lines and bounds of the disused burial ground lying
to the east of the cemetery."



                                                                               Jan 15, 1894

          "The trustees were authorized to continue their work
in the matter of surveying and making plat of cemetery
and re-establishing lines of disused burial grounds
outside of cemetery proper, with power to act."

                                                                               Feb. 4, 1895

"The Trustees were instructed to attend the fence
around the cemetery, and to confer with the Town
authorities concerning the "public" burial ground
adjoining."

---  Jan 28, 1901     "Voted to place the funds of the Corporation in the
hands of the Trustees. Byron L. Waterman was elected Secy & Treas ---

                                                                                Jan 7, 1904

"Matter (of) petitioning council for bank wall to prevent chapel from being undermined -- discussed"

                                                                                Oct 16, 1905

"the appropriation by the Town Council of $75 from
the PECK (sic.) fund was approved, and decided to be used in
accordance with the "Will" i.e. fixing up graves etc."

                                                                                 May 20, 1912

" --- notices - offering a reward of $10.00 -- defacing property"
Mr. Huling would take steps to see if any money was available
from Peck fund --"

---- Sept 16, 1916  last record till June 29, 1939 ----

*     *     *     *     *

Next in this series about Cumberland Cemetery . . .  another plat of the cemetery site and evidence of income and expenditures by the corporation as well as evidence of use of the site for burial ground purposes prior to the incorporation of 1870.

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[1]  $22.00 in 1877 would be worth approximately $514.00 in 2015 U.S. Dollars.  See, https://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/?redirurl=calculators/ppowerus/

[2]  $1,208.95 in 1890 dollars would be worth approximately $32,500 dollars in 2015 U.S. Dollars.  https://www.measuringworth.com/ppowerus/?redirurl=calculators/ppowerus/

[3]  Cornelia C. Huling (1833 - 1914) is Cornelia Crosby Miller, the sister of my 2X great grandmother -- Ruth A. Miller (1828 - 1893); Cornleia is thus my 2X great aunt.  Ruth A. Miller married my great great grandfather, Samuel Carpenter (1828 - 1904). Cornelia married Christopher Harris Hurling (1831 - 1894).

[4]  Samuel E. Carpenter is Samuel Eber Carpenter (1853 - 1929), my great grandfather.  Samuel Eber is the son of Ruth A. [Miller] Carpenter and Samuel Carpenter. He is the grandson of Eber Miller.

[5]  Eber Miller (1805 - 1877) is my 3X great grandfather.  He is the father of Ruth A. [Miller] Carpenter and the grandfather of Samuel Eber Carpenter.  
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Copyright 2016, John D. Tew
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1 comment:

  1. Jan 11, 1892

    "Mr. Fisk was re-elected President of the Board
    and they were instructed to repair the fence of the
    cemetery and make inquiry as to the bounds
    of the disused burying grounds east of the tombs[?]."

    Could this reference to "tombs[?]" be referring to the large stone tomb structure that once stood towards the front of the cemetery? And what is meant by "the disused burying grounds east" would that be CU4?

    ReplyDelete