MA-CEMETERIES-L Archives

From:
Subject: Cherry Lane Cemetery/part 3/
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 08:50:14 EDT

Re:Cherry Lane Cemetery, Springfield, MA. Civil War and Revolutionary War
Veterans removal.
Springfield Union News-MassLive.com April 17, 2001.

Roberta Cyr
Springfield, MA.

Union News-Sunday Republican
NEW CEMETERY TRIES TO FIND EARLY US VETERANS TO INTER
Tuesday April 17, 2001
By Bill Zajac

An attempt to make three Revolutionary War veterans and a Civil War veteran
the first interred at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam
has hit several roadblocks. Three of the veterans have been ruled out for
interment for various reasons, but cemetery and local veterans officials
still hope that a veteran from the Civil War or a previous war will be the
first interred at the cemetery when it opens next month. One Revolutionary
War veteran, Simeon Pomeroy, was ruled out when it was discovered that six of
his relatives are also buried in the same cemetery plot. All four veterans
are currently buried in Cherry Lane Cemetery in Springfield. "We would never
disturb the remains of six other people for this," said Daniel M. Walsh III,
director of veterans services for Springfield, this week. Levi Dart, another
Revolutionary War veteran, was ruled out when officials discovered that he
was buried at Cherry Lane Cemetery by his wife 13 years after his death and
burial in Connecticut. "There was a reason his wife buried him there," said
Walsh. "For that reason, and because it would be a third burial, we would not
consider moving him." Walsh serves on the cemetery's opening dedication
committee. Another veteran   —   Joseph L. Stevens, who served in the
Massachusetts Cavalry in the Civil War   —   has virtually been ruled out
because no family members have stepped forward to authorize the exhumation
and interment. The committee has been unable to locate his relatives. "The
further you get from the war, the more difficult it is to trace the
genealogy. Going back to the Civil War and beyond, it would be extremely
difficult to find descendants," said John P. O'Connor, the family historian
and genealogy instructor for the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum of the
Springfield Library and Museums Association. The possible interment of the
fourth veteran   —   Elijah Hyde   —   could be dependent on an Agawam woman
who has stepped forward and claimed to be a descendent. "She is undecided
what she will do," said Walsh. Robert C. McKeon, director of the planned
cemetery, said he would need proof of kinship before approving interment at
the cemetery. "Ultimately, we would like the remains of a veteran from every
American war in the cemetery, but it doesn't have to be done immediately. It
can happen over time," he said. The committee is also pursuing the
possibility of interring the remains of a Massachusetts Civil War veteran
that were unearthed several years ago during an archaeological excavation in
Centreville, Va. Several Massachusetts regimental coat buttons were
discovered with the remains that are now on loan to the Smithsonian
Institution's Natural History Department. The Agawam cemetery would need to
be given the remains by the Fairfax County Park Authority, which conducted
the excavation. Park Authority officials were unavailable for comment this
week. © 2001 UNION-NEWS. Used with permission

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