CORA'S SCRAPBOOK~Deed of Lot for Greenridge Cemetery Saratoga Springs NY - Apr 1897

This is the story of my journey through Cora’s scrapbook.  Cora Emma Brown is my husband's paternal great grandmother.  She was born 3 Aug 1854 in Syracuse, Onondaga, New York.  She married Thomas Hall (1845-1897) on 5 Feb 1877 in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga, New York. They had one son, Charles Schuyler Hall (1878-1953). 

If you'd like to read all my posts about Cora, I will give a link at the beginning of each new post.  Here’s that link My posts about Cora's Scrapbook

Today I’m continuing the story of Cora’s scrapbook and featuring the Deed of Lot in Greenridge Cemetery dated 6 Apr 1897.

Cora’s husband, Thomas Cornelius Hall had died in Jan 1897. To read more about Thomas you can click here. Civil War Pension File.  Thomas was 52 years old at the time of his death. He had worked as a Railroad Baggage Handler. He and Cora had one child, a son, Charles Schuyler Hall (my husband’s grandfather).

This deed is dated 6 Apr 1897 and is for Plot K, Lot No. 9. The amount paid was $193 to Ellen M. Ames. Cora’s signature is on this page (I have seen her signature on other items and I recognize it). 

Recorded on Association Book, Record of Deeds, No. 4, Page 183.

Elizabeth M. Hyde, Recorder of Deeds, G.C.A.

What does this cemetery deed look like? 

Do you have any cemetery deeds from your own family?

Here is the one page deed.

Here is my transcription.

Know all men by thse presents, that Ellen C. Ames, Executrix of the Town of Saratoga Springs in the County of Saratoga and State of New York of the first part, in consideration of the sum of One hundred ninety three Dollars, to her in hand paid by Cora E. Hall of the second part, at or before the ensealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof hereby acknowledged, has granted and conveyed and by these presents does grant and convey, unto the said party of the second part, her heirs and assigns the certain burial Lot or Plot known as Plot K Lot No 9 on a map or plan of the land of said Association, made by George L. Ames, Superintendent of grounds, and filed in the office of the Clerk of Saratoga County, described as follow: The N.E. Angle is situated S 17’-30’ W distant 127”-3’ from monument No 8 thence N 89° 30° W 25’-7’ thence S. 42° E. 26’-10’ thence S. 89°-30’ E. 7’-50” thence N. 0°-30 E. 20’-0”. Containing 386 Sq. ft. of land @ 50¢ per square foot $193.00 together with all the rights of the said party of the first part, under or by virtue of a certain deed made by the Greenridge Cemetery Association to George L. Ames  

Greenridge Cemetery is located at 17 Greenridge Place, Saratoga Springs, New York.

Here is a record of Thomas’ burial, from the cemetery website. Cora is not listed in the burials.  Possibly because she died in 1933 in San Diego, California and her ashes were transported back to Greenridge.

He and Cora are buried in the Old Cemetery Section. Here is where that is located.

I had located Thomas & Cora’s burial place on FindAGrave some time ago. But, having this additional piece of information adds to the evidence and gives us more information.

Imagine paying $193 for a burial plot.

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2022   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ THEOPHILUS CLARKE (1670-1737)–My husband’s 6th great grandfather

Photo used with permission of Nate Bramlett

Here lies buried the body of Mr. Theophilus Clarke who died October 1737 in the 67th year of his age

Mr. Theophilus Clark is my husband’s 6th great grandfather.  He is the third of ten known children born to Benjamin Clarke and Dorcas Morse (Tombstone Tuesday – Dorcas Morse Clark 1645-1725)

Theophilus married first, Rachel Partridge about 1692 in Medfield, Colonial Massachusetts.  They had 12 known children together.  She died 1 Dec 1717. Theophilus next married Elizabeth Underwood (who was the widow of Nathaniel Cutler) on 24 Feb 1717/18 in Reading, Colonial Massachusetts.

I’m trying to imagine the household shared by Theophilus & Elizabeth.  She had two children by her first husband, Nathaniel, who were likely still living with her.  He had 12 children by his first wife, Rachel.  Of those it’s likely that, at least, the four youngest girls were still at home.  Then Theophilus & Elizabeth went on to have their own 3 children. It certainly must have been a busy household.

 

Theophilus did leave a will naming Elizabeth as his executor and naming several of his children as heirs.  You may find the probate record and image here.  Elizabeth lived for 20 years after Theophilus’ death.

I have traced the Clarke/Clark family (spelled with and without the ‘e’) back to the late 1500’s to Joseph Clark & Alice Pepper who were Theophilus’ grandparents.

 

You can find reference to this Clark family on the archive.org website:

• History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, edited by William S. Tilden, page 347.
• The Pioneers of Massachusetts, 1620-1650, by Charles Henry Pope, page 102.

Theophilus and Elizabeth are buried in the Old Ashford Cemetery, in Ashford, Windham, Connecticut.  You can visit the memorials for Theophilus and his wife Elizabeth on FindAGrave #29214297 and Elizabeth #32043125.  His first wife, Rachel also has memorial on the site, but no burial location is given for her #29214889.

I located this reference to the burials of Benjamin, Hannah, Theophilus and Elizabeth Clark in this transcription of headstones for Old Ashford Cemetery.

 

If you are connected to this Clark family (and there must be many of you), please contact me if you have additional information, corrections or would like to exchange information.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

FRIDAY FINDS - Probate records you can find on Ancestry 1600's, 1700's...and more including Theophilus Clarke

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ George Steven Thorp–1876–1933, Detroit, Michigan–My Great Granduncle

Photo taken by Diane Gould Hall

George Steven Thorp is my great granduncle on my father’s side.  He is the son of Horace Henry Thorp and Catherine C. Dorsey. He was one of 10 children born to this couple.  He was their 9th child.  My great grandmother Mae Eve Thorp was his older sister.

George and his wife Mary (Mariett) Ainsworth are buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.  They are located in Section 8, Lot 108. He is in grave 3 and has a headstone, Mary is next to him, in grave 4, but has no headstone.

Photo taken by Fred and used with permission

George married Mary on 23 Nov 1904 in Detroit, Michigan. Here is their marriage record.

 

George worked as an Engineer at Troy Laundry Co. and as a Stationary Engineer at Valve Manufacturing Company.  His father, Horace was also a Stationary Engineer.  What exactly was a Stationary Engineer?

Definition of Stationary Engineer from Wikipedia 

Power engineers are trained in many areas, including mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, metallurgical, computer, and a wide range of safety skills. They typically work in factories, office buildings, hospitals, warehouses, power generation plants, industrial facilities, and residential and commercial buildings.
Power engineers are responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of a wide range of equipment including boilers, steam turbines, gas turbines, pumps, gas compressors, generators, motors, air conditioning systems, heat exchangers, refrigeration equipment, heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) that may be directly (duct burners) or indirectly fired (gas turbine exhaust heat collectors), hot water generators, and refrigeration machinery in addition to its associated auxiliary equipment (air compressors, natural gas compressors, electrical switchgear, pumps, etc.).

George and Mary had two children, a son, James H. Thorp and a daughter, Edith Agnes Thorp.  The son, James died in an accidental drowning at age 18 on 27 Jun 1926.  Edith married, had children and lived into her 80’s.

George died in his home town of Detroit, Michigan on 8 Sep 1933 at age 57 of lung cancer.  I wonder if he smoked, or did his occupation somehow contribute to the carcinoma of his lungs?  We know a lot more about those things today than they did back then.
 
If you are related to anyone mentioned here I’d love to hear from you. I need to connect with more of my Thorp cousins.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY - Who in my family is buried at Grand Lawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan?

MYSTERY MONDAY - WHO'S YOUR DADDY? Brick Walls Post #4 - Catherine Dorsey Thorp about 1842-1898 (This post is about George’s mother)

Happy hunting,
Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2018   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

TOMBSTONE TUESDAY ~ Aboyne Parish Kirkyard in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

My husband and I were fortunate to be able to travel to Scotland in 2014.  It was the trip of a lifetime for me.  We had been to Europe before, but never to Scotland.

My thirteen plus years of family research, combined with family stories gave me deep roots in Scotland.

Through my research I had learned that my maternal 3rd great grandparents, Charles Milne and Margaret Ritchie are buried at Aboyne Parish Kirkyard.

We arrived in Aboyne and made our way to the churchyard. What a beautiful site we saw.
 

Beside and behind the church are all the headstones.

It was raining just a little bit, but I was on a mission.  I had to find the headstone for my 3rd great grandparents, Charles & Margaret.  I looked and looked and looked some more.  Of course I was distracted by all the headstones and all the names and I stopped to read so many of them.
 
FINALLY!!!  I glanced down at a headstone in the shape of a cross and there they were. 
How easy it would have been to miss this discovery.

That's me - so happy and the photo on the right is my husband

In the short time we had to spend at the cemetery I began taking as many photos as I could of other headstones.  I had already checked on FindAGrave.com and I knew there were only a handful of headstones that had been photographed and entered on the site.

I have the book, The Kirkyard of Aboyne, published by the Aberdeen & North-East Scotland Family History Society.  The society publishes a large number of books.

There are currently 207 interments listed on the FindAGrave page for this cemetery.  Only 55% are photographed.  When I returned home I added 118 memorials and photos to this website.  I’m hoping that family members of those listed will find the memorials.  I will happily transfer any memorial not related to me (which is most of them).
 
This was an exciting trip for me and the first time I had visited the grave site of ancestors buried in Europe.
 
Have you made similar trips?  If so, where to and what did you find?  I’d love to hear about it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

My Trip to Scotland - What I Did Right and What I Did Wrong

Photo Friday - Can You Help Me Identify This Man? - Photo taken in Aberdeen, Scotland

All pictures shown here were taken by me or my husband

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2017   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

CEMETERY CARDS ~ They can reveal a gold mine of genealogical information–Here’s what I’ve found…..

We all know that cemeteries can provide us with much needed information on our ancestors.  The amount I’ve learned, over the years, from these sources, is amazing.
 
Some cemeteries provide images of their burial cards online.  For others, you need to go to the cemetery itself and look at the cards, or the large burial books.  Be sure to check online for the cemeteries your ancestors are buried in.  I’ve found that when I’ve gone back to search, some years after my original search, new records are available.

Here are some examples of what I have learned from cemetery cards:

• Place & date of birth
• Last residence
• Date & place of death
• Cause of death
• Parent’s names
• Lot owner
• Specific burial location
• Cost of the lot
• Who ordered the burial

Holy cow!  That’s a gold mine for any genealogist.

This morning as I was researching my Fenner line, I ended up checking the website for a specific cemetery and found 17 listings.

In this case it was Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.

Here’s what came up when I searched for “Fenner.”

This is just a screen shot of a portion of the listing.



I scrolled down to the specific person I was resarching, Nicholas Paul Fenner, Jr. who died in 1909.  Here’s what I got:



I don’t know about you, but this makes me do my happy dance.

Here’s another example of a cemetery card.  This one is from Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.



TIP: If you locate something on any website, download it, print it, grab a copy of it however you can.  Why?  Because the web is a fluid thing.  The burial cards for Woodmere Cemetery were online several years ago. Then they were taken down and then I thought they’d been put back up.  However, today when I searched I could not locate them.  This is true of anything you locate on any website.

Have you had success with burial cards and cemetery information?  I’d love to hear about it.

OTHER POSTS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST

CEMETERY RECORDS ~ What Can They Tell You?  How Do You Use Them?
 
FIND A GRAVE.com ~ Submitting Records Using Their Spreadsheet

Happy hunting,

Michigan Girl

Copyright ©  2010-2016   Diane Gould Hall

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION