TAFT FAMILY CEMETERY

Located on Rte. 6, Northeast end of Lake Wallenpaupack, east side, 2 tenths of a mile northwest of Rte. 507, Tafton/Hawley, Pike/Wayne County Line, PA. Corrections/updates Sept. 29, 2003.

Graves photographed from left to right; all graves were photographed, Nov. 13, 2001. Memorial placque (picture below) was installed in 2003 and photographed September 28, 2003.

View from Rte. 6

Overall view of graves

Memorial Placque

"Taft Family Cemetery
Buried here are:
Royal Taft (Husband) 1786-1841; Sarah Valentine Taft (wife) 1789-1853;
Four of their nine children:
Amanda (19 months) 1822-1823; Adeline, 1821-1832; Elizabeth Ann 1824 - 1832; Eliza Adelaide 1833-1842;
Sarah (Wife of Royal's son Theodore)1832-1867; Charlie (Son of Royal's son Theodore)1861 (19 days).

Royal Taft was the great great grandson of Robert Taft who was born in England c. 1640 and emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony c. 1668. William Howard Taft(27th U.S. President) was the great great great great grandson of Robert Taft.

It is believed Royal Taft was born in Windham County, Ct. where he taught school. He moved to Westchester Co., NY and married Sarah Valentine. In the early 1820s Royal purchased 440 acres of land in the area of the present Taft Cemetery from Sarah's mother, and built an addition to the existing house. He added a barn and a hotel, which he called "The Taft House". Once here Royal engaged in merchandising including the hauling of goods from Newburg(h) NY and operating a store. He was also postmaster from 1926 until his death.

Although the Taft family sold the property in 1868, they retained control of the cemetery until 1999, when the Wallenpaupack Historical Society acquired it from the Taft heirs.

Carved on the Taft markers are either a weeping willow (accompanied on some markers with an urn) or rose bud. The urn and weeping willow motif represent death. Willows, with their weeping branches, were associated with mourning and sorrow. A rose bud and/or broken stemmed rose represented a life cut short: a bud that would not bloom on earth. A broken or bent stemmed bud, represented a young person, often a child or a young unmarried woman.

The Taft Cemetery is maintained by the Wallenpaupack Historical Society."

AMANDA In memory of Amanda, daughter of Royal & Sarah Taft, who died Apr. ?, 1823, Aged 1 year, 7 mos. and 2? d's. Last word on bottom inscription looks like "sleep". My transcription regarding dates is obviously a guess. I did not handle the stones to clean them.

ADELAINE In memory of Adelaine, daughter of Royal S. & Sarah Taft, who died Jan. 19, 1832, aged 11 yrs, & 2 mos. "The blossom withers and decays."

ELIZABETH In memory of Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Royal & Sarah Taft, who died Jan. 26, 1832, aged 9 years, 4 mos. & 8 d's. The last word on the inscription is "blooming", with the "ing" continued on the line above. All of the main stones had a small footstone behind.

ROYAL In memory of Royal Taft, who died Aug. 2, 1841, aged 55 y'rs., 3 mos. & 29 d's. Closeup of inscription:
" As the bud from its bough has broken,
And the blossom and flowers have died,
So the stalk, of its honors bereft,
Meekly falls to repose by their side."

SARAH wife of Royal Taft, Died Oct. 30, 1853, AE 64 yr's. 9 Mo's. and 11 d's.
"At natures doom let's not repine,
It's mandate just allowd;
As falls the stalk so drops the vine
With grace each rendered bough.

ADELAIDE In memory of Adelaide, daughter of Royal & Sarah Taft, who died August 4,1842, aged 9 y's. and 3 mos. "The vine is stripped of its best blossom."

CHARLIE Sacred to the memory of Charlie, Son of Theodore W. & Sarah M. Taft, died Sept. 12, 1861, AE 18 days.

[TAFT] Sarah M., Wife of Theodore W. Taft, died Mrch 1867, AE 35 y'rs., ? Mos. & ? days.

Thanks to Rootsweb for this free space. JF

�Joan Sholl Francis, 1999 - 2003. Email: [email protected]