My maternal ancestral families include the PUTNAMS of Depauville, N. Y. I was told that many of the graves were located at the Three Mile Creek Cemetery which is located behind a farm on County Rd. 9 in the Town of Clayton. It wasn’t until about nine years ago that my husband and I made our way back through the tall grass, across a water laden ditch, among, only the Lord knows, how many snakes, and into the cemetery. At the time we visited, the tombstone of the most remote ancestor I’ve yet found, John Putnam, was laying on the ground and the stone of his son, Parley, had fallen from its base. Also, my ALLEN family stones were laying on the ground. I remember meeting for the first time at one of the first meetings of the Jefferson County Genealogical Society, a man named “Gus” Rogers. Well, the rest of the story lies within the text of an article written for the Thousand Island Sun by Nan Dixon, whom we all know as the hostess of the wonderful NYGenWeb site. The article appeared in this Alexandria Bay newspaper on 4 August 1999, p. 9. Photographs of this amazing feat appear at the bottom of this article. These photos were sent to me by Gus's daughter, Ellen, but I'm afraid I didn't preserve sufficiently when I stored them on the floppy - I'm seeing strange things which weren't on the photos Ellen sent me.
"Parley Putnam Risen!"
by Nan Dixon
"1000 Island -- Shirley Farone's roots are firmly planted in Jefferson County, though she lives in Ohio. When she found her Putnam ancestor's gravestones toppled in the Three Mile Creek Cemetery in the Town of Lyme, she did not know how to go about getting them straightened up. She discussed the matter with Gus Rogers, who is one of the Gravestone Scribes of Jefferson County, and Mr. Rogers said he'd see what could be done.*
"Imagine Mrs. Farone's delight when she received an e-mail with pictures of Parley Putnam's stone risen! Mrs. Ellen Bartlett explained, in part, that in the 90 degree heat of July 29, her father decided it would be a good day to stand up the Parley Putnam gravestone. She claimed that the slight breeze and the shade trees made the task enjoyable, but then went on to estimate that the main stone weighed at least a ton.
"I hope the descendants of all the other burials/stones involved will be as surprised and grateful as I am," wrote Mrs. Farone.
"When the Bartletts arrived at the Three Mile Bay Cemetery, they found that Mr. Rogers had the chainfalls set up and the main stone upright and ready to be hoisted, an amazing feat for a 76-year old man to accomplish alone! They raised the various pieces and glued each one in place so that they would last for another lifetime.
"Mr. Rogers had already put up one large stone, and after the Putnam stone was in place, the three went on to raise and repair the Dodge monument also, ensuring that all the very largest stones are back in position.
"For nearly a decade, Mr. Rogers has kept at his summer long obsession of systematically recording the names found on each gravestone in cemeteries all over the county, methodically finishing one township before starting on the next. He sends the field work to his daughter and son in law, Ellen and John Bartlett of Syracuse, and while he winters in Florida, Ellen researches the names he sends, while John gets them ready for yet another book of inscriptions. The team has completed sixteen townships, with thirteen books already published. All of the cemeteries in the northern tiers of towns have been done.
"Mrs. Farone said, "You know, Gus is not only an amazing man, physically, but in so many ways. Just think that he kept his word on something he said he'd do way back in 1995. How many people keep their word on little tasks, not to mention the very few who'd ever keep their word on a task of this magnitude. I revisited the site several times since (our conversation) and we considered it an impossible job. We certainly never expected Gus to even tackle the job!"
"The publishing work of the Gravestone Scribes has been one of the most useful tools for family researchers in Jefferson County, and people are always asking when the next book will come out. Few envy Gus Rogers' self imposed summer occupation of crawling around cemeteries in the heat, reading nearly indecipherable inscriptions. Some cemeteries are totally neglected with poison ivy, burdocks, thistles and other noxious weeds to contend with, and biting insects looming overhead. Some are a puzzle to find, and hard to reach once he has determined the location. He arrived at one, thinking only a few graves were in it, to find that the cemetery stretched on and on behind the initial monuments. This family provides everyone with roots in Jefferson County an invaluable service."
Our thank you also goes to Nan Dixon for writing the article -- she is the heartbeat of our genealogy community in so many ways. Thank you, Nan.
By Shirley and Al Farone
 | |
 |
 |