Gates Cemetery Restoration

Condition of the Gates Cemetery - Spring, 1998

All of the gravesites shown below have been repaired.
Please see them in their restored condition on the following pages.

There were many fallen and broken headstones at the old cemetery. This site is one of particular historic interest because it contains the first doctor and one of the first ministers in Gates. Interestingly, both were married to the same woman. Nabby first married Dr. Ezra Butterfield. After he died at the age of sixty in 1838, she married Rev. Hugh Wallis who was already in his seventies at the time. Rev. Wallis died in 1848 and Nabby lived until 1860. Dr. Butterfield's headstone is down in this photo and that of Nabby is in three pieces and partially submerged.

The overgrowth of vines hides the fallen stone of Jane McCall, which was discovered beneath the soil after the brush had been removed. The headstone of pioneer, Nathan Wright, is knee deep in vines.

Headstones like that of Sophronia Gage had been moved from their original locations. The correct location for this headstone was a mystery at first until it was found that the bottom of the stone is carved into a key. The stone's key fit perfectly in the base immediately to the right in this picture. The fallen marker of Huldah Shepherd in the background slides very slowly under the surface.

Here, the gravesite of the Aichingers is in seven pieces. It it believed that the cemetery's proximity to a large quarry contributed to the movement of these monuments. Christian Aichinger died in 1881 and his wife Appolonia in 1887 at the ages of 77 and 76. The site also contains the remains of Catherine Crisp who died in 1882 at the age of 42. Her small marker contains the inscription "My Sister".

Back to Homepage

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page