Final Rest Disturbed: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “At the Cemetery”

 

Exhumed and Reburied After Cemetery Desecration

George Calvert: 1832-1855 (Second Cousin 3x Removed)

George Calvert seems to have been born under an unlucky star. He suffered an unspeakable tragedy as a child, then died shockingly young, and a century and a half later suffered the indignity of having his grave desecrated.

George was born March 24, 1832 to parents Robert Patrick Calvert and Lydia Jane Smith Calvert. He was the third of their five children. In a previous blog post, I related how George’s father, Robert Calvert, beat his mother, Lydia Jane Smith Calvert, to death, and yet was somehow was exonerated at trial. George and his four siblings were taken in and raised by Robert Calvert’s father Patrick.

George died October 2, 1855, while still living with his grandfather. I have found no death records so have no idea what caused the death of a 23 year old man. George was buried in a family cemetery on his grandfather’s farm. The headstone was beautiful. At the top, framed by carved drapery and a Bible, is a Bible verse reading, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” The center panel includes George’s name and his birth and death dates, while a panel at the bottom includes a lovely line of poetry: “So fades the lovely blooming flower” attributed to C. Cross. It appears George was well-loved.

Photo from Findagrave. Ken Colbert, photographer,

But over the passage of time the tiny Calvert Farm Cemetery, along with Patrick Calvert’s farm, passed out of family ownership, and the story of the Calverts faded from memory. The Findagrave entry on the cemetery, written by Calvert descendant Ken Colbert, tells part of the little cemetery’s sad story:

 “The Calvert Farm Cemetery was located at the intersection of Hwy 65 and Nesbitt Station Road, on the Westside of the intersection. The gravesite included 15 bodies buried from Aug 10, 1827 to Feb 14, 1861. Two of the removals included the analysis of DNA samples taken. The graves were exhumed on April 2019 and relocated to Calvert Chapel Cemetery, approximately 2 miles North of the Calvert Farm Cemetery. Both Calvert cemeteries are located in Armstrong Township, Vanderburgh County, Indiana. The patriarch of the family, Patrick Calvert born, Feb 6, 1784 in Boutetort, VA was the last burial occuring on Feb 14, 1861, laid to rest beside his wife, Sarah Martin Calvert, born Dec 11, 1781 and died Aug 11, 1840. Subsequent family members have since been interrned at Calvert Chapel. A detailed 101 page report is available on my Ancestry.com account. The report identifies the process of exhumation, analysis, and reinternment of the Patrick Calvert family. The details of why the removal may be found in my ancestry account or by emailing: seekandfind@att.net I am the 5th Greath Grandson of Patrick and Sarah Calvert.”

Cemetery had been on left side of road near intersection. Photo from Findagrave.

An article in the local newspaper, the Princeton Daily Clarion on July 27, 2019, provides more details, as does a GoFundMe page Mr. Colbert set up to help fund the exhumation and reburial of his ancestors. The farm, including the cemetery, was put up for auction in 2006. In the years following the sale, the headstones were desecrated—they were knocked down, broken, and moved from the graves. The entire site was then plowed over and farmed. The callousness of this farmer is shocking, especially since he was aware of the cemetery when he purchased the land. He would have known exactly how many acres of farmable land he was buying and the price would have reflected that a parcel of the land was not farmable.

When the desecration became known, the county prosecutor’s office became involved. According to the news article by Daily Clarion editor Andrea Howe, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor eventually brokered an agreement between the landowner and the Calvert descendants to “have the location and exhumation of the Calverts” funded. “An Indianapolis firm was commissioned to perform an archeological dig at the property. Colbert said cadaver search dogs were used to help identify the location of the bodies since there was no visible sign of any grave.”

Mr. Colbert’s photos of the archeologists’ work are both heartbreaking and fascinating. Mr. Colbert also prepared a diagram showing the location of the graves and where the broken headstones ended up. George was Burial No. 8. Mr. Colbert wrote: “The Calvert Family Farm Cemetery plotting map of the exhumed 15 bodies. The green circles represent the fence boundaries. The Blue represents the location of the unearthed desecrated tombstones. The Red represents the burial site of each person.”

The following photo shows some of the stones as they were reassembled from the shattered pieces.

Photo by Ken Colbert, from Findagrave. 

The archeologists were able to recover George’s body. Although this photo may seem a bit grisly, I think it is important to include it. George was a person who was loved by his family. His remains deserved more respect than they were given by a farmer eager for an extra acre. George’s profile on Findagrave also includes a page from the archeology report describing his gravesite, noting that nails, bricks, coffin screws and buttons were found along with his remains.  

According to the news article, the archeology team was able to extract DNA samples from some of the exhumed remains, with the hope that the DNA profiles will be uploaded to GEDMatch. Since George’s body was fairly intact, perhaps his DNA will eventually help other genealogists trace their family lineage.

While Calvert Farm Cemetery no longer exists, George Calvert, his grandparents, and the other twelve people long interred on the Calvert farm now have a new resting place in Calvert Chapel Cemetery, named for another Calvert ancestor. Ken Colbert and other Calvert descendants are owed thanks for their dedication and hard work that led to the recovery of the remains and the headstones. Thanks is also owed to the firm that handled the exhumation—they showed the remains of these Indiana pioneers the respect they deserved.

Sources:

Findagrave entries on the Calvert Farm Cemetery and on George Calvert, all written by Ken Colbert. Photos of archeologists’ exhumation by Ken Colbert. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2705359/calvert-farm-cemetery

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/209620211/george-calvert

GoFundMe page on reburial effort, prepared by Ken Colbert. https://www.gofundme.com/f/calvert-chapel-cemetery

“New Resting Place: Pioneer family remains to be reburied after cemetery destroyed”, by Andrea Howe, Editor. Princeton Daily Clarion, 27 July 2019.

Something Alive in There: 52 Ancestors 2023 Prompt “Bearded”

The Beard that Housed A Squirrel?

William H. “Captain Billy” Smith: 1841-1925 (Second Cousin 3x Removed)

 

When I saw this month’s prompt was “Bearded”, I remembered reading this charming story about my husband’s 2^nd cousin 3x removed, “Captain Billy” Smith, that mentioned his amazing beard. The story was originally posted on Ancestr,y on 10 Apr 2010 by Barbara Westrich:

Westrich writes:

“William H. Smith was known in our family as Captain Billy. My mother, Mary Elizabeth O'Neal (Sakal) used to tell stories about how surley Captain Billy was. He walked with a stick/cane after his injury in the Civil War and my mother tells about how he used to hit the small children with his stick. She also tells the story of how he kept a pet squirrel in his very long, thick beard.”

After reading about the squirrel, I had to search for photos of Captain Billy and his amazing beard. Luckily, his descendants had posted some amazing photos of him, both pre- and post-beard.

William Henderson Smith was born in Ohio County, Kentucky on September 30, 1841 to parents Leonard Smith and his wife Mary Elizabeth. He was their only son. His father Leonard Smith was the son of Aaron Fairfax Smith, brother of my husband’s third great-grandfather Elias Guess Smith.

William was twenty years old when the Civil War started, and he quickly enlisted in the Union Army, serving in the 11^th Regiment of the Kentucky Infantry. He began his military career as a 2^nd Sergeant in G Company in October 1861. He was wounded at the Battle of Shiloh on April 7, 1862, and was sent to Simmonds General Hospital in Mound City, Illinois to recover from his wound. This injury was probably the reason for his use of a walking stick as mentioned in the Westrich story. The photos below, taken in 1862, show just how young William was to be an officer. These are the only photos I have found that show him clean-shaven.

Following his recovery, William returned to his unit and was promoted to 1^st Sergeant June 19, 1863. In March of 1864, he was sent to back to his home county of Muhlenberg, Kentucky to recruit more soldiers in the Paradise area. He then returned to battle, and was promoted to 1^st Lieutenant on June 17, 1864 in Georgia. William was discharged from the Union Army in December 1864 at Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Despite never rising above the rank of Lieutenant, when he returned home to Muhlenberg County, he became known as “Captain Billy”. He married Marieta Isadora “Dora” Mason on February 12, 1865. 

William and Dora Smith

They settled on a farm near Paradise, Kentucky and had twelve children. Photos of the family can be seen below. William’s beard was already long, thick and very dark.

William's mother at far left, William and Dora near center, surrounded by ten of their twelve children

William and Dora with three of their daughters in front of their home

William took pride in his military service, and was active in Union Army veteran groups. He organized and hosted a reunion of 15 Civil War veterans on his farm on May 11, 1912. Some of his fellow veterans had even more impressive beards than William did, although their beards had now turned white.

William is the first person in the back row--1912 Civil War Veterans' Reunion at Smith farm

William and Dora had a huge extended family—not all that surprising since they had twelve children. They are posed in front of the family home, now showing its age.

Another interesting photo shows five generations of the Smith family—William’s mother, daughter, granddaughter and great-granddaughter.

Dora died in September of 1916. William lived until 1925, dying on July 6 at the age of 83. He was still living on his farm in Paradise with one of his sons, Carlos, and his youngest daughter Rosa Bell “Rosey” at the time of the 1925 census. William was buried in the Smith-Yonts-Nourse Cemetery in Paradise, where many of his family members are also buried.

While I have found no evidence to support the story of William keeping a pet squirrel, much less one that liked to hide in his beard, photos do verify that he had a long, thick beard for the latter half of his life. It is fun to imagine the face of a little squirrel peeking out.

 

Sources:

Story by Posted 10 Apr 2010 by Barbara Westrich. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/81812584/person/262470443623/hints

Photos posted on Ancestry.com courtesy of Barbara Westrich and Chocochip_the_third.

Details of William H Smith’s military service was taken from a biography posted on Findagrave by Dorann Lam. Service and rank at muster out confirmed by Fold3, the National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers.htm ) and http://files.usgwarchives.net/ky/military/rosters/union/11rega-k.txt