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Chicopee Street Burying Ground, Chicopee, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA



 

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Chicopee Burying Ground 1741; Chicopee Street Burying Ground, Brightside, Holyoke, Massachusetts

(photo kindly provided by Don Calloway)


Owner of originalDon Kelloway
Date7 Dec 2012
File namechicopee-burying-ground.jpg
File Size66.65k
Dimensions1024 x 684
Linked toChicopee Street Burying Ground, Chicopee, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA; Chester W. Chapin (Burial); Hon. Chester William Chapin (Burial); Dorcas Chapin (Burial); Deacon Samuel* Chapin, (immigrant) (J-FFDNA-5r)

Chicopee Street Burying Ground, Chicopee, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA

Notes: 228 Chicopee Street

contact info:
Cemetery Department
687 Front Street
Chicopee MA 01013


Chicopee Street:
For more than sixty years, the people of Chicopee continued their connection with the old First Church in Springfield, finding their way on foot, or on horseback, fording the Chicopee River, at the Indian Wading Place, or sometimes going by canoe down the Connecticut. The sabbath services and the weekly lectures were their edification and delight. Their lives were regulated by its ordinances and discipline; and when death came, they were laid to rest in the Old Burying Ground at the foot of Elm Street on the banks of the Connecticut. The names Japhet and Abilene, his wife, may still be seen on the old headstones in Peabody Cemetery. They were removed when the building of the railroad made it necessary to discontinue the old burying place. "
Annals of Chicopee Street
Clara Skeele Palmer
Harvard College Library
page 20

Rootsweb message board:
"Chicopee Cemeteries Notes: The earliest cemetery was established at the foot of Elm Street in Springfield. The "Old Burying Ground" was Chicopee's colonial cemetery on Chicopee Street (where all the Chapins are buried) -- first buried there was Miss Sarah Hitchcock in 1741. Thanks to Gail Ferris for contributing this information.
The "Old Burying Ground" was Chicopee's colonial cemetery. The first burial dates back to 1741."

Email from Dave Robison (dave@oldbones.co)
20 May 2014
Hi!
Since the Chapin family is a large part of my list of ancestors and past relatives, I’ve had an interest in the Chicopee Street Burying Grounds. The progenitor of that very prolific line was my 8th great grandfather, Deacon Samuel Chapin (1598-1675). He is represented by a very prominent statue which sits in a small park next to the Springfield City Library near downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Deacon Chapin, along with several hundred Springfield settlers and residents were buried in the “Old Burial Places” which is correctly described as having been at the foot of Elm Street in Springfield. As the railroad came through, the interred were moved to Springfield Cemetery in 1848, not Center Street Burying Ground as it seems to imply by the description gleaned from RootsWeb. Also note that Chicopee was not a town until 1848 which is apparently a coincidence with the date of the cemetery removal.

Although there were as many as 2,000 disinterments, only about 250 grave stones remain extant. Most that survive are legible, but sadly too many have deteriorated beyond repair or simply sunken into the ground. The record implies that Deacon Samuel Chapin and his wife Cicely were buried at the foot of Elm Street. This makes perfect sense. When Samuel died in 1675, the population of the Springfield settlement was a few hundred, possibly a few thousand. Therefore it stands to reason that the “first” burials where in the late 17th century.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Dave Robison
Professional Genealogist
Old Bones Genealogy of New England
Member of Association of Professional Genealogists (APG)
http://www.apgen.org/members/MemberLogo/color/gif/apgmemberlogocolortiny.gif

New England Chapter of the APG (Vice President)
National Genealogical Society
Western Mass Genealogical Society
Certificate Holder of Boston University Genealogical Research

www.oldbones.info (Web Site)
www.oldbonessearch.com (Blog)


» Place: Chicopee Street Burying Ground, Chicopee, Hampden County, Massachusetts, USA     «Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 13» Next»     » Slide Show