Sunday, November 7, 2010

Early War Graves

I guess you would believe I have been down a rabbit hole for the last few months since I have not been writing but nothing could be farther from the truth. Although I haven't posted since mid-September, I have been kept quite busy working with students of American History at Cayuga Community College. Our Town Supervisor arranged in partnership with their professor to conduct a study of some of our cemeteries. Students have been assigned a particular name, and are gathering information on the individual, their family, and any other items of interest they discover.
Often in Scipio, this includes Revolutionary War or Civil War service records. It has been refreshing to watch these students catch the genealogy bug! And I am learning new facts from them as well. Just this morning I learned that Ambrose Sperry, buried in one of our small cemeteries, was a Revolutionary War veteran, serving the state of Connecticut and settling here in Scipio until his death in 1817 at the age of 62. He may also have served in the War of 1812. Ambrose's wife was Patience Wheeler.
This same cemetery also holds the remains of Dr. Perley Kinney, whose first wife was Mary Sherwood. She was the daughter of Judge Seth Sherwood, who came to Scipio from Vermont in 1794 or 1795 and gave his name to the town. Dr. Kinney came from Connecticut, perhaps as early as 1797, when he would have been about 28 years old.
There are only about 5 other known burials in that little Baptist Cemetery, now defunct. Some of our very first settlers rest here, and I am happy to see that their stories are being preserved.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hello, I am interested in the Kinney Family history. Could you tell me what (location) cemetery exactly Perley Kinney is buried in? Thank you.