The "Missing" Cemeteries of Chesterfield
Chesterfield, Massachusetts

The Cole Cemetery

There are other, small cemeteries in Chesterfield; for the most part, their locations remain unknown to me. However, thanks to Dave Bisbee and Brian Holt Hawthorne, one of the "missing" plots has been located and identified. For lack of any known formal name, I will refer to this as the Cole Cemetery. (On the 1873 map of Chesterfield, this location is where the Consider Cole property is noted.)

This a note from David Bisbee in January of 2004:

Hi Dave - believe it or not, I dug up a photo I took (attached).  Date on back of photo is May 1977.  Looking at it, I don't see any gravestones or markers - and I can't remember if there were any or not - but what else could it be?  I recall the road as starting somewhere near Indian Hollow, on the west side of the river of course, and coming out on the upper end of Ireland St., went through somebody's yard. It was definitely past the gorge, possibly past Partridge road.

David's photo:

photo 1977 by David Bisbee

And this note from Brian Holt Hawthorne in September of 2004:

I was just looking at your Cemeteries of Chesterfield web site (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~torrey/cemeteries.htm) and noticed one missing. I'll try to take a picture of the single stone soon. It is an old cemetery now located in the Hiram Fox Wildlife Management area. It looks like all of the graves were relocated many years ago, except for one, that we call "Lonely Laura's". I believe the name is Laura Ellis. The story I was told is that the other graves were moved, but Laura died of consumption, so they left the grave undisturbed.

Looking into the "Cole" Cemetery

From outside the gate at "Cole" Cemetery

Detail of some of the Iron Work on the fence around the cemetery.

The main area in the 50' x 50' cemetery with no graves.

The sole remaining stone in the cemetery.

Directions to the cemetery, courtesy of Brian Holt Hawthorne: "To get to it, take Ireland Street to the Ireland Street Extension. Go past the end of the pavement. The dirt road continues around behind the Serafin's farmhouse. The road has a cable across it here, and a Wildlife Management Area sign. There is no parking area yet, so be sure you don't block the road, which is used for farm vehicles. Continue past the gate (heading south) until the raod makes a 90 degree left turn by some fields. Continue east past an old road junction, until you get to an old iron fence on the left..............If you have a GPS, the coordinates are approximately N42.34332, W72.87360.

We (the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife) will be doing some timber harvesting in the area in the next year or two (2005/2006) for biodiversity and wildlife habitant management. The only thing we will be doing in the vicinity of the cemetery will be removing the exotic black locust trees. We may try to add a parking area near the bend in the road at the same time, but that hasn't been approved yet."

LAURA wife of Ebenezer Ellis Died Nov. 15, 1843 Æ 23 ys.

Corbin mentioned this cemetery very briefly in his work on the town's graveyards: "A cemetery at extreme end of Ireland St. once had a stone wall later Iron fence. The remains now all removed to the cemetery in So Worthington." Seems probable that he didn't visit the cemetery, since Laura's stone is very visible.

The Missing Cemeteries

There remains at least four more "cemeteries" known to have existed in the town that I still cannot find.

One was mentioned by Mrs. Lederer in her transcriptions. Mrs. Lederer says "There was another cemetery at Batesville, near the Goshen line, but only one stone remains now - Israel Bates, - date eroded - illegible".

Walter Corbin writes of "A burial place on farm of Darius Damon where Ichabod Damon & wife were buried." Also, "This cemetery is in the N.E. corner of the town near, D. Damon & O. Bates on 1873 maps of Hampshire Co."

Corbin also writes "It is said that upon the Davis farm, so called, are 2 graves little known to people generally when members of the Quam family were buried many years ago."

And, he notes "On the Ervin Rice farm 2 victims of small pox are supposed to have been buried. The farm was once owned by Amasa Clapp."