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DAR cemetery dig

| 15 Apr 2012 | 11:39
    Wendy Wyman, left, and Nancy Malone brush the dirt off a freshly uncovered grave marker belonging to Garret Van Blarcum. PhotoS by Scott Baker
    Wendy Wyman, left, and Nancy Malone brush the dirt off a freshly uncovered grave marker belonging to Garret Van Blarcum. PhotoS by Scott Baker
    The second part of the DAR's mission was to clean the fungus off the old gravestones. Here, half of DAR member Lisa Permunian's ancestor Harriet F. Babcock's stone has been cleaned with a safe and effective solution called D/2.
    The second part of the DAR's mission was to clean the fungus off the old gravestones. Here, half of DAR member Lisa Permunian's ancestor Harriet F. Babcock's stone has been cleaned with a safe and effective solution called D/2.
    DAR members Nancy Malone, left, and Lisa Permunian carefully work to uncover a grave marker that has been buried over time. Photos by Scott Baker
    DAR members Nancy Malone, left, and Lisa Permunian carefully work to uncover a grave marker that has been buried over time. Photos by Scott Baker
    Nancy Malone, left, and Lisa Permunian work to uncover the grave marker of William Van Blarcum.
    Nancy Malone, left, and Lisa Permunian work to uncover the grave marker of William Van Blarcum.
    DAR member Wendy Wyman begins to dig after Richard Ziccardi has tested the earth and found a covered marker in the area.
    DAR member Wendy Wyman begins to dig after Richard Ziccardi has tested the earth and found a covered marker in the area.
    The recently unearthed grave marker of William Van Blarcum, which has been hidden under about four inches of sod and soil since the early 1900s.
    The recently unearthed grave marker of William Van Blarcum, which has been hidden under about four inches of sod and soil since the early 1900s.
    A DAR discovery from last spring —Revolutionary War veteran Ashman Carpenter. The new marker, installed last summer, is courtesy of the Veterans Association.
    A DAR discovery from last spring —Revolutionary War veteran Ashman Carpenter. The new marker, installed last summer, is courtesy of the Veterans Association.

Hardyston — The North Hardyston Cemetery is the final resting place of seven Revolutionary War veterans. But, the cemetery administrators only know the whereabouts of six of those soldiers. Over time, many of the cemetery’s headstones and grave markers have fallen over and been buried or overgrown by foliage. On top of that, the records for the older section of the graveyard were lost in a fire five years ago — essentially erasing all traces of this deceased soldier as well as a great many other remains.

But the Chinkchewunska chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), out of Wantage, is taking steps to change that.

The organization has a map of sorts that its members made in the early 1930s as they walked through the cemetery. This loose map, the local DAR chapter hopes, will lead them to the final resting place of Simon Wade — the missing Revolutionary War veteran — as well as several other “missing” graves.

Out to uncover history “We are trying to retrace their footsteps,” event organizer and DAR member Ashley Ziccardi said of their plan to follow the more than 80-year-old document that was serving as the group’s guide.

What makes the guide helpful, Ziccardi said, is that the DAR group from the '30s didn’t make the list in alphabetical order, like most cemetery lists, but they made it as a “walkthrough” of the cemetery. “So,” Ziccardi said, “we have a who, but now we have to work on the where,” noting that knowing the order of the plots doesn’t give them their exact location.

On Friday, April 13, then, the Chinkchewunska chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution set out to “uncover” some of these missing graves, locate the missing soldier, and help update the records for the North Hardyston Cemetery. While they were unable to find Wade, they did manage to uncover and identify 24 buried graves — making their venture at least a partial success.

The group uncovered two types of headstones, member Lisa Permunian explained: marble and sandstone. “The marble headstones fell over, but they held up well underground. The sandstone heads seem to flake apart. I’m afraid if a sandstone one fell over, there’d be nothing left.” Ziccardi added that this is likely why they've been unable to find the gravesite of Simon Wade.

An ongoing mission This past Friday isn’t the first time the DAR have been digging in the North Hardyston Cemetery, either. When they started the project last spring, there were two missing Revolutionary War veterans — the first of whom, Ashman Carpenter, was uncovered on their first visit. The fallen headstone was buried under three to four inches of dirt and sod, but is now fully displayed along with a brand new marker courtesy of the Veterans Society. “The next of kin was pretty excited,” Ziccardi said.

She has a relative of her own from the Revolutionary War buried in the North Hardyston Cemetery, Charles Beardsley: “He’s my seventh great-grandfather or something like that.”

It was this genealogical connection that got Ziccardi involved with the Daughters of the American Revolution in the first place. “I’ve always been interested in genealogy,” she said, “so (the DAR) was a natural fit.”

People interested in the goings-on of the DAR can check their Web site at DAR.org.