This private graveyard was part of the old Albert Terrell property, There are only two tombstones. Five other graves are marked only with fieldstones. None of the markers contain names or dates. The graveyard is currently in someones backyard so the picture quality is not that great. Of course when I was there, their dog was out as well...
"Well being as there's no other place around the place, I reckon this must be the place, I reckon."
I wonder if the property owners are related in someway to the people buried there or if when they purchased their property, the stipulation was that there was a cemetery on the property and it came with the purchase of the land. Nice find Curly.
Highly doubt it. Back in the day, the property owners would locate the graveyard in a far corner of their property. Today, these properties have been divided, divided and divided again. The latest owners Im sure purchased the property knowing fully well that it was there. Would you mess with an old graveyard if it was on your property? They just maintain it and leave it as is. Im sure they think of it as a novelty.....
"Well being as there's no other place around the place, I reckon this must be the place, I reckon."
I am the person who owns the home on the property formerly belonging to Albert Terrell where the cemetery that you call "Charles Pond Cemetery", but which is more commonly referred to these days as "Paul's Path Cemetery", is at the northeast corner. This cemetery is documented on the Longwood school district's historical site as "Paul's Path Cemetery". I do not own this cemetery, as it is against the law to own a cemetery, but I do maintain it. Technically, I believe it is owned by the Town of Brookhaven.
That was my shepherd chow, either Boo Boo or Yogi, that came out to greet you when you came to take these pictures. Sorry about that. They do not bite, but in accordance with their breeding, they protect the perimeters of my property and "sound the alarm" when strangers enter their perceived territory.
In this cemetery are buried Sylvester Fordham (b. 10/31/1810, d. 11/22/1829) and his uncle, Jacob Mott (b. 5/2/1793, d. 12/9/1821). Their ancestry is extremely well documented on the Mott family website, which you can find if you google the name "Sylvester Fordham". Their gravesites have both a headstone and a footstone, so these two sets of "double tombstones" should each only be counted as one. There is also a small tombstone next to one of the graves. These tombstones are all made of limestone. The base of one or two granite tombstones are also in this cemetery, with the tombstone(s) broken off and no longer existing on this site. There is indeed one fieldstone in the cemetery, although old records indicate that there should be 5. This fieldstone may indicate another grave, but alas only an inground X-ray of the property would be able to tell us for sure, and that is assuming that the skeletal remains of any person buried there are still somewhat intact after all these years.
I am posting this reply in order that there be a record of my concerns that the neighboring condominium complex, Bretton Woods, erected a fence in this area in 2009. In doing so, they had a small bulldozer-like machine enter the cemetery to clear brush and in the process moved or removed several fieldstones.
Most importantly, these fieldstones were located inside the now fenced-off area and if they represented burial sites, the sites are now desecrated and improperly fenced-off from the rest of the cemetery and public access.
I also wish to mention that I and two other neighbors remember a third tombstone, which sat under a large chestnut tree, indicating that the person buried there had "drowned at sea" according to two of us or "drowned in Mooney Pond" according to the third. We suspect that this tombstone is now on the other side of the fence, covered by a large (chestnut?) tree that fell down several years ago.
Someday perhaps someone from the condominium complex will kindly investigate what is on the other side of the fence by clearing away the large tree and doing some inground X-rays in order to confirm whether the poor dear Misters Mott and Fordham have been separated from their relatives by a fence.
Do I see this cemetery as a novelty? No, but in all sincerity I do see it as a sacred resting place that merits respect and care.
I am not related to the Motts or Fordhams, but I sure wish I were. These are illustrious families with ties to at least 2 presidents, according to the Mott family website!
Very interesting info, thank you for joining the site and sharing this... Where did the field stones go? I see a huge problem with them sending machinery through this cemetery and desecrating peoples final resting places... If they fenced in an area that shouldn't be the complex should, at their cost, investigate and if there are remains the complex should move the fence and replace whatever they disturbed. Sounds like a trip to a town meeting would be in order, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to disturb a cemetery!
Very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to join and share that with us.
Originally Posted by cr50579
Thanks for the info.....quite interesting for sure. Welcome aboard.
Hi, Im the guy who took the photos and met your dog! hahaha I took the photos from the street but that was close enough for Fido. I did not know about the intrusion of the fence. Its been a while since Ive been by but maybe i'll rattle a few cages in Bretten Woods. I also should stop by again and have a look for myself so I can better understand your directions/locations. Would it be alright if I stopped by one afternoon? I would like a better look at the remaining stones.
As for the sacred intrusion, believe me, I am with you. I hate to see these places trod upon by progress. No respect for the dead. In my travels searching for these old gravesites we have found; generations of family now buried under asphalt outside a major mall, a revolutionary war hero now resting under some unsuspecting homeowners front lawn and not to few buried under bramble and trash and now home to crackheads. Its really sad when you think about it.....
"Well being as there's no other place around the place, I reckon this must be the place, I reckon."
wow very interesting. Not to steer off topic but my brother in law has a house in delaware and recently discoverd a cemetery in his yard. About 10 graves.
it was all covered in brush so he never noticed it, until he went down there recently and saw it froma distance all cleared. As far as i know who ever sells the house has to disclose to you that there is a cemetery on the land right? If it is not on the title are you entiled to anything if you were not notified of such?
You are not going to believe this. I am the person who has been taking care of Paul's Path (aka Charles Pond) cemetery and who wrote to inform you that several fieldstones were likely moved a fewyears ago by a bulldozer hired by the condo complex next door and that there may be another tombstone under a fallen tree on the other side of the fence that was put up by the condo complex after you took these photos.
Today someone from the condo complex came by my yard and started ranting that she and others at the condo are really upset because they think I "removed tombstones from the cemetery". She said they are going to report me to the Town. I wonder if they realize that anything that may be missing from this cemetery was removed by the bulldozer they hired!
Anyway, thank you for taking these pictures. They show very clearly that what grave markers were in the cemetery before my plantings are exactly the same as the grave markers that are in the cemetery now (after my plantings).
I am deeply hurt by these accusations and grateful for the proof that these photos provide. I do not desecrate cemeteries. In my culture (Asian), cemeteries must be tended and this is what I have been doing. It would be against my character and breeding to desecrate a cemetery.
Sorry for venting . I just had to get this off my chest. I know you guys like this cemetery as much as I do.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks