In Memoriam: Where We Say Goodbye: Place 2- Onondaga Valley Cemetery

 Onondaga Valley Cemetery

One of the items that people need to consider when moving into a region is this:

Where are we going to bury the dead?

Onondaga Hollow, now the Valley Section of the region is one of the oldest parts of Syracuse.

Originally it was its own settlement, centered around the farmland, timber, and mills that could be powered by Onondaga Creek that ran through the center of the Valley. The main hub of commerce was focused along the Seneca Turnpike, a toll road that could carry goods to market. On the edge of the Valley, the road to Salina ran north to the Salt Point Settlement.

To the south, was the Onondaga Nation's land. A portion of this land was given to 

Ephraim Webster, known as "Webster's Square Mile", 

as a gift for his work as translator and agent

for the Nation.

Within the "Square Mile" was the cemetery.

A brief history:
"The non-denominational Onondaga Valley cemetery has an area of about 29 acres. The oldest parts of the cemetery are section 1 though 6. A fire had destroyed several of their historic records. Burials have been conducted here as early as January 1810. The roads in the old section are very curvy and go up and down the hillside. Please drive carefully. Most of the really old monuments and family plots can be found here. There is an old cemetery vault located in section 6. The former chapel, built by architect O.V. Clark in 1904, now houses the cemetery offices. The newer part is the northern area of the cemetery, with a mausoleum located in section 22, which was opened in 2004. Section 18, also called "Cremation Garden" has no upright grave stones, all grave markers are flush with the ground. Section markers can often be found 6-9 feet up on the trunks of the old trees in the cemetery. There is lots of room for expansion, north of Section 22, and west of Valley View."
~~~from Find A Grave

But again, even if you have everything necessary to make a new community work, the inevitable will happen: 

Somebody will die

Where do you bury them?

Choices:

1-On the family land that could change hands?

2- In a churchyard where only members are buried?

3-Or do you set aside land for anyone to be buried in 

so that people aren't just buried anywhere in the village?

Onondaga Hollow chose number 3!

Found on early maps, this cemetery tells the story of how 

burials have changed in "fashion" over the years

The south end of the cemetery is the oldest. 

The most visible structure is the Cemetery Office 

that was once the chapel. 

Here families were often buried in large family plots: 

Aunts, Uncles, Mothers, Fathers, Children, Cousins

in one last big get-together family reunion for eternity,

These sections are a genealogist dreams because it is a who's who of family!

Then, enter the sections of

"side by side forever"
which is the middle sections of the cemetery

While it is traditional for a husband and wife to be buried together, possibly with any children who died young, their surviving children aren't as likely to be buried by their side.

On the northern end is the biggest change in burial in the last 200 years,

the rise of cremation.

People chose cremation for many different reasons.

Some just want a place to remember their loved ones and 

just choose to scatter those ashes.

Some want a place to remember them.

 A place where they can see their loved ones names. 

A place to come and mourn.

The Mausoleum fills this role.

Also cremains can be buried in the ground and headstone placed 

to mark the life that once walked among us.

Markers are not the only thing that can gives us a piece of the story of a life once lived.

Names of streets nearby begin to make sense:

Sometimes other markers are placed that let you know:

What they looked like

What they loved to do

Their Faith

That they belonged to the American Legion

That they served in WW2

 

That they served in WW1

That they served in The War of 1812

Or that Howard was a police officer

or that their son George, who died before them, was one too.

 

A life cut short too soon in the days before antibiotics 😔:

"BLOOD POISONING PROVES FATAL TO PATROLMAN

Blood poisoning, which spread through his system from

an infected tooth, caused the death in Crouse-Irving Hospital, Thursday morning of Patrolman George VanDeuson, 36, of 210 Gertrude st. He was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday.

Patrolman Van Deuson was born Oct 28, 1900, a son of Howard R. Van Deuson of Brewerton, retired patrolman.

He was a lifelong resident of Syracuse and was appointed

to the Syracuse police department June 1, 1927.

He was a member of the Police Benevolent Association.

Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Helen Fonda Van Deuson; two

daughters, Miss Alta A. and Miss Jean Van Deuson; four sons, George Edward, Russell, Frederick

and Jack Van Deuson; his father,Howard R Van Deuson; two sisters, Mrs. Lena Dunlap of Brewerton and Mrs. Eunice Fonda of Clay,and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.

Edward F, Johnes of Syracuse.

Members of the police department will act as bearers at funeral services in the rooms of Fairchlld A Meecb, funeral directors, at 3 o'clock Saturday afternoon.

Rev. Alfred Taylor, pastor of West Genesee Methodist Episcopal Church,will officiate, and burial will be in

Onondaga Valley cemetery."
~~~Find A Grave

However you can't rely on flags alone. Ephraim Webster, 

to whom this land was originally given,

was a Revolutionary War Veteran, and had nothing to indicate that 

around his headstone

About Ephraim Webster:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephraim_Webster

Considering his importance to the area, his monument is relatively plain:

an odd juxtaposition, indeed!

Onondaga Valley Cemetery is a great place to meander through the headstones.

With walkable roads, lots of shade, and many interesting monuments

there is so much here to see.

And maybe, just by reading their names 

they become more than just random names--- 

they become lives that lived <3