Elbridge Rural Cemetery
Along the Road
Elbridge Rural Cemetery has been a burying place since the
first military tract settlers came to the area.
The area that was originally part of the Town of Camillus,
later divided off to form Van Buren and Elbridge,
this area was prime land for farming and mill work.
It's location between the settlements that would later become
Auburn and Syracuse, made it prime area to do business.
Buried here is the namesake of the brook
that flows just east of the cemetery:
Carpenter's Brook.
Who was Carpenter?
He was Moses Carpenter who had a tavern
nearby the brook that was later named for him.
His wife Hannah outlived him by a few years.
However creeks and brooks do not a village make
In order to get people to come to this area,
roads had to be built.
And the Munro Family
(Alternately spelled Monroe, Manro, Munroe,
and a few other variants)
Took the task (and the profit)
of building the section of the Great Genesee Road
from the edge of the Camillus to the Cayuga County Line.
"Squire Munro, with his sons, Nathan, John, David, and Philip A., settled on lot 81, in 1799. His was one of the most prominent and enterprising families in town. After the incorporation of the north branch of the Seneca Turnpike, in 1806, they constructed as much of the road (now known as the Genesee Turnpike) as passes through what are now the towns of Camillus and Elbridge, or about eleven miles, taking certificates of stock as compensation for their work, which they finished in 1808."
At the edge of the county line,
John Munro first built a wooden structure,
then his masterpiece:
A Cobblestone Carpenter's Gothic Revival.
But roads were expensive to build.
There were no municipal maintenance crews.
Those who used the road paid for the luxury of using it.
It wasn't necessary grand, but it was passable.
While one can bushwhack on foot,
you can't get a wagon to do that.
So to pay for it, toll gates were set along the road
and people paid at each toll both they went through
for the length of the journey.
You going a short distance?
A small fare
You going the whole way?
Full fare
Basically you helped pay for section of road you traveled on.
(In a side note, hopefully we all help contribute to the road
in life we walk upon.
As to quote the Ghost of Marley
""Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance,
and benevolence, were, all, my business.
The deals of my trade were but a drop of water
in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”)
A good, short video about Turnpikes, Toll Roads and Canals
and how they worked.
This video is about roads in New Jersey.
Just substitute "Genesee Turnpike" and "Erie Canal"
and you have the basics of turnpike roads and the death knells to them:
the canals and rails
On this map from 1852,
tolls were still being collected along what is
now Route 5 in Elbridge
by Carpenter's Brook by where it says "H Hale"
Even the road north to Jordan
had a toll house halfway.
Elbridge had two answers as to where to bury the dead:
Mt Pleasant Cemetery on the western edge of the village
where Captain Stevens,
the second Military Tract settler and first State Superintendent of Salt,
would be buried on land he donated.
The second was east of the village
not far from Carpenter's Brook.
The cemetery was placed along the side
of the newly minted road.
The names written in stone here are a
who's who of life in the town of Elbridge from its founding to the present
The Redmond family
(alternately spelled Redman and a few other ways,
originally spelled Rittman)
They farmed the land nearby
the cemetery.
The Genesee Turnpike went straight though their land.
(courtesy of Ben Arnold)
There is also the Hill Family listed on the map
who have owned the nearby family farm for over 200 years!
Along the road came tradesmen & doctors
including:
Dr. Jared Wheeler
Then the farmers could come and bring
their families to settle along the road.
Eventually, their family names
would grace the local roads
that lead to their farms.
Levi Campbell, a Revolutionary War Soldier
The Laird Family
The Gorham Family
and more...
And then there are the unique monuments...
At first glance, there looks like there
is a large tree stump among the graves...
But as you get closer, you realize that it is made of stone.
And carved here, like initials on a beech tree,
is the family record of the
Dibble-Millious Family.
Each member of the immediate family is
memorialized on one marker
Olive J Millious had her own marker
But her name was also included on the stump
with the rest of the family,
which is a good thing as her marker fell and broke long ago.
More about the variety of tree stump markers
that can be found in cemeteries
Some, but not all, tree stump markers
are "Woodmen of the World"
markers.
For more about these
There is also the obelisk that
reminds people that markers are not just for the dead,
but also an important resource for the living
Like the tree stump,
They are the "Family Record" for those that come after
There are the obelisks and markers carved in limestone.
are beginning to delaminate due to weathering over time.
Squire Brown built this barn as part of his estate along the road.
And then there is the marble obelisk
that leaves no doubt to its purpose:
It IS the FAMILY RECORD,
set in stone,
not to get lost in a Family Bible
that gets tucked away
but permanent for all to see
who pass by the road.
There is the Brown Monument
Whose owner built
Squire Brown built this barn as part of his estate along the road.
Today it is all that remains of
Squire Brown's property.
It is now part of Squire Farms Nursery.
And most impressively, is the large "Zinkie",
The Munro Family
monument!
With a family record of each
branch of the Munro
Family
even those who lived but a few days among us
A complete list of people at the time
even though they might have separate markers around the cemetery
They were not all in one place.
The Munro family wanted to make sure that
as a group,
they would be remembered
together
in the "genealogy"
and that no one would be forgotten
no matter how short they were upon this earth
even if the chain was broken by grief and sorrow
They could be together.
But over the years, this Zinkie
began to deteriorate
So much that it was in danger of collapsing.
And it was an expensive repair.
Thanks to the rescue efforts of Mark Conway Munro,
donors and Barnett Memorials,
this Zinkie was given a new life in the cemetery
A great short reel by Barnett Memorials
A great short reel by Barnett Memorials
on the restoration
What an amazing job they did to save this priceless record!
But each monument, large or small has a story to tell
here along this road...
This small monument is for
Claude Horace Marlette
who died
about 5 months before the Armistice
returned home along this road.
returned home along this road.
And Charles Simpkins...
...buried his hopes here along the road when his wife died.
The Davis Family has chosen to find solace along this road:
a place to sit and and be and know that
while their loved one no longer
can sit with them,
they can stop in
along the road
and say hello.
It is fitting that the Munros are buried next to the road they created
In Ancient times, the Romans buried their dead
just out side the city limits,
not unlike Elbridge Rural.
As people came into town, they could see on each side
those who had come before them that built and lived in
the city they were about to enter.
They also buried in unmarked graves
along the Roman Roads.
It was considered an honor to be
buried along side the road that took
all travelers back to Rome
(at least in theory).
And perhaps a remnant of this sentiment still holds today...
...that along the road of life,...
...in some small way,
the love of those
who have come before us
leads back to us 💗
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