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Pioneer Cemetery (AKA Wilson Cemetery) Town of Independence, Allegany Co, NY

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From Records of Town Historian - January 2005
East End of Beech Hill Road - Approx 2 Miles West of Whitesville; 1869 Atlas of Town Shows Cemetery on Edge of Lot 71 bordering Lot 84 - Wilson Property.

3/4/05 - A recent paper has been uncovered and is provided here in support of this cemetery.  This information is shared by/from the archives of Catherine Schuyler Chapter D.A.R. - Signed by Ina Church, Chairman - Genealogical Records as copied by Hazel Shear.  "This cemetery is in the town of Independence, Allegany County.  It is about an eighth of a mile off State Route 248 to the left at the top of a steep pitch as one goes west from Route 248.  It was in very bad condition when the inscriptions were taken in September 1946.  Two of us took a peck, hoe and crow-bar to extricate some of the markers.  There were apparently others there that we could not get.  A reputable local historian says that at one time it was known that there were over one hundred graves there.  It is on County Road 39 and in 1955 when the road was widened some trees were taken out and probably some markers destroyed.  It has been variously called Wilson, Teater, Nye and Coats cemetery.  County records have not yet been checked to prove whether Wilson or Teater first owned the land.  (Webmaster Note: 1869 Atlas shows as Wilson Land)  David Wilson and his wife Diodama, first permanent settlers in the Town of Independence are buried there so it seems permissible to call it by its most common name of Wilson.  John Teater and Erastus Eaton were also very early settlers.  Teater was a sub land agent for the Pultneys.  He signed his papers with his mark and his well educated wife, Sophia Scutt Teater, did the bookwork.  The other men buried here are the earliest and most prominent men in the early history of the town of Independence.  5/23/2005 -  It is just off the road on private property. A previous owner set the stones down and now they are being covered by grass and chewed up by ice. Only one monument is visible from the road. (Pictures by Mary Rhodes)

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 Goodeth Lewis, David Lewis, John Teater, Abel Trask

(Click on above photos for larger images)

PIONEER CEMETERY (AKA WILSON CEMETERY) ALPHABETICAL LIST:

Click here to view the list.