There are 78 sites that have been identified as places where human remains have been deposited. This inventory covers over 6600 names. By far most of them are either associations or family plots. The largest and most active cemetery is Lakeview Cemetery which at the top of North Main Street opposite Forest Road. That cemetery has in excess of 3500 burials or about half of the present population of the town. Lakeview is an association in which the owners of burial plots are members of the association. In 1970's the ladies of the Daughters of the American Revolution took it upon themselves for a bicentennial project, the task of identifying each site and transcribing the information on the stones that were still there and were legible. These ladies were Ida Pineo and Wilma Grant with assistance from Bernard Pineo. After that job was completed the information languished on scrapes of paper. In about 1990 the author persuaded the ladies to let him have access to the records in order to transcribe and publish them in a usable form. This was done and in 1993 a book detailing all the known information was published by Heritage Books, Inc. The information includes the names of each burial, any epitaph, and a set of maps for Lakeview burials and maps of the other burial sites in town. In many cases this is the only record that we have in town of the existence of the person noted. That book is now out of print but can be
viewed at the town library. Also this author has the original data from which the book was printed as computer files and will produce a CD containing these files on demand for a nominal fee.
The oldest grave in Lakeview is that of Ann Parker who died in 1786. This is also the oldest grave stone in town.
There are several interesting things to be discovered in perusing this data. For instance there is a monument erected in the Wolfeboro Center Cemetery on Northline Road to the memory of George W. Tibbetts Co I 2nd N.H. Vols killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, Jul 2 , 1862 ae 24y 1m 9d. In reviewing history we should note that the Battle of Gettysburg was fought in July of 1863. one year later.
In Lakeview there is a monument to the memory of Samuel Nowell d. Apr 18 1833 ae 89 Rev. War Soldiker and son of the Boston Tea Party. In Lakeview, the epitaph for Asa Moody says “Farewell till we meet again” The epitaph for his wife, Lois Moody, who died 13 years later says “We meet again” Also in Lakeview, there is the stone for Abigail, Relict of Jeremiah Conner who died May 16 1862 with the verse “She hath done what she could.”
Many of the old family cemeteries are in very poor and sad condition, being overgrown by grass, weeds, and trees. Many of them are hard to locate because they have only one burial that is still visible. The best time of year to locate the stones in the family graveyards is when the leaves are off the trees. Many stones have fallen victim to the elements and have fractured and then been scattered by unthinking individuals. Some of the graveyards are well maintained and are visited every year by veterans groups and fraternal lodges who mark the graves of their former members with American
flags or insignia of their organizations.
As a matter of interest the very best stone for longevity are the stones that are black slate. Black slate stones that are 200 years old look today as I they were brand new. A case in point are the black slate stones for the Cotton family in the Cotton Cemetery off Cotton Valley Road. |
