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Looking for a great read about lake history? Dive deep and get the whole story! Click HERE for more information or to order! |
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Burlington Vermont's
Elmwood Cemetery
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Nestled between the city's old north end and its bustling downtown, is Burlington's Elmwood Cemetery. The tale of its establishment is fascinating: In 1801 Levi Allen, the brother of Ethan Allen died, as did his brother Ira, bankrupt and penniless. He died within the Burlington gaol, confined as was often the case during those times, for his debts. Unfortunately, relations between the Allen's were poor at the time and no one claimed poor Levi's body. This was because Vermont law specified that anyone removing a body from within the actual town limits assumed his debts and Burlington's only cemetery at the time- Green Mount, lay outside those limits. The town fathers solved their dilemma by setting aside the five acre lot now known as Elmwood Cemetery as a burial ground. Levi Allen was the first person interred here.1
Marker at the entrance to Elmwood Cemetery. Photo by the author |
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David J. Blow in his excellent Historic Guide to
Burlington Neighborhoods, tells us that "hundreds of graves have been
lost", either because they were buried in a haphazard manner, never
received a marker, or fell prey to vandalism. Evidently due to the small
size of the burial ground, some who were interred here were later reburied
in Lake View Cemetery.
Buried at Elmwood, in addition to many of Burlington's earliest residents, are some individuals very familiar to students of local history. We were able to locate some of their graves during a brief visit in the Fall of 2001. |
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This
is the plot containing the mortal remains of
Fanny Montressor Penniman,
Ethan Allen's second wife. Buried here in 1834, she lies alongside the
remains of her third husband, Jabez Penniman.
Click on the thumbnails to see a full-size photo. |
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Ebenezer was a hero of the Revolution, playing a key role in many conflicts occurring on the Historic Lakes. For many years he ran a tavern on the southernmost tip of what is now South Hero. For more information about Ebenezer Allen, click here. Also buried at Elmwood are early Vermont historian Zadock Thompson and Vermonters prominent in the early maritime and transportation history of the region, Gideon King and Timothy Follett. Fortunately the lovely and distinctive homes of King and Follett still stand in the city. Harvey Blush, a deckhand on the ill-fated steamer Phoenix, sunk at Providence Island September 5, 1819, has a memorial stone here. Interestingly enough, Joseph Barron, pilot of Macdonough's flagship Saratoga at the Battle of Plattsburgh, is listed as being interred here after he fell in battle on September 11, 1814. A visit to our All about Historic Plattsburgh, New York page shows Barron as having been buried in Plattsburgh's Riverside Cemetery. For a photo of the Plattsburgh grave of Joseph Barron, click here. If any site visitors can shed light on this mystery for us, we'd love to hear from you! |
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Sources/Notes: 1 David J. Blow, "HISTORIC GUIDE TO BURLINGTON NEIGHBORHOODS" Edited by Lilian Baker Carlisle (Burlington, Vermont: Chittenden County Historical Society 1991) 191 |
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