Stonington, New London, Connecticut Small Pox Cemeteries

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Stonington, New London, Connecticut, United States
Surname/tag: stonington_small_pox_cemeteries

Contents 1 Dedication 2 About Stonington, New London, Connecticut Small Pox Cemeteries 2.1 Further Research Results 2.1.1 Cemetery #47 2.1.2 Cemetery #52 2.1.3 Private Burial Locations 3 Of Noteworthy Interest 4 Stonington, New London, Connecticut One Place Study 5 Sources

Dedication

This page is dedicated to those citizens of Stonington, New London, Connecticut that died of Small Pox and in the majority of cases were hastily buried, most without a tombstone, and probably only with a foot stone and some not, so their exact location is not exactly known. Gone but not forgotten.

About Stonington, New London, Connecticut Small Pox Cemeteries

According to a New York Times Article, entitled Isolated Reminders Of Old Epidemics, most of the New England towns have Small Pox Cemeteries. They are usually hidden, not talked about, hard to find cemeteries. Stonington is specifically named in that article as having a Small Pox Cemetery.^[1]

Also, according to the above named article people were treated very badly:

The settlers so dreaded the disease that they often quarantined its disfigured victims in thrown-together pest houses in the woods, and ostracized them even after death in shabby, isolated graveyards.

''Back then people had no understanding of how diseases are transmitted, Dr. Bellantoni said. They just knew that if you came into contact with the afflicted you would get the pox, too. So they buried the victims who died then and there in the woods, and often burned the pest houses down when the disease had run its course.''

It took asking a local expert on Stonington Cemeteries to find out exactly which cemeteries these were, as most other current residents of Stonington were not aware that they even existed. The two Small Pox Cemeteries located in Stonington are (Dean's Mill) Small Pox Cemetery #47 (319-47) and Private #52. They are located on the same property a short distance from each other, as illustrated below off of Pequot Trail near Deans Mill. These were used as "pest cemeteries".^[2]

Hale Collection, Pg 495 Map Showing Small Pox Cemeteries in Stonington, New London, Connecticut

Further Research Results

Cemetery #47

Three burial memorials on FindAGrave for #47.^[3]

Two burials are listed in The Hale Collection which is listed only as "Small Pox Cemetery #47.^[2]

The third name on FindAGrave is listed as "Samuel Parler", while according to the Hale Collection, pg. 356 of Vol 47 (second listing) he is Samuel Packer.^[3]

It is more probable than not for those citizens who died of small pox in Stonington are buried in Cemetery #47 also known as Dean's Mill Cemetery to the locals of Stonington because of their proximity to Dean's Mill.

Cemetery #52

Two burials are listed in the Hale Collection for Private Cemetery #52, with two foot stones with only initials on them.^[2]

Private Burial Locations

In some cases burials may have taken place on the family's property, way off in the distance from buildings and crops. These may be marked with a foot stone, marked or unmarked.

Except in the 3 specific cases of #47, and after figuring out who M.S. and B.F.S. are in #52, there are no other records mentioned as to the exact burial locations of Small Pox Victims. This page is designed with all Stonington Small Pox victims in mind.

Of Noteworthy Interest

According to the aforementioned article:

In 1852, Groton passed an ordinance forbidding its pestilence-ridden Stonington neighbors from crossing into Groton.

Stonington, New London, Connecticut One Place Study

This page also works in conjunction with the Stonington, New London, Connecticut One Place Study.

Sources

1. ↑ Isolated Reminders Of Old Epidemics; Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/09/nyregion/isolated-reminders-of-old-epidemics.html
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: The Charles R. Hale Collection. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions. Hartford, Connecticut: Connecticut State Library. View with paid subscription (link will take you to map on pg 495; open the slide and change the slide number to 359 for Cemetery #47, 360 for Cemetery #52; Retrieved from: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2900/32971_301938-00367
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} FindAGrave Small Pox Cemetery, Location: New London County, Connecticut: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2227230/small-pox-cemetery