My article as written for the Middler (Fall 2022). The Middler is the newsletter of The Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants.
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| The Middler Fall 2022 (Vol. 22, No.2) Cover: Thankful Arnold House, home of the Haddam Historical Society |
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| "The Little Cemetery That Could," by Kimberly A. Hayden |
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“The Little Cemetery That Could”
(Maromas Cemetery, Middletown, CT)
By Kimberly A. Hayden
Maromas was a sparsely-settled, yet close-knit farming community along the Connecticut River in the southeast section of Middletown. In January 1766, “New Maromas Cemetery” was established along what used to be called River Road, which part has since been renamed Aircraft Road.
This historic cemetery is essentially a time-capsule of a community. Those who “sleep” in its ground are families and folks who grew-up together, lived together, went to school together, worked together, did business together, and are now buried together. Most are related by blood and marriage.
When I moved with my family from Dallas, Texas to Middletown in April 2019, I found Maromas Cemetery to be a forlorn, mostly-forgotten, out-of-the-way little place. A number of the gravestones were toppled to the ground, their epitaphs gazing toward the blue sky above. Other gravestones were on their way to toppling, with large stones propping them up at severe angles. Some gravestones were even cleaved completely in two. Yet thankfully, the majority of them stood intact, though black with years of grime, dirt, and lichen growth, their once white marble nowhere to be found.
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| Private Daniel H. Otis I had his photo restored and colorized. Original B/W copy at Middlesex County Historical Society. |
Daniel Otis was a native of Maromas, and grew up on his family’s 19 ½ acre farm in one of the northern-most parts of Maromas. In fact, his maternal family (Young) is one of the surnames most frequently associated with the early history of Maromas (as are Butler and Johnson surnames, among others).
We arrived in Middletown from Texas, just in time for me to place flowers on Daniel’s grave at Maromas Cemetery for his birthday on April 15th. It was then that I saw the pitiful state of his father’s (Erastus Selden Otis) grave. It was cleaved in two and leaning against a tree, all black with biological growth. The grave of his mother (Elizabeth Mary Young Otis) was sooty-black and also cleaved in two, with the top portion of the stone missing!
I hired a professional to restore the Erastus Otis gravestone, and we met at the cemetery. He allowed me to watch him work and graciously explained the restoration process to me—basically giving me a “mini-lesson.” He showed me how to repair and set a gravestone and a footstone, and what products he uses to repair and clean, and how to use them. That day, we also discovered the missing top-portion of the Elizabeth Otis gravestone!
He taught me that gravestone pieces usually don’t stray too far from the original burial site, and he proved it! He was like a diviner and walked directly to a spot beside the grave of Elizabeth Otis, plunged his shovel into the ground, and dug up the missing piece of her gravestone beneath at least 9-inches of sod and soil! It was like finding a long-lost treasure!
Being a life-long taphophile, I was hooked!
I told my husband, Mark, about the restoration work, and we re-set a few tablet-style footstones at the cemetery. Then he was hooked! Mark has since taken training, and is educated in the correct methods and materials needed to repair, reset, restore, and clean historic gravestones. And me, I clean many of the gravestones, bringing them back to their white marble state!
As of 2022, it will be the third season that Mark and I have been slowly restoring the historic gravestones at Maromas Cemetery, with the blessing and oversight of August De France, President of Middletown Old Burying Ground. The work we do there is done on a volunteer basis, and it is our honor to do so! Some things in life are just not for sale.
Though we can't take all the credit, as others have come on board with us since beginning the restoration process! Chance meetings brought us together with two of the descendants: Elton "Bud" Harvey III, the great-great grandson of Private Sherman Johnson, and Melaine Butler Smigel, the great-great grandniece of Private Nathaniel S. Butler.
Coincidentally (or not), Sherman Johnson and Nathaniel Butler are the two men that Daniel Otis enlisted with in the Army on August 4, 1862. All three men were from Maromas, and all three were in Co. B together. What are the chances that it is the descendants of those two men that are now restoring Maromas Cemetery with us!
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| Gravestone of Curtis L. Scovill at Maromas Cemetery. TOP: before restoration. BOTTOM: after restoration. |
Cemetery restoration is “slow work.” If one is looking for instant gratification, this is not the work for them! It takes multiple cleaning sessions over a period of weeks to restore a soiled gravestone back to its white marble. Thus far, every gravestone we have repaired has been unique, presenting its own challenges and quirks. There is no one-size-fits all. Patience and love are key. Love for the work, and love for the person whose grave we kneel at to gently clean or repair it.
I have come to love those at Maromas Cemetery as my “chosen ancestors.” Though I did not know them, I care about every one of them. Since I spend so much time there, it has been my experience that many of them still take an active interest in their final resting place and what goes on there. My friend, and native Maromas resident, Sue Thomas, says that the cemetery holds “old power.” I tend to agree.
Our little group still has several years’ worth of work at Maromas. It truly is a work in progress. There is always something to be cleaned, straightened, reset, repaired, re-done and made better (since we continue to gain new skills), planted, decorated, and discovered.
Today, Maromas Cemetery looks nothing like that forlorn, nearly-forgotten little place that I visited in April 2019. Now it looks welcoming and well-loved! Numerous gravestones are upright and white, the Veterans have flag-holders with their military service branch on it, dead trees that threated the historic graves have been cut, and just recently, Maromas’ very first cemetery sign was installed. People in the community actually take an interest in the cemetery now, and stop by to visit!
As for my research on Daniel H. Otis and his family (Otis and Young Families of Maromas, Middletown, CT), I have compiled all of my research into an online website for public viewing. It has truly been a labor-of-love for me. The website is filled to the brim not only with information, but with humanity. There are stories there waiting to be read. Also, before-and-after pictures can be seen of some of the restoration work at Maromas—“The Little Cemetery That Could!”
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| Maromas Cemetery, April 2022. There is still several years' worth of work to be had at the cemetery. |
