CROUSEVILLE
PIONEER
CEMETERY
Old Parsons Road
Crouseville, Maine
š›
Compiled by
Harry Umphrey
Winfield Donovan
Gwen McBurnie
Elaine Snell
Mike McBurnie
Roguer Crouse
May 2006
Introduction
Pioneer families came
up the Aroostook River, mostly from New Brunswick, and settled in the area that
is now known as Crouseville, Maine. Some of the early pioneers included the
families of Joshua and Deborah (Estey) Christie, Nathaniel and Melinda (Hoyt)
Churchill, Stephen and Charlotte Harris, Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse,
Jeremiah and Esther (Christie) Crouse, William and Prudence (Churchill) Crouse,
Abraham and Caroline (Christie) Crouse, Henry and Esther (Crouse) Russell,
William and Abigail (Burt) Clark, and Rev. Moses and Octavia (Haynes) Corliss.
Each of these
families (except the family of William and Abigail Clark) buried loved ones in this
cemetery. Many were victims of the 1862 Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic.
The first permanent
Crouseville settlers were the family of Joshua and Deborah (Estey) Christie.
Joshua purchased his land from William Dalton in February 1827. Their farm was just
west of this cemetery. The second Crouseville school, built around 1861, was
known as the Christie School because it was located on the Christie farm. Seven
known extended family members are memorialized in this cemetery, including
Joshua and Deborah themselves. Their son Duncan, a drowning victim, was the
first known burial in this cemetery. Son Aaron died in the Civil War. Daughter
Caroline and son Thomas died in the 1862 Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic.
Daughter Hepzibeth was buried here in 1863.
Pioneers Nathaniel
and Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill permanently settled in the Crouseville area in
1839. Nathaniel had lived on other parts of the Aroostook River as early as
1823. Five known members of their family are buried in this cemetery, including
Nathaniel and Melinda. Their children,
Prudence, George and Asenath all died in the 1862 Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic.
The family of
pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse arrived on April 5, 1851, from
Keswick Ridge, York Co., New Brunswick, and settled permanently on the north
bank of the Aroostook River. Eight members of their extended family are buried
in this cemetery. All died in the 1862 Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic.
The family of
pioneers William and Abigail (Burt) Clark arrived on May 4, 1853, from Keswick
Ridge, York Co., New Brunswick, to settle permanently near this cemetery.
Miraculously their family was spared any deaths from the 1862 Crouseville
Diphtheria Epidemic.
In close proximity to this cemetery was the
location of the first Crouseville school known as the Citizen’s School, started
between 1853 and 1861. This school was taught by William and Abigail Clark’s
oldest child, Miss Sarah Clark, at a salary of $1.00 a week.
Two of William and Abigail Clark’s daughters
married men widowed by the 1862 Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic. Bethiah Clark
married Abraham Crouse, after his first wife Caroline passed away, and Lucy
Clark married William Crouse, after his first wife Prudence passed away. Both
Caroline and Prudence are buried in this cemetery.
The diphtheria
epidemic swept into the Crouseville area from upriver communities around
January 1862 and lasted until around June 1862. The following are the known
victims of the Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic buried in this cemetery. They are
listed chronologically by their death date.
Ann Russell
Feb. 9, 1862
Age 7 years, 10 months, 8 days.
Lucinda
Crouse
Feb. 21, 1862 Age
16 years, 6 months, 23 days.
Hannah Russell
Feb. 27, 1862
Age 2 years, 11 months, 23 days.
George W. Churchill Feb. 27, 1862 Age
19 years, 11 months.
Huldah
Crouse Mar. 6, 1862 Age
14 years, 10 months, 10 days.
Harris Russell
Mar. 7, 1862 Age 3 years, 10 months, 13 days.
Hepsibeth F. Harris Mar. 8, 1862
Age 3 years, 6 months.
Asenath
(Churchill) Sharpe Mar. 16, 1862 Age
18 years, 1 month.
Caroline
A.M.F.(Christie) Crouse Mar. 23, 1862 Age
21 years, 2 months, 11 days.
Thomas Christie
May 15, 1862 Age about 14 years.
Prudence (Churchill) Crouse
May 19, 1862 Age 22 years, 3 months.
Louisa D. Crouse
June 6, 1862 Age 5 years, 2 months, 13 days.
Crouseville, Maine 1877
The Crouseville
Pioneer Cemetery is located on the south side of the Aroostook
River near where it
reads “W. Clark”.
MODERN DRIVING DIRECTIONS
From
Presque Isle, Maine, travel west on Parsons Road for approximately four miles.
Take a right onto Nomacca Drive, a dirt road. Go approximately one-half mile on
this flat road, passing Camp Nomacca along the way. Just before reaching Munson
Hill, the cemetery is on the left.
Cemetery
Grounds
The rows start from
the west side of the cemetery and read left to right (north to south). None of
the rows are actually marked on the cemetery grounds. Some rows have only one
known burial. Several known burials currently do not have headstones.
ROW 1
1. Clara E. Lovely
Jan. 3, 1858 – Mar. 31, 1889
Age 31 years, 2
months, 28 days.
Wife of G. W. Lovely.
“She
Sleeps In Jesus”
2. Margarett E. Day
Oct. 29, 1821 – Aug. 10, 1904
Age 82 years, 9
months, 12 days.
Wife of James Day.
“MOTHER
Margarett E.”
“Home
is not home for Mother is not there
Dark
is the room empty is her chair.
Now
will she rest from her labor and care
‘
Til that morning so fair.”
3. John C. Harris
ca. 1823 – Oct. 8, 1860
Age 37 years.
“A
husband dear, a father kind
Fixture …” (there was more, but it was
covered by a repair)
Stephen and Charlotte Harris
were early Crouseville pioneers, settling permanently around 1840 on the south
bank of the Aroostook River, just upriver (west) of Crouse Island and just
downriver (east) of Hickey Island.
Hickey Island was named for
Crouseville pioneer John Hickey who settled permanently in 1827, the same year
as Crouseville pioneer Joshua Christie, only later in the year. Crouse Island,
hugging the south bank of the Aroostook
River, is directly across from the Crouseville village center. The next island
downriver (east) is Churchill Island, named for Crouseville pioneer Nathaniel
Churchill.
Wife of Crouseville pioneer Stephen
Harris.
Stephen and Charlotte Harris were early
Crouseville pioneers, settling permanently around 1840.
5. Hepsibeth F. Harris
1858
– Mar. 8, 1862
Age 3 years, 6 months
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter
of Crouseville pioneers Stephen and Charlotte Harris.
“This
little girl child”
“The
gem shines bright in heaven …”
(there was more, but it was covered by a
repair)
6. Charles H.
Harris
(?) – Sept. 6, 1878
7. Stephen Harris
ca. 1817 – Feb. 26, 1865
Age 47 years.
Husband of Crouseville pioneer Charlotte Harris.
8. Ebenezer Estey
Nov. 1797 – May 13, 1869
Age 71 years, 6
months.
Known informally as "Eben".
Husband of Ann (Woodworth)
Estey
(She moved to Minnesota with her son, Daniel, in September 1874 and lived to be
97.)
(Above his name is the
engraving of a hand pointing heavenward with the following inscription.)
“Yonder is my home”
(Below his name is the following
inscription.)
“Blessed are they that have part in
the first resurrection”
9. Bertie (no last name, possibly a Harris)
Apr. 15, 1875 – Oct. 31, 1878
Age 3 years, 6 months,
16 days.
ROW 2
On
August 20, 1861 Mr. Isiah Sharpe and Miss Asenath A. Churchill recorded their
official ”Intention of Marriage” with the
town clerk. Asenath and Isiah were married less than seven months before
Asenath passed away.
10. Asenath A. (Churchill) Sharpe
Feb. 1844 – Mar. 16, 1862
Age 18 years, 1 month.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
She was a daughter of Crouseville
pioneers Nathaniel and Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill.
Wife of Isiah Sharpe.
“From
sickness pain and sorrow free …”
(there
was more, but it was covered by a repair)
An important key to the future
of Crouseville were the two families of Nathaniel Churchill. Nathaniel’s first
set of children were with his first wife, Gerushia Freeman, whom he married
July 30, 1822. Tragically she died May 20, 1833 from complications following
the birth of her last child, Samuel.
Nathaniel and Gerushia, with
their family, moved to Washburn, Maine, in 1825, after coming to the Aroostook
River area as early as 1823. They then moved downriver from Crouseville to Oake
Island by 1831.
Nathaniel’s second set of
children were with his second wife, Melinda Hoyt, whom Nathaniel married on
July 28, 1836. Nathaniel and Melinda brought their family to Crouseville as
permanent settlers in 1839. They built a frame house on the north bank of the
Aroostook River near Churchill Island at Rum Rapids. Churchill Island is just
downriver (east) of Crouse Island and just upriver (west) of Bull Island.
11. Nathaniel Churchill “Gerushia
his wife
May
9, 1799 – Oct. 9, 1861
b. July 24, 1803 d. May 20, 1833”
Age 62 years.
Nathaniel likely did not die from
diphtheria, since the Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic came after his death.
Husband of Crouseville pioneer Melinda
(Hoyt) Churchill.
The name of Nathaniel’s first wife,
Gerushia, is on the stone, however she is buried in Saint John, New Brunswick,
Canada.
According to Arvard Crouse (whose
grandmother, Caroline A. M. F. (Christie) Crouse, is buried in this cemetery)
the headstone for Nathaniel and Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill was originally in the
center of the cemetery.
Nathaniel
and Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill are on the same headstone.
12. Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill
“Melinda 2nd wife
d. Oct. 17, 1886 AE 79 yrs”
ca.
1807 – Oct. 17, 1886
Age 79 years.
Second wife of Crouseville pioneer
Nathaniel Churchill.
Three
children of Nathaniel and Melinda Churchill are buried in this cemetery: Prudence (Churchill) Crouse, George W.
Churchill, and Asenath (Churchill) Sharpe.
13. Aaron Christy (Christie)
ca.
1837 – Dec. 25, 1861
Age about 24 years.
Died of typhoid fever on Christmas Day
while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War.
Son of Crouseville pioneers Joshua and
Deborah (Estey) Christie.
Brothers
Aaron and Thomas Christie are on the same headstone.
14. Thomas Christy (Christie)
ca.
1848 – May 15, 1862
Age about 14 years.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Son of Crouseville pioneers Joshua and
Deborah (Estey) Christie.
“Sacred to the Memory of
Aaron
and Thomas
Sons of Joshua and Deborah Christie
Aaron
entered his country’s service in which he
Contracted Typhoid fever and died Dec.
25, 1861
at the Coulton Hospital Louisiana …”
(there
was more, but it was covered by a repair)
15. Duncan Cristy (Christie)
ca.
1831 – Dec. 18, 1857
(broken headstone)
Age 26 years.
Earliest
known burial in the cemetery.
Duncan drowned in the Aroostook River at Rum Rapids in Crouseville,
Maine. He possibly fell through the river ice.
Son of Crouseville
pioneers Joshua and Deborah (Estey) Christie.
“Drowned, at Salmon Brook, Dec. 18th,
Duncan Christy, aged 26 years.”
–Aroostook Pioneer, Dec. 22, 1857, page
2.
(Salmon Brook was an early name for the area around Crouseville, Maine.)
(On Duncan’s stone his surname is spelled “Cristy” instead of the
traditional “Christy”. Descendants modernized their surname to “Christie”.)
“He felt thy worth yet scarcely knew,
How pure a light thy spirit shed,
Until it faded from our view,
And thou wert numbered with the dead.”
16. Hepzibeth (Christie) Haynes
Mar. 1838 – Oct. 12, 1863
Age 25 years, 7 months.
Wife of Peter Haynes.
Daughter
of Crouseville pioneers Joshua and Deborah (Estey) Christie.
“Who
fell asleep in Jesus
Oct. 12, 1863 AE 25 yrs 7 mo”
“Again
death’s hand of cruel power
Has
called a choice and lovely flower.
A wife and mother young and fair
The
cruel monster would not spare.
Built in hope beyond the tomb
For Christ the Lord is coming soon.
Heaven’s gates shall then fly open wide
The master gathers home his bride.”
The first permanent pioneer
settlers of Crouseville were Joshua and Dorothy (Estey) Christie, who lived on
the south bank of the Aroostook River. Joshua first settled his property in
February 1827. The Christie family played a key role in the establishment of
Crouseville.
Joshua was from Keswick
Ridge, York County, New Brunswick, and a first cousin to Hepzibah “Hepsy” Clark
who married Gould Crouse, a lumberman. Sometime between 1842 and 1851, Gould
and Hepsy Crouse moved their family a few miles from New Zealand, York County,
New Brunswick, to Keswick Ridge.
Gould had made the winter
trips from his home on Keswick Ridge to the Aroostook River area to harvest the
timber before he came to settle permanently with his family on April 5, 1851.
He likely worked at times with his sons, Jeremiah, Abraham and William, as they
grew older, as well as with Henry Russell, the future husband of Esther Crouse
(Gould and Hepsy’s daughter). They would have lodged with Joshua Christie’s
family and likely worked an agreement to harvest timber on his property. Their
focus would have been the manufacture of cedar shakes, but they probably
harvested whatever timber was in demand.
Crouseville was named for
Gould and Hepzibah Crouse’s family. Gould and Hepzibah are buried in
Crouseville Cemetery, located on the north side of the Aroostook River.
17. Joshua Christy
(Christie)
Sept. 28, 1797 – Apr 8, 1882
Age 84 years.
Husband of Crouseville pioneer Deborah
(Estey) Christie.
18. Deborah (Estey) Christy (Christie)
ca. 1804 – July 1, 1885
Age about 81 years.
Wife of
Crouseville pioneer Joshua Christie.
Lucinda and Huldah were the
two children of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse that
died in the Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic of 1862. Gould and Hepzibah lived
on the north side of the Aroostook River.
In 1945 a fourteen year old
local boy was helping his father farm. One day he had the task of driving their
small Ford tractor to Presque Isle to have weights put on it. Driving back,
likely as fast as the little tractor could go, to the great consternation of
the boy, he lost control and ended up capsized in the middle of this cemetery,
snapping in half one of the headstones, possibly this one.
19. Lucinda Crouse
July 29, 1845 – Feb. 21, 1862
Age 16 years, 6
months, 23 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter of
Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse.
Sisters
Lucinda and Huldah Crouse are on the same (broken) headstone.
20. Huldah Crouse
Apr. 24, 1847 – Mar. 6, 1862
Age 14 years, 10
months, 10 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter of
Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse.
“Lucinda
D. Feb. 21, 1862 AE 16 yrs.
We lay thee here to rest
And take thy last repose.
To rise again among the blest
As thy dear Savior rose.”
“Huldah
D. March 6, 1862
14 yrs. 10 mo. 10 days.
(Stone broken in half at this
point)
Children of Gould and Hepzibeth Crouse
More fondly we loved her
Than language can tell
Stern death has removed her
But yet all is well”
21. Caroline A. M. F. (Christie) Crouse
Jan. 12, 1841 – Mar. 23, 1862
Age 21 years, 2 months, 11 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
She left two small children, Arthur and
Caroline “Carrie” Crouse.
Daughter of Crouseville pioneers Joshua and Deborah (Estey) Christie.
First wife of Crouseville pioneer Abraham Crouse.
Abraham was the son of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark)
Crouse.
Abraham’s second wife was Bethiah Clark, the daughter of
Crouseville pioneers, William and Abigail (Burt) Clark.
Abraham, who commonly went by
“Abram”, had a total of 17
children by his two wives.
“Her soul was peaceful and serene
Nor terror in her look was seen.
Her Savior’s smile dispersed the gloom
And smoothed her passage to the tomb.”
ROW 3
Ann, Harris and Hannah Russell succumbed
to diphtheria within a month of each other. They were the children of
Crouseville pioneers, Henry and Esther (Crouse) Russell. Henry and Esther lived
on the north bank of the Aroostook River. Henry was a lumberman and worked with
Gould Crouse, and his sons Jeremiah, Abraham and William. Esther was a daughter
of Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse.
22. Ann Russell
Apr. 1, 1854 – Feb. 9, 1862
(currently unmarked
grave)
Age 7 years, 10 months, 8 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter of Crouseville pioneers Henry and Esther (Crouse) Russell.
Esther
was the daughter of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse.
23. Hannah Russell
Mar 4, 1859 – Feb. 27, 1862
(currently unmarked
grave)
Age 2 years, 11 months, 23 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter of Crouseville pioneers Henry and Esther (Crouse) Russell.
Esther
was the daughter of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse.
24. George W. Churchill
1842 – Feb. 27, 1862
(currently unmarked
grave)
Age 19
years, 11 months.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Son of Crouseville
pioneers Nathaniel and Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill.
25. Harris Russell
Apr. 22, 1858 – Mar. 7, 1862
(currently unmarked
grave)
Age 3 years, 10 months, 13 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter of Crouseville pioneers Henry and Esther (Crouse) Russell.
Esther
was the daughter of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark) Crouse.
26. Prudence (Churchill) Crouse
Feb. 1840 – May 19, 1862
(currently unmarked
grave)
Age 22 years, 3 months.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
She left one small child, Nelson Crouse.
Daughter of Crouseville pioneers
Nathaniel and Melinda (Hoyt) Churchill.
First wife of
Crouseville pioneer William G. Crouse.
William was the son of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark)
Crouse.
William’s
second wife was Lucy Clark, the daughter of Crouseville pioneers, William and
Abigail (Burt) Clark.
Louisa D. Crouse was the only child of Crouseville pioneers Jeremiah
and Esther (Christie) Crouse that died in the Crouseville Diphtheria Epidemic
of 1862. Jeremiah and Esther lived on the north side of the Aroostook River.
27. Louisa D. Crouse
Mar. 24, 1857 – June 6, 1862
Age 5 years, 2 months,
13 days.
Victim of the Crouseville Diphtheria
Epidemic of 1862.
Daughter of
Crouseville pioneers Jeremiah and Esther (Christie) Crouse.
Jeremiah was the son of Crouseville pioneers Gould and Hepzibah (Clark)
Crouse.
Esther was the daughter of Crouseville pioneers Joshua and Deborah
(Estey) Christie.
“March
24, 1857 – June 6, 1862
Age 5 yrs 3 mo”
“She’s on the Savior’s bosom laid.
And feels no sorrow there.
She’s by a heavenly parent fed.
And needs no more our care.”
28. Debbie L. Munson
Mar. 23, 1881 – Jan 18, 1897
Age 15 years, 9
months, 26 days.
Daughter
of W. J. and C. E. Munson.
“Dau.
of W. J. & C. E Munson
died
Jan 18, 1897
AE 15 yrs., 9 mo. 26 days”
ROW 4
29. Cora J. (Munson) Simmons
1868 – Oct. 5, 1904
Age 35 years, 10
months.
Wife of Ferd Simmons.
“Wife of
Ferd
Simmons
Died
Oct. 5 1904 AE 35 yrs. 10 Mo.
Asleep in Jesus”
ROW 5
30. Pearl A. Munson
May 1887 – Sept. 16, 1901
Age 14 years, 4
months.
Daughter of W. J. and C. E. Munson.
“Daughter of
W.
J. & C. E. Munson
Died Sept. 16, 1901
AE 14 Yrs 4 mo.
Asleep in Jesus”
ROW 6
Fredrick’s parents were Rev. Moses
Woodbury and Octavia Ann (Haynes) Corliss. Rev. Moses Corliss lived in Lowell,
Massachusetts, until 1859. He was a travelling missionary who came to
Crouseville in 1860, accompanied by Elder Benjamin Spaulding, an Adventist.
They traveled on foot out of Presque Isle, Maine, and called along the way at
private homes to distribute religious tracts. In Crouseville they stopped at
the home of Job and Annie (Crouse) Churchill, where they found rest and
welcome.
In the resulting meetings in Crouseville,
Brother Spaulding did most of the preaching, but Moses Corliss had the
satisfaction of baptizing five converts. With Spaulding’s help Moses was able
to organize a church group in Crouseville. This would lead to the building of
the Crouseville Advent Christian Church in the mid-1880’s. The church would
become the focal point for the Crouseville community to the present day.
William Churchill, the energetic son of Job and Annie, was later
to be the founder and pastor of most of the Advent churches in northern Maine.
The family of Moses and Octavia Corliss
lived on Old Parsons Road just east of the cemetery on, or near, land now known
as Camp Nomacca (earlier called Aroostook Valley Park).
The story has been told that Freddie’s
mother went outside to hang laundry. It was wintertime and cold. Freddie lay down
by the door and cried because he had to stay inside. He became sweaty from
crying, contracted pneumonia, and died.
31. Fredrick Woodbury Corliss
Sept. 8, 1864 – Winter 1866/1867
(currently unmarked
grave)
The missing small black marble stone read
“FREDDIE” 1866 (or 1867). It was located along the southern edge of the
cemetery.
Age 2 years.
Oldest child of Rev. Moses Woodbury and Octavia Ann (Haynes) Corliss.
Fredrick’s
sister, Serena May Corliss, married Arthur Wellsley Crouse, the son of Abraham
and Caroline A. M. F. (Christie)
Crouse.
Caroline is also buried in this cemetery.
ROW 7
32. Sarah H. Munson
Dec. 24, 1847 – Aug. 3, 1884
Age 36 years, 7
months, 10 days.
Wife of Andrew M. Munson.
33. Andrew M. Munson
June 10, 1848 – Nov. 17, 1908
Age 60 years, 5
months, 7 days.
Last known burial in the cemetery.
Husband
of Sarah H. Munson.
A long ago cemetery restoration effort resulted
in many of the earlier headstones being
moved
from their original locations.
Harry
Umphrey, who married Hepsie Crouse, set up a trust fund with the city of
Washburn, Maine, for the maintenance of this cemetery.
