Pine Grove Cemetery Records
Tribes Hill, Montgomery county, NY
Partial Reading
Researched, transcribed and donated by Nancy Robinson.
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Introduction
Pine Grove Cemetery is located at the intersection of Mohawk Drive & Stryker Street in Tribes Hill between Amsterdam and Fonda. Mohawk Drive loops off Hwy 5, so taking either end will get you to the cemetery which is quite visible from the road. The cemetery is well maintained and relatively flat with very few broken headstones. However, time and weather have worn down many of the older stones, so although today's digital cameras will pick up engravings not readily visible to the naked eye, it is advisable to be prepared to take an old-fashioned rubbing of these headstones just in case.
This transcription was taken from digital photos of handwritten, loose leaf notebooks graciously provided by Mr. Donald Parry, caretaker of Pine Grove Cemetery who also provided me with a map of the cemetery with marked sections which correspond to the index. Please note that dates are transcribed as written and often century of death must be compared to the date of the plot purchase.
It is apparent from reading these notebooks that many plots were divided and sold to separate families. Also owners often gave permission for neighbors and/or non-family members to be buried in their plots, so the plot owner may or may not be buried in the plot. The records give only who is buried in the plots and unless otherwise indicated, the date may be that of burial rather than death.
I was able to transcribe 2 of 8 books, starting with books 1 & 2. The pages were photographed outdoors on a bright sunny day during a mild windstorm. Neither of which conditions my trusty little camera likes, so some of the records came out too blurry to transcribe accurately. I have made every attempt to cross-reference these records with the Amsterdam Headlines, census records and this website but please do refer to the original records for complete accuracy.
Many older headstones are scattered throughout the cemetery, so even though your ancestor may not be listed in these first books, it does not necessarily follow that he or she is not buried in Pine Grove. I was trying to photograph the oldest records first, but it appears that I somehow missed the book with the very oldest or they are in subsequent books.
If you are having trouble finding your ancestor be aware that with the high mortality rate, men and women often ended up with two or three subsequent spouses. Regardless of however many spouses a person had, burial was often with the first spouse or with the one with whom the individual had the most children. This has been the case several times in my own ancestry.
Case in point, my g-g grandparents Joseph & Ann Eliza (Bartholomew) Thompson. Anna Eliza, Joseph Thompson's first wife, had 3 children with her first husband, Jacob Wilson, and 5 children with Joseph Thompson, but whether she is buried with Jacob or Joseph, still remains a mystery as I cannot find a burial site for either man. Eliza Ann Greenman, Joseph's 2nd wife, died in 1897 & is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery with her first husband John Hare. Her tombstone reads "Eliza Hare." However, just when I thought I had the rules of burial figured out, I was thrown a curve. Ann Eliza Bartholomew's son, James H. Wilson, married Phoebe Hare, daughter of his step-mother, Eliza Ann Greenman Thompson , wid. of James Deal & Joseph Thompson, and is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery with his wife, Phoebe, his step-mother / mother-in-law Eliza, and his wife's first husband, James Deal. So as you can see, it can get very confusing sorting these folks out.
I was given a great piece of advice by Mr. Peter Betz, Perth Historian. "Look first where you expect them to be and if you don't find them, look where you don't expect them." Don't give up. They are out there somewhere.
Photos of the cemetery were taken at the time I did the records and although they are mostly of Thompson, Wilson, and Hare families, I have included some random photos of other headstones.
- Nancy Robinson
Content
Records of: Lots 1-99 Lots 100-199 Lots 200-299 Lots 300-357 Lots 420-458
Back to Town of Florida History Page
Back to Montgomery County NYGenWeb
Page Created: 3/4/07
Copyright ©2007 Nancy Robinson
All Rights Reserved.