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packedwithpackards · 1 year

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The story behind the Packard Cemetery in Cameron, Missouri

Photograph of the Packard Cemetery on Jul 29, 2005 by DonZas, a late contributor on Find A Grave. If you'd like to see where it is on a map, please go here.

In the past, on this blog I have mentioned the Packard Cemetery, in the "wonderful little town" of Cameron, Missouri, sitting within Clinton County, in passing. I have noted it is the place where Martha Packard (child of Charles E. Packard and Arminta Utter) was buried in 1957, and the final resting place of Ruth Snow (in 1879) and Barnabas Packard III (in 1868). As I told one fellow Packard researcher last year, "I still want to go to the Packard Cemetery in Cameron, Missouri (where Barnabas III died), but haven’t got a chance yet." The cemetery, on the outskirts of Cameron, still exists to this day. It is an active cemetery, with someone buried there as recently as 2016 from what I could find. [1] In terms of historical significance, the cemetery is famous for its enduring 28-foot-tall Tuggle Monuments which were "manufactured in 1887 by Italian artisans in Vermont, shipped by rail to Cameron, and hauled to the cemetery in a log wagon pulled by a steam engine." There have been scattered mentions by genealogical societies (like the one in Northwest Missouri or in Caldwell), those looking into their own genealogy of their ancestors, and varied others, but nothing that talks about the history of the place itself. [2]

We know that Packards are evidently buried there, one of the many "uniquely beautiful" cemeteries in the region. It is also clear that with a person named Kim Packard on the Missouri Veterans Commission and an existing road in Cameron named Packard Lane that there likely still Packard descendants living in the area. I first looked at an old issue of Packard's Progress, specifically Volume 32, which, as I noted on this blog, has an "article is about the Packards of Cameron, Missouri by Lester O. Packard." This article notes that "in the spring of 1865...Ossmus Chalmer Packard and Sophia Hodges (Dean) Packard arrived in Cameron, Clinton County, Missouri," both of whom were Massachusetts natives, with Ossmus born in Plainfield and Sophia in Savoy. They were tired, as Lester O. Packard tells it, of trying to "farm in the rock-infested soil of Massachusetts." They were part of, he explains a great movement westward with cheap land and better possibility for successful farming out West. He also notes that Ossmus had two brothers: a younger one named Charles Edwin Packard, who would become a railroad station agent in the area, and an older brother named Roswell Clifford (R.C.) Packard, the latter who came to Cameron about the same time, starting a flour mill, with both buying land so they could be full-time farmers. Both of these brothers were also Civil War veterans. [3] Lester goes onto say that Ossmus and Sophia seemingly came to Cameron by train, to an area where it was rough to establish a homestead. The rest of the article goes talks more about his grandparents (Ossmus and Sophia) and his parents Herbert Melvin Packard and Mary Frances Witt. However, at the very end he does talk about the Packard Cemetery, writing:

…the Packard name and the Packard strain should be in the Cameron area for years to come…along with our grandparents and parents, on both sides, the Packard cemetery has a lot of Packard buried there. This includes our great grandparents Barnabas III and his wife Ruth (Snow) Packard…Uncle Charles Edwin, his wife Armiinta sic Packard and three of his daughters are there beside his parents. Uncle Roswell Clifford and two great-uncles Milton and Lyman Packard, are buried nearby.

A search for the term "Packard Cemetery" brings up 1,040 results on newspapers.com. In order to prevent incorrect results (called false drops), I narrowed it to Missouri, which gave me 746 matches. Since most of these results would be of burials, I narrowed it to 1879 to 1889, the earliest set of newspaper articles mentioning the term. From this, it is clear that the Packard Cemetery had interment as early as November 13, 1879, with large youth groups gathering there to honor those who had died, a decoration ceremony, and other services were held there in the years to come. One article described the cemetery as near the city of Cameron, while another talked about the construction of the Tuggle Monument in the cemetery, with one in 1974 reviewing the same topic, giving a history of the monument's creation.

Since these results were disappointing, I did find a clue to the reason why it is called the Packard Cemetery on page 394 of a local history titled History of Clinton and Caldwell Counties, Missouri, published in 1923, which notes that

The Packard Cemetery was originally owned by C.E. [Charles Edward] Packard, and an effort is now being made to raise an endowment fund to take care of the cemetery. Herbert Melvin Packard is at the head of this plan. He is the only member of the Packard family now living in the community.

This leads me to 1881 local history titled The History of Clinton County, Missouri: Containing a History of the County, Its Cities, Towns, Etc., Biographical Sketches of Its Citizens, Clinton County in the Late War, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, History of Missouri, Map of Clinton County, Etc., Etc. [4] In this book, on page 251 it is noted that:

…many years subsequent, a cemetery was laid out about a mile and half southeast of the town site of Cameron, by Charles Packard. In this cemetery the Masonic fraternity own a large lot, set apart for the burial of the deceased indigent brethren of the order

I found a number of other books, some that call it the "old Packard cemetery." This makes logical sense considering the number of Packards buried there. There was even a court case that involved an individual whom directed his remains to "be placed in my lot in the Packard Cemetery near the City of Cameron, Missouri" and it is mentioned within the USGS's Geographical Names Information System (GNIS). And with that, this post concludes, but sets the groundwork for others exploring the lives of the Packards who lived in Cameron, Missouri.

Notes

[1] "James Ford 1956-2009," The North Missourian, accessed Feb 22, 2019; "Hubert Burnett Jr.," The North Missourian, accessed Feb 22, 2019; "Robert Miles," Trenton Republican Times, accessed Feb 22, 2019; "Myrtle “Dee” Free 1933-2016" within "Obituaries March 25-26," St. Joseph Post, Mar 28, 2016.

[2] For scattered mentions, please see page 240 of "Ancestors and Family of Steven Harn Redman", a webpage titled "Warmoth Family", a webpage titled "Harriman, Alvin", a webpage titled "Jacobus Family"; page 833 of "Field, Wagoner, Hoover & Curtis Genealogy"; page 834 of "Field, Wagoner, Hoover & Curtis Genealogy"; a website called Land Of The Buckeye; an entry for a Joshua Jackson buried there in 1982; a webpage titled "Missouri Cemetery Burial Plots or Lots for Sale and Grave Sites for Sale Offers"; a mention on the "Cameron Genealogy (in Clinton County, MO)" webpage; a mention on the "Cameron, MO Cemeteries" webpage, a mention on the House of Proctor Genealogy website, and the obituary of Lydia McKee who was buried in the cemetery in 1884.

[3] As I noted in a footnote of my article about William Henry Packard and the Civil War, "Nahum, Osamus, Harrison E.,& Charles E. Packard also fought in the war." This is also supported by the fact that pages 272, 317, and 364 of different parts of the The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Civil War lists a "C.E. Packard" in Missouri, which merits further investigation. I also noted in my post about the Packards in Cameron, Missouri that:

From 1831 to 1840, Barnabas and Ruth had 4 more children. They were Roswell Clifford, born February 4, 1831, who married Elnora G. Vining on February 25, 1869, Ossmus Chalmer, born July 27, 1834, who married Sophia Dean on April 1, 1863, Charles Edwin, born on March 19, 1838, who married Araminta Utter in 1867, and Harrison “Clark” Clark, born February 20, 1840 who married Melona C. Dawes on June 4, 1865. Roswell would die in 1919 in Cameron, Missouri, while Ossmus would die in the same place but on January 28, 1907. Clark would die, reportedly, in Windsor in 1899, and Charles would die in Kansas City, Missouri in 1933...Reportedly, Charles Edwin spent time in Ohio as a mathematics teacher before moving to Cameron, Missouri while his brother, Ossmus lived in Mendota, Illinois before moving to Cameron in 1865. The family lore goes that Roswell moved to Cameron in 1866 (and reportedly moved to Ft. Smith Arkansas in 1895) and that Patty (and her husband Charles Ira Ford) moved from Nauseous, Ohio to Cameron the same year.

[4] Sadly, only volume 2 of this book is currently on the Internet Archive, not volume 1, from which this text comes from.

Note: This was originally posted on Mar. 1, 2019 on the main Packed with Packards WordPress blog (it can also be found on the Wayback Machine here). My research is still ongoing, so some conclusions in this piece may change in the future.

#packards #packard cemetery #cemeteries #ancestry #genealogy #genealogy research #lineage #cameron missouri #missouri #find a grave #clinton county

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packedwithpackards · 2 years

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Chapter IX: Barnabas, Mary, and Plainfield

This is the 11th in a series of articles which serializes my family history, which I wrote in November 2017, titled "From Samuel to Cyrus: A fresh look at the History of the Packard Family." Below is the 9th chapter of that history:

With the death of Barnabas Packard I in 1824, there were two Barnabas Packards remaining. One of them was the first child son of Barnabas Packard I and Sarah Ford, and was named Barnabas Packard II. He was born in Bridgewater and was briefly mentioned in the previous chapter. [194] His story, that of his wife Mary Nash, and Plainfield, north of Cummington, is the subject of this chapter. Sometime between 1764 and 1789 he moved to Plainfield, Massachusetts, clearing the “wilderness for a farm in what is now Plainfield’s Maple Street” as one history put it. On September 17, 1789, he married a Plainfield woman by the name of Mary Nash. [195] While some sources say that her age was not recorded, using her gravestone as a guide, she would have been 28, meaning that she was three years older than Barnabas. As some recent articles have indicated, this could have increased her mortality rate, but even if that was not the case, it doesn’t follow the trend (currently changing) of older men marrying younger women, so it is a different dynamic. [196] This Barnabas reportedly built his own “home and barns” and the story goes that his wife Mary chased “a bear away from the hog-pen with a pitch-fork.” Considering the agricultural lifestyle they had, this story is within belief.

The town of Plainfield was not at all new. The town had begun to be settled in 1770 but was not incorporated until 1807. Hence, Barnabas and Mary were part of the wave of settlers before incorporation. The area itself has moderate to rugged terrain, with some areas having relatively gentle hills. [197] No major waterways go through Plainfield with existing local streams and brooks flowing into Westfield River, with such streams and brooks enough to run mills in the 19th century although they were not rivers. No settlements by indigenous peoples are known. It was only used as a resource area or division between indigenous nations, while the area did not have colonial population until about 1770, with locals attending religious services in Cummington since the town, at the time, did not have religious services. [198] In terms of an economy, it is relatively self-explanatory. The inhabitants were mainly farmers, so the economy was largely agricultural, with no railroads constructed in the area from 1830 to 1915, apart from some small cloth shops. [199] The town was small. It only had 570 people in 1870, producing potatoes and other agricultural products like maple sugar and apples, along with cattle raising even in the late industrial period, and continuing to be agricultural even into the 20th century. [200]

This would make the town a perfect place for the Packard family. They would stay in Plainfield even into the 1890s, when one historian, recounting the town’s genealogy, would say, they have “quite a family” in the area. [201] This would continue for many years, with some descendants still living there.

Barnabas and Mary would have eight children. One of them, as the story goes, “died in infancy” in 1794. Their first child was Achsah Packard. As the existing family history states, he was born on April 26, 1790, he died 15 months later on June 21, 1791, from a cause which is not known. [202] This cannot be confirmed or denied. Their second child was Sally Packard, born on July 3, 1792 and died on April 25, 1868. [203] While she never married, she lived with her sister, Ruby, and Edward Beals in Plainfield in 1850 and just with Ruby in 1860 in the same location. Nothing else is known. Their third child was Barnabas Packard III. He was born on June 10, 1795, in Brockton, Massachusetts, and died on December 1871, living in Cummington, Massachusetts in 1800. [204] Other information about him and his family will be explained in the next chapter.

The other five children have varied levels of documentation. Their fourth child, Patty Packard, was reportedly born on August 25, 1797, is said to have married Nathan Beales/Beals on July 13, 1815. Searches on Find A Grave and elsewhere cannot confirm or deny this information. Ruby Packard, their fifth child, is a different story. Her gravestone shows she was born on September 29, 1799, and died on October 25, 1871, at age 72 and one month. [205] No other information can be determined at this time. Some of their other children have more information on their lives, helping tell their story.

Norton, their sixth child, was born in 1802, on November 22 or 23, if you count backwards from his death date. [206] He married a woman named Mary Ann Thompson on November 2, 1828. They would have four children together: John Kirkland Packard (1832-1834) who lived in Cummington, Phidena Packard (b. 1834) of Cummington, Mainla Richardo Packard (b. 1837), and John Kirkland Packard (b. 1839). [207] In 1860, after the death of Mary, Norton would re-marry. On June 26, he would marry a woman named Eunice Rowley, the daughter or Erastus Rowley and Eunice. [208] They would live in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, within Berkshire, Massachusetts, from 1860 to 1871, when she died on September 28. Norton would live in the same place, not marrying again until his death on September 23, 1898 at age 96, 10 months and one day old, dying of old age and/or asthma. [209]

Milton and Roswell were Barnabas and Mary’s last two children. Milton E. was their sixth child. Born on January 10, 1805, he lived in Hampshire Massachusetts, likely Plainfield, from 1805-1865, dying in Cameron, Missouri, within Clinton County. [210] He married a woman named Charlotte Parker on January 6, 1828. While he, as the story goes, continued to operate his parent’s farm in Plainfield, he had at least four children with Charlotte: Lyman (1833-1867), Laura (1843-1870), Lozone (1845-1923), and Franklin Luther (1852-1920), all with the last name of Packard. [211] There is more to their story than just this simple recounting. Probate records focus on a number of Packards living in the area, including Milton, Charlotte, and their children, with the settling of their estates. [212] For Milton, Chalmers Packard (relation not known) became the administrator of his estate, while he also became a guardian to some of Milton’s children or related Packards.

The last child, the seventh child, was Roswell Packard. As the story goes, he was born on February 12, 1808. He married a woman named Susannah Bird on July 14, 1832. [213] If the 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 censuses refer to the same person, he moved to Racine, Wisconsin, and reportedly died sometime in 1883. Nothing else is known other than this photograph of him posted on Ancestry.com by a user named momcom1212 on November 7, 2009:

The records of Barnabas and Sarah’s family at this point are scant. While a probate, within the Massachusetts, Wills and Probates Records, 1635-1991, exists for Sally Packard of Hampshire, it does not exist for any other individuals. The 1790 census lists all three Barnabases, one in Cummington (Barnabas I), another in Plainfield (Barnabas II), and one in Easton (presumably Barnabas III). [214] Later years narrow down the results. As some note, Barnabas Packard II became church Deacon in 1799, and died on April 30, 1847, at age 83, with his wife dying 10 years earlier on July 10, 1837, at age 70, with both buried at West Hill Cemetery in Plainfield. At least 20 Packards are at this cemetery, while 33 or 34 are currently buried within Dawes Cemetery in Cummington, near Grace Hill Dairy on 47 Potash Hill Road. Both have signs. We know that Barnabas Packard II lived in Plainfield. Going through the results, Barnabas I (Cummington) and Barnabas III (likely the one in Easton) continue to be listed, but it is not until 1810 (and again in 1820) that Barnabas II appears once again in the U.S. Federal Census. [215] By 1830, there are two Barnabas’s living in Plainfield, one named Barnabas Packard (referring to Barnabas II) and another named Barnabas Packard, Jr (referring to Barnabas III), although the 1840 census does not distinguish between them both in this manner, the one with the bigger family is likely Barnabas II. With the death of Barnabas Packard II in 1847, this opens the door to telling more of the story of Barnabas Packard III in the next chapter.

Notes

[194] Birth date confirmed by Gen. Column of the "Boston Transcript". 1906-1941: 24 Jun 1908, 1108 along with Family Data Collection - Individual Records, while Massachusetts, Town Birth Records, 1620-1850 gives a different date.

[195] Town Records, Hampshire, Cummington, Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, p. 254, image 135 of 162. There was a marriage notice on July 26 (and 12) but they were married on that day, there is no doubt.

[196] Alison Bonaguro, “Why Younger Women Marry Older Men (It’s Not Always About Money),” Men’s Health, Jan. 13, 2016; Anna Petherick, “Men live longer when they marry younger spouses. Why don't women?,” The Guardian, Mar. 31, 2016; Flannery Dean, “The reality of dating a much younger man,” Chatelaine, Feb. 24, 2014; Roger Highfield, “Why men like to marry younger women,” The Telegraph, Dec. 5, 2007; Ian Sample, “Marrying a younger man increases a woman's mortality rate,” The Guardian, May 12, 2010; Jean Lawrence, “Older Woman/Younger Man Relationships,” WebMD, Accessed July 11, 2017; Victoria Wells, “Older women married to younger men die sooner: study,” National Post, May 13, 2010; Justin Lehmiller, “Older Women Who Marry Younger Men: They're Stigmatized, but Highly Satisfied,” June 14, 2017; Valeriya Safrnova, “Younger Men, Older Women: A Pairing Becomes More Common,” New York Times, May 5, 2017; Catherine Rampell, “On Whether Women Can (or Do) Marry Younger Men,” New York Times, Apr. 1, 2013.

[197] MHC Renaissance Survey Report: Plainfield, 1982, Massachusetts Historical Commission, scanned copy published sometime after 2000, p. 1

[198] Ibid, 2-4. Later they would have their own religious services.

[199] Ibid, 4-5, 7. Later, Route 116 would go through the town center.

[200] Ibid, 6, 8.

[201] Charles N. Dyer, History of the Town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass, From Its Settlement to 1891 (Northampton, Mass: Press of Gazette Printing Co., 1891), 165-168. Dyer would also list the following Packards as residents of Plainfield at one time or another: David (p. 10, 42, 73), Wm H. (p. 13, 51, 86, 87, 127), Harold S. (p. 19, 65, 101), Noah (p. 19), Lieut John (p. 20, 22, 27, 28), Iram (p. 23, 66, 79), Harold S. (p. 24), H. Clark (p. 44, 53, 101), Minnie G. (p. 47), Cyrus W. Packard (p. 52, 101, 115, 177), Deacon John (p. 60), Barnabas II (p. 61, 165-166), Lucinda (p. 63), Eliza (p. 67), Philander (p. 73, 82), Phillip (p. 80), and Henry C. (p. 166).

[202] Find A Grave entry for Barnabas Packard II. The scanned records of Massachusetts births is hard to follow and look at online, so it cannot be used as a source. Some sources seem to say this is a she.

[203] As noted by Massachusetts Death Records, 1841-1915 (says she has a probate in 1868), and Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988. For the next sentence, see the 1850 and 1850 United States Federal Censuses.

[204] Massachusetts Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, his Find A Grave entry, and the 1800 U.S. Federal Census.

[205] Gravestone of Ruby Packard.

[206] Gravestone of Norton Packard.

[207] Town Records 1762-1860, Hampshire, Cummington, Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, p. 228-229, 287, images 122 and 151 of 162, courtesy of Family Search. The 1850 census lists the following in the Packard household: Norton Packard, farmer (age 47); Mary A. Packard (age 41); George W. Packard (age 21); Milena M. Packard (age 15), Manila Packard (age 13), and John K. Packard (age 10). See Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 for more information supporting what is said in this paragraph.

[208] Gravestone of Eunice Rowley; Barnabas Packard in entry for Norton Packard and Eunice Rowley, 26 Jun 1860; citing Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States, Town clerks and local churches; FHL microfilm 1,902,438, Family Search; 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Richmond, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1860 U.S. Federal Census for Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1865 State Census of Massachusetts, Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA; Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915.

[209] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988; Gravestone of Norton Packard.

[210] Gravestone of Milton E. Packard; Gravestone of Charlotte Parker, 1830 U.S. Federal Census for Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1840 U.S. Federal Census for Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1850 U.S. Federal Census for Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1860 U.S. Federal Census for Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA; 1870 U.S. Federal Census for Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA; Massachusetts State Census of 1855, Hampshire, Massachusetts; Massachusetts State Census of 1865, Hampshire, Massachusetts; Milton Packard, Missouri, Wills and Probate Records, 1976-1988, about 1875. All are courtesy of Ancestry.com.

[211] Gravestone of Lyman Packard; Gravestone of Laura Packard; Gravestone of Lazone Packard; Gravestone of Franklin Luther Packard, all on Find A Grave.

[212] Clinton, Probate Court Records, Volume C-E, Missouri Probate Records, p. 473, image 485 of 1000; Clinton, Probates vol D-E, Missouri Probate Records, p. 65, 82, 105, 175, 288, 291, 369, 462, 603, 606, 609-610, 612, 619, 631, images 312, 315, 316, 320, 326, 368, 378, 389, 426, 486, 487, 538, 587, 660, 663 of 682.

[213] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.

[214] Cummington, Hampshire, Massachusetts, First Census of the United States, 1790, National Archives, NARA M637, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 4, Page 131. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Easton, Bristol, Massachusetts, First Census of the United States, 1790, National Archives, NARA M637, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 4, Page 209. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, First Census of the United States, 1790, National Archives, NARA M637, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 4, Page 455. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.

[215] Cummington, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Second Census of the United States, 1800, National Archives, NARA M32, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 15, Page 880. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Easton, Bristol, Massachusetts, Second Census of the United States, 1800, National Archives, NARA M32, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 19, Page 635. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Easton, Bristol, Massachusetts, Third Census of the United States, 1810, National Archives, NARA M252, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 17, Page 459. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Cummington, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Third Census of the United States, 1810, National Archives, NARA M252, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 19, Page 262. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Third Census of the United States, 1810, National Archives, NARA M252, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 19, Page 256. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Fourth Census of the United States, 1820, National Archives, NARA M33, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 19, Page 256. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Easton, Bristol, Massachusetts, Fourth Census of the United States, 1820, National Archives, NARA M33, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll M33_47, Page 307. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Fifth Census of the United States, 1830, National Archives, NARA M19, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 64, Page 419. Courtesy of Ancestry.com; Plainfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, Sixth Census of the United States, 1840, National Archives, NARA M19, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29, Roll 184, page 279, 281. Courtesy of Ancestry.com. These records are just a sampling of the many available.

Note: This was originally posted on July 27, 2018 on the main Packed with Packards WordPress blog (it can also be found on the Wayback Machine here). My research is still ongoing, so some conclusions in this piece may change in the future.

#plainfield #massachusetts #plainfield ma #packards #genealogy #family history #lineage #genealogy research #cummington #gravestones #unmarried #pittsfield #cameron missouri #cameron mo #clinton county #easton

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