January 5, 2022
Introduction: In this article, Melissa Davenport Berry presents the stories of three found graves – and how they were located. Melissa is a genealogist who has a blog, AnceStory Archives, and a Facebook group, New England Family Genealogy and History.
Whatever your resolution is for the New Year, consider a genealogical dig into your family’s past. A helpful source to excavate some great material is GenealogyBank’s Historical Newspaper Archives. Today I am going to share a few finds I came across recently in the newspapers. My theme is a very grave matter – and I found grave finders and grave diggers.
WWI Veteran’s Grave Found
For example, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 1920 that Frank Francis, a well-known steel man from Chester, Pennsylvania, visited Europe and honored his promise to locate the grave of Walter S. Mitchell, son of George S. Mitchell and Ida Thompson, who was killed in action there during WWI.
Francis sent a letter back home that read:
“I went to the American Cemetery, No. 617, Fismes (Marne), and found Walter’s grave. There are about 4000 bodies buried there and two American soldiers are taking care of the cemetery.”
He placed a wreath on Walter’s grave.
Mitchell was a member of Company C, 111th U.S. Infantry, and was shot through the head while charging a hill to rescue his comrades. A letter sent home stated: “He died like a hero.”
Another Veteran’s Grave
Another soldier’s grave was found in 1918, as reported by a Maryland paper, the Sun. A mother of a soldier killed in battle received a telegram from the War Department informing her that on August 17 a grave had been found in France marked “Oliver T. Beauchamp.”
This was a positive id. Lt. Beauchamp was in the aviation service, 27th Aero Squadron, and had been on the firing line for months.
On August 15 Mrs. Beauchamp had been notified that her son was missing. It was supposed that he fell within German lines, and his grave was discovered by the Allies during an advance.
Oliver Thomas Beauchamp Jr. was the son of Oliver Thomas Sr. and Ida Beauchamp of Princess Ann, Maryland. He had a sister Mildred, and three brothers: L. Creston, Sidney, and Roger.
Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Endicott’s Tomb Located
The location of Governor John Endicott’s tomb, the longest-serving governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was discovered in 1903.
According to Gordon S. Harmon, 11th generation grandson, the confusion of where his ancestor was laid to rest had resulted in the placement of the commemorative plaque on the fence at the Kings Chapel Burying Ground on Tremont Street in Boston. The inscription on the plaque had included the name of Governor John Endecott, Esq., as being buried there. That had been incorrect.
Many newspapers printed the correction of the location of Endicott’s tomb. Here is one, published in the Times-Picayune.
This article reported:
“A search of the old town records of Boston, family records, and the original plan of the South Burying Place has resulted in the discovery of the location of Governor John Endicott’s tomb, which has been unidentified for more than 150 years. The tomb is in the northwest corner of the old Granary Burying Ground, where the first tombs were built, soon after the establishment of the cemetery.”
Stay tuned for more grave finds!
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Awesome as usual! So interesting! Thank you for sharing and writing yet again another wonderful article, Melissa.
Hi Carolyn. Thank you so much, and check out part 2 which ran yesterday. I appreciate it! GenealogyBank is so full of these stories and a great help to solving those very grave matters! 🙂
Hi Melissa,
Great story! What led me here was I was searching for any information on Walter S. Mitchell. I see the picture in your article and I actually have the original. I grew up in his hometown of Chester. I see the picture came from a collection of Deborah LaRiccia Brown. I’d love to know where she got hers from!