At a town meeting
on April 13, 1807, it was "Voted a committee to
se where they can find Ground that Can be purchased
for Burying Ground in one or more places and make report
Next Meeting, the Selectmen to Above Committee."
At a Town Meeting
on December 7, 1807, it was 'Voted that the Selectmen
purchase one acre of Ground of Rev. Joshua Williams
for a Burying Ground."
The following deed
is recorded in the Harwinton Land Records, Volume 7,
Page 366:
"To all the
people to whom these Presents shall Come Greeting:"
"Know ye that
I Joshua Williams of Harwinton in the County of Litchfield
and State of Connecticut For Consideration of One Hundred
and thirty Dollars Recd to my full satisfaction of Jonathan
Rossetter, Daniel Holt and Timothy Clark Selectmen of
the Town Aforsaid in the name and Behalf of sd town
Do give grant Bargain Sell and Confirm unto the said
Rossetter, Holt and Clark in their capacity aforesaid
and for the Use and Benefit of said Town one certain
piece or parcel of Land lying in Said Town Containing
one Hundred and thirty rods Bounded as follows (viz)
Beginning a little north of a small house in the highway
now Occupied by Darius Foot - at a stake with a heap
of Stones about it and extending west thirteen rods
to another stake and stones thence running South then
rods to a Stake and Stones then East thirteen rods to
another Stake and Stones which is ten rods South of
the place of Beginning - and Butted East on Highway
North, West and South on my own land - it being part
of my lot Usualy Called Malty Lot - and thus meeted
out for the Purpose of a Burying place together will
all the right I have or ought to have to the Small House
aforesaid reserving to myself to remove the Barn and
trees standing on Said Land for my own uses to be removed
by the 15th of May next - reserving also the Stones
in the front fence for the purpose of making a fence
in the west part while the sd Selectmen make the fence
on the North and South sides....in Witness whereof I
have hereunto set my hand and Seal the 21st of October
A D 1808."
Jonathan Williams
This was in the
fall of 1808, the same year they the new Congregation
Church was built. The following spring the first funeral
was held in the new church and the first burial was
made in the new cemetery. About 1/4 back from the front
of the cemetery, and on the north of the middle walk
stands a marble gravestone with the following inscription:
"Dea. CYPRION
WEBSTER died April 12, 1809, aged 77, the first burial
in this yeard and the first corpse in the new meeting
house."
At a town meeting
on April 10, 1809, two days before the death of Cyprion
Webster, it was "Voted that the Town will move
the old meeting house if they can find a convenient
place to Sett Said House at the expense of Said Town.....Voted
that we appoint a Committee to see to the business of
removing Said House...Voted Abijah Catlin, Jacob Ely
and Benj. Griswald the above Committee.
The old church
was then moved to a corner of the South Cemetery where
is was used as a Town House until 1840, when it was
demolished.
The above is written
from excerpts from
"THIS AND THAT OF EARLY HARWINTON"
by Raymond G. Bentley
Published in 1999
