Gravestone in the Basement!

I found a gravestone in my basement! What would you think if you found a gravestone in your basement? This happened to a new owner of an old house in Longmeadow. He found several fragments of an old marble gravestone being re-purposed as support for a rusting water heater. He dusted it off to read the name: Levi E. Taylor.

Levi E. Taylor, died August 11. 1858

Goosebumps rising, he wondered;

As we moved an old rusted-out water heater, we found some of these fragments. They were used to hold up that water heater.

What am I to learn from this:

• I hope Levi is not buried in my house for obvious reasons haha. - What do I do with something like this?

• Any restrictions from me touching this anymore? I only moved them into this spot here to see what it was.

• Any recommendations on a priest to bless the house? Love history as much as the next person, just not big on potentially spooky things

So being a sensible person, he contacted the Longmeadow Historical Society and the Longmeadow Cemetery Association. These inquiries both landed on this author's lap, since I am a board member of both organizations. We told him that it was very unlikely that Levi was buried in his basement, that the Cemetery Association would take possession of the stone, and that we had no recommendations for blessings.

So, as many historical inquiries come about by chance, we dug into the story. A quick check of the cemetery photos revealed that Levi has a stone in the cemetery, slightly different style, but with the same information.

Levi E. (Ely) Taylor, died August 11. 1858

Not only is there a stone for Levi in the cemetery, but also one for his wife Laura, his mother, children and many other Taylor cousins. It seems logical that some disaster befell Levi's original stone, and a replacement stone was created. Perhaps Laura had that done, since she passed away a couple years after Levi. We also considered whether the broken stone could be a footstone. Early gravestones were almost always purchased as a pair--headstone and footstone--like the headboard and footboard for a bed. Footstones are usually smaller, simpler versions of the headstone, often with just initials and the year. This broken stone is a bit too complete for a typical footstone, and footstones had mostly fallen out of favor by 1858.

So, we have established that the broken stone found in the cellar was probably put there after it was damaged and replaced. So, is it likely that a body was buried in anyone's basement? What about in winter, when digging in the cemetery would be difficult? We consulted with an expert, Tom Kelleher of Old Sturbridge Village. He thought a basement burial would be quite unlikely, partly because a basement, or root cellar, would not be cold enough. Some towns had a town crypt where bodies could be kept until spring burials, but there is no evidence of Longmeadow ever having one. There are many towns, usually smaller, more rural ones, that have multiple small family burial plots rather than just one central cemetery. Again, Longmeadow did not--we had one central graveyard, and then later several others in the "East Village" which became East Longmeadow.

Okay, so the next question in our quest for answers is what was Levi Taylor's stone doing in Jabez Colton's house? Jabez Colton built his house in 1786. His son Elijah was born in the same year. Elijah married Olive Taylor. So now we have a Taylor connection in the Jabez Colton house! Levi Ely Taylor was a first cousin of Olive's. So, we have a family connection, but we don't know that Levi ever lived in that house. In fact, Levi and his son Newton Ely Taylor were both listed as wheelwrights in the 1855 state census, and several maps (1831, 1855) show him living at the corner of Longmeadow Street and Williams (where First Church now stands). There were several structures in this location, as First Church was still located on the green. First Church wasn't moved to the current location until 1874.

Levi Taylor's signature on an 1821 letter in the LHS archves

1831 map, showing Levi Taylor's house Corner of Longmeadow Street and Williams Street

So has our trip "down the rabbit hole" answered our new homeowner's questions? I think so; the stone is in the basement because it was unneeded, Levi was related to the Coltons, and he is buried in the cemetery with other members of his family. The Cemetery Association will accept the pieces and investigate whether they can be reassembled. The only item we didn't help with was the blessing--anyone have any suggestions?

If anyone has any gravestones on their property--often footstones were discarded--please contact the Cemetery Association to have them restored to the graveyard. We are replacing footstones when they are found (often buried in the cemetery). Thanks!

Contributed by Betsy McKee, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member, Longmeadow Cemetery Association President.

Originally published February 24, 2022

The Mansions of Bay Path University

Longmeadow is filled with numerous majestic historic homes. The tales of many of these homes are well known. Other homes have fascinating histories that could become forgotten. Two such magnificent homes are the Page/Wallace (Deepwood) and Robinson Estates. These two homes are located on the Bay Path University campus.

The property where Bay Path University is currently located was originally part of the Ethan C. Ely property. His ancestor Jonathan Ely settled in the precinct of Longmeadow in 1694. The Ely estate had remained in the family since 1758. Ethan and his father built a brick home with stone trimming in 1856. He was listed in the town directory as a farmer. The natural beauty of the property was carefully preserved and filled with a variety of trees and thus referred to as “Ely’s grove”.

Ethan C. Ely

Ely’s Grove early 1900's

Ethan Ely's Home 1908

Ethan C. Ely died in 1906. He had no direct heirs as his wife had died 40 years previously and his two children died early in life. The property was eventually sold to J. B. Burbank, a neighbor and real estate entrepreneur. The property was then sold to George Hendee (owner of Indian Motocycle) upon his retirement. He did stake out land to build an estate as indicated on the 1912 Longmeadow map.

Mr. Hendee never built this home and instead built a palatial estate in Suffield, CT. The property was then sold to Frank Page and his estate was built at 588 Longmeadow Street.

Mr. Page was the wealthy owner and founder of the National Equipment Company in Springfield.

Mr. Page

Page's home was completed in 1917. The Georgian Colonial at the time was one of the largest and most expensive homes in Longmeadow. The estate included a home for his chauffeur and gardener.

Frank Page sold the home to Douglas V Wallace in 1927. The estate became known as Deepwood. Mr. Wallace was a member of the Wallace family who owned and operated Forbes and Wallace department stores. The store chain existed in the area from 1874-1976.

Mr. Wallace unfortunately died at 44 years old in 1930. His wife, Mary Wallace, who lived to 106 years of age, retained ownership. Her father, John C. Robinson, purchased an adjacent property. Mr. Robinson was a wealthy realty company executive who donated the land in Agawam that eventually became Robinson State Park. His daughter Mary resided with him at the mansion built at 544 Longmeadow Street. It would also become part of the Bay Path campus. Deepwoods at 588 Longmeadow St. was sold to W. J. Quinn Company in 1940 for real estate development. There was a plan to build 15 homes on the site.

Robinson mansion, adjacent to Wallace estate. Today part of Bay Path campus. Due to World War II these plans never came to fruition. The National Youth Administration (NYA) leased the home in 1942 to serve as a residence and center for women working in the defense industry during World War II.

Deepwoods was sold to Thomas Carr in 1945. Mr. Carr had purchased Bay Path Institute in 1944 and moved the school from Springfield to the eighteen-acre estate in 1945. The Robinson Estate was purchased by Bay Path in 1947 with money donated by George Empsall (Mr Carr’s brother-in-law) to be used as a dormitory.

Today Deepwoods Hall at Bay Path University

is the main administrative building.

The Robinson mansion is presently Empsall Hall which houses the admissions offices

Contributed by Leonard Shaker, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Originally published February 17, 2022

The Poets' Album

Cover of The Poets' Album compiled in 1864 for the Brooklyn Sanitary Fair; from the collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society

I wanted to share the item in our collection at the Longmeadow Historical Society that first helped me begin to piece together the connections between one of the world’s most celebrated poets and two cousins who shared a name and a deep connection to Longmeadow.

If asked to pick my favorite piece in our collection at the Storrs House Museum, without a doubt I would pick this 1864 “Poets' Album” containing handwritten and autographed poems and poem excerpts submitted by prominent 19th-century poets and writers. The writings were contributed to raise money for the Brooklyn Sanitary Fair, a fundraiser organized to benefit wounded Union Soldiers during the Civil War.

Hand-drawn and colored Title Page

The Brooklyn Sanitary Fair took place over two weeks in February and March of 1864 at the Academy of Music in Brooklyn, NY. It was an enormous affair featuring entertainment, food, art displays, and vendor booths selling countless donated items to help ease the burden of soldiers who were wounded fighting for the Union cause. It is estimated that Fair raised $300,000 (equivalent to $5.1 million today) for the Union soldiers.

Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Originally published February 10, 2022