One of my ongoing research projects is putting together the story of my paternal great grandmother, Maude Lillian Sargent. Over the years I have gradually added to her story but the progress has been slow. Years ago my great aunt, Maude’s daughter, gave me a few basic facts. So, I began with the knowledge of Maude’s parent’s names, and the knowledge that Maude’s mother had died when Maude was an infant. My great aunt also told me that an Aunt and Uncle, “Avery and Bonar Blaker” had raised Maude.
A number of years ago another descendant of Johnson Sargent, Maude’s father, responded to a inquiry post I had on line and from him I was able to piece together more of the story. Johnson Sargent was married multiple times and spent some time in the U. S. Calvary. I’ve discovered quite a bit about Johnson and his story will be the topic of a future blog.
The thing I wanted to share with you today is actually an incredible website that I have come across while researching Maude’s family. This website is entirely devoted to a small cemetery in the community of Beallsville, Pennsylvania. It was in this town, just south of Pittsburgh, that my Maude was born, and this cemetery, where her young mother was likely buried.
The web site creator, Debbie Day, was initially drawn to the cemetery as she began to research her family tree. According to a newspaper article about the her, Debbie found that of the approximately 10,000 people buried in the Beallsville Cemetery, about 600 were somehow associated with her family tree.
Debbie began a project to research, scan and document all records related to the cemetery and to photograph many of the tombstones. She used this information to create an online project as part of her studies to earn her master’s degree in library science. What she developed is one of the best genealogical websites, devoted to a single topic that I have come across. There are two things that make this site unique, the first is that all the documentation is cross-referenced, including tombstone photos, plot maps, payment records, etc. For many persons, she has also included death records, personal photographs and obituaries. The second thing is that Debbie’s goal seems to have been to document the entire cemetery and reveal as much about the lives of all the interred, not just her own family. It isn’t just a cemetery internment list but instead a multimedia record that takes in all the advantages of a web based format.
Now, back to my G Grandmother Maude. There is no tombstone for Maude’s mother, Allie Hawkins Sargent, in the Beallsville Cemetery. Allie died sometime in 1875, when Maude was about 9 months old, according to my great aunt. Maude’s father, Johnson Sargent, did own a plot there and according to the plot records there are 3 adults buried in that plot that have no stone or names listed in the records. Allie’s brother, Sherman Hawkins, 14 at the time of his death, is buried in that plot. There is this notation on the interment listing for 1875, “Child of J. Sargent.” Maybe that is a mistake and it is actually Allie’s internment, or perhaps, Allie was with child, gave birth early, and both mother and child died in 1875. I know that Maude was born on November 15, 1874. It seem unlikely, but certainly possible, that her mother became pregnant again some months after Maude’s birth and perhaps late in 1875 was experiencing a premature birth that resulted in the death of both mother and child.
Debbie Day tells me that she has quite a few Hawkins and Sargents in her family tree, so we are probably distantly related. Here is the link to her Beallsville Cemetery website. Take a look, and maybe you’ll be inspired to do some preservation work at a cemetery near where you live.
-Mary
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