The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
HISTORY FROM THE GRAVE
Glenwood Cemetery tour connects residents with prominent past members of the community
Central New Yorkers got a chance to take a walk through history right in Oneida’s backyard and hear life stories from the region’s past.
“This is fantastic history and it can’t be lost,” said Reg Sanborn, an Oneida local. “I didn’t even know this was here. I’d go by on [Route] 46 and see the entrance and be completely ignorant of what’s up here.”
On Saturday, June 8, around 30 people signed up for the first tour of many at Glenwood Cemetery, where the Oneida Library Players took on the roles of deceased residents and told the story of their life before entering Glenwood.
Among those residents were Alexander McGregor, a prominent abolitionist and one of the founders of the Free Church in Canastota; Dr. Martin Cavana, an expert on nervous system diseases and chronic pain, who founded and operated the Lakeside Sanitarium in Sylvan Beach; and Pvt. Calvin Wells Cochran, who graduated from Oneida High School and attended Colgate University before enlisting in the Army to fight during World War I — before being killed in action.
One of the first people attendees on the tour met was Maud Bortle, born 1873. She was played by Oneida High School sophomore Eliza Colvin.
“I don’t know why cousin Ed did what he did,” Colvin said to the audience. “He’s been stranger than usual these past few weeks. He’s been drinking. And bought himself a revolver. When mother asked why he got it, Ed said there were three or four people he’d like to shoot.”
On that list was Bortle herself. Edward Knowles was infatuated with her, but Bortle’s mother interfered and stopped him from getting closer.
“He [Ed] said that’s the real trouble,” Colvin said. “He said ‘Maud, you should understand. I have to do it’.”
Colvin received a round of applause from the audience after her rendition as Bortle. When asked, Colvin said she was not only surprised but distraught by Bortle’s history.
“It was crazy that this girl was killed by her cousin,” Colvin said.
Maud died in 1886 at the age of 16. Her death and the deaths of the others on Bortle’s list were prominent enough to get attention across the state, all the way down to New York City.
Between each performance, tour guides such as Oneida City Historian Connie Coulthart, Madison County Historical Society Executive Director Sydney Loftus and Madison County Historian Matthew Urtz talked about the history of the Glenwood Cemetery and the work that went into it.
“The old burial ground was down in town and was roughlywhereWillard Prior Elementary is,” Coulthart said. “Many of the people here were moved here from that cemetery. Around that period of time, people began to become concerned with disease and in some localities, there was flooding and bodies would flood out. It was a public health concern.”
Coulthart said cemeteries like Glenwood were much like the first parks in the United States — a place where people could honor their loved ones and meditate. “It was important they were beautiful,” Coulthart said.
In the November 1874 edition of the Oneida Dispatch, an article described the beauty of Glenwood, saying “...From the highest ground in the cemetery, you gain a view which makes you cease to wonder why a painter would spend a life to reproduce such scenes.”
“This is the first time learning all this,” Ward 2 Councilor Mike Bowe said. “I think this is a nice place for people together and something different. It’s art and entertainment while learning the history and the lives of people here. There are people who have been here for 100 years, so there’s got to be some significant stories. It’d be good to find out about it.”
Coulthart said there’s already talk about doing the Glenwood Cemetery tour again next year, something Bowe said he’d be more than happy to see.
Those portrayed at the cemetery tour and their actors include Alexander McGregor (1798-1876) played by Ken Drake; B. Franklin Chapman (1817-1892) played by TomMurray; Dr. Martin Cavana (1849-1924) played by Max Smith; Calvin Wells Cochran (1895-1918) played by Zachary Taylor; and Eliza Higinbotham (18231903) played by Virginia Drake.
The event was hosted by the Glenwood Cemetery Association, the Oneida Public Library and the Madison County Historical Society.