HISTORY OF WEST WEBSTER CEMETERY
1790-1971
“Northfield included the northernmost towns in Ranges 4, 5, and 7, including the present areas of Webster, Penfield, Perinton, Irondequoit, Brighton, Pittsford and Henrietta, plus the eastern portion of what is now the city of Rochester. Lake Ontario was at the north boundary, the Genesee River at the west. The eastern boundary of the County of Monroe and the southern boundaries of Perinton, Pittsford, and Henrietta follow the eastern and southern boundaries of this vast early township, which changed its name to Boyle in 1808. The area of Rochester, not settled until 1812, then lay in Brighton and Gates
Now this 220-square-mile block of land has a population of about a third of a million, comprising nearly half of Monroe County. The first census of Northfield, taken in 1800, showed 398 individuals. But it was a rapidly growing area. In a decade, its population increased to 2,360.
Settlers were flocking into the whole Phelps and Gorham Purchase as the 19th century dawned. The Purchase was a two-million-acre tract bought and developed when investment and settlement finally became a safe venture after the Revolutionary War. The tract reached from the Pennsylvania border to Lake Ontario, with its eastern boundary line passing through Seneca Lake and the Genesee River forming its western boundary. Its division by surveyed ranges running north and south and by town lines going east and west created 102 geographical divisions called "townships", each being six miles square. These were sold by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham and successive owners of the Purchase.” (from: ‘Northfield on the Genesee – The Story of a Frontier Town of Monroe County, N.Y.’, Pg. 1, 1981 by Margaret Schmitt Mac Nab et al).
“In 1790, one year after Oliver Phelps opened his office at Canandaigua, the Phelps and Gorham Purchase set aside one-half acre of ground for burial purposes. This plot of ground was the beginning of the present West Webster cemetery, the oldest in Webster. It is situated on the corner of Ridge Road and Maple Drive (formerly called Cemetery Road). In the early survey, it is lot 37, township 14, and range 7.
The cemetery has been enlarged at various times. On March 27, 1844 one-half acre was purchased from Francis Fransisco. On December 14, 1861 one-half acre was purchased from Charles Smith, Joseph H. and Lucy Ketchum. On May 6, 1871, 78 rods were purchased from James and Charlotte Middleton. On May 15, 1878 one acre and 20 rods were purchased from Thomas F. Bancroft. On April 13, 1896 one acre was purchased from William and Barbara Wahle. The last purchase was on November 30, 1935 when one acre was obtained from Fred and Clara Barth. The cemetery contains, in all, approximately five acres and 18 rods.
On April 10, 1878 a meeting of lot owners was held to organize a board of trustees and incorporate. At this meeting it was decided, to hold annual meetings on the second Wednesday in April at 2:00
P.M. The trustees elected were Henry E. Dwinnell, Moses S. Dickinson, Henry Giddings, John H.Drake, John H. Whitbeck, Eli Day ton, George E. Gates, Joseph H.Ketchum, and John G. Kaler. The trustees then elected the following officers: John H.Drake, president; George E. Gates, vice-president; Henry Giddings, secretary; and Joseph H.Ketchum, treasurer.
On April 12, 1878 the cemetery was incorporated under the name of West Webster Cemetery Association. On that same date the bylaws were drawn up. On the Certificate of Incorporation are the names of William Murphy, William Dickinson, F. Foote, A. Herman, J. Wise, L. W. Turrell, and S. Drake.
Another meeting was held on April 22, 1878 when Sanford Drake was chosen sexton. The price for digging graves was set at $2.00 from April 1 to December 1 and $2 .25 from December 1to April 1. The present price is $34.00 per grave.
Of course, many improvements have been made from time to time. The tool house was built in 1904. In 1909 the iron fence along Ridge Road and Maple Drive was erected. Much grading was done in the lower portion in 1914 and again in 1924. In 1921 the vault was built by E. H. Hames. A well was drilled and a water system was installed in 1922. An arch was placed over the front entrance in 1931. Trees and shrubs have been planted at various times.
Because the bylaws which were adopted in 1878 became obsolete, a new set was adopted at the 1938 meeting.
The first person buried here was a child of N. Caines. (No other particulars are known).
Among the 79 military men buried in this first cemetery are 4-Revolutionary War, 38-Civil War, 10-War of 1812, 1- Mexican War, 2-Spanish War, 16-World War I, 4-World War II, 2-peacetime, 1-peacetime and World War I, and 1-Vietnam War.
The 1968 officers of the West Webster Cemetery Association are Donald Stevens, president; Gladys Stevens, vice president; Ethel Walters, secretary-treasurer. The Trustees are Lewis Blanchard, Granger Holtz, Claude Spink, George Wilson, Glen Spink, and Pearl Brodie.” (From: ‘Webster…Through the Years’, Pgs. 317-318, 1971 by Ester A. Dunn).