The Byram Cemetery: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut}} |
{{Short description|Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut}} |
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[[File:Old Byram.jpg|thumb|Plaque at entrance of Byram Cemetery]] |
[[File:Old Byram.jpg|thumb|Plaque at entrance of Byram Cemetery]] |
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Revision as of 21:48, 15 August 2024
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The Byram Cemetery (or the Old Burial Ground at Byram Shore Road) is a cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut. It has headstones dating back to the 1700 making it one of the oldest gravesites in the town.[1] The cemetery is broken up into 3 sections. One section for early settlers, the Lyon cemetery, and the African American cemetery. There are graves of Civil War veterans also located in the burial ground.[1]
The Lyons
Connected to the cemetery is the former James Lyon House built in 1750, which has since been demolished. The Lyon family can be traced back to the original Greenwich settlers with Thomas Lyon arriving to Greenwich in 1649 from England.[2]
The Lyons were prominent members as early settlers and owned large plots of land. In 1688 with only 300 people in Greenwich Thomas was one of 52 of the land owners with around 360 acres of land.[3]
The Lyon family owned slaves and buried them within the grave sight on an unmarked section which is now known as the African American Cemetery.[4]
Recent history
Recent disputes have focused on whether the Town of Greenwich or neighboring residents are responsible for the graveyard's maintenance. These questions arose after Chris Antonik, former resident of the James Lyon House who personally cared for the gravesite for over 30 years passed in 2015. This led to the graveyard to become overrun with weeds which Antonik's wife Carolyn had complained about in 2016.[5]
The Stewarts
The Stewarts moved into a house neighboring the graveyard and sought to build a driveway by expanding their plot of land digging into the nearby gravesite in 2017. This caused a lawsuit to occur between the Stewards and the town of Greenwich over the potential disgracing of the unmarked African American burial ground. The Stewards claimed that in a survey of the land, no remains were found however historical maps of the cemetery label that section of land as the African-American Cemetery.[6]
Result of the lawsuit
Teresa Vega is one of the descendants of those buried in the gravesite and has worked to trace African and Native American heritage back to Greenwich and the Byram grave site. She has a blog[7] documenting her findings, court case, and research.
In a settlement reached in 2018 the 3 grave sights became property of the state and a plaque is to be placed to mark the African American cemetery.[8]
Local volunteers
Local resistant Alex Popp has worked with other volunteers to maintain and upkeep the maintenance of the cemetery and preserving the history within the gravesite. Popp documents his work in a facebook group titled Friends of The Old Burying Ground at Byram Shore Road.[9][10]
Funding from the State
Ned Lamont the governor of Connecticut made an announcement in 2023 that the cemetery would be receiving 5,000 dollars in funding to restore broken graves and maintain the sight.[11]
References
- ^ a b "The Old Burying Ground at Byram Shore Road Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Krasselt, Kaitlyn (September 28, 2015). "375 years of Greenwich Real estate, from farmland to great estate".
- ^ "Greenwich Landmarks Series: Joseph Lyon House". Greenwich Historical Society. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Plaque to memorialize historic, unmarked black cemetery". AP News. August 10, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ Marchant, Robert (November 27, 2021). "Greenwich's historic Black burial ground was long neglected. Neighbors rallied to restore, repair it".
- ^ Marchant, Robert (November 24, 2017). "Legal Battle over Greenwich Land Near Cemetery Continues".
- ^ "The Byram African-American Cemetery". January 10, 2024.
- ^ "Greenwich Settles Case Over Byram Cemetery Land". Greenwich, CT Patch. August 9, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ greenwichfreepress (June 1, 2022). "Byram Resident Urges Town to Adopt a Plan to Protect Cemetery Stones, Preserve History". Greenwich Free Press. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ "Reclaiming Black and Indigenous history in Connecticut cemetery, with the help of state funds". www.wbur.org. April 26, 2023. Retrieved July 24, 2024.