The Fenton History Center’s recent Saints and Sinners tours at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown had a little added attraction this year – a mystery tombstone which was on display outside the cemetery office during the tours for all to see. This marble tombstone is in remarkably good condition for its age. It presumably dates back to 1830, which is the year of death inscribed on the stone. The deceased person to whom it belongs was named Francis Ingersoll, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Lake View Cemetery has several Revolutionary War veterans buried on its grounds, but Ingersoll is not one of them. What then, is his stone doing in the cemetery and where does it rightfully belong?

About a month ago, workers at the cemetery were mowing and trimming an area in the older part of the cemetery when they noticed a tombstone leaning up against a tree. The stone wasn’t attached to the ground in any way. It appeared to have been carefully placed against the tree and then abandoned there by an unknown person or persons. The workers informed the office staff, who had the stone moved into the office for further study. The marble is clean and bright and looks as if it may have been professionally cleaned in the not-too-distant past. The inscribed writing is somewhat weathered, which is to be expected after being exposed to the elements for about 185 years. Marble is subject to deterioration from acid rain, while granite, a much harder stone, is not. This is one reason why marble has fallen out of favor for tombstone use since around 1890, when better stonecutting tools became more widely available for use with granite. With a little effort the writing was deciphered: “Francis Ingersoll, Died June 2, 1830, Aged 73 Years.” There is a two-line epitaph at the bottom of the tablet-style stone, but most of the words are as yet unreadable. The tombstone is roughly 28 inches tall, 14 inches wide, and about 1-1/2 inches thick, weighing about 60 pounds.

The appearance of the tombstone in Lake View Cemetery remains a mystery. How it got there and who may have left it are two unanswered questions, but the staff of the Lake View Cemetery Association and the Fenton History Center have been able to piece together considerable information on Mr. Ingersoll, his family and the stone’s rightful location.

Francis Ingersoll was born Feb. 23, 1758, in Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Mass. He was a private in the Revolutionary War, serving over a year during 1777-78 before hiring a substitute to take his place. It is interesting to note that he would have had to return to the Army if his substitute deserted. He married Rachel Case on April 12, 1781, and later suffered crippling injuries to his hip and right hand in a fall from a building around 1800. Not long after his accident, he and Rachel moved into the home of two of their sons in the town of Middlebury, Genesee County, (now Wyoming County) about 75 miles northeast of Jamestown. They both died there, Francis in 1830, and Rachel in 1846, and were buried in tiny Carleton Cemetery just outside Middlebury. This cemetery appears to have less than 50 burials, nearly all of them predating 1900. The historian for Wyoming County has been contacted and is trying to gather more information about the cemetery in an attempt to determine the exact location of Mr. Ingersoll’s grave.

At some point in the near future, the stone will be returned to Carleton Cemetery, and hopefully placed in its proper location. Anyone with possible information is urged to call Lake View Cemetery at 665-3206 or the Fenton History Center at 664-6256 to report any unidentified tombstones in their neighborhood.