By Isabella Zarate
For more than a century the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Cemetery has been the resting place of many as well as the home to lifetimes of history. The G.A.R Cemetery of Homer was founded in 1886 when the GAR veteran’s organization desired a resting place for Union Civil War Veterans as well as their families.
In August 1886, George B. Eggelston purchased five acres of land on the east side of the village of Homer. The first scale of lots began a month later in September 1886. It was not until January 3, 1887 that the Homer town board finally approved the establishment of a public cemetery.
The cemetery’s first burial, 12 year-old Clara Judge, came from the hands of the diphtheria epidemic in the fall of 1886. Judge, who was the daughter of Civil War veteran Patrick Judge, died on October 13, 1886.
As Judge carries the notability of first burial, the cemetary does contain burials of deceased persons prior to 1886. This is due to the fact that over the years many families moved remains from one cemetery to the new G.A.R. cemetery.
One important feature of the cemetery is the Soldier’s Circle. For G.A.R the circle is the final resting place for a number of soldiers. Jacob H. Benjamin was the first soldier to be buried in the cemetary’s circle. Interred on June 21, 1889, and later honored with a monument in 1901, Benjamin became the first of many.
Eventually as members of the GAR passed away, the cemetery was given to American Legion Post 290, on April 12, 1992. Later, in 2017 the village of Homer assumed ownership, as people now volunteer to maintain the grounds.
In 2013, archival researcher and genealogist, Becci Powers began a project which led her to photographing every stone and sharing the images online at findagrave.com Powers quickly found that there were a number of unidentifiable burials. Whether it be broken stones or no stones at all Powers had felt as if it were something that needed to be addressed.
Later down the road, Powers was approached by Ray Cunningham, historian, certified archivist, and past Mayor of Homer. Cunningham had ambitions of performing an audit over the G.A.R Cemetery.
Audits ensure the cemetery records are correct and seek to provide valid information about each person buried there. In Cunningham’s words, the audit is to “get the records straight.” Once complete, the audit will also serve as a public tool for anyone to search and locate individuals’ grave sites.
For Powers, this was the perfect opportunity. “I knew if I had a record of who was buried where then by process of elimination I could be like this stone belongs to this person, but I did not have access to that so I was intrigued when Ray was like ‘hey here’s this project to find out who’s buried where.’”
Thus, the two dove in. Comparing previous, outdated records Powers and Cunninghman began trying to match the stones to the information. The process was one that was both tedious and time consuming. As Cunnigham explained, “we’ve been doing this with such intensity that when we run into an issue we have to track it down, and it may take awhile…to sort out some of the problems and find the solution.
Cunningham went on, “On some of the burials we have no records.” With a lack of information and a number of identifiable burials, the two had to resort to external information in order to clarify the records and discover any unknowns.
Taking from previous records including, obituaries, funeral statements, death certificates, newspaper clippings, and more the audit has been able to re-identify a number of previously unidentifiable burials. Before starting the audit, Cunningham claims that there were 35 unknowns, now there are four unknown persons and 12 unknown locations.
Aside from re-identifying the burials, Powers has also added GPS points to every single grave site. This means people can use their phones or any type of electronic mapping device, and put in the burial they are looking for and it will direct them within a few feet.
This is something that is not only beneficial for the records, but it gives people the chance to locate and identify loved ones that have passed.
Another way in which Cunningham and Powers have been verifying the records is the genealogy. According to Cunigham, “we want to look at who the people in the lots are related to because that gives us a clue as to who is there.”
All in all, the two have “spent a few hours on this project,” as Powers jokes.
Nevertheless, the countless hours of work and dedication are contributing both to those searching for their loved ones as well as to the history of Homer and the G.A.R Cemetery.
For more information or to search a burial within the cemetery you can visit the G.A.R. find a grave page.
