Pioneer Cemetery
Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, USA – *No GPS coordinates
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Add PhotosSubject: [STITT-L] Pioneer Cemetery
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:08:36 -0800
Hello Fellow StittListers,
I posted an announcement a couple of months ago about saving an old cemetery
in Armstrong County, PA, near Leechburg. A lot of cousins responded, many
have helped or offered to help, and I have kept them up to date with our
team's progress in the meantime. It's now time to expand our project--to get
more people involved.
The cemetery is the "private burial ground on Capt Truby's Hill" referred to
in Beers 1914 History of Armstrong County. We believe some of the first
Europeans to settle north of the Kiskiminetas were buried there during the
first half of the 19th century---members of the Jack, Truby, Parks,and Stitt
families. We especially believe William Stitt Jr. is buried there, along
with his brothers Andrew and Jacob.
Using the information in the historical accounts, we determined where the
cemetery site had to be, and in the summer of 1998, my niece Jackie Martin
went there and found the headstone of William Jack, died in Feb 1813! The
puzzling part is that the stone was about 50 feet down the steep hill
overlooking the old Parks Dairy and the big bend in the Kiski. Not a likely
location for a grave.
In the summer of 1999, we went to the site again and found another stone
about the same distance down the steep slope. This one was Eleanor Jane,
Consort of Shiloh Hill, died Christmas Day, 1852.
Both stones were lying down, buried in the topsoil, among the dense
undergrowth, with only a small bit of stone exposed. The dates bracket the
deaths of William, Andrew, and Jacob Stitt--and John Stitt, son of William
Jr.
We have discovered that the old cemetery was bulldozed over the hill shortly
after W.W.II. There is a mention of that in "The First Hundred Years of
Leechburg". That leads me to the goals of our little team:
1) Prove without doubt that the cemetery existed.
2) Develop the best list we can of who was buried there.
3) Restore what we can.
4) Protect the site from future destruction. (PA law is on our side on this)
We now believe the best way to prove the existence of the cemetery is by
getting affidavits from eyewitnesses--people who remember seeing it,
visiting it, putting up flags for the Revolutionary War and War of 1812
Veterans lying there--people who would have been teens or young adults in
the late 1940s, born before 1930, 70 or more years old today.
You can learn a lot about our project and what we have done so far by
browsing our web site at http://deltanet.home.netcom.com/
If you know anything about this historical treasure, or if you know someone
you suspect may know about it, please contact me.
Here's the last, and perhaps the most important point. The property was sold
in March of 1999 for the development of a subdivision. A new lane has
already been cut into the area. My guess is that by early in the summer of
2000, our project will either be completed or dead. Without our success, the
site may be lost forever beneath a bunch of beautiful homes, overlooking the
big bend in the Kiskiminetas, on Capt Truby's Hill.
How about it? Can you help? Do you know something about this cemetery? Do
you know anyone who may know something? We don't need money, we need
knowledge. We need eyewitnesses. We need people who will stand with us to
prevent another rape of "a private burial ground on Capt Truby's Hill".
Thank you,
Hal Stitt
g-g-g grandson of William Stitt, Jr.
Subject: [STITT-L] Pioneer Cemetery
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 16:08:36 -0800
Hello Fellow StittListers,
I posted an announcement a couple of months ago about saving an old cemetery
in Armstrong County, PA, near Leechburg. A lot of cousins responded, many
have helped or offered to help, and I have kept them up to date with our
team's progress in the meantime. It's now time to expand our project--to get
more people involved.
The cemetery is the "private burial ground on Capt Truby's Hill" referred to
in Beers 1914 History of Armstrong County. We believe some of the first
Europeans to settle north of the Kiskiminetas were buried there during the
first half of the 19th century---members of the Jack, Truby, Parks,and Stitt
families. We especially believe William Stitt Jr. is buried there, along
with his brothers Andrew and Jacob.
Using the information in the historical accounts, we determined where the
cemetery site had to be, and in the summer of 1998, my niece Jackie Martin
went there and found the headstone of William Jack, died in Feb 1813! The
puzzling part is that the stone was about 50 feet down the steep hill
overlooking the old Parks Dairy and the big bend in the Kiski. Not a likely
location for a grave.
In the summer of 1999, we went to the site again and found another stone
about the same distance down the steep slope. This one was Eleanor Jane,
Consort of Shiloh Hill, died Christmas Day, 1852.
Both stones were lying down, buried in the topsoil, among the dense
undergrowth, with only a small bit of stone exposed. The dates bracket the
deaths of William, Andrew, and Jacob Stitt--and John Stitt, son of William
Jr.
We have discovered that the old cemetery was bulldozed over the hill shortly
after W.W.II. There is a mention of that in "The First Hundred Years of
Leechburg". That leads me to the goals of our little team:
1) Prove without doubt that the cemetery existed.
2) Develop the best list we can of who was buried there.
3) Restore what we can.
4) Protect the site from future destruction. (PA law is on our side on this)
We now believe the best way to prove the existence of the cemetery is by
getting affidavits from eyewitnesses--people who remember seeing it,
visiting it, putting up flags for the Revolutionary War and War of 1812
Veterans lying there--people who would have been teens or young adults in
the late 1940s, born before 1930, 70 or more years old today.
You can learn a lot about our project and what we have done so far by
browsing our web site at http://deltanet.home.netcom.com/
If you know anything about this historical treasure, or if you know someone
you suspect may know about it, please contact me.
Here's the last, and perhaps the most important point. The property was sold
in March of 1999 for the development of a subdivision. A new lane has
already been cut into the area. My guess is that by early in the summer of
2000, our project will either be completed or dead. Without our success, the
site may be lost forever beneath a bunch of beautiful homes, overlooking the
big bend in the Kiskiminetas, on Capt Truby's Hill.
How about it? Can you help? Do you know something about this cemetery? Do
you know anyone who may know something? We don't need money, we need
knowledge. We need eyewitnesses. We need people who will stand with us to
prevent another rape of "a private burial ground on Capt Truby's Hill".
Thank you,
Hal Stitt
g-g-g grandson of William Stitt, Jr.
Nearby cemeteries
Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, USA
- Total memorials3k+
- Percent photographed76%
- Percent with GPS0%
Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, USA
- Total memorials2k+
- Percent photographed77%
- Percent with GPS1%
Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, USA
- Total memorials2k+
- Percent photographed79%
- Percent with GPS4%
Leechburg, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, USA
- Total memorials599
- Percent photographed85%
- Percent with GPS0%
- Added: 28 Oct 2014
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 2558272
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