by David Flint
Last year Stephentown celebrated the 250th anniversary of its oldest farm, the Glendouglas Farm on Osgood Road.
William Douglas, who started the farm, was honored as not only a founding father of the Town but also as a Revolutionary War patriot. [private]Douglas was elected Captain in the Jericho Militia and in August of 1777 he marched his men up to Walloomsac where they played a crucial role in the Battle of Bennington.
Photo courtesy of Isabel Krebs
The man was honored in the celebration last year but it brought attention to the fact that his gravestone in the Stephentown Cemetery was in sad shape.
Isabel Krebs, who along with her husband Neil is the current owner of the Glendouglas Farm, and is also the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Captain Douglas, was determined to do something about it and enlisted the aid of Dave Cummings, a co-member on the Stephentown Historical Society’s Cemetery Committee.
The monument originally comprised a 3-foot high square pedestal base with inscriptions on all four sides. A capstone on top of that held a square base for a 3 1/2-foot high octagonal spire which was topped with an ornamental finial. The spire had some time ago toppled from the base and was resting on the ground leaning against the base. The finial top had also been broken off from the spire.
Using his tractor and special equipment he has for gravestone work, Cummings first set about resetting and leveling the 4-foot base which had been raised by frost and was leaning at an angle. With Isabel Krebs supervising, he lime grouted the capstone and the platform for the spire back onto the monument base, reattached the finial to the spire and carefully put the whole thing back together.
During this process, the stone was carefully cleaned by Krebs with the help of Boy Scouts Gavin Bink and Wyatt and Jesse Cameron. The inscriptions can now be clearly read. On the west side it reads, “ Here lies the mortal body of William Douglas Esq. who departed this life December 29th 1811 in the 69th year of his age.” On the north side we read, “He was one of the first settlers in this town in the year 1766, a firm friend to his country, and held civil and military offices, an affectionate husband, a kind and faithful Parent, he lived universally esteemed and died equally lamented.”
“The entire family is grateful to Dave for all the work he has done to restore the gravestones of our family hero of the Battle of Bennington,” Krebs said.
Cummings is now working on replacing the nearby gravestone of Asa Douglas, father of William Douglas.[/private]