Union or Millertown Cemetery

Photos by Corelyn Senn & Marylee Mills

Union Cemetery, on RT 52, is one of Lincolnville’s oldest yet still active cemeteries; it is still accepting burials. It is not clear when the first burial occurred; Catherine Heal who died in 1807, has a stone but she died in Georgetown and was buried there. It is not known when the stone was placed here in her memory. The earliest dated burial is that of Benjamin Stetson who died in 1817.

The land was deeded as a burying ground in 1852, when John Clark, Jr. and his wife Lucy sold 97 square yards between their land and that of Ephraim Miller to 22 trustees for $18.00. The only stipulation was that the grantees and their heirs keep the area enclosed with “a good fence.” The area was expanded on August 15, 1925, when a plot at the southern side of the cemetery, Hollis Dean’s family burying ground, was added.

The Association itself was formed on August 11, 1925 with the reading of the warrant and the acceptance of the by-laws by the Incorporators. We are lucky enough to have a complete set of Minutes from that day until 1980. The Treasury at that time contained $29.25. The Incorporators started off with a bang to get their cemetery into shape. Volunteer labor repaired the roads, removed birches, made repairs to stones and erected a new fence along the east side. Also at that time the Association was able to acquire the money from the Abigail Weeks Fund and, at the cost of $10.00, work was done in the Stetson plot which already had at least 9 stones in it.

Abigail Mariner Mahoney Stetson Weeks turns out to have been a member of several families represented in the cemetery: she was a Mariner on her mother’s side, a Mahoney on her fathers and she married Daniel Stetson. She and her husband and two of their four children, Florence and Frederick are buried in Union Cemetery. She left a fund for maintenance, perhaps of the Stetson plot as that is how it was used in 1926 and again in 1951. In 1961, the fund had $26.00 in it while in 1980, it had $33.47 having accrued some interest.

Union Cemetery continued its tradition of enthusiastic care. After incorporation the first committee appointed was the Entertainment Committee to put on suppers with entertainment to raise money. However, in 1933, a suggestion of a card party where cake and ice cream would be sold was turned down in favor of asking for contributions; $4.00 was raised. There was a history of “bees”: to paint the fence (the ladies did that as well as the 4H Club), mow the cemetery, gravel the roads and hay. If you could not do the physical work you could donate $1.00 for someone to take your place. But, by 1937, a vote determined that maintenance would be in the hands of the Trustees who would hire the work out. Mowing paid $3.00, then $6.00 and finally $10.00.

Until 1951, plots cost $2.50 for a small (1/4), 5.00 for a single (1/2 plot) and $10.00 for a double (full plot.) In 1935, a 50 cent annual fee was charged to plot holders. Money was always tight and cash on hand was never more than $40.00 and often just $7.00.

Union Cemetery is filled with historically important Lincolnville people. There is a list on the Lincolnville Historical Society website. Among the names familiar to us are Clark (John and Lucy are buried here), Dickey, Heal, Miller, Young, Thomas, Stetson, Mahoney, Mar(r)iner, Morse, Lermond, Matthews, Knight, Hills, and Andrews. To those who are “from here” all the names are well known while to those of us who are “from away” the name of Jackie Young Watts, the Lincolnville historian for whom the Open Air Museum is named rings a bell.

This cemetery is well cared for by its Association but special appreciation must go to Everett Fizer who has done everything from mowing the grass, to repairing stones, to keeping the flower garden blooming. Union Cemetery is well worth a visit.

Written by Corelyn Senn