People who are interested in Westfield’s Old Burying Ground, also known as the Mechanic Street Cemetery, now have another wonderful tool at their disposal for genealogical research. Thanks to the efforts of local historian Bruce Cortis, people who visit the Athenaeum can look up over 1,400 names in a printed inventory. Included in the inventory, which is organized alphabetically by last name, are each person’s first and last name, date of death, age, family notes, additional notes, and source citations.
Mr. Cortis presented his work to a group of library patrons and Historic Commission members on Thursday, December 9 at the Athenaeum. He was introduced by Cindy Gaylord, the chairperson of the commission. Ms. Gaylord said she gets calls “all the time” from people wanting to know if their ancestor is buried in the Mechanic Street Cemetery, and having a copy of this new inventory will make answering that question much easier. Guy McLain, the Athenaeum director, also spoke, noting that this work really shows that “Westfield loves its history.”
When Mr. Cortis spoke, he began by thanking people who helped with the project. He specifically acknowledged Walter Ayers, former head of the Parks and Recreation department, who mapped the cemetery and published the previous inventory of 1,127 gravestones in 1995. Bob Brown, a longtime volunteer at the Athenaeum and former history professor, pointed him to a journal in the Archives with transcriptions of many graves made in the 1880s by a dentist named Henry Holland who liked to walk in the cemetery. Dr. Brown also donated money for printing the new inventories. Mr. Cortis’s wife, Carolyn, and his father, Ralph, who were both present got their thanks as well.
Anyone can look through our copy of the inventory by asking for it at the Reference Desk during library hours (along with other items in our local history collection). There is a second copy in the Archives for archival researchers to use. Mr. Cortis also photographed 635 gravestones, and those can be seen in a separate binder. In addition, we are always happy to look things up remotely for people unable to come to the library. Just give us a call, email reference@westath.org, or send us a chat.
— Kat Good-Schiff, Local History Librarian
