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Roots & Branches
By James Beidler
I have written on a number of occasions about my great-great-grandfather Wellington Machmer, the first owner of the house and land in which I grew up and now live again.
Wellington also has the distinction of being my longest-lived ancestor (living exactly 93 years, 10 months and eight days).
Given that his father Amos (a Civil War veteran) only made it to age 67, so Wellington may have felt mortality calling already in 1898 -- not anticipating that he had nearly a half century still to live.
The significance of the year 1898 is that's when Wellington bought Lot No. 169-B-2 on the then-still relatively new burial grounds of the Bern Cemetery Company.
Having a cemetery company separate from a church graveyard was a new thing back then -- the congregations of Bern Union Church had an "old graveyard" from practically the beginnings of the Reformed congregation in the 1730s (the Lutherans made it a union church in the 1830s). People were buried on these original grounds in rows; the new cemetery company sold lots to families and guaranteed perpetual care of the graves.
All this has come to mind as I've prepared for my final arrangements (for which I'm hoping that I'm preparing way in advance!). I've now planned my funeral and have set in motion getting a memorial stone carved.
I dug up the original deed to the lot that Wellington bought in 1898 for the sum of $18. I was struck by the legalese of the document (pro tip: you can't sell a cemetery lot without permission of the company, but the deed uses a lot more words to say that!), and also fascinated by the names of the people that born familiar names from my neighborhood: Reuben Hetrick was president of the cemetery company; witnesses were A.R. Gruber and Wm. P. Holzman; and the notary who endorsed the document was Jacob D. Madeira.
Already buried on this lot are Wellington and his wife Emma Rebecca Dehart Machmer; their children, James D., Rosa D., and Sarah D.; and my parents Richard L. and Mildred (Hiester) Beidler. My mother Mildred was the great-granddaughter that Wellington and Emma (she always called them "Pappy" and Mammy") raised after Mildred's mother died.
One of the "full circle of life" types of things is that my mother served for years on the Bern Cemetery Company's board; I now sit on that board and recently became its treasurer.
There's just one grave left on the lot Wellington bought. Since part of my planning has been deciding on cremation, there'll be room for my partner Katy Bodenhorn if she wishes, too (One of the things you learn on the cemetery board is that two sets of cremains will fit on a grave).
Here's to preplanning!
Beidler is a freelance writer and lecturer on genealogy. Contact him by e-mail to jamesmbeidler@gmail.com. Like him on Facebook (James M. Beidler).