Tri-Counties Genealogy & History by Joyce M. Tice
Seeley Hill Cemetery, Town of VanEtten, Chemung County, New York
Bradford County PA
Chemung County NY
Tioga County PA
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 Read by Doris & Joseph Boyd in 1975

Photo by Joyce M. Tice July 10, 1999

Joyce's Search Tip - December 2007 -
Do You Know that you can search just the search just the 860 pages of Chemung County Cemetery Records on on the site by using the Cemeteries -Chemung button in the Partitioned search engine at the bottom of the Current What's New Page? If you use that partition follow these steps to search just one cemetery
1. Choose Cemeteries - Chemung
2. Enter part of the cemetery name [ie Comfort or Carr] AND a surname.
3. Choose the Find ALL Words option. Then it will find just the pages with that surname in the one cemetery you indicated. 

You will also want to search the three county level Obituaries by Cemetery partitions

Seely Hill Cemetery
Read by Joseph and Doris Boyd
Read on October 19, 1979
Typed by Ruth BRYAN Coffelt of Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania.

The Seely Hill Cemetery is located in the northeastern part of the Town of Van Etten, Chemung County, New York.  It is situated on the east side of the Langford Creek Road (County Highway #13), ¾ of a mile north of the junction of this road and the McDuffy Hollow Road (County Highway #48); or 1 mile south of the intersection of the Brink, Vennel and Langford Creek Roads.  It is in a sparse woods about 500 feet off the highway and cannot be seen by motorists.
    Originally the Langford Creek Road went straight north on a steep grade on the south side of a high hill and descended the opposite side on a steeper slope.  Farmers found the pull too severe for their burdened teams (especially in the winter months) and adopted a more gentle passage on the western side of the hill.  Eventually this detour became the present black-top road and the original route was abandoned; thus the old burial ground is not located on any type of road, not even a farmer’s lane.  Visitors, if any, must walk across an open field or a dank woods.
    The site is in a shameful condition, one of desolation and neglect, and the smell of decay and dampness permeate the grounds.  Fallen, rotting tree limbs lay about the plot, high weeds are in abundance, and the brush, taller than  a person’s head, flourishes.  Most of the tombstones lay on the rough ground.  Growing trees have over-turned some markers, while depressions in the ground and numerous blackened stubs of shale stones, mark the “forgotten” graves.  There could easily be 50 or more graves which are unrecordable in any manner.  The cemetery can qualify as an abandoned burial site.
   The data on all tombstones was copied in 4 ½ hours on October 19, 1979 by Joseph and Doris Boyd.  In the case of some wives, sons and/or daughters, the surname has been added for the sake of clarity.  Data in brackets does not  appear on the tombstones, but has been added for interest.  To secure the data white chalk was applied to better reveal the eroded lettering.
 
Last Name First Name Date of Birth Date of Death Age Inscription/Relationship/Comments
ALLEN BYRON 01/10/1862 06/29/1875 13y 5m 19d Son of ISAIAH & MARY L. ALLEN. (Tombstone lays face-up in a deep depression in the littered ground.)
ALLEN ELISHA 07/10/1794 07/20/1871 77y 10d (He was a farmer with 90 acres in the Town of Van Etten in 1868. The tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
ALLEN NANCY 1799 or 1800 02/16/1862 62y Wife of ELISHA ALLEN. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground in two pieces with the break through the name.)
ALLEN MARY E. 1841 01/15/1845 3y 6m Daughter of ELISHA & NANCY ALLEN.
ALLEN NANCY M. 1824 or 1825 04/02/1828 3y  Daughter of ELISHA & NANCY ALLEN.
ALLEN SYLVESTER 1834 or 1835 09/26/1853 18y Son of ELISHA & NANCY ALLEN.
ALLEN MARY        See entry for MARY ALLEN FISH.
BARNES ELIZABETH I. 06/17/1850 03/14/1876 25y 8m 25d Wife of CARMI W. BARNES. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
BARNY AMY 1771 OR 1772 10/16/1843 71y Wife of DANIEL BARNY. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
BARTLETT BENJAMIN J. 07/20/1846 12/30/1850 4y 5m 10d Son of BENJAMIN & ANN BARTLETT. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
BENTLEY MATHEW L. 09/16/1859 33y 11m 16d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground and is badly eroded. Dates and age can be in error as typed here.)
BRINK ELLIS   03/5/1857   (No tombstone October 19, 1970. Read by Margaret Rumsey in 1970.)
BRINK GELINA       See entry for GELINA DIMICK.
BRINK GEORGE W.   08/11/1874   (His tombstone is broken, lays face-up on the ground and is so badly eroded that the data, other than the name cannot be read. White chalk was used to bring out the information that is typed here.)
BRINK HULDA       Wife of GEORGE W. BRINK. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground, is broken and badly eroded. Other than the name, no data could be read. White chalk was used to bring out the information that is typed here.)
BRINK THOMAS   03/17/1875 40y 10m 12d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground, is broken, and so badly eroded that only the name could be read. It lays in a line with tombstones for GEORGE W. AND HULDA BRINK.)
CAMPBELL AUGUSTA J. 1854 OR 1855 02/19/1885 30y Wife of LUCIUS B. CAMPBELL, daughter of T.S. & E. STEWART. 
CAMPBELL WILLIE 1884 OR 1885 04/20/1889 4y (Both epitaphs appear on the THOMAS S. STEWART shaft type monument.)
CORNISH LORENZO 05/19/1840 08/14/1869 29y 2m 26d (He was a farmer with 50 acres in the Town of Van Etten in 1868. The tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
DENSE MARY  12/19/1800 03/15/1850 49y 2m 24d (Spelling of the surname is as it appears on the tombstone which was dug out of the ground and now lays face-up.)
DENSE ELMER 05/15/1871 01/25/1872 8m 10d Son of CHARLES & DELPHINE DENSE.
DIMICK GELINA 02/24/1839 07/04/1863 24y 4m 10d Wife of HIRAM H. DIMICK and daughter of GEORGE & ELLICE BRINK. (The mother's given name is spelled as it appears on the tombstone.)
DRAKE ELIZA D. 06/17/1851 07/30/1880 29y 1m 13d Wife of JACOB S. DRAKE. (Tombstone lays on the ground in two pieces, broken through the age line.)
ELSTON SAMUEL 1803 OR 1804 09/05/1879 75y (He was a farmer with 130 acres in the Town of Van Etten in 1868. Tombstone lays face-up on the ground in three pieces.)
FISH SIMEON B. 09/06/1787 01/31/1865 77y 4m 25d (Both the base and its tombstone have been tipped over and the marker lays face-up on the ground.)
FISH MARY ALLEN 04/12/1792 06/01/1868 76y 1m 20d Wife of SIMEON B. FISH. (Both the base and its tombstone have been tipped over and the marker lays face-up on the ground.)
FISH DANIEL M. 06/04/1825 02/21/1830 4y 8m 17d Son of SIMEON B. & MARY FISH.
FISH LYDIA 08/25/1827 10/19/1875 48y 1m 24d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
GEORGIA HILA A. 02/12/1804 03/12/1869 65y 28d  
GEORGIA NATHANIEL 09/02/1806 05/09/1859    
GEORGIA MALINDA 05/29/1812 06/01/1895   His wife.
GEORGIA JOHN 09/09/1832 9/10/02   (All three epitaphs appear on a single tombstone which lays face- up on the ground.)
HESS AMELIA A. 02/16/1847 08/22/1866 19y 6m 6d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground. Margaret Rumsey shows "wife of RALPH HESS" in 1970.)
HESS JULENIA 05/12/1864 11/30/1866 2y 6m 18d (A very nice tombstone leaning against the trunk of a tree.)
HORTON         (A large base with the shaft type monument laying deeply embeded in the earth at the base of the tree which tipped it over many years ago. It would require great effort to dig it free; thus it is impossible to read any data contained upon it.)
HUDDLE ELIZABETH 1791 or 1792 12/13/1868 76y (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground. Marker next to ELIZABETH HUDDLE is a thick shale tombstone with the face scaled away. No data.)
HUDDLE JACOB 1811 OR 1812 02/25/1857 65y (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KIBBE ELLA J. 01/04/1861 04/23/1875 14y 3m 19d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KIBBE EMMA 09/01/1866 3 weeks (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KNETTLE MARTHA 02/16/1847 02/19/1852 5y 3d Daughter of GEORGE & MARY ANN KNETTLE. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KNETTLE SUSAN 11/14/1841 01/16/1843 1y 2m 12d Daughter of GEORGE & MARY ANN KNETTLE. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KNOWLES FREDDIE L. 10/28/1865 03/05/1866 4m 5d Son of ALONZO & ELIZA KNOWLES. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KNOWLES MARY       Wife of ICHABOD KNOWLES. (Top portion of the tombstone containing the names lays face-up on the ground. Bottom of the tombstone with the data is missing.)
KNOWLES SETH  03/31/1818 01/29/1863 44y 9m 29d Died in the service of his country at Hatterus Inlet, N.C. (He was a Mason. Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
KNOWLES SARAH A. 12/3/1819 10/30/1872 52y 10m 27d Wife of SETH KNOWLES. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
LAROW FLORA 10/19/1873 05/18/1874   Daughter of S. & S. LAROW.
LAROW FREDDIE  10/19/1873 04/18/1874   Son of S. & S. LAROW. (Both epitaphs are side by side on a single tombstone which lays face-up on the ground.)
LOSEE ABRAM 12/10/1765 05/10/1851 85y 4m 30d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
NORRIS JOHN 01/23/1804 10/1/1846 42y 8m 8d  
NORRIS JULIA 06/02/1801 01/24/1875 73y 7m 22d His wife. (A shaft type monument laying on the ground.)
SARE WILLIAM 09/30/1796 12/23/1848 52y 2m 23d  
SARE LYDIA 1877 10/02/1843 66y 7m (Tombstone lays on the gound in two pieces. Margaret Rumsey read tombstone "wife of WILLIAM SARE" in 1870.) 
SEELY JULANY 05/24/1823 04/29/1863 39y 11m 5d Wife of GILBERT SEELY. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
SEELY WILLARD F. 01/07/1856 10/30/1864 8y 9m 23d Son of E.G. & JULANY SEELY. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground and is eroded.)
STANNARD NEHEMIAH 07/31/1827 08/13/1848 21y 13d (Tombstone is leaning against a tree trunk.)
STEWART AUGUSTA J.       See entry for AUGUSTA J. CAMPBELL.
STEWART DANIEL  09/24/1788 03/19/1868 79y 5m 22d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
STEWART HANNAH 03/18/1792 01/24/1875 82y 10m 6d Wife of DANIEL STEWART. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
STEWART DANIEL W.       (He was a farmer with 100 leased acres in the Town of Van Etten in 1868.)
STEWART SARAH        (This and the preceding entry are on small tombstones near a heavy shaft type monument which lays on the ground. It is too heavy to turn over to read any data it may contain. Without a doubt it would pertain to the above named individuals.)
STEWART DELLA 04/23/1871 03/15/1872 10m 10d Infant daughter of DANIEL W. & SARAH STEWART. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
STEWART WILLIS E. 1848 07/28/1858 9y 7m Son of DANIEL & SARAH STEWART. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
STEWART THOMAS S. 1816 or 1817 04/16/1894 77y (He was a farmer with 74 acres in the Town of Van Etten in 1868.)
STEWART ELIZABETH 1814 or 1815 09/25/1879 64y Wife of T.S. STEWART. (A shaft type monument laying on the ground.)
STEWART THEODORE B. 1851 or 1852 10/27/1877 25y Son of T.S. & E. STEWART. 
STEWART WILLIAM H. 1853 02/15/1854 8m  Son of T.S. & E. STEWART. (This and the preceding entry appear on the T.S. STEWART shaft type monument.)
STUART   06/13/1878     "Our Baby" (No name) (A small tombstone with no given name and only the birthdate. It could be a child of DANIEL & SARAH STEWART, even though the surname is spelled differently.)
TENSE JOHN 04/02/1774 01/28/1867 92y 9m 26d (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground in two pieces.)
TENSE SARAH 1770 11/16/1854 84y 6m (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground.)
TOMPKINS HORACE M.C. 10/12/1843 01/04/1850 7y 2m 23d Son of JOSHUA & PERMILIA L. TOMPKINS. (Tombstone lays face-up on the ground and is badly eroded.)
TOMPKINS PHEBE A. 09/07/1847 03/24/2850 2y 6m 17d Daughter of JOSHUA & PERMELIA L. TOMPKINS. (Tombstone lays face-up in the ground.)
TORRY SARAH   08/17/1857 60y 11m 18d Wife of ABRAHAM TORRY. (Tombstone not found on 10/19/1979 by Boyd. Read in 1970 by Margaret Rumsey.)
WHEAT H.M. 08/23/1818 04/24/1886 67y 8m 1d (He was a farmer with 330 acres in the Town of Van Etten in 1868.)
WHEAT EVALINA M. 1825 04/28/1860 34y 4m Wife of H.M. WHEAT. (A shaft type monument. She also has an individual tombstone. See next entry.)
WHEAT EVELINE M.   04/28/1860 ?y 4m Wife of HORTON M. WHEAT. (The spelling of her given name is different than appears on the shaft type monument. The top portion of the marker lays outside the cemetery wire fence. The bottom section lays 15 feet away.) 
WHEAT SIDNEY P. 05/28/1857 10/02/1857 4m 4d Son of HARLIN M. & EVELINE WHEAT. (The father's name is different from that on the wife's tombstone.)

Published On Tri-Counties Site On 7/27/99
 
Bradford County PA
Chemung County NY
Tioga County PA

Published On Tri-Counties Site On  07/27/1999
By Joyce M. Tice
Email: Joyce M. Tice

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