Beecher Cemetery
Established with the burial of Chauncey Beecher, this small burial ground was situated on land taken up by the Beecher family on November 21, 1818. The final burial, the interment of James Kenyon, took place in 1873 and the cemetery has since been inactive. In the early 1980s, Yates Town Historian, Virginia Cooper, undertook a massive project to unearth a number of rural cemeteries, including the Beecher Cemetery which stood on private property.
In August of 1992, the Town of Yates agreed to take control of the cemetery and manage the upkeep of the grounds following a lengthy debate over the location of the bodies. The owner was of the opinion that many of the bodies were relocated to Lynhaven Cemetery, but additional research by Beecher descendants indicated that few bodies were removed to other locations. The parcel was survey, purchased for $250 (the cost of annual property taxes), and a fence erected around the perimeter. In 1996, descendants of Chauncey Beecher “took the town to task” over the failure to maintain the cemetery.
Notable Interments:
Chauncey Beecher was born in 1784, a War of 1812 veteran, and one of three original highway commissioners in the town of Yates. He died on July 21, 1827 and was buried on the family farm.
Daniel Chaffee was born October 10, 1779 at Ashford, Connecticut and relocated to Onondaga County where he served as a private during the War of 1812. In 1833 he relocated to Yates and settled on a farm where he and his wife, Huldah Hall, lived out the remainder of their lives. They are buried together in this cemetery.
James Eugene Kenyon, born in 1846, died December 27, 1873. He was the final burial in this cemetery, the nephew of Benjamin Kenyon who arrived at Yates in 1822.