Wardboro or Wardsboro
Silver Bay, Hague, Warren County, New York 
Complete Listing 

Burials: 1842 - 1909

Number of known burials: 32

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Transcribed by: Cathy Converse, 2003 
History gathered by: Ruth and Sandy Lamb, 1999
Photo by: James Miller, May, 2004
Based on transcriptions by: Kitty Eyerman & Mary St. John, Sept. 17, 1961
Web page created by: James M. Miller, November 13 2004
Page last edited: December 1, 2004
Cared for by the Town of Bolton.  Mostly Bolton residence interred.

History
excerpts from "Bicentennial Wardboro Auto Tour", 1999
Welcome to Wardsboro: One hundred years ago farms occupied much of the valley drained by Northwest Bay Brook. Since many of the early settlers, particularly in the northern Hague portion, were Wards who arrived here in the early 1800s. the hamlet got this name. Those who settled further south farmed in the town of Bolton. Most all the residents were farmers who sold their excess crops, especially maple sugar products and potatoes outside the valley. Clearing and planting the land were daily activities with some of the logs floated down Northwest Bay Brook into Lake George while hemlock bark went to Horicon for tanning. People carried water from wells or springs, used out houses, and cooked and heated with wood. They hunted and fished for some of their food, but had to be wary of rattle snakes, wolves, and panthers.
The large Alma Farm with its imported cattle and horses was the center of the community. It was the site of dances, often attracting as many as two hundred people; some who arrived by sleigh after traveling across Lake George. But the farming was difficult and most moved on, often to the midwest (some with the Mormons) for a better life. A CCC camp was located in the area in the 1930s and a small Boy Scout Camp in the 1940s. Interested people bought much of the available land in the 1960s and saved it to sell to the state in the 1980s. Now the hamlet is largely uninhabited with only two year round residents and several camps.
Kitty Lamb (daughter of Carl and Helen Lamb of Bolton) collected an assortment of writings about Wardboro and wrote down valley historian Mark Merrill's recollections along with stories told him by others. This collection was printed in a booklet. "Remembering Wardboro" which is available for loan from the historical societies in both Hague and Bolton. Historic maps of this area can be viewed at the Bolton Museum and Library.

Wardboro Cemetery: Maps of 1858 and 1876 show varying home sites near here. Across the road, north of the present cabin lived Martin Ward with his wife Carolyn and their four children (1858), while later J. Waters used the site. You can follow an old road to the right, just before the cemetery. It leads (after you ford the stream) to Dan Archer's farm (now cellar hole) up on the high plateau. Earlier S. Norton fanned here. Somewhere on the right of the road was a saw mill and two other homes in 1858.
Thirty two people are buried in the cemetery: the first, Zechariah Ward in 1842, the last, infant Emma Clark in 1909. Life could be pretty precarious in Wardsboro. During the civil war years of 1862-1865 only young people were buried here - three Tanner children in just one summer. The family names on gravestones reflect the Wardsboro community and its changing residents - Wards, Tanners, Shufeldts, Waters, Potter, Phillips, Archer, Granger and Clark.

Tombstone Inscriptions

Index of burials

Surname Given name Birth Death
Archer David 1816 1895
Clark Emma E. 1909 1909
Granger Charlotte 1844 1903
Philips Dean 1806 1891
Phillips Ephraim 1845 1883
Philips Rebecca J. 1811 1880
Potter Ansel B. 1811 1898
Potter Kezia H. 1814 1878
Shufeldt Lester 1814 1866
Shufeldt Melinda 1846 1866
Tanner George E. 1842 1862
Tanner Harriet 1838 1864
Tanner John 1835 1861
Tanner Mary J. 1851 1862
Tanner Sarah E. 1846 1862
Ward Aruilla 1841 1880
Ward Betsey E. 1843 1859
Ward Betsie 1777 1854
Ward Cynthia L. 1843 1866
Ward Deacon John 1784 1861
Ward Joel E. 1841 1869
Ward John G. 1809 1879
Ward Louisa C. 1816 1901
Ward Lucinda E. 1820 1866
Ward Mila E. 1854 1865
Ward Sarah L. 1792 1861
Ward Thomas C. 1815 1884
Ward William 1802 1854
Ward William C. 1849 1863
Ward Zechariah 1781 1842
Waters Harriet 1869 1870
Waters infant 1881 1881

 
©2004, The Historical Society of the Town of Bolton
 These records are protected by copyright laws and may not be copied or reproduced. 

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