Viewing James McCormick obelisk recently found underground at Soldier's Rest/Pine Ridge Cemetery are, from left, Ron Graham, Alan Flood and Jim Petrimoulx.

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CEMETERY ARCHEOLOGY: Soldier's Rest/Pine Ridge Probes Yield Amazing Finds

June 14, 2015
By: Dave Rogers

Like the guy on Pawn Stars who says "you never know what is going to walk through that door," the same is true with old cemeteries.

You never know what you're going to find underground.

That's what Ron Graham realized recently at Soldier's Rest/Pine Ridge Cemetery, one of the most historic sites in Bay County.

Using a steel bar as a probe, Graham discovered four tops from burial monuments. The most significant was that of James McCormick, an early pioneer and sawmill owner. McCormick died in 1846 and his wife, Ellen, in 1862.

"You can tell the difference between an ordinary rock and a monument; the steel rod makes a different sound," says Graham.

Three feet in back of the McCormick spire Graham found another obelisk with the name "J.G. Gordon." Then came several others.

And, topping it all off, two old tombstones were found and uncovered; one was that of Samuel Smith, born in 1844 and died in 1869, and George Clute, who died at two months and who was buried in the 1872. Those stones had been buried so long the writing was not weathered and was easily readable.

Other stones found underground were Mary A. Gordon, 1871, E.R. Phillips, 1835-1913; Martha Phillips, 1873; G. B. coburn and relatives, Elmer Coburn, who died at 6 months; Lorinda Coburn, 1879; Lottie and Norman Coburn, one month old, 1886.

All the recent finds have been laid out awaiting replacement atop the monuments. Graham is contacting companies which operate lifting equipment to get the obelisks replaced.

Graham gave a tour of the newly found spires and obelisks and the tombstones for a group of interested history buffs last Thursday.

Meanwhile, Eric Jylha, a member of the group, came across a photo of a 1906 Memorial Day gathering with the names of members of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Civil War veterans organization.

Among the recognizable names on the photo are Ransom Essex, whose name lives on in a city, and Webster and Emil Gansser, ancestors of Col. Augustus H. Gansser, Spanish American War veteran and author of a monumental 1905 history of Bay County.

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