January 26, 2011
4:00 p.m. Albion Middle School Students – Poor House Cemetery Project
7 th Grade Service Learning Class
Nate Jobe
Caitlin Malanowksi
Meredith Patterson
Tim Archer - Teacher
Sue Starkweather – Grants Manager
Others that maybe attending to show support to the students:
Michael Bonnewell – Superintendent of Albion Schools
Mr. Dan Monacelli – Middle School Principal
Opened at 4:02
Chairman introduced representatives from the Albion Middle School:
Tim Archer, Teacher
Sue Starkweather, Grants Manager
Tim introduces:
Mary Leto, Assistant Superintendent
Michael Bonafede, School Board President
Mike Bonnewell, Superintendent
Sue Starkweather, Grants Manager
This is a service learning class for grade 7 that was started last year. Orleans County historian
Bill Lattin came in to speak to the students about many things and made reference to and showed pictures of the Old County Home aka the Poor House that was located on Countyhouse Rd about a mile down from Rt 98. The kids were fascinated by the fact there was a burial ground. This started the interest. During the last week of school last year, a group of students went out to explore the property. There was a 130’ x 140’ sq plot that is owned by the county that was a burial ground. The students looked for stones that marked the graves that would have carried a number and no name. Nate Jobe tripped over a stone that didn’t look like a typical field stone. It was square in shape and had the number 17 on it. This sparked the interest for the rest of the students. They found ten of the original grave markers with a number on it. A phone call was made to Bill Lattin to see if there were any records to find out who was buried. All of the records were lost in the fire of the Poor House. Over the summer Tim Archer did more research, got several historians, Albion Town Clerk, and the Swan Library.

This has been a great project to help the students learn about how the government works and see how records work. Articles in the newspapers have sparked a lot of response. People responded with information related to the County House.
The main point is that in May we would like to go to that sight – take all the seventh grade class to do a little service to memorialize those lives that have been forgotten. We would like it cleaned up back there and believe this would be a responsibility of the County to help clean it up and invite the Legislators and school personnel to do this.
Tim introduces Caitlin Malanowski and Meredith Patterson.
Caitlin Malanowski passes out a list. We went to the Town Building and looked through 4 old death ledgers and took down names and years and causes of death. We found 120 names that are believed to live there. Some of the causes of death were: idiocy, senility,…
The first list was not accurate and the original documents were burned in a fire. Ben and Alice
Miller went to the Nursing Home, where they found a few names of people who were buried there, as well. The original list, Mr. Archer, pulled off a website was an incomplete list. They found that there were more people who lived at the Poor House.
The old ledgers were very old and very hard to read. Much of the writing was done with fountain pens and some of the words that were used were not familiar. Through this information we found not only what some of the people died from, but what their occupations were. Nurses, hairdressers, carpenters, teachers, sailors, and people from different countries lived there. We thought initially the County House was for people who were not very respected and were looked down upon. Then we were lucky because Mr. Hucknall and Mr. Paduchak came to our class to discuss the County House. They gave a different view. It wasn’t looked down on and we needed it. It was a working farm.
As we look at the County House we wish that since it is very overgrown, we should clean it up and make it look nicer. These people did live here and they did die and should have a proper burial spot. Sue is the grants manager and what is near and dear to her is the NYS Learn and
Serve America grant and we do have funds for projects specifically like this.
A couple of things we would like to do is to add a Historical marker on the burial ground and will work with Bill Lattin on the wording. We would also like to do a memorial and monument that would include the cornerstone, which is currently in safe keeping at the Cobblestone
Museum.
Archer emphasized that we have worked with a lot of community people and the students have been involved just as much as himself. An example is a gentleman called him to come to his house. The gentleman has a copy of the supervisors meeting from the 1830’s which indicates moving the burial ground to another site. The gentleman found this book on Ebay and couldn’t believe nobody had bid on such an important part of our history.
Archer has gotten many phone calls from local elderly people stating that they thought that people from their family may have lived there. We would like your help to get it cleaned up.
There are full grown trees and piles of field stone that Mr. Panel has piled up from the plowed fields in the area.

Archer believes this legally is the County’s property and their responsibility to do that. I think it is the right thing to do, however we can get it done. The kids are excited, the community is excited and it a great project to do together. It helps them to connect to their community and their local history. We are hoping that you are going to support us in the way our own district, the president of the board, the superintendent, the assistant superintendant, the principle, they are all really behind us and support the project.
Allport- the first thing I did was check to see if my family name was on it. Nice work!
Callard- I checked our name too.
Bower- Speaking as one legislator, I am in full agreement of this body making sure that this is cleaned up in time for your day in May. I think we would have the cooperation of the necessary departments. I am sure some of us would help.
Rush-Just listening to you makes me excited.
Sue – the students would also love to help clean up.
Archer – greatest reward was to see how excited the kids were. Any way you can help us would be greatly appreciated.
Chairman – What you’ve done is exciting and personally very interesting to me, I am a history buff and when we go back to clean up the cemetery, I’m going to be there with them to learn from it. I hope the legislature could join you on your day out at the cemetery, together. Our
Highway Superintendent is here, Jerry Gray, would probably be instrumental to facilitate this, that’s “G R A Y” –we look really forward to this.
A stone monument would be chosen with the approval of the County. We would like to put the names we have, to memorialize these people.
Chairman – Important to see if we can find anything else further. This will be a learning process for us as well.
Ended at 4:23 p.m.
PUBLIC HEARING
4:25 p.m. Public Hearing – Local Law 1-Intro of 2011 - Salaries
Call to order – Have Clerk read the Legal Notice
Called to order at 4:25 p.m.
Clerk read the Legal Notice
Chairman Callard asked if anyone from the Public wished to comment on the presented Local
Law.
Chairman Callard again asked if anyone wished to speak concerning the presented Local Law.
Josette Lauze, Town of Yates – Asked where the monies will come from for these raises.
Chairman Called informed her that these have already been budgeted in the 2011 budget.
Closed at 4:28 p.m.