Two cemeteries in Cattaraugus County have recently been recognized for their historical significance to the region.

The Randolph Cemetery has recently received recognition from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s New York Historic Marker Grant Program.

A new roadside historical marker from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation has been installed at the entrance to the Randolph Cemetery, documenting the organization of the cemetery and honoring four notable Randolph area natives.

The sign was provided through a grant from the Pomeroy Foundation’s New York Historic Marker Grant Program and is the seventh blue and yellow marker the town of Randolph has received.

“Selecting content for the historic markers is a challenge,” explained Nancy Olejniczak, town historian. “The wording must fit within the space constraints of the sign and must meet the criteria set by the foundation’s board that reviews and approves the grants.”

The sign recalls the formation of the Randolph Cemetery Association in 1854. While burials were made on the grounds before this date, the association met for the first time and appointed the first board of trustees on Oct. 13, 1854. Albert G. Dow was elected chairman, and Alex Sheldon was selected as secretary.

“It’s interesting to note that Benson Archer was one of the original trustees and that his descendant, Chuck Archer, now serves as secretary of the cemetery board,” Olejniczak said.

While many individuals interred in the cemetery are worthy of recognition, four were selected to be named on the sign.

Two Randolph men received a Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions in the Civil War.  Albert Marsh (1831–1895), sergeant, Co. B, 64th Regiment NY Infantry, captured the flag of the 44th Virginia Volunteers at Spotsylvania, Va., on May 12, 1864. After this brave act, which earned him the Medal of Honor, he suffered a gunshot wound in his right thigh, resulting in the amputation of his leg. He returned home to Randolph, where he lived until his death in 1895, suffering from both physical disability and mental illness as a result of his wartime experience.

Joel Huntington Lyman (1845–1922), quartermaster sergeant, Co. B, 9th NY Cavalry, was awarded a Medal of Honor as a result of actions in Winchester, Va. He initially enlisted in October 1861 as a private in Co. E of the 9th Cavalry. In an attempt to capture a Confederate flag, he captured an enemy officer on Sept. 29, 1864.  His obituary states that after mustering out in 1864, he reenlisted and served as an officer in the U.S. Army until 1871. The Lyman Hose No. 2 Company, part of the Randolph Fire Department, was founded in December 1887 and was named in his honor.

In 1923, the National League of Women Voters placed Martha VanRensselaer (1864–1932) on their list of 12 greatest living American women. VanRensselaer was Head of the Home Economics Department at Cornell University, a department that she organized. She was a leading state and national figure in the field of home economics with roles that included magazine editor, public speaker and author.  During World War I, she served in Washington, D.C. as director of the home conservation division of the National Food Administration. She had also served as a Cattaraugus County School Commissioner.

Ray “Slim” Caldwell (1888–1967) was a major league baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox from 1910–1921. On Sept. 10, 1919, he pitched the first no-hit, no-run game for Cleveland against the Yankees. Following his major league career, Caldwell played on minor league teams for several more years. He was inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

The East Otto Cemetery has recently received recognition from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation’s New York Historic Marker Grant Program.

MEANWHILE, in East Otto, a historical burial marker from the Pomeroy Foundation has been placed at the East Otto Cemetery.

This spring, cemetery director James Beach took on the task of grant writing and application of the newly acquired American Revolutionary Patriot sign. After some research, he applied to the Pomeroy Foundation for the historical sign, which recognizes the cemetery as having Revolutionary War veterans buried there.

The “Patriot Burials” sign recognizes American Revolutionary War veterans buried in the East Otto Cemetery.

Beach’s diligent work awarded the cemetery with a yellow and blue, 18-by-32-inch cast aluminum sign, bearing the inscription “Patriot Burials,” and naming veterans M.T. Beach, J. Burchard, A.W. Treat and E. Larabee, who were buried between 1830 and 1851. The new sign is located at the corner of Mill Street and County Route 12.

The East Otto Cemetery Association Board of Directors is made up of unpaid volunteers who donate time maintaining the property located on “Cemetery Hill” near the town center. The volunteers do much of the work for the cemetery, which includes annual and emergency meetings, overseeing the general operation of the cemetery, recordkeeping, accounting, lot sales, burial and foundation arrangements, grant writing for hazardous monument repairs, purchasing of flowers for the spring planting and watering of flower boxes and urns belonging to the cemetery, installation of flags on all veteran sites, general maintenance, painting, leveling new grave sites, planting grass, repairing and stabilizing grave stones, spring and mid-summer and fall clean-ups, tree trimming, trash collection and disposal.

For more information about the cemetery, call Larry Steinbar, board president, at (716) 257-3054. Memorials at the time of a loved one’s death, or at any time, may be made by mailing a check, payable to East Otto Cemetery Association, to Michelle Gogel, secretary, 8917 Reed Hill Road, East Otto, NY 14729, or by contacting your funeral home.

The Pomeroy Foundation’s New York State historical marker grant program commemorates historic people, places, things or events within the time frame of 1683 to 1925. Since 2006, the Foundation has funded more than 1,150 markers in all 62 New York State counties.  The Foundation strongly believes that historic markers play an important role in local historic preservation by serving a dual purpose. They educate the public and foster historic tourism, which in turn can provide much-needed economic benefits to the towns and villages where the markers are placed.