Updated: 8 April 2006

Town of Collins Cemeteries
was formed from Concord, March 16, 1821. A part of Brandt was taken off in 1839, and North Collins in 1852.
including Collins Center, and the Village of Gowanda
Erie County, New York

(MF) Microfilm (B) Book


 

Town of Collins

Bartlett Cemetery - West side of Quaker Street, south of Lenox Road (Collins)
 
Cemetery on Brown Road -
 
Harris Cemetery - South side of Jennings Road, near Conger (Quaker )
 
Hicksite Friends Cemetery - West side of Jennings road, south of South Branch of Clear Creek, on Frank Martins Farm.
 
Holy Cross Cemetery - Catholic cemetery, both sides of Cemetery Hill Road, just east of village line, adjacent to Pine Hill Cemetery
Contact: Phil Tschopp (716) 532 - 4200

Pine Hill Cemetery (1867) - Top of Cemetery Hill Road, at east line of village, just outside the Village of Gowanda
(Rts. 39/62 to Perry Street, cross RR tracks, turn left up hill). Twelve acre Pine Hill cemetery is the largest in the Town of Collins.
Frank Howard(Sexton) (716) 532 - 4243 (Gowanda)

Hamlet of Collins Center

Collins Center Cemetery - South side, Route 39, Collins Center, 14035
Conbtributed by Irvine Gaffney, Town of Collins Historian, PO Box 126, Collins, N.Y. 14034
 
Collins Center Cemetery - Limlited listings
 
Collins Center Cemetery Association

Village of Gowanda

Buffalo Street Cemetery (Presbyterian Cemetery) - Northeast corner of Sand Hill Road and upper Buffalo Street
(Rts. 62/39 & 438) - stones laid flat and buried (Gowanda)
This cemetery was located across from McDonald's on Buffalo Street in Gowanda, N.Y.
The cemetery was plowed over and the stones discarded.
This cemetery data was provided by Irvine Gaffney, Town of Collins Historian, PO Box 126, Collins, New York, 14034.
 
Holy Cross Cemetery The final active  cemetery in the area is the Holy Cross Cemetery, which is maintained
by St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Gowanda, NY. Holy Cross is located  adjacent to Pine Hill Cemetery, a newer section
is situated directly across the road.
                                           
 
Irish, Shaw or Cook Cemetery ~ Foster Road (Collins)
 
Mount Pleasant, Knight, or Scrabble Hill Cemetery ~ West side of East Becker Road, near Route 39 and Dupont Road,
east of Collins Center (Collins)
 
Oldtime (Collins) Cemeteries Listed ~ Written October 26, 1933 (Collins)
 
Pine Grove Cemetery - (Quaker burial ground ) Intersection of Gowanda Zoar Road, Vail Road and Quaker Street, Rosenburg District
Cemetery association was organized in 1856
Contact Elton Hansen (716) 532 - 5290 (Collins)
 
Quaker Cemetery - North side of Route 39, between Quaker Street and Kerr-Warner Road (Collins)
 
Rural Cemetery - East side of Ottenbecker Road, just north of Brown Street (Collins)
 
Shaw Cemetery - North side of Foster Road, east of Collins Center-Zoar Road (Collins)
 
Sisson Family Cemetery - West side of Quaker Street, behind Bartlett Cemetery (Collins)
 
State Hospital Cemetery (Old) - East side of Wheater Road, near Bagdad Road, behind old Bagdad Mill.
Metal markers with numbers, no names.(Collins)
 
State Hospital Cemetery (New) - West side Routes 39/62, north of Purdy Ford garage.
Flat markers flush with ground. (Collins)
NOTE: Just east of Holy Cross (Catholic) Cemetery, is a single burial for a North child.

Town of Collins

Etc.

 
 

Historian

Town Clerk
Town of Collins Historian
Mrs. Gaffney
Orchard Place
Collins, NY 14034
 
 

Historical Museum & Society

Town Newspaper

Researcher's

Veterans

Town Links

Thank you's

1998 Death Notices
1999 Death Notices
2000 DeathNotices
2001 DeathNotices
2002 Death Notices
Misc. Years Death Notices / Obituaries
Ezine Magzaine Genealogical Resource Page

Speical Thanks to Phil Palen

CEMETERIES PAST AND PRESENT*

Many of the early pioneers were laid to rest in burial grounds which are now abandoned and almost forgotten.
In fact there are no markers to indicate the location of a few of the old burial sites.
Two burial places in Zoar date from the earliest days of settlement.
One was located on the north bank of Cattaraugus Creek a little more than half a mile above the present iron bridge.
As the result of creek erosion the last stones were washed out a few years ago and no evidence of the burial place remains.
A little farther up the stream and on the north side of the highway near the Gun Club range a single marker remains
at the top of an elevation where there is evidence of a number of graves.
In modern times a few people climb the steep hill and push their way through the underbrush to explore this location.
These two areas mark the burial places of many early residents of this pioneer community in which was located one
of the larger hamlets of the town.
 
No stones are left standing to mark the old Clear Creek Friends cemetery which is located about one hundred yards
east of the intersection of South Quaker Street and Becker Road and near where the old road came up from Bagdad.
In the early days Quakers often used simple field stones with only the initials of the deceased marked
on them and sometimes graves had no markers of any kind. The first Friends meeting house in what is now Collins
was built on this location in 1820. Another old burial ground is located a few hundred feet north of the four corners
at Taylor Hollow [and Lenox Road] and on the west side of the road. Jacob Taylor was buried here,
however it is reported that his remains were later removed to the North Collins Friends cemetery.
An old Indian burial ground lies just to the west and across the Reservation line. It has been used occasionally in recent years.
The barnyard of the Otto Miller farm, Lot No. 51, on the Collins Center Road [Rt. 39]
is the location of another old burial ground of which there is no record, probably belonging to a single family.
Markers were still standing on this location thirty-five years ago [1927].
Sixty years ago [1902] children attending the old district school No.10 on Lenox Road played among the grave markers
in a cemetery across the road from the schoolhouse. All evidence of the burial ground has disappeared.
Farther up Lenox Road at the junction of Oswald Road a few grave stones once stood on the southeast corner.
Before his death the late Herbert Sisson reported that the stones were still standing when he owned the farm.
This was the burial plot of some forgotten family.
Other unmarked burial places are known in the east part of the town.
No stones remain to mark the cemetery at the first location of the Methodist church on Konert Road,
east of Collins Center. Members of the Holcomb, Boutwell and other families lie buried in a unmarked location
about a quarter of a mile east of the Poverty Hill schoolhouse on the Gowanda-Zoar Road.
Mention should also be made of the Indian mound on the Walter Cain farm, Lot No. 20 on the same road.
This mound served as an Indian burial place, perhaps several centuries ago. Some excavation has been done on the location.
The old Presbyterial burial ground at the foot of Sand Hill in Gowanda is one of the best known of the early cemeteries.
Many prominent citizens of pioneer days were buried there. No stones are now left standing to identify their graves.
Several other burial grounds in the town have not been used for many years.
Perhaps the largest of these is at the junction of Brown Street and Ottenbacher Road where it is claimed
that more than two hundred members of pioneer families are buried.
The cemetery is entirely abandoned and covered with underbrush, however many stones are left standing.
The old Hicksite Friends cemetery west of Jennings road near the south branch of Clear Creek
marks the location of a former Friends Meeting house. The few stones are now covered with vines and underbrush.
The old burial ground on the north side of Route No. 39 and midway between the two villages of Collins Center
and Collins marks the location of another Friends meeting house abandoned about 1885.
Augustus Smith, donor of the burial ground, Joshua Palmerton, pioneer Quaker preacher and other Quakers
are buried in this cemetery. Fortunately many of the markers are still standing.
The burial enclosure was cleaned up in 1960 and plans are made to keep it in good condition.
It is the property of Collins Friends Meeting.
The Shaw cemetery, two miles south of Collins Center, is still used occasionally.
Many early residents are buried there including several members of the Potter family. Mount Pleasant cemetery
on East Becker Road has been cleaned up in recent years and the fence has been repaired.
This is the burial place of Nathaniel Knight, first member of the State Assembly from the southern tier of towns.
Land for the Bartlett cemetery on North Quaker Street was donated by Smith Bartlett in 1848 to be used as a family burial ground.
However a few persons outside the Bartlett family are buried there. An endowment fund gives assurance of perpetual care
and the cemetery is kept in good condition. The Frank Sisson family has a burial plot immediately back of this cemetery.
Pine Grove cemetery at Rosenberg four corners has been used as a burial place for more than a hundred and twenty years.
The land was given by Stephen Southwick. The removal of the schoolhouse a few years ago had made space available for
additional lots. Thanks to the efforts of Eber Russell, until recently president of the cemetery association (organized in 1856),
the burial ground is kept in good condition. Some lots are available for sale and an adequate endowment assures perpetual care.
All of the graves that can be identified have been marked and a record has been compiled for convenient reference.
Isaac Allen is among the better known of the early settlers buried at Pine Grove.
Lines composed by his son, Joshua Allen, are carved on his headstone:
"He laid the forest low,
Caused many blades of grass to grow,
Where none e'er grew before."
 
In a very real sense the Pine Grove burial ground is a silent tribute to a virile pioneer community where
lyceums and farmersí clubs once flourished and a substantial school library provided good books for the entire neighborhood.
 
The old Friends cemetery at the corner of North Quaker Street and Wilcox Road, now
in North Collins, is the burial place of many Quaker settlers who lived in the northwest part of Collins.
The names of Sisson, Southwick, Sherman, Hull and Gifford call to mind prominent families of a hundred years ago.
This is the location of the first house of worship in southwestern Erie County.
The log Quaker meeting house was built in 1813. This property now belongs to Collins Friends meeting.
Lawtons Grange helped to clean up the enclosure a few years ago and now it is due for more attention.
 
In addition to Pine Grove, already mentioned, three other cemeteries are currently in use in the Town of Collins.
Land for Pine Hill cemetery on Cemetery Hill Road, just outside of Gowanda, was given by Joseph Plumb [1867]
and consists of twelve acres. Saint Joseph's Catholic cemetery [Holy Cross] lies next to Pine Hill on the northeast
and also facing Cemetery Hill Road. Land for the Collins Center cemetery was donated by Nathan King in 1835.
Additional land has been purchased in recent years. Each of these cemeteries now in use is administered by a church
or by a cemetery association and all are maintained in excellent condition.
An increase in the practice of cremation may change burial practices in the future.
 
Burials on the Indian Reservation are largely confined to three cemeteries.
The one most used lies almost across the road from the former Thomas Indian School,
another is located next to the Piney Woods Presbyterian church on the Four Mile Level [Rt. 438]
and a third is near the Longhouse in Newtown [west of Lawtons]. Reference has been made to the rarely used
Indian burial ground at Taylor Hollow. Also the old cemetery back of the Baptist church [Rt. 438] i
s seldom used. When doing excavation for construction of buildings at the Thomas Indian School about 1900
[and again around 1996] a few Indian skeletons were discovered indicating that this area had once been an Indian burial ground.
 
Grave markers are important and at times the dates inscribed on tombstones provide helpful information
in compiling family and community history. It is desirable that a record be made of all known and marked graves
in the old cemeteries. Such a record would be of value to future generations.
The pattern followed at Rosenburg Pine Grove cemetery should be continued in the other old burial grounds of the town.
This information along with a map showing the location of all marked and unmarked burial grounds
should be on file in the Town Historical Collection. Much help in compiling the material in this chapter was given
by [the late] Eber Russell of Perrysburg, [the late] Everett Potter of Collins Center and the late Herbert Sisson of Collins.
In company with one or another of these men the writer has visited all of the locations mentioned and in certain cases
the individual graves have been located with a rod used for this purpose.
 
*From: Painter, Levinus K.
The Collins Story, A History of the Town of Collins, Erie County, New York.
Gowanda, New York: Niagara Frontier Publishing Co., Inc., 1962.
 

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Note:
Unless otherwise noted all listings are tombstone readings, and the information has not been provided by any official cemetery source.
It is offered here as a tool to promote further research, and should not be considered as verified proof for genealogical records.
This information is to be used as a reference, please check with the source for conformation.
Readings have been doubled checked, but mistakes are possible.