Historical marker to honor Revolutionary War soldiers to be placed at Clymer Cemetery | News, Sports, Jobs

A historical marker recognizing five Revolutionary War soldiers buried at Clymer Cemetery will be unveiled Sunday.

CLYMER — A historical marker recognizing five Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Clymer Cemetery will be unveiled later this month.

This marker is being placed by the Chautauqua County Sons of the American Revolution Patriot Marker Program. Paul Fardink of the SAR Patriot Marker Program said this is something they have been doing for two years and that similar markers exist at the Panama and Ashville cemeteries.

The five Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Clymer Cemetery are Joseph Brownell, born April 6, 1761 and died April 3, 1843, John Campbell, born January 31, 1762 and died September 30, 1851, Gardner Cleveland, born September 25, 1763 and died April 22, 1851, Daniel Williams, born September 4, 1760 and died February 13, 1846, and Daniel Wing, born December 8, 1762 and died May 16, 1842.

The unveiling of the historical marker is scheduled for August 18 at 2:00 p.m. at the East Main Street Cemetery and is open to the public. Included on the day’s agenda are remarks from the SAR and Marker Program, remarks from Town Supervisor Brian Willink, a rifle honor guard salute by VFW Post 8647, and TAPS interpretation by Al Johnson.

“We always try to get support from a veterans post or the American Legion,” Fardink said. “It’s nice to have veterans or patriots salute and play TAPS. During the dedication, we always try to include people from the city, like the city supervisor, and we encourage the community to participate.”

Fardink said community members should be interested in attending the dedication because it is a “salute to American patriotism” and because it comes around the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Additionally, Fardink said she thought placing these historical markers was important because of their ability to spark interest among community members and children.

“This plaque will be placed in the Clymer Cemetery, which is right across the street from the school,” Fardink said. “If they are not at the cemetery that day, our hope is that children will see the plaque and ask questions about it. We encourage people to explore this time period further and do research on the Founding Fathers and the Revolutionary War.”

Fardink said the town of Clymer has its own unique connection to the Revolutionary War period, as it was named in honor of George Clymer, who was one of the six founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence. He added that many local towns are named after the signers of the Declaration and that more than 100 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in the county.

In his opinion, Fardink said celebrating these five Revolutionary War soldiers buried at Clymer Cemetery is important because of the sacrifices they made at the beginning of the formation of the country.

“A lot of people made sacrifices to get to where we are today,” Fardink said. “They fought a war and that took a long time, and then Valley Forge came along, and they made a lot of sacrifices. This is the beginning of this country and we shouldn’t take it for granted.”

The historical marker is sponsored by the Pomeroy Foundation, costs about $2,000 and is two-sided. Fardink said an article about the historical marker program in Western New York will appear in Western New York Heritage Magazine this winter. The article will focus on the program and highlight some of the markers, including one of the first ever made about Barnabus Walman, who was a drum major.

“These markers are everywhere in Chautauqua County,” Fardink said. “There are so many wonderful stories in Chautauqua County.”