240-Y.O. Comstock Cemetery–and 7 Revolutionary War Heroes–Get Some TLC

Members of the Drum Hill Chapter of the DAR and the Captain David Hawley C.A.R. gathered together to help clean up Comstock Cemetery on Veterans Day. Comstock Cemetery is the third oldest cemetery in Wilton and the burial ground of seven Revolutionary War veterans and approximately 200 others. The cemetery was in active use from 1781 to 1850.

The Drum Hill Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution has been working on restoring the half-acre cemetery on Ridgefield Road in Wilton for several years. They cleaned up the cemetery this past spring and hundreds of daffodils, planted by chapter members, bloomed. However, many old gravestones desperately need repair.

According to Ridgefielder Sara Champion, chapter regent, the Drum Hill chapter received a 2017 Special Projects Grant from the national society, one of only two historic preservation grants it made in Connecticut that year. The matching grant was for the express purpose of repairing the gravestones of the seven Revolutionary War veterans and their wives:  David Dunning III, Thaddeus Keeler, Matthew Mead, James Morgan, Samuel Olmstead, John Rockwell III and David Whitlock.

Will and Lisa Cornell of Beyond the Gravestone assisted the chapter with repairs. Drum Hill’s historic preservation chair Laura Stabell, also of Ridgefield, said the chapter plans to continue fund-raising efforts so gravestones of other family members of these patriots, as well as other individuals buried at the cemetery, can be restored.

Comstock Cemetery was originally the Comstock family cemetery, established in 1782 on Ridgefield Rd. at Signal Hill North, according to Bob Russell’s book on Wilton History.

Drum Hill Chapter has more than 100 members principally from Wilton, Ridgefield, Redding and Weston. Membership in the DAR is open to any woman over age 18 who is directly descended from a patriot who aided the American cause during the Revolution. Captain David Hawley Society C.A.R. is open to any person under the age of 22 who is interested in learning leadership skills and participating in volunteer activities. For more information about the Drum Hill DAR visit the chapter’s website or reach out via email. For information regarding Captain David Hawley Society and youth activities, get in touch through email as well.