"Cemetery" is the Week 17 challenge for #52Ancestors.

Since the passing of my grandparents in 1979 and 1980, I had always accompanied my family on many trips to the Riverside Cemetery in New Castle, New Hampshire, to visit their graves and refresh the flowers kept there. Having not yet delved into my paternal ancestry at that time, I had not known that many of my ancestors were buried there, and I had been walking by them for so many years. 

The following are the grave stones of my direct ancestors which currently stand in Riverside Cemetery. There are other relatives here that do not have stones, nor are their plots known. The amount of cousins buried here number in the hundreds, with the family names of AMAZEEN, LEAR, MELOON, PRIDHAM, and YEATON being a part of this community since the 1600-1700's.  

Nathaniel and Keziah Lear, my 5th Great-Grandparents.  He died on April 5, 1824, Aged 57. She died April 6, 1844, Aged 78. Considering the dates of death, they were likely buried elsewhere, perhaps on their old property, and moved to this cemetery after it was opened.
See also: Nathaniel Lear of New Castle, NH 

My 4th Great-Grandparents:
William A. Meloon, 27 Nov 1795 - 27 Nov 1842
The son of Abraham (Abram) and Elizabeth (Marden) Meloon
Mary (Lear) Meloon, his wife, 25 June 1800 - 28 Feb 1873
The daughter of Nathaniel and Keziah (Amazeen) Lear

Note: ALL of these photos were taken by me, between 2008 and 2012, and I have posted many of the same ones onto "Find a Grave", and also to my Flickr account. Some of them have since found their way onto Ancestry family trees, which is fine, so long as an original source is indicated. So, to my cousins who have found their way here, I say "Hello!"

Update: Since starting this page two weeks ago, I traveled down to New Castle, and revisited the cemetery. Glad to see the Barnabus Yeaton stone is upright again!   

I have four ancestors, two each from my paternal and maternal sides, who served during the Civil War.

ISAAC CHARLES HAVEN PRIDHAM, born in New Castle, NH on 11 Sept 1847; died on 16 Apr 1924 in Brighton, MA. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery, New Castle.

Isaac enlisted for two years into the US Navy at Portsmouth, NH on 23 Sept 1864, and served for 20 months on board the Receiving Ship USS Vandalia, in Portsmouth Harbor. He worked as a landsman from Sept '64 to 1 Jan '65, as an ord. seaman to 31 Jan, and as a lamp cleaner to 18 May 1866, when he was discharged.

When he applied for a pension in 1892, he claimed he was born in Sept 1844, to correspond with the age of "20" he gave when he had enlisted back in 1864, when he had actually been only 17 years old. When he needed to send in a birth record to the pension dep't to verify his identity, he had to admit to falsifying his birth date. He still received a pension. 

See also: my blog page on the Pridham family:
http://www.mynewenglandancestors.com/1/post/2014/03/the-pridhams-of-puddle-dock-portsmouth-nh.html

JAMES WILLIAM BROWN was born 28 Dec 1841 in Kittery, Maine; died there on 5 May 1923. He was buried in Orchard Grove Cemetery, Kittery.

He served as a private in Company G, 27th Maine Infantry, enlisting at Kittery on 10 Sept 1862. He was mustered into US service at Portland, Maine on 30 Sept 1862, and served until 17 July 1863, when the regiment was mustered out at Portland.

(at right) James W Brown at his home in Locke's Cove, Kittery, on his way to a GAR convention in Washington, DC, likely the one in 1915 (the 49th Annual Encampment).

For more on the 27th Maine Infantry, please see my website:
www.the27thMaine.com 

THOMAS STEWARD (aka Stewart, Stuart), born abt 1838 in Skowhegan, Maine; died 22 Oct 1897 in Embden, Maine. He is buried in Sunset Cemetery, North Anson, Maine. 

He was drafted on 15 July 1863 at Skowhegan, ME, to serve in Co F, 7th Maine Infantry, but did not report for duty. He was arrested on 27 Jan 1864 and brought to camp, only for him to return home the next day. They arrested him again on 3 Feb. It is not clear in the records whether the recruits were still in Maine, but Private Steward deserted on 12 July '64, and was again arrested, on 23 July. He deserted a third time in August and was arrested a week later, this time being shipped to Carlisle, PA. By this time, the 7th Maine had been mustered out of service, except for later recruits and those who chose to re-enlist, and were transferred to the 1st Maine Veteran Infantry. The monthly muster rolls after this date would show him "absent, sick", right up to the muster out roll of the regiment on 28 June 1865. An affidavit in his pension file claims he suffered from scurvy, chronic diarrhea, piles and a trouble in the head, spending the entire winter quarters at Petersburg in the hospital. In the spring of 1865, he was transported to City Point Hospital. In the 1865 Maine Adjutant Report, it shows him being discharged on 2 July '65.

Isaac Charles Haven Pridham was born in New Castle, New Hampshire in 1847. He was a fisherman, and veteran of the Civil War (having served three years in the US Navy). He moved for a short time to Gloucester, MA, where he was married in 1871 to Catherine Hessian, the daughter of Dennis and Mary Hessian. They soon returned to the seacoast, and rented a home at 17 Jefferson St (near the eastern corner of Jefferson and Liberty). By 1888, he moved his family across the street to 4 Liberty St (u-shaped bldg on left of map below). 

The 1920 census shows William H Pridham residing at 47 Jefferson (I did not find this on any map or street dir), but he moved down the road to 61 Washington by 1928, which was at the intersection with Jefferson. He died there in the house in 1934.

Widow Louise remained at 61 Washington until around 1935, when she moved to 187 Marcy St. William H Jr, who had been renting at 91 Washington, bought the house at 28 Hancock. Thomas C and Anna Pridham lived at 90 Atkinson for over a dozen years before buying a house and moving across town to Morning St in 1944. Louise, her sons Sherman and Joseph (and their wives), lived in the house at 65 Charles St during the 1940's and '50's, until urban renewal forced everyone out of their houses in the former Puddle Dock area. Historic preservation and the creation of Strawbery Banke saved many of the buildings in the area, including some of those lived in by the Pridham family.  

                                      Genealogical Summary for the Family of Isaac C H Pridham
ISAAC CHARLES HAVEN PRIDHAM (John R, Nathaniel, Isaac, John) was born 11 Sept 1847 in New Castle, NH , the son of John Randall and Ruth Ann (Fish) Pridham. He died at the hospital in Brighton, MA on 9 Apr 1924, and was buried in Riverside Cemetery, New Castle. He had married in Gloucester, MA on 17 Mar 1871 to CATHERINE HESSIAN, the daughter of Dennis and Mary (Waldron) Hessian. She was born in Gloucester on 8 Sept 1853, and died in Portsmouth on 5 Aug 1908. She was buried in the Calvary Cemetery in Portsmouth.

Isaac and Catherine (ie. Katherine, Kate) had the following children, all born in Portsmouth, NH:

i. MARY PAULINE PRIDHAM (called Paulina E on birth record), b. 12 Nov 1872; d. 1962. She married JAMES HENRY RANDALL, the son of Judson P and Melinda Randall, on 3 June 1895 in Portsmouth. They later divorced. She is buried with mother in Calvary Cemetery, Portsmouth.

ii. JOHN D PRIDHAM, b. abt 5 Aug 1875; d. 13 Sept 1875 (in Gloucester?)

iii. ISAAC H PRIDHAM, b. 1 July 1876; d. 14 Nov 1879.

iv. CATHERINE PRIDHAM, b. 23 Mar 1878, d. aft 1934. Married 16 Feb 1904 to HUGH McCANN, son of Hugh and Ellen (Welch) McCann. They had two sons, Hugh G and John W.

v. WILLIAM HOWELL PRIDHAM, born 19 Apr 1881 in Portsmouth, NH. He died there on 15 Mar 1934, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery. He married, on 29 Nov 1899 in Portsmouth, NH to LOUISE E (or J) CONDON, the daughter of John and Ellen (Griffin) Condon. She was born 2 Jan 1879 in Portsmouth, NH and died in East Derry, NH on 26 Jan 1962.
   Their children, all born in Portsmouth:
   1. Catherine Pauline Pridham, b. 12 May 1900. Married 3 Aug 1920 to James Leon Richards.
   2. John H Pridham, b. 16 Nov 1901; d. 9 Nov 1950 in Portsmouth, NH. Marr Dorothy E Stickles, b.25 Oct 1911 Portsmouth; d. 21 Nov 1994 Brentwood, NH.
   3.. Thomas Condon Pridham, b. 28 Aug 1903. Marr Anna Driscoll
   4. Alice Louise Pridham, b. 29 Aug 1905; d. 3 Feb 1980 in Exeter, NH. Marr 29 Apr 1928 in Portsmouth, NH to Reginald L Dow.
   5. Herbert Pridham, b. ca 1908
   6. William Howell Pridham Jr, b. ca 1910. Marr on 22 July 1933 in Gonic, NH to Eleanor P Moore. 
   7. Sherman Charles Pridham, b. 19 May 1919; d. 19 Sept 1983. Marr 24 Oct 1941 in Portsmouth to Blanche Louise Jones, dau of Ralph and Etta, and sister of Hazel, wife of Joseph. 
   8. male (stillborn) 9 Feb 1912; bur Cotton Cemetery, Portsmouth
   9. Joseph Clayton Pridham, b. 15 Mar 1913; d. 10 July 1969 in Portsmouth. Marr in Eliot, Maine on 2 Sept 1939 to Hazel Mae Jones.
   10. Anastasia Pridham, b. 10 Nov 1916; d. 27 Apr 1918 in Portsmouth, NH

vi. ALICE M PRIDHAM, b. 19 Dec 1882; d. 16 May 1885.

vii. stillborn (f), 10 Nov 1884

viii. ELIZABETH PRIDHAM, b. Oct 1885; d. 1 Apr 1886 in Portsmouth

ix. GEORGE SHERMAN PRIDHAM, b. 4 Sept 1886; d. 2 Apr 1946 in Portsmouth. Marr 13 Nov 1906 in Portsmouth to MARY A GRACE. They had at least 4 children, seen in the 1930 Portsmouth census.

x. stillborn, 2 Dec 1890