Putnam Settlement Cemetery is an "abandoned" cemetery located on the west side of Putnam Road in Bethany, just south of the Batavia town line in Genesee County, New York. The oldest burial was for Susannah, daughter of Timothy and Mehetabell Johnson, who died April 12, 1812, aged 16 years and 3 months. The last burial to take place in this cemetery was for Irving J. Putnam, son of Josiah and Lydia Putnam. He was listed as a Civil War soldier who died March 26, 1876 aged 34 years and 6 months.
Burial information was obtained from LaVerne C. Cooley's 1952 book, Tombstone Inscriptions from the Abandoned Cemeteries and Farm Burials of Genesee County. A call to the Town of Bethany Supervisor in the 1980's provided me with the information that the records of burials in this cemetery "burned in a fire long ago." Lorette mentions three additional people buried there but were not listed in Cooley's book - Lorinda Showerman Bride, Henry Shepard, and John Shepard, Sr. No tombstone can be found for any of them. Henry and John were Lorette's great-grandfather and grandfather, and Lorinda her aunt; therefore, it can be said that there were other people buried in this cemetery not listed in Cooley's book.
The condition of the cemetery today is good due to Ray Putnam, a descendent of Josiah Putnam. Prior to his cleanup of the cemetery in 1995, it was described in a 1998 Batavia Daily News article as "an overgrown jungle choked with sumac trees, poison ivy and brush, the gravestones hardly visible….there was brush all over, woodchuck holes, and broken stones." I have been there many times and the condition is still good considering the age of the cemetery.
Below are the names of people buried in Putnam Settlement Cemetery who are listed in Cooley’s book AND are mentioned in Lorette’s Diary; burials not listed in his book are denoted with *. The list is in sequence by burial year.
- Shepard, Henry S. (1749-abt 1835) ♢ Fought in the Revolution; Father of John Shepard, Sr. #
- Webster, Helen Adel (1839-1855) ♢ Daughter of Constant Webster III and Ann Dusenberry
- Shepard, John Sr. (1777-1856) ♢ Son of Henry Shepard and father of John Shepard Jr. *#
- Putnam, Philinda (1825-1857) ♢ Daughter of Josiah and Olive P. Putnam (also buried here), died June 29, 1857, aged 31years, 10 months and 26 days.
- West, Adeline M. Brown (1826-1857) ♢ Wife of Carlos West, daughter of Edward and Almira Brown, died September 12, 1857, aged 31 years, 1 month and 29 days.
- West, Ira J. (1857-1857) ♢ Son of Carlos and Adeline West, died September 25, 1857, aged 18 days (siblings Flora and Irving also buried here)
- Putnam, Peter Jr. (1785-1857) ♢ Son of Peter Putnam (1758-1821)and Susannah Osgood (1766-1822) who are also buried in Putnam Cemetery.
- Bride, Lorinda Showerman (1832-1859) ♢ Daughter of John Jr. and Elizabeth Powers Showerman also were buried here. *
- Shepard, Catherine Wilson Shaw (1791-1862) ♢ Second wife of John Shepard, Sr., first wife of Daniel Shaw
- Strong, Delos (1840-1862) ♢ Son of Hiram and Electa West Strong; his grandparents Daniel and Hannah, father Hiram, and siblings Lois, Millard, and Ellena were also buried here.
- Showerman, John, Jr. (1780-1863) ♢ Son of John Showerman (1754-1850); husband of Catharine Niver (1785-1824); 2nd husband of Elizabeth Powell Powers (1789-1866)
- Putnam, Phebe Burroughs (1789-1863) ♢ Wife of Franklin Putnam, died July 20, 1862, aged 72 years; Franklin and son Caleb also buried here.
- Showerman, Elizabeth (1789-1866) ♢ Wife of Asahel Powers (1784-1823); second wife of John P. Showerman, Jr.
- Putnam, Josiah (1801-1873) ♢ Son of Peter Jr. and Susannah Osgood Putnam; first wife Olivia P. Lord and their children Nathan, Philinda, Olive, and Jerome also buried here.
- Putnam, Irving J. (1842-1876) ♢ Son of Josiah and Lydia Shaw Putnam
- West, Warren (1799-1891) ♢ Son of Daniel Gilman West and Ann Amy Pennock.
* These are burials that are mentioned in Lorette's Diary, but are not listed in the book Tombstone Inscriptions from the Abandoned Cemeteries and Farm Burials of Genesee County by LaVerne C. Cooley (1952).
# Henry Shepard (1748-about 1833) was the father of John Shepard, Sr. and was claimed to have been buried with his son John in Putnam Cemetery in The Daily News article about the Shepard Family reunion in 1876.