Stones and Bones

Reading from the Introduction to Stones and Bones: You have in your possession the Vermont Old Cemetery Association "Stones and Bones" packet. Enclosed you will find a variety of materials related to using cemteries as educational tools. As members of VOCA, who have classroom experience, and have used cemetery related material in schools, we have put this packet together with teachers in mind.

Students of all ages are fascinated with cemetery related material. We should also add that the general subject of death and dying is a subject pre-adults have an interest in but don't have much training in expressing that interest. Perhaps a unit using cemeteries as an educational tool would help deal with that inquisitiveness. It might also bridge the gap to other areas as well.

We are hoping that you will encourage the use of cemeteries in your community as a resource for your classroom activities. All of us who have worked on this project welcome your questions and comments. There is an opportunity here to cross over many disciplines and involve a large number of students and community members in a worthwhile study area.

VOCA orginally developed this packet in 1996. Because it was so succesful (two printings), we updated it and are now ready to take it on the road. Some of our team are available to do in-school programs for staff and students. For the time being, contact Larry Coffin or Charles Marchant (listed below) if you are interested in one of these programs.

VOCA is continually looking for new members. We are also interested in summer restoration projects. In the past, VOCA has had a working relationship with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. We would like to discuss how to establish a similar program with any community. Vermont is a state where more than half of the cemeteries need some sort of restoration work. This is probably true for most areas of the country. Please consider joining VOCA either as an individual or as a school.

Contact any one of us for an update on VOCA membership and programs.

Joan Alexander
2513 Glover St., Glover, VT 05839
Irasburg Village School Special Education K-8

Larry Coffin
Box 490, Bradford, VT 05033
802-222-4423
Oxbow High School Social Studies 9-12 (retired)

Charles Marchant
Box 132, Townshend, VT 05353
802-365-7937
Leland and Gray Union High School Social Studies 9-12 (retired)

Andersen Thorp
Box 194, South Strafford, VT 05070
Hartford High School Art/Humanities 9-12

Vermont in the Civil War

Commemorating the 150th Anniversary
of Vermont's Participation in the War of Rebellion

Vermont in the Civil War is a grassroots project attempting to document the contributions of over 38,000 Green Mountain Men and Women, some of whom gave their all for the Union during the War of Rebellion from 1861 to 1866, and thousands more who endured the physical and psychological scars of that time in their lives until they answered the final roll call.

More than 28,000 served in Vermont units, hundreds more the regular army and navy. In 1860, almost exactly 1/2 of those born in Vermont were no longer living there - and we have found nearly 6,000 Vermont natives who served in every Union State's units, plus more than 50 for the Confederacy. Dozens of civilians, men and women, served as nurses, contract surgeons, sutlers, in the Christian and Sanitary Commissions, and within the Federal bureaucracy as well.

More than 300 volunteers have generously contributed time and material to provide rosters, diaries, letters, service records, headstone photographs and other memorabilia to build a virtual Museum, with hundreds of photographs, a virtual Cemetery, with over 21,000 burial site photographs, and a mechanism for connecting with other descendants (more than 4,200 are registered).

The project has grown from a single photograph of the Swanton Civil War Monument and the names of the men who did not return from the war, in 1996, to more than 16,000 pages today, documenting virtually every aspect of the war, making it the largest and most complete study of a single State during the Civil War on the Internet. In 2018, 123,000 unique visitors viewed nearly 1 million pages on the site, visiting from more than 32 countries.

The largest aspect of the project is the Virtual Cemetery. We have identified Vermont Civil War veterans lying at rest in 49 states and the District of Columbia, Canada, China, Cuba, England, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Scotland, and Turkey. (We are still hoping to find someone buried in Alaska).

The project is perceived by many as an authority on the subject; grammar-, middle- and high-schools, historical societies and museums across the state have used our resources.

The project has also had a presence on FaceBook (Vermont in the Civil War) since 2010, providing daily tidbits and trivia to more than 1300 followers.

Note: Vermont in the Civil War is the effort of St. Albans native Tom Ledoux. Tom's contribution to the historiography of Vermont, the Civil War and our American heritage can not be understated. His 23 year effort has resulted in one of the most significant historical research projects of the era. Tom early on recognized the potential of the Internet and has demonstrated its remarkable ability to aid our search for knowledge. The Vermont Old Cemetery Association is proud to count Tom among its members.