| Chapter VIII |
| Cemeteries of Penobscot Maine |
| A huge debt of gratitude is due to Bertha Bowden, who for over 25 years, has tirelessly located, organized and indexed, not only the sixty plus cemeteries in the Penobscot area, but also the names of those buried. The results of her incredible time comsuming labor will become a permanent record of the Penobscot Historical Society. Her husband of 55 years, Royden, ably helped her by acting as her guide, repairer and mower of the bushes, until his timely death in 1981. Bertha, whose maiden name was Hutchins, became interested in history, geneology and cemeteries as late as 1960. And mainley because of curiosity concerning her own lineage, her efforts uncovered information that traced the line back on her father's side, at least 8 generations to Charles Hutchings, one of the first settlers of Penobscot, and his son, William, who came from Old York in 1768. William Hutchings biography appears elsware in this publication. Finding the graveyards and getting to them has not been an easy task. Many are away from the main roads and few have been well cared for. According to her findings, the oldest burial ground is located on Tills Point, just off the Wardwell Point Road on Rt. 199, West Penobscot. It is known as the old Perkins Cemetery, but has no visible stones. Hosea Wardwell's diary reveals that the last burial took place in 1834, and the deceased was Peggy Perkins. To record all of the information reported by Bertha would be impossible to do in this publication, however, the names of each cemetery, its location and the last names of the deceased people who appear in great number may be helpful. Below is a list of last names which appear in greatest numbers at each site: Hillside Cemetery, North Penobscot North Penobscot, Junction of Rt. 15 and 199 Blodgett, Bowden, Condon, Gray, Grindle, Hutchings, Haney, Leach, Lowell, Montgomery, Perkins, Staples, Wilson, Wardwell Hutchins - Hatch Cemetery, North Penobscot North Penobscot, 300yrds North of Intersection of Rt. 199 and 15, Right hand side Blueberry field Hatch, Hutchins Wilson Cemetery, North Penobscot North Penobscot, on Rt. 199, Wilson Hill Wilson, Patten, Staples, Hutchins Samual Groves Leach Cemetery, North Penoscot off Rt. 199 aprox.100 ft on left going south, just below the cross road hill Leach Littlefield Cemetery, Rt. 199 Route 199, in Joe Ben-Littlefield's field Littlefield, Carter, Leach Bay Cemetery Penobscot Town Cemetery on Rt. 199 above Post office Bowden, Bridges, Grindle, Hutchins, Leach, Littlefield, Mitchell, Perkins, Sellers, Snowman Varnum, Wardwell Carpenter - Wardwell Cemetery Rt. 175 across from Methodist Church, head of the Bay Carpenter, Hutchings, Perkins, Littlefield, Wardwell Littlefield Cemetery, South Penobscot Rt. 175 located behind home of James Gross Grindle, Littlefield, Varnum, Wardwell, Perkins Elijah Winslow Cemetery, South Penobscot Rt. 175, Penobscot village, located behind No. Bay Mkt Grindle, Bowden, Wardwell, Winslow Grindle - Wight Cemetery, Western County Rt.177, Western County Rd, on Right beyond Wights pond, overlooking Wight's Heath Bowden, Bridges, Condon, Grindle, White, Wight, Wardwell, Staples Old Bridges Cemetery, South Penobscot South Penobscot, off Rt 175, beyond the old Marsten Howard Homestead Bridges, Carpenter, Wescott Old Wescott Cemetery, South Penobscot Rt. 175 on Gravel Island Road Moore, Wescott Perkins - Wescott Cemetery, South Penobscot South Penobscot, Rt. 175, Close to Main Highway Goodwin, Wescott, Perkins Wight Cemetery, South Penobscot Rt. 175, on Henry Gray Road Wight Perkins Point Cemetery, South Penobscot Off Rt. 175, Near Wyland Perkins Homestead Grindle, Herrick, Perkins, Eastman, Norton |