WESTERLY — James Wolfe praises everyone who helped him solve a fascinating local mystery — and properly honor the dead — but without Celia Grossomanides, he stressed, the 172 people featured in his story would have been “forever forgotten” and information about Westerly’s Old Town Plot might never have come to light.
Instead, a granite monument will soon be erected at River Bend Cemetery to honor the “once forgotten souls.”
Wolfe, a retired Army intelligence officer who moved to Westerly after a career in government, said Grossomanides – who retired after more than 50 years as bureau chief at River Bend Cemetery – not only had “an incredible memory for detail” but also helped him put all the pieces of the puzzle together so that people once “only God knew” could be properly honored.
Standing near a small plot of land at River Bend Cemetery one afternoon last month alongside Greg Howard, cemetery superintendent and director of administration, Wolfe explained how his mission began — and came to its surprising end.
Wolfe is a married father of two grown sons, a veteran, a genealogist and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. He also volunteers with Find-A-Grave, an organization he describes as “the world’s largest collection of gravesites.”
In the spring of 2023, Wolfe said, he received a request from Find-A-Grave to erect a grave monument for a certain William W. Braman at Tomb 56 in River Bend Cemetery.
So he headed to River Bend and, after some searching, found the open, grassy area where he and Howard were standing. But no one seemed to know much about the property, which sits directly above the maintenance building — other than the fact that it’s called Lot 56, Wolfe said.
The grassy piece of land, approximately 105 feet long and 60 feet wide, borders Myrtle Path, Main Street and Beach Avenue and features two L-shaped stone walls and a vertical stone marker engraved with the inscription “Frederick J. Dunscomb (1792-1880).”
The other markers, lying flat on the ground, mark the graves of George C. Willard (1881–1944), Frances Kellerman (1938–1968), “an artist who loved the beach,” and Agnes C. Boozam (1924–1967).
But nothing for a William W. Braman, said Wolfe, “nothing but this grassy hill.”
Wolfe’s search first took him to the cemetery office, where he learned only that the grave was called “The Old Town Plot.” The staff there recommended that he try Westerly City Hall, so he went to the city clerk’s office.
Everyone was very helpful, he said, but no one there knew about the Old Town Plot … nor could anyone find any records of who was buried there.
Westerly Town Clerk Mary L. LeBlanc recalled the “great amount of time” Wolfe spent reviewing old records and books to find information about the Old Town Plot and praised him for his dedication.
After months of research and “poring over records,” Wolfe said, Grossomanides discovered – to everyone’s surprise – a “previously unknown file in the River Bend Cemetery office” stating that the Old Town Plot was purchased by the City of Westerly on May 15, 1860, for $250 and was used primarily to “bury infants, unknown persons, stillborn babies, or people who simply had nothing.”
Eventually they learned of the 172 people buried in the Old Town Plot, including Braman, most of them in unmarked graves.
Wolfe said they learned that 13 of the “unknown graves” included an “unknown man,” “eight bodies,” “unknown persons found on the beach,” “drowned persons,” “unknown bones,” and in one case, a person described only as a “stranger.”
In addition, there were 26 children, mostly identified as “infant,” “child,” “stillbirth,” and in one case as “infant A&B,” with their surnames and burial date.
“It is believed that the ‘unknowns’ may have been victims of shipwrecks off the coast and washed ashore,” Wolfe said, “others may have succumbed to the Spanish flu of 1918.”
Wolfe also discovered – in a pension application file from the War of 1812 records – that Frederick J. Dunscomb, whose grave was clearly marked on the Old Town Plot, was 2nd Gunner in the Newport Flotilla, discharged from military service on October 20, 1814, and lived in Westerly between 1855 and 1871.
In an effort to “provide some closure” and help descendants find their loved ones, Wolfe began adding the names, burial dates and photos of the Old Town Plot to the Find-A-Grave database, but he wanted to do more to “identify the names of these lost souls.”
In March, at Howard’s suggestion, Wolfe wrote to the cemetery administration asking for permission to erect a monument “on or near the Old Town Plot.”
After the trustees approved the request, Wolfe sought advice from a stonemason from Buzzi Memorials. The stonemason estimated that the stone monument would need to be about three feet tall, five feet long and eight inches thick to accommodate all of the names and additional information – such as “Westerly’s Old Town Plot Est. 1860.”
Wolfe then sought advice from Westerly Town Manager Shawn Lacey and Town Clerk LeBlanc. Soon, Wolfe had the support of Bill Siano, commander of American Legion Post 16, and Dan King, chairman of the Veterans’ Rolls of Honor Committee… and a new plan.
On June 17, Wolfe appeared before the Westerly City Council and asked members to approve funding for a “single memorial headstone” to be placed near the Old Town Plot “to honor each of these souls with the respect they deserve.”
“All members of the City Council overwhelmingly supported the memorial initiative,” Wolfe said, and unanimously passed a “Resolution for the Memorial on the Old Town Plot” by a vote of 6-0.
The resolution states: “RESOLVED: The City Council of Westerly authorizes the expend of $14,825.50 for the purchase, erection, and sandblast engraved lettering of a granite monument for the Old Town Plot in the River Bend Cemetery.”
Later that evening, when Wolfe returned home and reviewed the burial list at the Old Town gravesite, he noticed that the first “unknown man” had been buried on June 17, 1874, exactly 150 years to the day after the City Council unanimously voted to establish the Old Town gravesite.
The stone memorial will be made of jet black memorial stone and weigh about 3,000 pounds, said Wolfe, who praised Lacey, LeBlanc, Siano, King and all council members for their support.
“I truly admire his hard work and determination to identify these unmarked graves to pay respect to the individuals buried at this site,” LeBlanc said in an email. “When I first met Mr. Wolfe, I told him that I often walked past this area of the cemetery and was not aware that there were graves in this area of the cemetery.”
“It was an honor to help him in any way I could,” she added. “It is thanks to his tireless efforts that a memorial stone will be erected.”
“It’s such a fantastic story,” King said. “If it hadn’t been for Jim, we might never have known. These people could have been lost.”
“It was such a cool thing,” Howard said, “and it took someone like Jim to get things rolling.”
“There are so many great stories,” Wolfe said. “I’m just so happy. Nobody wants to be forgotten.”