“The next item on the Council agenda, a petition by Scott Rabideau and Elizabeth — I’m not sure of this pronunciation — Czepiel to establish a cemetery or place of burial, having been made in accordance with revised General Ordinances, Town of Burrillville, Chapter 10 entitled Cemeteries. Mr. Rabideau is here to address the Council.”

That was the town council president’s introduction on the evening of June 10th, opening the hearing on my request to establish a family cemetery on our farm. 

I hoped to share my vision with the town council of a family resting place that would span several generations. A place where genealogy can be experienced by touching gravestones on summer day while enjoying the shade of a towering sycamore tree. Idealistic… maybe.

I opened by sharing information about the family cemetery located directly across the street from our home.

In the early 19th-century, all of the acreage adjacent to Hill Road in this section of Pascoag belonged to the Paine family. Burrillville Historical Cemetery Number 6 is one of their family cemeteries.  

This 200 year old burial plot is 30 feet wide by 40 feet long and 35 headstones can be counted within the rusted metal rail fence that surrounds it. One of the earliest legible gravestones marks the resting place for Angell Paine, listing his death as September 18, 1826. The headstone of Thomas Bull chronicles his death on March 3, 1878.  His marker is located closest to Hill Road and appears to represent one of the last persons interred in the cemetery.

This historical family cemetery is a daily reminder for me of how people struggled to survive on this land during the 1800s. Farming the rocky fields may have produced enough meat and vegetables to feed a family but provided only minimal income for other necessities. Most men sought often dangerous work in the textile mills found in the nearby villages to supplement their farm efforts. 

Death visited families regularly and had to be accepted as part of daily life and survival. Funerals were simple at-home affairs with loved ones buried close to their home.

The Rabideau Family Cemetery I propose copies the size and layout of Historical Cemetery Number 6. It also located within a portion of the same field that has been farmed in one manner or another for almost two centuries. Instead of steel rails set in granite posts, this cemetery will be surrounded by a double-stack field stone wall (built by yours truly). Up to 25 members of the Rabideau family will find a final resting place within the borders. 

A permanent easement shall be recorded on the property’s deed to ensure its preservation as a place of burial. A dedicated right-of-way from Hill Road shall also be legally enshrined to ensure access for future generations to visit the solemn ground. 

Once I finished my presentation, looking up at the seven councilors sitting in a semi-circle beneath a hand painted map of the town, I saw in each face a clear sense of satisfaction in details of what would be the last family cemetery in the town, and I knew at that moment approval was inevitable. 

The vote was 7-0 in favor of granting the petition. 

Now it’s time for me to get to work building stone walls around the Rabideau Family cemetery!