Archive: Around Town

George Rhodes served in the Revolutionary War in  in 1781, in the 5th Battalion, Northampton County Pennsylvania Militia under Captain Richard Shaw and Lt. John Huston. He also served during 1782 in the 8th Company, again under Captain Richard Shaw.  He moved to what is now North Lansing in 1793.  Rhodes died in 1823, and was buried in the graveyard of the German Lutheran Church in Lansingville.  Identifying veterans and their final resting places is like reconstructing a puzzle that may not still have all its pieces.  Last Sunday one of those lost pieces was fitted into the puzzle when the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) honored Rhodes with a grave marking ceremony.

"These folks were Pennsylvania Dutch," says Michael Tunison, who was among three of Rhodes' descendents present for the ceremony.  "They moved into eastern Pennsylvania.  George served as a private in the militia of the Northhampton County Militia.  George and Catherine came to Lansing with their seven children in 1797."



The ceremony came about because of detective work by Lansing resident Norman Wheeler.  Wheeler and told Tunison that he is working to identify the graves of all soldiers from all wars that are buried in Lansing when the two met at a state-wide SAR meeting.  Tunison knew that his ancestor was buried in Lansing, so Wheeler set out to find the grave.  Rhodes' gravestone turned out to be intact, while his wife Catherine's was broken in two.  Wheeler sent photographs to Tunison and arranged for the ceremony to mark the grave as an American veteran of the Revolutionary War, and asked Town Supervisor Scott Pinney whether the graveyard could be mowed for the event.

Pinney contacted the Highway Department, which sent two employees to clean up the site.  In addition to mowing, they righted gravestones that had toppled, and used an adhesive to repair broken stones including Catherine's.

The ceremony began with a welcome and an invocation, and an introduction by Finger Lakes SAR Chapter President Blaine M. Elkie, who also came dressed in historical uniform.  Part of the ceremony was a recounting of Rhodes' life by Tunison and Lansing Town Historian Bement. 


George and Catherine had seven children when they first moved to Lansing in 1793.  Tunison and his sister Susan Ingalls are descendants of Rhodes' daughter Elizabeth.  Sharon Linderberry, a descendant of daughter Margaret was also on hand for the ceremony.  Tunison wore a Revolutionary War uniform patterned on one worn by Elizabeth's husband William Snyder when he fought in George Washington's Continental Army.

Rhodes was born 1756.  A year later his father was killed by Indians, leaving a wife and five children.  After the war he moved from Cherryville in Northampton, PA to the town of Milton (the southern portion of which is now the Town of Lansing).  They purchased 240 acres of land in North Lansing, which they divided and settled in 1793.   George and Catherine became members of the German Lutheran Church in Lansingville.  They had six sons and two daughters.

Rhodes operated a distillery, and was a cooper.  Tunison noted that Rhodes was handy with tools, and built a log cabin, and just about everything from an ox yoke to pork and cider barrels to to a sled, which Tunison said he has ridden on himself.  The cabin would be about the same style as the 1791 Lansing cabin that was reconstructed at Myers Park last year.

George died in 1823 at the age of 67, and Catherine in 1824 at age 68.  They were buried in the graveyard behind the church, which today is maintained by the Town of Lansing.  Today he graveyard rests behind two private homes, one of which Louise Bement says may have been the original church, and later a school house.


Wheeler, a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, can also trace his lineage to a father and son from Groton, Massachusetts who both served in the Revolutionary war.  Since he started his project Wheeler has identified the graves of 34 Revolutionary War veterans and 225 Civil War soldiers that are buried in Lansing, plus countless others from other wars.  With 30 cemeteries in the Town of Lansing, he has his work cut out for him.  Wheeler has shared the information with Bement for the Town records, and hopes to locate the final resting places of every single soldier who has been buried in the town.  Sunday's event was the first grave marking ceremony since he began the project.

"We'll probably have more as we begin to identify soldiers and their living relatives who would like to do this and recognize their ancestors," he says.  "I just think we need to recognize our military people."


Tunison is a Revolutionary War enthusiast from way back, and says it is important to honor those who have served and to remember their lives. 

"I've always been interested in beginnings, in what made the difference," he says.  "That could apply in a lot of categories, even music.  Why did the Beatles suddenly become famous when there were so many British bands?  It's beginnings that are important.  How did the nation get started?"

Sunday's recognition added another piece to that puzzle.

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