Greenwich Time. June 12, 1987
Nestled on the east side of the Cos Cob Mill Pond is a small but historic burying ground. The site is elevated by a stone wall that surrounds the cemetery itself and is shaded with oaks, cedars and pine trees against the sun.
This, the Mead Cemetery in Cos Cob, is like many of the historic sites in town in that those interred here are an integral part of the history of both family and community. (*Author's note and update: In 1989 I and other descendants founded The Historic Mead Family Burying Grounds Association and the cemetery land was transferred to that corporation). I have recently restored the cemetery, as its owner and conservator. In researching the history of the Mead Cemetery, I also came across a new and interesting dimension of local history.
The land the cemetery is on has been in the hands of my ancestors since before the time of the American Revolution, although the cemetery itself was laid out and created by William made about 130 years ago. (*Authors note and correction: subsequent research has yielded information that a number of graves from the mid-1700s were removed and transferred to Putnam Cemetery)
William Mead, one of the four residents buried here, died in 1872. He was a direct descendent of the John Mead line – Benjamin Mead branch of my family. William Mead resided in a roomy old house on top of the hill in Cos Cob, which is now the site of Cos Cob Elementary School.
Buried with him is his first wife Abigail Mead; his second wife, Caroline Smith Mead; and her father, Ebenezer Smith.
William Mead's first wife, Abigail Reynolds Mead, died in 1860. She was one of the daughters of Horton and Abigail Reynolds of Greenwich. They were married in the winter of 1831 by the Rev. Joel Mann of the Second Congregational Church, who was pastor there from 1830 1836. Incidentally, the Rev. Mann's house sits next door to the church and is one of the oldest parsonages in Greenwich.
The second wife of William Mead, Caroline Mills Smith Mead, married him six years after the death of Abigail Mead, in November 1866. She died in 1910.
Her father, Ebenezer Smith, is buried at the burying ground as well, and died in the year 1873. Caroline's brother, George Jackson Smith, while not buried here, was for many years town clerk and owner of what is now the Bush-Holley House, headquarters of the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich.
Though not entombed here, gravestone of Zetta Mead, who died in 1807, was found and placed here recently. My great grandfather, Herbert William Mead, former postmaster of Cos Cob, placed it as a stepping stone and back of his house on Relay Place – this according to my great-aunt, Mildred Mead.
Zetta was the daughter of Jared Mead, and she married Col. Ebenezer Mead, son of the Major General Ebenezer Mead, Revolutionary War soldier and founder of the first Greenwich Library, whose homestead some may recall was moved 11 years ago from the high school campus to new foundations on Salem Street in Cos Cob.
The last to be buried here, in 1910, was Caroline Mead, who was born originally in the Roxbury section of Stamford in 1825 and moved to Greenwich when she married William Mead. When her husband died almost 40 years before her, Caroline inherited vast amounts of land on both sides of the Boston Post Road, and thus assumed the responsibility of overseeing these land holdings in Cos Cob.
For a woman of her time, Caroline Mead distinguished herself in the community as a woman of high intelligence, foresight, and ambition. At a time when women did not or could not be involved in such enterprises, she undertook the planned development of her land holdings around the turn-of-the-century. Advancing age apparently did not inhibit her from laying out several roads, including the Suburban Avenue, Glendale Street, and Randolph Place, and the area that includes the fire house.
In opening this area to development more often seen on a modern scale today, she said to have shown great interest and desire that only structures of solid, excellent quality be constructed on her land. Many of you who live on these streets may trace their creation to this time.
In 1910, well into her 80s, Caroline Mead died at the home of her niece, Mary Frances Peck, on Relay Place, behind the Mill Pond Shopping Center and now the home of my grand-aunt, Mildred Mead. I am told that her funeral was held at the house itself, with the Rev. M George Thompson of Christ Episcopal Church presiding over the ceremonies. Hymns were sung by personal friends.
Many old graveyards dot the town, serving as repositories of local history. These sites are historic in that they serve for the historian as a bridge to the past, enabling us to trace our personal, family, and community history and recall the contributions of generations before us.
Jeffrey Mead, who lives in Greenwich, is a direct descendent of one of the founding families of the town. He is a freelance writer and a member of the Greenwich Historical Society.
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