Short Cemetery
Short Cemetery is a very old abandoned cemetery, located in Hemlock [town of
Livonia], Livingston County, NY. It is completely overgrown, and appears to
have less than 10 burials, with only 8 burials that I [James Reed] could
identify. It is located east of Route 15A, between the junction with Route
20A to the North, and the Hemlock Lake inlet to the South. A paved driveway
leads up to a Private Club and Shooting Range. To reach the cemetery you
must continue going East on foot, past the shooting range, and up an
overgrown path to a small clearing. The cemetery is just north of this
clearing, and is surrounded by a rusting wire fence.
Here are the GPS coordinates I [James Reed] recorded on my Garmin hand held:
42 degrees, 47 minutes, 6 seconds North Latitude
77 degrees, 36 minutes, 5.5 seconds West Longitude
Burials:
1) The first marker you will see is a 7 foot tall, 4 sided vertical stone. The
text on the west side reads “Short”, probably to identify the cemetery. The
south side text reads “Family Burial of David Scott, Erected by Betsey G.
Scott 1869”. The other two sides are blank. The rest of the burials are
transcribed below.
2) “In memory of Philip Short who died Feb. 23rd, 1810, in the 65th year of
his age. He settled in this country in AD 1796”. (Probably the date he settled
in the Hemlock area, as he was born in Massachusetts. JR).
3) “In memory of David son of Philip & Margaret Short who died Mar. 24th, 1801,
aged 9 year”. (This is the son of Philip Short from burial number 2. Margaret
is Margaret Cole wife of Philip from burial number 2, her burial has yet to
be located. JR).
4) “PHILIP SHORT DIED MAR. 11th, 1855, AGED 74 YEARS”. (This is Philip Short
the IV, son of Philip Short the III of burial number 2. JR).
5) “In memory of Abigail wife of Philip Short died Nov. 11th, 1822, Aged 36
yrs.” (This is Abigail Briggs, first wife of Philip Short IV, from burial
number 4. JR).
6) “ALMIRA, WIFE OF PHILIP SHORT DIED July 13, 1869, AGED 76 YRS.” (This is
Almira Cargill Curtice, second wife of Philip Short IV, from burial number 4. JR).
7) “WARREN D. SHORT DIED JAN. 20, 1867, AGED 37 YEARS & 9 M’S.” (The son of
Philip Short IV and Almira Curtis burials 4+6. JR).
8) “In memory of CLARISSA, Daughter of MR. THEOPHILUS & Mrs. LYDIA SHORT who
died October 26, 1806, aged 10 years” (Theophilus is the son of Philip Short
III and Margaret Cole see burial 2+3. JR).
There were 2 fragments of tombstones with no
readable text
Contributor: James A. Reed, Watkins Glen, NY
