Tombstone commemorates Joseph Kennedy

This tombstone in the Garland Cemetery commemorates Joseph Kennedy, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. It is inscribed: Joseph Kennedy, died May 8, 1822. Aged 81 years. Kennedy was a resident of Clarkson. When the sun just grazes the front of the monument the bottom portion becomes legible. It reads: "A Soldier of the Revolution." The five foot high marble slab is remarkably upright and plumb; many of the smaller marble slabs near it are askew. The Garland Cemetery, incorporated in 1868, is much older than that, according to Barbara Hefke, secretary of the Garland Cemetery Association. Prior to 1868 it served as a burial place for family members of farmers who lived in the area. Clarkson was incorporated in 1818 and was originally larger in area than it is currently. Burials in Garland Cemetery continue to this day. Photograph for Westside News Inc. by Walter Horylev.