Roscola Cemetery, 28 March 2005

Interlachen Hall, erected in 1892; 2 blocks south of SR-20 at intersection of Commonwealth Ave. and Atlantic Ave. The blue patch in the left background is Lake Lagonda, on the south side of Interlachen. Chipco Lake is on the north side of town.
Entrance to hunt club property, which includes the Roscola Cemetery. The entrance is off Cousintown Rd, about 1/4 mile before the sharp left turn in the road. The gate was locked.
Roscola Cemetery, northeast corner looking southwest. The cemetery is about one-quarter mile west of Cousintown Rd; it is about 100 ft x 100 ft and contains 29 known graves, 10 of which are Matchetts. Photographs of 21 of the gravestones are included in this web page.
Near the south end of the cemetery, looking northwest. The ground is covered with dry turkey oak leaves. They crunch noisily as you walk on them. Other flora in the cemetery and surrounding woods are sand pine (now with new, bright-green needles), palmettos, a dull-green bushy plant called rosemary (not the herb), cat briar, and Spanish moss.
Near the southeast corner, looking northwest. The nearest gravestone is Ernest Matchett. The next one beyond that is Baby Donaldson. Out of view beneath the camera is the gravestone of Alice Matchett. The gray-green things on the ground are Reindeer Moss. Part of the concrete block enclosure around the graves of Joseph Matchett and his wife Ellen can be seen in the extreme upper right. Their gravestones (which were professional and modern) were in place in 1996, but are now missing.
Inside the cemetery, at the northeast corner looking southwest. The graves of Francis Marion and Cherry Ann Matchett are in the foreground, within a low concrete border. The gravestone of Enoch Matchett is just beyond. Most of the Matchett graves are on the east side of the cemetery. All the gravestones face east.
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * MATCHETTS * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Note: My earlier transcriptions plus transcriptions found on the web were used to
determine the identity and complete inscriptions for gravestones that were severely eroded.
Francis M. (Marion) & Cherry Ann Matchett, parents of my father, Marion Marshall Matchett. Their graves are located in the northeast corner of the cemetery.
Enoch Matchett gravestone, south of Francis M. and Cherry Ann. Enoch was my great-grandfather, father of Francis Marion, Andrew, and Joseph. See next image for transcription.
Enoch Matchett gravestone transcription.
Andrew Matchett gravestone, immediately north of Francis M. and Cherry Ann Matchett. Andrew was one of the sons of Enoch. Like most gravestones in this cemetery, it is severely eroded. The name "Matchett" and the numbers "73" and "904" are barely visible. Based on earlier transcriptions the complete inscription is "Andrew Matchett, 1873, 1904."
Ernest Matchett, son of Joseph Matchett, who was one of Enoch's sons. Transcription: "Ernest Matchett, Dec. 25, 1903; May 10, 1932." This gravestone is one of three in a row, near the southeast corner of the cemetery, between Alice Matchett to the south and Baby Donaldson to the north.
Alice Matchett gravestone. Transcription: "Alice Matchett, Born Sep. 9, 1894; Died Nov. 4, 1895." The two transcriptions of Roscola Cemetery gravestones that are on the web interpret Alice's birth year as 1844, not 1894. However, the two times I visited in years past, I interpreted the birth year as 1894. Based on an enlargement of the birth year in this photo, that is how I still interpret it. The ending "4" is sharp pointed, but the number preceding it is rounder, which makes it appear to be a "9" not a "4". I do not know who Alice is. Since she died as a baby, she could be the child of any number of Matchetts. Enoch had a daughter Alice, but according to my father that Alice grew up and married someone named Jameson.
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * MATCHETT RELATIVES * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ada L. Walker gravestone. Transcription: "In Memory of Mrs. Ada L. Walker; Born Feb. 23, 1876; Died Aug. 9, 1906." She was originally Ada L. Brinson and married Andrew Matchett. Later she married a Walker. Martha Strickland, sister of Enoch's wife Lucretia Strickland, married a Walker. Perhaps Ada's second husband was a first-cousin of Andrew's (a son of his aunt, Martha Strickland Walker).
Ray Allen and Hazel Aileen Day gravestones. These are probably babies of Elsie Matchett Day and Joe Day, who lived near here. Elsie was a daughter of Francis Marion Matchett. She and Joe lived in a small house on the corner of Cousintown Rd., where there used to be a road that led west to the old Matchett homestead and the cemetery. Later Elsie and family moved to Plant City, and Mattie Walker Fox lived in that house. Mattie was a granddaughter of Martha Strickland Walker, sister of Enoch's wife Lucretia Strickland.
 
* * * * * * * * * * * * * OTHERS (COUSINS, PERHAPS?) * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Gladys Abraham gravestone. Transcription: "Miss Gladys Abraham; Born Sep. 10, 1903; Died Feb. 19, 1918."
John Abraham gravestone. Transcription: "John Abraham; Born June 12, 1863; Died Oct. 19, 1935."
Cora M. Abrams gravestone. Transcription: "In Memory of Mrs. Cora M. Abrams; Born Feb. 3, 1878; Died Dec. 25, 1906."
Roland E. Boulls gravestone. The Boulls graves are located near the southwest corner of the cemetery.
Thomas M. Boulls gravestone. Transcription: "Thomas M. Boulls; CO. M 20(th) N.Y. CAV." No dates are shown. This is a Civil War Government marker.
Roy Donaldson, a child's grave. Died 1939. This is the only gravestone in the cemetery with a scalloped top. It is immediately north of Ernest Matchett's grave.
Ernest Holstein gravestone. Transcription: "Ernest Holstein; Born March 5, 1860; Died May 2, 1829." It appears that "In Memory of" is above the name. The two transcriptions on the web show the date of death as May 21, 1829; however, I believe it is May 2.
Arthur H. Mengersen gravestone. Transcription: "In Memory of Arthur H. Mengersen; Died May 27, 1912; Age 44 yrs. 10 mos. 25 days."
Henry Mengersen gravestone. Transcription: "Henry Mengersen, CO. D 11(th) IND. ING." No dates are shown. This is a Civil War Government marker.
William Root gravestone. Transcription: "Wm. Root; 81st Regiment, Ill.; Died March 15, 1913; Age 63 yrs. 3 mos."
Estella D. Saegar gravestone. Transcription: "Estella D. Saegar, Wife of T.M. Boulls; Born Aug. 16, 1857; Died June 13, 1920; Gone But Not Forgotten."
Mabel Walker gravestone. This is the easiest to read of the old gravestones. Mabel Walker is probably a "cousin," maybe a daughter of Enoch's wife's sister Martha Strickland, who married a Walker.


This web page created by Wayne Matchett, 2 Apr 2005.


Please email questions or comments to wmatchett@cfl.rr.com.