I think we can all relate to this story. LAC > What a wonderful story and Mr. Van Druff deserves our praise for his work. > There are those who destroy and those who preserve. > Hopefully the government will act as responsibly as Mr. Van Druff and keep > this gravesite marked and clean and protected. > > * Volunteer clears area of historical gravesite > > Greene County, Pennsylvania : The final resting place of Gen. George Washington's > > wagonmaster, George Wisecarver,was nearly forgotten. > > William Van Druff works to maintain the grave of Gen. George > > Washington's > > wagonmaster, George Wisecarver, on a remote hillside in Whiteley > > Township > > recently. > > (JACK GRAHAM/O-R) Observer Reporter (PA), September 6, 2005. > > http://www.observer-reporter.com/285859884423399.bsp > > > > George Wisecarver has been dead for 163 years. > > His grave, located on a remote hillside on state gamelands 223, Whiteley > > Township, became so overgrown with weeds that the two gravestones were > > barely visible. Someone toppled his gravestone and rolled it down the > > hill. The > > final resting place of Gen. George Washington's wagonmaster during the > > American > > Revolution was nearly forgotten.William Van Druff had to do something. > > "There ain't nobody in the state, except Greene County, that can say, > > 'We > > got George Washington's wagonmaster buried right here,'" Van Druff said. > > The 72-year-old man from Waynesburg spent most of May clearing > > Wisecarver's gravesite. As a final touch, he obtained a flag marker from > > the > > Waynesburg American Legion that recognizes the months Wisecarver spent > > as > > a soldier in the Revolutionary War. > > The grave's historical significance was not lost on Ruth Morris of > > Waynesburg, who used to live near the area. Nine years ago, she learned > > that Van Druff cleared his own family's cemetery, so Morris asked his > > help in clearing Wisecarver's grave. It took quite a few years for > > Van Druff to secure the state Game Commission's permission to work, but > > she > > is very pleased with the results. > > "He did a wonderful job," Morris said. "I have no real connection to > > George Wisecarver, but I was very interested in seeing that grave > > cleaned up > > because I'm very interested in history." > > Wisecarver joined the military service from his home of Frederick > > County, > > Va., toward the end of the Revolutionary War, according to records > > housed > > at the Cornerstone Genealogy Society library in Waynesburg. As > > Washington's > > wagonmaster, he was present when Lord Cornwallis surrendered at > > Yorktown. > > Around 1800, Wisecarver and his wife, Catherine Orndoff Wisecarver, > > settled in a sparsely populated area of Southwestern Pennsylvania known > > as > > Whiteley Township. The couple and their nine children became one of the > > pioneer > > families in Greene County history. > > When Wisecarver died in 1842, he was buried on what used to be the > > family > > farm. It has since become part of the state gamelands. The grave is > > about > > a half-mile hike off Dutch Run Road. Van Druff needed to use tractors > > and > > an all-terrain vehicle to clear a path to the grave and to elimate a > > massive briar patch in the tiny cemetary. > > Since the Game Commission forbids motorized vehicles on the gamelands, > > it took a > > bit of time and effort to convince state officials to grant an exception > > for > > Van Druff's work. > > "That was the hardest part," he said just before he transported two > > journalists to the grave on his ATV. > > Once he was finally able to begin the job, Van Druff worked half days, > > after noon since turkey hunters roamed the woods in the morning hours. > > By > > Memorial Day, Van Druff's work was complete. > > The site is now one of few clearings amid the heavily wooded gamelands. > > However, not many will notice Van Druff's hard work because of the > > grave's > > remote location. > > "People told me I was crazy when I cleaned up the Van Druff cemetery, > > that no one would appreciate it. No one would care," Van Druff said. > > "But I > > care, I appreciate it and that's worth something. I can't just let this > > stuff go > > to nothing." > > Van Druff has notified some of Wisecarver's decendants, who reside in > > other areas across the country. A family excursion to the gravesite is > > being > > planned. Over the long term, Van Druff said he will cut the grass around > > the site > > and maintain it. "Now if I could only get someone to take over when I > > leave > > off," he said. > > > > > > ==== AMERICAN-REVOLUTION Mailing List ===