Brinkman-Rine Cemetery Cleanup
November 7, 1998

Once again, members of the Allegany County Mailing List (MDALLEGA-L) gathered at a county cemetery. This time the purpose was to clear the area of growth endangering many burial sites. This cemetery has already been inventoried by the Genealogical Society and is included in "Allegany County, Maryland Rural Cemeteries," which can be obtained from the Society.

Hats off to the dedicated crew. Armed with chain saws, weed wackers, rakes and shovels the multigenerational team set forth to clear the resting places of these Allegany County settlers. Team leaders included Sharon Banzhoff and Jeri Gallus, both of whom have relatives buried here. Ed Twigg, from the Genealogical Society's Cemetery Committee, pitched in with how-to hints and lots of muscle. Actually, Ed worked on three different cemeteries on this fine day. We were all very pleased to have him with us. Rounding out the group were Connie & Carl Beachy, Ken & Lynn Burdette, Tom Banzhoff and granddaughter, Ashton, Pete and Julie Gallus, Austin Twigg, and Carol Askey.

Revin' Up the Engines

Carl Beachy in the forground and Ed Twigg behind him, prepare their weed wackers. Readying their rakes are Connie Beachy on the left and Jeri Gallus on the right.

 

Here's Ed again, right in the thick of things. This time he is flanked by Ashton on the left and Julie on the right.

As one of the last to arrive, the cemetery was looking real good by the time I staggered in. Most of the heavy chain sawing and weed wacking had been done and raking up the remains was in progress. Ken was everywhere as the official photographer of the event (photos to follow). Jeri added a very special touch, by bringing plants along, which the children planted at numerous gravesites. Everyone contributed to the effort.

Sharon & Jeri supplied the vittles. We all ate hungrily, while gathering around the small cooking fire to warm ourselves sharing tales of our genealogical searches.

By now you all know Ed. Once again, he is in the midst of the ladies. Does anyone see a pattern here? To Ed's right is Sharon Banzhoff, and to his left are Ken Burdette and Connie Beachy. Ken is tickling Connie trying to get her to smile for the picture.
Gathered around the table in our only multigenerational shot are Pete, his mom Jeri and Lynn Burdette. In the background with his back to the table is Tom Banzhoff (no clear shots available). To his right are Sharon and Carol.
So Where's Ed?

We couldn't find him for this shot, so Austin Twigg volunteered to take his place between the women, in this case, Carol & Connie.

 

After lunch, we returned to raking the leaves and remains of the cuttings. By 2:30, we were all done and bade farewell to those resting in the Brinkman-Rine Cemetery.

You might be wondering why we chose this cemetery to clean. The answer is simple. Both Jeri and Sharon have family members buried here. Jeri's family includes Rines, Ryans & Robys while Sharon's includes Twiggs and Kasekamps. Both Jeri and Sharon have contributed additional information about their respective families.

 

Jeri's Family Sharon's Family
Daniel RINE born March 3, 1790, age 79 years. (Father). He died about 1869. The son of John RINE and Magdolena ?. They supposedly came from Berkley Co. WV to Allegeny Co. MD. This is quoted in "Then Land of The Living" by John Mash.

Daniel had a sister, Harriet who married Issac DAVISON. John RINE died btw. 1820 and 1823. Magdolena may have died around 1827, as she deeded "Clark's Folly" over to Daniel her son. Daniel RINE married Hester Agnes DAVIS about 1834.

Hester Agnes DAVIS, wife of Daniel RINE born Oct. 18, 1817, aged 97 years. (Mother, Thy will be done. Note: Last surviving pensioner of War of 1812)

Buried here are the these children of Hester and Daniel RINE:

Martha A., dau. of Daniel and Hester J. RINE, died Jan. 7, 1862, aged 5 years.

J. D. RYAN, Co. B, 2nd MD P.H.B. Infantry (military stone, no date)

There is a small grave at the foot of Daniel RINE. No dates or other ingravings.

Wm. McKinley RYAN, son of D.S. and S. J. RYAN, born Nov. 11, 1896-died Jan. 29, 1897. (Suffer little children to come unto Me. Of such is the kingdom of Heaven)

{D. S. RYAN is Daniel S. RYAN son of Hester and Daniel RINE}

James C. ROBY, son of Emmanuel ROBY and Elizabeth RINE, died July 7, 1877 aged 5 yrs. 1 month.

David M. ROBY, son of Emmanuel ROBY and Elizabeth RINE, died July 7, 1877 age 13 years 10 months.

Amma ROBY, dau. of Emmanuel ROBY and Elizabeth RINE, died Apr. 24, 1863, aged 5 years 6 months and 2 days.

Emanuel ROBY was born 23 Nov 1834 in Washington Co. MD. Mary Elizabeth RINE born 23 Mar 1835, dau. of Daniel and Hester RINE. They were married about 1855. Both are buried in the Reckley Cemetery.

 Sharon believes the Mr. & Mrs. Twigg referenced to in the Allegany Co. Rural Cemetery book, to be Albert Twigg d. 12/30/1920 and his wife Sarah A. (Hudson) Twigg d. 2/26/1936. Both their death certificates indicate burials were to be in the Brinkman-Rine Cemetery at Green Ridge.

The death certificate of Ruth Kasekamp indicates her burial was in the Paw Paw area but according to her granddaughter, who attended the funeral, she was buried in the Brinkman-Rine Cemetery with her husband, Henry Kasekamp.

Siblings Albert Twigg, and Ruth (Twigg) Kasekamp had infant children buried in this cemetery. They were the son and daughter of Harrison and Jane Twigg. Sharon "believes" Harrison and Jane are also buried in this cemetery and believes the two sunken adult graves in the middle of the Kasekamp and Twigg infants are where Harrison and Jane are buried. All the Twiggs documented in this cemetery are from the Harrison and Jane Twigg line. The 1880 Census has all of these Twiggs documented living in Green Ridge.

The sons of Harrison have been documented in the Allegany Co. Census records as being lock tenders in the area of Twigg Hollow near Twigg Run. Sons listed as Lock Tenders in the various census' were Hiram/Harmon, Albert and Moses Twigg, as well as Harrison himself.

Harrison Twigg witnessed the will of Frederick Kasekamp (father of Henry)
on 5 April 1873. Frederick Kasekamp is buried in the Robey Cemetery on Carroll Road, near Carroll Chimney.

Many of the Green Ridge people moved across the Potomac River in the areas of Paw Paw, Magnolia and Doe Gully, which is evident from the Morgan Co. census books of 1850-1860-1870, as well as "Graveyard Histories of Morgan
Co. WV". The railroad in Morgan Co. WV provided employment for the people, long after the C & O Canal ended operation.

 

Members (* indicates burials of children only) of the following families have been buried in the Brinkman-Rine Cemetery.

  • Barnes*

  • Bell*

  • Brinkman

  • Crane*

  • Gross

  • Kasekamp*

  • Marshall

  • McCabe

  • Miller

  • Northcraft*

  • Perry*

  • Rine

  • Roby*

  • Rockwell

  • Ryan

  • Sealock

  • Twigg

  • Wolf

 

Some Parting Thoughts

The oldest marked burial is that of Anna Roby (24 APR 1863). She was the 5 year old daughter of E.M. & E.M. Roby. The most recent burial is that of Michael E. McCabe, Sr. who died in 1974 at the age of 87 or 88. Actually, all the marked burials since 1920 are McCabes.

On leaving the cemetery, Sharon posed the question "Where did everybody go?" The families apparently "vanished." This, together with the appearance that many of the burials were children, led me to examine things more closely. If my count is correct, there are 50 marked or reported burials in this cemetery. Of the 50, 28 are children (those under 20 yrs of age). Between 1863 and 1920, 24 of the 28 children were buried, with only two known burials of children after 1920. Half that many adults (12) were buried by 1920. Marked adult burials after 1920 are all in family plots opened by 1920. Prior to 1920, the only marked husband/wife burials are those of Frederick & Mary Brinkman and Daniel & Hester Ann Rine. There are 3 mothers buried with at least one child, and no indication that the father is buried with his family. Five children from one family who died in the same year are not buried with their parents, but their parternal grandmother is buried with them.

From this very cursory review of the information from the Brinkman-Rine cemetery, one might conclude that life in the area was very difficult. Many individuals and families came, but did not stay. It appears that only a few families persevered, among them the Brinkmans, Rines, Twiggs and McCabes. A review of the land records may shed more light on the subject. It seems that by the 1920's, the population in these hills had decreased. Where did they go? Why did they go? Sharon has answered some of these questions already. One of the most significant influences had to have been the demise of the canal and the opportunities with the railroad in West Virginia.

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