web1_TTL100116crestwood.87.jpg

Crestwood Class of ‘87 preparing for reunion

web1_TTL100216mencken.bdy_.jpg

Happy birthday Jeffrey Thomas Mencken!

<p>FORTY FORT &#8212; John Devlin came to the borough on a mission.</p><p>The Airmont, N.Y., native came to the Forty Fort Cemetery Saturday with his wife, Val, in hopes of finding his great-grandfather.</p><p>Fortunately for the couple, the Forty Fort Cemetery Association was holding one of its historic guided tours and lectures Saturday, led by association President Matt Schooley.</p><p>&#8220;He wants to find the gravesite,&#8221; Val said. &#8220;We&#8217;re hoping it wasn&#8217;t washed way in Agnes.&#8221;</p><p>The couple has been tracing their ancestry since 2011, which landed them in the borough &#8212; on their 40th wedding anniversary.</p><p>&#8220;On our anniversary, he takes me to cemeteries,&#8221; Val joked.</p><p>After providing a historic narrative of the Forty Fort Meeting House, Schooley ventured outdoors, giving history lessons on some of the land&#8217;s most prominent residents.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s all sorts of really fascinating stories here,&#8221; he said, noting the Shoemaker and Hoyt families.</p><p>Noticing John Devlin looking at the cemetery&#8217;s markers, Schooley decided to assist the couple in finding his ancestor.</p><p>John Devlin said his father lived in Larksville and his grandfather in Wilkes-Barre. He traced his great-grandfather, John Boyer, to the Forty Fort Cemetery. He believes his great-grandfather died around the 1930s.</p><p>Schooley guided John Devlin through the cemetery association&#8217;s website.</p><p>&#8220;We started digitizing in 2012,&#8221; Schooley said. &#8220;All of our records that survived the flood of &#8216;72 have been digitized. Before that, we just don&#8217;t have the records.&#8221;</p><p>After a quick search by name and year of death, John Devlin learned that his great-grandfather was in the cemetery at Site 298. &#8230; And that he was standing just 20 feet away from his great-grandfather&#8217;s grave.</p><p>As he quickly followed Schooley down the short path, John Devlin rejoiced as he saw the name Boyer appear on a tombstone.</p><p>&#8220;This is very nice, very thrilling,&#8221; he said as he took photos of the marker. &#8220;It&#8217;s really fantastic. I never thought I&#8217;d find it.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It works. It really works,&#8221; Val added.</p><p>The marker, which was on the larger side, stated that it was the resting spot of both John Boyer and his wife, Elizabeth. John said that through research he found that his great-grandfather was a horse trainer, earning a modest income at the time but becoming one of the wealthiest members of his family.</p><p>John found what he traveled so far for, but he was in for an ever bigger surprise.</p><p>Standing next to the tombstone, Val discovered that John Boyer had a neighbor - John Devlin&#8217;s great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother and their children.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Forty-Fort-Cem-Tour-3-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">John Devlin, Airmont, N.Y., takes a photo of the tombstone of his great-grandfather Saturday as Forty Fort Cemetery Association President Matt Schooley looks on. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Forty-Fort-Cem-Tour-3-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>John Devlin, Airmont, N.Y., takes a photo of the tombstone of his great-grandfather Saturday as Forty Fort Cemetery Association President Matt Schooley looks on. </caption0><photoCredit0>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Forty-Fort-Cem-Tour-2-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">John and Val Devlin, drove from Airmont, N.Y., to take a tour of the Forty Fort Cemetery hoping to find John&#8217;s great-grandfather. Matt Schooley, right, president of the Forty Fort Cemetery Association, helped the Devlins locate John&#8217;s ancestor. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Forty-Fort-Cem-Tour-2-3.jpg</photo1><caption1>John and Val Devlin, drove from Airmont, N.Y., to take a tour of the Forty Fort Cemetery hoping to find John&#8217;s great-grandfather. Matt Schooley, right, president of the Forty Fort Cemetery Association, helped the Devlins locate John&#8217;s ancestor. </caption1><photoCredit1>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Forty-Fort-Cem-Tour-1-3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Amy Nova, of West Pittston, took her daughter, Selena, 9, to the Forty Fort Cemetery as a part of a school project. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/web1_Forty-Fort-Cem-Tour-1-3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Amy Nova, of West Pittston, took her daughter, Selena, 9, to the Forty Fort Cemetery as a part of a school project. </caption2><photoCredit2>Tony Callaio | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Upcoming events</strong></p><p>The Forty Fort Cemetery Association will hold three additional tours of the historic cemetery. The tours will be held on Sunday, Saturday and Oct. 9 All tours begin at 1 p.m.</p><p>Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. All proceeds go to the Forty Fort Cemetery Association.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Forty Fort Cemetery tour helps man connect with great-grandfather