Sparta Cemetery and the Leather Man

Our last stop of the day was Sparta Cemetery, site of the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, a gravestone that was struck by a British cannonball in 1780, and the grave of the Leather Man. The Leather Man is a pretty well-known historical figure in these parts. After decades of walking on a 365-mile, continuous loop through New York and Connecticut, he died in 1889 and was buried on the edge of Sparta Cemetery. In 2011, people attempting to exhume the Leather Man's body to give him a more proper burial and possibly test his DNA found nothing in the place where he was supposed to be buried. They put up a new marker anyway, which we found covered in offerings for the Leather Man.


This stone caught our attention as we were leaving. It was obviously not made by a professional, but was inscribed with the name John Brenegen (?) and the date 1855 or 1856. It also has some recent offerings.

This is a lovely image in sandstone of an eagle pelican feeding its chicks in a nest; my mother recognized it as an old symbol that predates Christianity but was adopted as a symbol of Christ's sacrifice.


And here's an example of a sandstone where the deceased's initials were substituted for the cherub motif: Daniel Miller, who died as a child in 1775.


Lastly, a cherub with fine strands of hair, much like this grave in the St. Mark's Cemetery.