Monday, June 18, 2012

Broadfoot Men in Granite

Broadfoot Men in Granite by midgefrazel
Broadfoot Men in Granite, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Granite-in-My-Blood: An Understatement
What would be more appropriate for me but to own a book about the Granite Workers that lived in Westerly, Rhode Island?

I didn't know that this year, 2012, would be all about finding out as much as I can about the men in my family that came from Scotland to work in the quarries in Rhode Island. It started out in January with my Broadfoot cousins in California, joining Facebook and communicating with me. 

We gained more information about each other. What surprised me was what very little I really know about the people buried at River Bend Cemetery in the Broadfoot plot. I spent months on them after taking photos of the headstones. I did determine that there must be very few of us left that are not of the California Broadfoot folks. 

Sadly, one of my researchers in Georgia has passed away. He and his wife (my cousin) took photos of my great grandparents who retired there and are buried in Lithonia City Cemetery.

One day, I discovered a book about the Granite industry in "South County". It is a hardcover book and with shipping was quite expensive. I decided early in June that I would buy it so I ordered it from the Babcock Smith Museum in Westerly. It arrived in my mailbox last Friday. This clip above, it a shot of the men who lived in Westerly that worked in the quarries. The bottom name is my grandfather.


So, in addition to reporting on cemeteries this summer, I am going to blog about the amazing information in this book. Yes, it is all about granite.

No comments: