NEW CemZIG: Cemetery Zoom Interest Group Launches April 3rd, 2025!

Do you know who your 4th great grandparents are? where they were buried? It’s likely they lie in one of many old burial grounds scattered throughout York, ME. Some may buried near First Parish Church or old structures such as the McIntire Garrison, but many are in old farm fields near long-gone homesteads or buried deep in the woodlands. Unless these sacred places are documented and maintained to control overgrowth and decay, they will be lost forever. Some may already have disappeared from sight and memory.

We are launching CemZIG on April 3rd with the intent to help preserve and honor these special places for generations to come, as well as to figure out who’s where. CemZIG is sprouting because a greatdeal of interest was expressed in recent GenZIG zooms about these vulnerable burial grounds. Several GenZIG members have expertise and experience in caring for the old graves, and the Junkins Family Association has conducted cemetery maintenance events including one with the MMCA several years ago that visited cemeteries with graves of some of our intermarried ancestors. The Junkins Family Association, led by Ken Junkins (son of the late Alan Junkins and descendant of Scottish prisoner of war Robert Junkins–Micum McIntire’s colleague in servitude and Cider Hill neighbor in freedom) and Jan Maier are the Co-Leaders of the new CemZIG, and welcome any and all of you to join us!

Our goals are 1) to create and share a standardized digital cemetery mapping tool (which we will pilot test at the reunion this year) and 2) to provide cemetery maintenance education and events. Lots of groundwork has been done, and people are encouraged to do as little or as much as they please on these projects–the group will decide what/when/how, and over time will collaborate with other old family associations of York plus local York agencies and experts involved with cemeteries. We anticipate a monthly Zoom on Thursday evenings, two weeks after each GenZIG to accommodate those who attend both ZIGs.

Hats off to a 375-year-old friendship between the McIntire and Junkins families!! What an auspicious year to begin our new CemZIG!

Contact Jan Maier, jemsong7@icloud.com, or Ken Junkins, kdjunkins@gmail.com, with any questions or for further information and to receive the Zoom link for our first Zoom!