June 02--MILFORD -- Back in 1977, three youngsters playing in a thicket of weeds near Quarry Road and the Interstate 95 overpass came across a 100-year-old grave marker.
Now, police say, they have finally figured out where it came from and whose marker it was.
It belongs to an 18-month-old girl named Bertha Phillips who died in 1876 and came from Chelsea, Mass.
How it got to Milford was the chief mystery.
At first it was thought that the little girl lived in Connecticut, but there was no record of her living or dying in the state.
It was then determined through an Internet genealogy search of New England death records that Bertha Phillips died in Chelsea, Mass. This was soon confirmed by officials there.
"Approximately two years ago, thanks to members of this department and a person familiar with genealogy research, we were able to locate a record of death in Chelsea, Mass., for the name inscribed on the gravestone," police Information Officer Jeffrey Nielson said.
He said the city made contact there with the city clerk, head librarian and city historian helped solve the mystery.
"It was discovered that the stone was from Garden Cemetery in Chelsea, which was in operation from 1841 until the 1930s, when it was closed to further burials. The town of Chelsea currently maintains the cemetery."
The exact inscription on the stone reads: "Bertha, daughter of Wm. & M.J. Phillips, died Dec. 29, 1876. Age 1 yr, 6 mos, 20 days."
Nielson explained that back in 1977, since there was no Internet, searching genealogy records, particularly when you don't know the location of the individual, was difficult at best. The Police Department is now working with officials from Chelsea to return the grave marker to its rightful spot, he said.
Nielson credited Evidence Clerk Lisa Muir; Marcia Krusewski, who is the chief's administrative assistant; and Deputy Chief Tracy Mooney with following up various leads.
"It was thrilling when we all found out," Mooney said. "And when you walk into an evidence room and you see a gravestone with a small child's name on it, you know that it's not in its rightful place."
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