On Thursday, October 22, three gravestones were set at Tolman Cemetery in Rockland to honor a Revolutionary War soldier, a Revolutionary War patriot, and a War of 1812 soldier. In 2017 the Lady Knox Chapter NSDAR brought to fruition the restoration of Tolman Cemetery and recognition of the 24 Revolutionary War veterans with a new memorial marker at the entrance to the cemetery. Tolman Cemetery is also the resting place of fourteen War of 1812 veterans.

Through the efforts of Chapter members Tolman Cemetery was placed on the state registry of historic places and on the national registry of historic places. But more work was needed to complete the project. Two soldiers and a patriot needed proper markers on their graves.

Two men who served their emerging country lay in an unmarked grave and a grave marked only by a field stone. One, Constant Rankin, who served as a sergeant in the Continental Line, was eligible for a marker from the Veterans Administration. The other, Oliver Robbins, Sr., provided patriotic service and was not eligible for a VA marker. For him, Jesse Casas, a stone worker from Washington, carved a marker from a piece of the 1947 cemetery memorial which had been replaced in 2017.

A Veterans Administration marker was ordered for James Douglas who served as a lieutenant in the Second Regiment (Ulmer’s) Massachusetts Militia in the War of 1812. The VA marker replaced the shattered pieces of Lt. Douglas’ original gravestone.

On October 22, Bob Williams of Brooks Monuments, his nephew Greshom Williams, Jesse Casas, Norm Casas, and Isaac Casas, and members of the Rockland Cemetery Association grounds crew arrived at Tolman Cemetery to set the three gravestones. Overseeing the project were Joanne Richards (regent for Lady Knox Chapter) and Helen Shaw (Chapter registrar) who had coordinated the restoration effort in 2017.