| The headstone is in place in the Payson City Cemetery. See below for directions to the cemetery. The face and back of the stone are polished and the top and sides are rough cut to symbolize the times and the man. The wagon represents 150 years since Jacob entered the Salt Lake Valley and the chain represents our link to the past. Dates are by year only since I cannot document Jacob's actual birth. In place for Memorial Day, 1999. The photo was taken with a disposable camera late in the afternoon on Memorial Day, 1999. |
The entrance to the cemetery is at 400 North and 800 East. Take the Payson exit at highway marker 254 if you are South bound or about 253 if your are North bound. Travel South on Main Street (past McDonald's) to 400 North and turn east to 800 East. Once in the cemetery turn right and follow the road to the east side and drive north to the second crossroad. The headstone will be about 10-15 feet before the second cross road and about 20-30 feet west of the side road. (p.s. I'm not skilled at drawing straight lines with a mouse.)
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The existing stone was so deteriorated it was set down in concrete.
How did all this come about?
On Memorial Day 1997, my sister and I went to the Payson City Cemetery in Payson, Utah County, Utah to locate the grave of Jacob Hatch. The actual site is not known for certain, but there is a beautiful site where two of his great granddaughters are buried that overlooks the mountains east of Payson. The only headstone in the section is for one of his great granddaughters. The face on the stone is so badly eroded that all that could be read were two words "sacred" and "memory". I understand that a few years ago a third word "daughter" could be read. Last year's deterioration of the stone was so dramatic that nothing could be read. The rest of the lot with eight more burial sites is unmarked. The cemetery is located at 400 North and 800 East in Payson.
In July, 1989, three of us met with a worker at the cemetery who used devining rods. With the use of two rods, he located the graves of two children, assumed to be the daughters of William Henry Hatch, son of Layton Hatch. One of the graves has the deteriorating headstone the other is unmarked and is also identified is in another section of the cemetery. It is possible that Jacob is buried in another section of the Cemetery. There are two unidentified burials in the Manwill section which is nearby and the location Isaac Jr.'s first wife and two daughters. Jacob and his youngest daughter, Ellen, could be there. A fire at the cemetery in the late 1800s destroyed the early records, including the record of Jacob's burial location. There is no actual evidence that Jacob is buried in the above plot, but the stone was placed there because the section is empty and owned by the Hatch family. The other possible location has several stones already in place.
According to the sexton's records William Hatch purchased Block 23, Lot 26, but the year is unknown. The sexton indicated there was space for 10 graves, but some looked empty. The following graves have been identified: Lavina Jane Hatch and Sarah Eliza Hatch, daughters of William H. Hatch. Also buried at Payson are two Hatches related to John Hatch, and Jacob Hatch who died 8 Jan 1876. The relative given for Jacob was John Hatch. Again, only one burial was actually located.
Kaye Hooley.