Saturday I visited Riverview Cemetery, while I was walking around I found the gravestone for the May family. It stated that they had all drowned and the dates were 1927. So sad. The children were all young.
Do you know how many people died at the time of the flood and how many of them were from Richmond, Vermont? jft

Hi Joyce,

Sorry for the delay, I had to dig out my copy of Stories and Pictures of the Vermont Flood  by R.E. Atwood, 1927. According to the listing on the last page there were 55 casualties, none from Richmond, curious. I will have to do some research and get back to you. In the meantime, if you click on the special exhibits link in the left hand margin it will take you to our page regarding the flood in Richmond. Also check out our publication Richmond Vermont - A History of More than 200 Years, there will be a book signing by the author on Oct 13th at The Old Round Church.

Thanks for visiting our website and using this forum!

Hello again Joyce,

I had an opportunity to do some research at town hall yesterday. It seems that there were no death certificates issued in Richmond for flood victims, but there were burial permits. All of these permits, with the exception of one, were issued for residents of Bolton. The one for Richmond was for William Allen, but no corresponding death certificate. It is possible that Mr. Allen was one of the estimated 15 to 18 occupants, possible casualties, of the Hayes Boarding House in Jonesville which housed a crew working on the new concrete highway.

The following is an exerpt from R.E. Atwoods Stories and Pictures of the Vermont Flood November, 1927:

  Mr. and Mrs. William Agan, who live on the bank of Joiner Brook, a branch of the Winooski River at Bolton, heard the home of their neighbor, John May, come scraping and bumping down the highway past their house about 2:30 A.M. From the upstairs window, where he was marooned, Mr. Agan could see Mr. May with a lantern peering from a second story window. He seemed confused and, as he went by call out .... Where am I? .... Youre at Agans .... came the reply and then, .... This is Jack May, Were gone! Good-bye ..... and seconds later the house was caught in the smashing torrent of Joiner Brook and hurled against the railroad bridge, where it was completely demolished.
  John Mays body was found about a mile below Bolton. Those of his wife and three of his children were recovered from the debris of their house piled against the railroad culvert. The fourth child has not been found, and due to the snow which now carpets Vermont, it may be spring before it is recovered.

A tragic tale to be sure. I hope this answers your question, thanks for supporting the Richmond Historical Society.

I have added memorial pages and the photographs I took of the May family headstones to http://www.findagrave.com and wonder if it would be ok with you if I used your quote above from the exerpt taken from R.E. Atwoods book to add to their bio page.  As I was adding their memorial pages and the photos of their stones and saw the ages of the children it made me so sad that a complete family was lost.

Absolutely! We are here to share our rich history, thanks for asking.

Dave

Thank you, Dave.  I have added the information to John May's page along with giving you credit and a hyperlink to the Society's homepage.
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