Capt. Daniel Hennison Daley, Co. A. buried in Vale Cemetery, Schenectady, New York, in Section Q, Plot  29. Born on November 21, 1840. Died on October 16, 1866, in Schenectady, N.Y., at age 25.

 

* I first visited this grave in 2007, after a tough search of an overgrown lot tucked in the back of Vale Cemetery. After having fought back weeds (which I found out the hard way was predominantly poison ivy), I found Daley's marker in three pieces and settling under the earth after years of neglect. Sad as it was, I tried but found I was not designed with superhuman strength or powers to change what I had found.

 

Flash forward to 2011, when I was contacted by Daniel Daley's great-great-grandson, who was unaware of the condition of his relative's grave marker. The photos I shared prompted him to launch a kickstart fundraising campaign and completely spearheaded a clean-up project that had the burial plot restored in 2013.