Description:
A metal plate 6”w x 2”h fastened to a chain link fence 129″w x 108”d x 48”h surrounding the grave plot of Elbridge Gerry and his family, located near Kersey. The grave site contains six gravestones, two of which are modern and four of which are the original gravestones of the Elbridge Gerry family. The original gravestones are badly eroded and difficult to read, but all the more interesting because of the erosion. One modern marker, 24”w x 8”h, of polished red granite, was placed in 1934 (donor(s) unknown). The other one, 36”w x 12″h on a ground level concrete base 44-1/2”w x 22”d, of unpolished red granite, was placed in 1989 through the efforts of the Beets family, owners of the property on which the grave sites are located, and Norman’s Memorials and Greeley Monument Works, two Greeley monument manufacturers. Faces S.

How to get there:
Drive east from Greeley on US-34 to Road 61, which is 4.6 miles east of Kersey, thence 2.0 miles north on Road 61 to where the road — curves sharply to the left. Do NOT follow the curve. Drive straight ahead, which is the driveway of the owner of the farm on which the grave site is located. The grave site is about 380 feet east of the house. The grave site is on private property. Do not trespass. Get per­mission from the property owner. WARNING — there are rattlesnakes in the area at times. Do NOT attempt to locate the grave site unless wearing substantial boots.

Inscription:
FENCE DONATED BY
Centennial State Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
1981

History:
Elbridge Gerry, first permanent white settler in Weld County, is said to have been the grandson of Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, governor of Massachu­setts, ambassador to France and vice president of the United States. He was born in Massachusetts on July 18, 1818 and came to the Rocky Mountains in the 1830’s as a beaver trapper. He went to Wyoming to trade with the Indians, married a Sioux girl, and later developed a fine horse ranch on the South Platte about ten miles east of Greeley. He earned the sobriquet of “The Paul Revere of Colorado” when, on August 19, 1864, two old Cheyenne Indians came to his ranch and warned that 800 to 1000 Indians were going to raid the settlements and — ranches, dividing into several parties and striking simultaneously. Gerry mounted his horse and rode 65 miles to Denver with the news. Messengers were promptly dispatched to all threatened localities, thus avoiding what could have been one of the most horrible massacres in the history of Indian warfare.