Dr. Abel is an archaeologist and adjunct professor, specializing in archaeological consulting, National Register Nominations, and historical research. He has a PhD in anthropology from the University at Albany, SUNY. Tim specializes in ceramic analysis and field methodology. His research interests include Great Lakes prehistory, trade, mortuary studies and military sites. In the past, Tim has been involved in research on northwestern Ohio Late Archaic, Early Woodland and Late Woodland/Protohistoric cultures and War of 1812 military sites throughout northern New York.

In 1870 an act was passed by the State of New York to prohibit the further interment of the dead in the Old Burial Ground in the Village of Heuvelton, NY. Families were asked to remove loved ones to the newly consecrated Hillcrest Cemetery. Not all the graves were removed, however, and several were inadvertently discovered in 2019 during the construction of the Heuvelton Potable Water Upgrades project. In this paper we document the archaeological monitoring, mitigation and recovery of five complete individuals (BF1, BF2, BF8, BF9, BF10), one incomplete individual (BF7), and several unassociated human remains of mostly indeterminate sex individuals including four juveniles, one young adult, and one adult of unknown age. All of the individuals exhibited pathological conditions. In addition, we discuss the associated material culture (e.g., coffin hardware and burial accoutrements) that suggests the individuals were buried with care in the early to mid 19th century, in coffins made of pine and poplar. The bioarchaeological results presented here offer a glimpse of what life (and death) were like for early settlers in 19th-century rural New York