Sad news

I recently received an email from Bob Rosati. Bob is the driving force behind the 17th CVI virtual cemetery on Find A Grave. Many of you have benefitted from the work that Bob and his fellow contributors have done in tracking down and documenting the final resting places of (currently) 991 members of the regiment.

From Bob:

“I want to let you know the sad news that Charlene Henderson passed away in November, in case you hadn’t heard. As you know, she started collecting biographical information on regiment members many years ago, including burial sites, long before I started my project. We “joined forces” about four years ago and she added a wealth of information to the biographies of many members, as well as identifying the gravesite locations of several I was unable to find. She was enthusiastic and exceptionally energetic and a great researcher (better than me). I’ll miss her as she also had a great sense of humor, but her contribution will live on in the Findagrave site (and your website) in addition to her many other projects.”

Anyone who spent any time looking at the entries for the 17th CVI virtual cemetery will see quickly what Bob is talking about – there is a ton of additional information added to many of the entries there, all of which add an extra dimension to the stories of those soldiers (and in many cases, their families).

For the casual visitor to this site, looking for information about one of their ancestors, the hours of research put in by the various contributors to this site and to Bob’s project are probably not readily obvious. It is to me, though, and whatever value is derived by others is a direct result of the dedication and commitment of folks like Charlene.

I’ve posted her obituary below. I only ever knew Charlene from her role as an indefatigable defender of the memories of the soldiers of the 17th Connecticut, but she was so much more.