Bathsheba Sherman Gets A New Headstone

 

On August 30, 2024, we finally reached our goal to replace Bathsheba Sherman's headstone by seeing it all the way through, and having it finally replaced. I have to thank Betty and Carlo Mencucci for making this possible with their efforts throughout the last 4 years as well as Ocean State Monuments for doing a phenomenal job of replicating Bathsheba's headstone to the best of their ability given the type of stone and size. 

I posted the following post below on both Facebook and Instagram the day it was revealed, which quickly went viral. In fact, when Jason Hawes shared it, that led to over 200,000 views on that one post alone, so that was pretty amazing!

Photo: Elise Giammarco Carlson

"Yesterday, on August 30th, 2024, the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society, c/o Betty and Carlo Mencucci, gave Bathsheba Sherman back the dignity she's so much deserved. A new headstone was finally placed a few feet behind the original base of her original headstone.

The innocent woman who was posthumously slandered by many people, some living still and some who have already passed on, has now been truly vindicated by having her headstone restored. This has been a long time coming. It's taken a lot of work and I'm so grateful to everyone who helped in this effort.

Thank you to everyone who donated, shared the links to the fundraiser, and who raised awareness of the truth about Bathsheba. That she was an innocent victim in all of this, and that "The Conjuring" film, and the book "House of Darkness, House of Light," made her out to be someone she was not.

For many years, her headstone lay there in the cemetery, broken, because of ignorant people who believed the fabricated lies about her that were literally conjured up in the 1970's.

There have been many people ( para celebrities) who claimed that they wanted to help, but yet during the time that we were raising the funds they were MIA. I will not be forgetting that. However, there were some people who stepped up to the plate and helped and I won't be forgetting them either.

In the end, it was the average person like you and I that made the difference. And now Bathsheba will have the final resting place and peace she so much deserves. (Photo Credit: Elise Carlson)"

@followers
#justiceforBathsheba #BathshebaShermansVindication #BurrillvilleHistory #TheConjuringWasALie #storiesoftheforgotten #jaimerubiowriter #newheadstoneforBathsheba

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Fundraising Efforts Met

Several years ago, I had reached out to Betty at the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society and asked if there was anything I could do to help Bathsheba get her headstone repaired. It was determined that the stone was damaged beyond repair and the original remaining pieces of the stone had to be put in permanent storage for its own preservation. I had reached out to some of the people  who I had spoken to over the years who happened to be related in one way or another to Bathsheba or her husband, Judson, and I had hoped to get her family involved to replace her headstone. 

Unfortunately, that met a dead end and even though I had reached out to various relatives, the historical society never heard from them to initiate a replacement. So then I started thinking about raising the funds myself, but I wanted to make sure it was done the right way. I wanted to make sure that everyone knew it was on the level and so I started a GoFundMe with the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society listed as the beneficiaries, so that the public would see that I would not be the one collecting any money, it would all go directly to the historical society for Bathsheba.

Once Betty was on board, I got it started, and eventually Kerry Hopkins joined the team and the three of us managed the GoFundMe fundraiser online. 

I went and made a list of people within the paranormal field and reached out to them one by one individually. I contacted so many people asking for any help they could give be it a monetary contribution or even just sharing the link on their social media platforms since I know they all have a lot of followers, and we could get the word out much easier that we were doing something positive within the historical and paranormal community. 

What was the outcome? 

Out of all of the para-celebrities that I contacted, only a handful made a donation: Richard Estep, Penny Griffiths Morgan and Troy Taylor. Kenny Biddle, who is also part of the paranormal field but also on the skeptical side of things, also contributed to the fundraiser by sharing our link multiple times and reaching out to his followers. Biddle's added research and articles on the Skeptical Inquirer, as well as youtube live streams involving information regarding Bathsheba and the Conjuring House has also proved invaluable over the years.

Thankfully there were quite a bit of people within the paranormal community and historical community who kindly shared the link, regardless of whether or not they donated. For that, I am very appreciative. I also just learned yesterday evening that paranormal content creator, Amanda Millette, who goes by the pseudonym @spooky.new.england had also contributed to the fundraiser. 

There were others who donated such as Marcee Brightenstine, an author and historical investigative writer, Peter Meyerhoff, an experienced historian, and of course Tina Spottswood, the widow of the late, great Kent Spottswood. Without his invaluable research we would not know as much as we do about Bathsheba, as he was the first to debunk the "fakelore" as my friend Shannon Bradley Byers would put it. The world owes Kent a debt of gratitude for scouring through the archives years before the average person had a real clue of just who Bathsheba Sherman was. 

When it came to the "paranormal celebrities" I had contacted, very few replied to my message, most of them ignored me all together, and one had an excuse why he couldn't share the post -- not even bringing up the donation side of things. I was thankful for any reply but obviously disappointed that he couldn't even take the time to share the post. 

Sadly, there were several who had actually made money off of filming at the farmhouse, by doing television programs or having events there for one reason or another, who never reached out to us, and never donated or shared the link -- yet on film or in social media posts they claim that they cared so much about Bathsheba and wanted her to get a new headstone. Really? Then why didn't you help us? 

Again, money or not, the post could have been shared if they truly wanted to help our cause, but they ignored it. One perfect example was when I had reached out to a producer of a hit television paranormal series (that is now cancelled), and he had told me he would share my link to his two stars of his show, and I also reached out to both of them individually as well. Neither one replied, neither one shared the link, and neither one donated in any way. 

Again, I learned a lot during this time --- who actually cares about the dead, and who pretend to care on camera or social media so they can stay relevant and keep making money. That is a lesson a lot of you might want to pay attention to. Just because these paranormal people go on television and profess to care so much about helping share the truth about the dead, when it comes down to it, some of them are not really willing to go that extra mile to actually right those wrongs when given an opportunity to do so. 

I also wanted to touch on another habit that I noticed with a lot of fundraisers once they have reached their goal. A lot of times people will come out of the woodwork claiming they raised money for the cause, to make themselves look like they were involved when they weren't. 

In an interview recently with Dave Schrader, Andrea Perron mentioned the replacement of the stone and although she doesn't outright claim to have been involved, it's the way she mentioned it, even mentioning the costs to complete the job, that would leave the average person believing or assuming she was involved in some way. 

She wasn't. 

Besides the GoFundMe fundraiser I started, the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society had one cemetery history tour event back in 2022, where they had asked for donations towards replacing Bathsheba's headstone, but that was the only time to my knowledge that donations towards her headstone were accepted outside of the Gofundme fundraiser online.

Did they? Or Didn't They?

After a filming of an episode of "Kindred Spirits" at the farmhouse for The Travel Channel; (Season 4; Episode 2; "Hell House"; Air Date: January 10, 2020), which I had previously provided producer James Gagliano my historical research on not only Bathsheba Sherman but also the history of the home prior to their filming,  I had learned there had been a screening of that episode there at the farmhouse with the owners, the stars of the show Amy Bruni and Adam Berry, and some members of the Historical Society. 

In a post going way back to 2020, after learning that I was planning a fundraiser to replace Bathsheba's headstone, Adam Berry had mentioned he was happy that "more than one group of people  are raising funds for the historical society!!" 

Then one of the former owners, Jennifer Heinzen, made a comment on social media this year, just after Bathsheba's headstone was finally replaced, claiming they had raised $550.00 for Bathsheba's headstone in 2020, which I believe was the same time of the screening the Kindred Spirits episode, given the photograph below. 

However, according to Betty Mencucci at the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society when we spoke back on February 2, 2022, there were no funds raised for Bathsheba Sherman's headstone at that time. That was why I had started a fundraiser to begin with, because no one else had. I had been thinking about it for years.

In fact, Betty stated to me by correspondance: "When Kindred Spirits did their filming they said they would be happy to come back and do a fundraiser. Then Covid happened and everything stopped."

If any money was raised that evening in 2020, it became a donation towards the historical society itself, not any one specific cause. That must be clarified to the public.

For the record, the listed people below are the ONLY people to donate to replace Bathsheba Sherman's headstone via the GoFundMe fundraiser. These people below are the ones who made it happen, and they all deserve to be thanked publicly. 

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US, HELP BATHSHEBA SHERMAN! 

LIST OF DONORS: 

1. Tina Spottswood (widow of Kent Spottswood, the original historian to debunk Bathsheba Sherman's false history) $25.00
2. Penny Griffiths Morgan $5.00 
3. Andy Dimitras $5.00
4. Peter Meyerhof $50.00  
5. Troy Taylor $40.00  
6. Donna Wolk $20.00
7. James David $20.00
8. Richard Estep $40.00 
9. Jennifer Sprague $10.00
10. Karen Carothers $10.00
11. Angela Haklar $ 10.00
12. Patricia Austin $10.00
13. Shari Cain $10.00
14. Jennifer Campbell $20.00
15. Lisa Krick $ 20.00
16. Leanna Tallet Leanna $20.00
17. Anonymous * 20.00
18. Christina Quentin $25.00
19. Ileata Kenley $25.00
20. J'aime Rubio $100.00 
21. Dora Huber $ 25.00
22. Kandy Sumpter $25.00
23. Chelsea Hartupee $25.00
24. Judy Lucas $40.00
25. Anonymous *$10.00
26. Rikki Suen $10.00
27. Dayle Dooley $ 20.00
28. Anonymous *$5.00
29. Daniel Echt $25.00
30. Susan Doughty $10.00
31. Amanda Millette $20.00 
32. Jessi K $5.00
33. Johnelle Bergeron $ 20.00
34. Anonymous * 20.00
35. Marcee Brightenstine $25.00  
36. Anonymous * $10.00
37. Jillian Auffinger $10.00
38. Mikayla McKivergan $ 50.00
39. Gregory Duhamel $20.00 
40. Anonymous* $15.00
41. Rebecca Bonin $20.00
42. Crystal Pesaturo $50.00
43. Jacqueline Nunez $1,200.00 
44. Summer Paradis $50.00
45. Tanya Gilroy $10.00
46. Brooke Coen $5.00
47. Bonnie Pulver $ 25.00
48. Donald LaCroix $50.00
49. William Bryan $ 10.00
50. Ashley Dupont $ 5.00
51. Anonymous * $10.00
52. Elizabeth Thornton $ 20.00
53. Ken Krippeler $ 35.00

TOTAL FUNDS RAISED: $ 2,365.00

Last but not least, for the record, no one involved with the Warren's or N.E.S.P.R., nor any members of the Perron family have donated a single penny towards this fundraiser to replace Bathsheba's headstone. That should speak volumes to the world. The two families who benefited the most financially, besides James Wan and Warner Bros., didn't have anything to do with helping right one of  the most egregious wrongs done to Bathsheba posthumously. Not to mention the fact both of these families, the Warren's and the Perron's are actually the ones to blame for the start of all of this madness to begin with.  I don't think I need to even say another word about that. 

Current owner of the Richardson-Arnold farmhouse, Jacqueline Nunez's contribution shortly after purchasing the property was a large amount that put our fundraiser past its original goal.  Although it's unfortunate with the recent turn of events taking place at the farmhouse, and all the unnecessary drama going on which takes away from the historical integrity of the property, (which I do not approve of in any way), we did appreciate her generosity donating when she did.

Although there were dozens upon dozens of people who have used and exploited the "Conjuring" story and Bathsheba Sherman for their own financial gain and to promote their celebrity status, there are still good people out there who want to tell the truth, regardless of money or fame. Those are the people who keep sharing her true story, those are the people who donated to this fundraiser. Those are the people who made the difference. THANK YOU! 

Rest in Peace, Bathsheba -- from the people who really, truly care about you and getting your story correct, and respecting your final resting place. You will never be forgotten. 

(Copyright- 2024 -- www.jaimerubiowriter.com) 

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Deconstructing The Conjuring

Photo: Courtesy of Scott Shumas

In the 1970’s a story so outrageous and so terrifying sprang up out of thin air in a small town known as Burrillville, Rhode Island. The story was that a demonic entity was terrorizing a family living in a small farmhouse on the outskirts of town, near the Rhode Island/ Massachusetts border. The entity was quickly labeled as a woman by the name of Bathsheba Sherman and from there on out, this story, continuously added to, snowballed out of control into the monstrosity that is the demonic villain in the film known as “The Conjuring.”

Bathsheba Sherman was not a witch, nor was she descended from Mary Towne Easty as Lorraine Warren’s character claims in the film. Bathsheba was simply a decent Christian woman, who lived her life in that small town for 73 years, never having one bad accusation made against her in her lifetime. She was never accused of causing any sort of death or injury to anyone. There were no infants delivered up to Lucifer. There were no murders, and she did not hang herself either. She died of a stroke of paralysis, as an old woman, warm in her bed.

Bathsheba also never lived at the home on Round Top Road, which has been dubbed in recent years as “The Conjuring House.” In reality this farmhouse already had a name, The Richardson-Arnold House or simply the Old Arnold Estate. In later years, it also went by the name the Old Brooke Farm, or simply the Farm. At no point in time has it ever been known as the Dexter-Richardson house as one very popular podcast has claimed.

For the record, Bathsheba lived elsewhere in town and was not affiliated with the Arnold’s home in any way. She never lived nor worked at that property at any time in her life. The lies spread about Bathsheba seem to have started in the 1970’s shortly after the death of Mr. Kenyon (the last owner prior to the Perron family).

This was around the same time period that the Perron family purchased the home. Prior to that, no one in town had ever heard or read anything that insinuated any sort of accusations or rumors about Bathsheba in any manner. For the record, there are NO recorded documents of any sort of accusations made against Bathsheba anywhere during her lifetime in any historical records.

As time went by, the stories about the home and its alleged evil entity spiraled into a life of its own. It didn’t help matters that a book was written further slandering Bathsheba, and later the film, "The Conjuring," was made, and said to be based on the case files of Ed and Lorraine Warren. With the release of the film, the story sullying Bathsheba spread even more, like wildfire, moving about out of control, and now millions upon millions of people have become familiar with the fictional villain from the movie, believing that the story was true, when in fact, it was all a lie from the very beginning.

On the precipice of the 10th year anniversary of the release of this film, to date there has been only a handful of people trying to set the facts straight to clear Bathsheba’s name, myself being one of those people. I published my very first blog shedding light on the truth and debunking the false history in 2014, and later in my chapter “Bathsheba Sherman’s Vindication” in one of my books "Stories of the Forgotten: Infamous, Famous & Unremembered," published in 2016. Now with the GoFundMe fundraiser that I created to help the Burrillville Historical and Preservation Society raise funds to replace Bathsheba’s headstone in 2021, finally we are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It has been a long road, and at times a very lonely one.

Let me be very clear, besides my own research, as well as my good friend and former owner, Norma Sutcliffe, the late historian Kent Spottswood, and author Shannon Bradley-Byers, no other people had published anything on paper or online in the way of clearing Bathsheba's name whatsoever. Later on, my friend and researcher Kenny Biddle joined us in the "good fight" to separate fact from fiction regarding both Bathsheba Sherman and the house on Round Top Road in his piece in the Skeptical Inquirer. Another researcher and historian, Elise Giammarco Carlson who worked with Carl Johnson, also researched and wrote her findings on the property's history as well as Bathsheba's history, and lastly my friend Betty Mencucci from the Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society has been sharing the truth and striving at protecting Bathsheba's grave for years.

Again, over time it appears more and more people are starting to see the truth, but you have to understand, those of us who spent tireless hours, days, months, years researching this, did so with one purpose in mind, clearing Bathsheba's name, not to gain fame or fortune.

In the recent weeks, I have learned of several different people jumping on the bandwagon, claiming to have done extensive research about Bathsheba, planning projects to tell her true story once and for all, when in fact, the true story was already shared nearly a decade ago.

The facts are that the earlier researchers who did the ground work, the ones who laid the foundation sharing Bathsheba's true history, debunking the false claims not only about Bathsheba but of the house on Round Top Road, their work is being copied now, and newbies coming along are trying to use that information to make names for themselves because of the infamy the entire "Conjuring" story is known for.

So for those out there who are planning to write about this story, do me a favor and really dig into the research and do not piggy back off of other people's work. It not only reflects badly on you for being lazy, it also is disrespectful to those you chose to steal from, by not giving them credit where credit is due. If you plan to use any of our research, cite us as sources plain and simple. It only takes a second, and in the long run your work will be more respected for doing so.

Going back to the subject at hand, it appears that although time and the elements contributed to some damage to Bathsheba’s original headstone, it was vandalism that eventually did it in, causing the stone to be irreparable and forcing the historical society to place it in permanent storage.

As of February of this year, we finally reached our goal to replace Bathsheba’s stone and hopefully also implement additional measures for added security to protect this new stone from further damage in the future. Although this part of our journey has reached the finish line, there is still so much more to be done.

Like water slowly wearing down a boulder, I am beginning to reach a larger audience to inform them of the facts regarding Bathsheba’s true history, and I am beginning to correct this egregious wrong, slowly but surely. Unfortunately though, this fight to share the facts will never truly be finished. So I will continue to push on, sharing her true story so that the entire world may eventually know the truth.

What was said about Bathsheba in the book, “House of Darkness, House of Light,” and the film, “The Conjuring,” not to mention multiple paranormal television programs, blogs, podcasts, news articles and social media posts is complete and utter slander.

I have decided now that it is time for me to compile my research, my posts from all my other blogs and my book, and also keep adding to this story with further research and added information by colleagues as well, so that we can take apart this story, piece by piece to uncover the truth behind the Conjuring once and for all.

From sharing the truth about Bathsheba, to the real history of the farmhouse, I will bring you the truth, all the while I plan on exposing the charlatans pushing the "haunted history."

By reading this blog, and sharing my posts, you will also in turn help Bathsheba by sharing the facts, and once and for all helping vindicate her name, clearing it of all the horrific lies that she has been accused of. What if it were your grandmother or great grandmother that the world was slandering? Wouldn’t you want to right this wrong?

Well, Bathsheba was someone’s grandmother, and she and her family are no longer here to defend their family name. That is why I am here, to give a voice to the voiceless, and defend the defenseless, so that her name will be cleared once and for all. 

I also want to protect the memories of those who were actually attached to the history of the farmhouse: the Richardson, Arnold, Butterworth and Kenyon families. 

Please join me as we deconstruct The Conjuring.

 

J’aime Rubio, Author & Historian

(Copyright 5/20/2023) -- www.jaimerubiowriter.com