By Gary Berton
George Loyd, lived in New Rochelle from 1853 to his death in 1906. For 30 years he cared for the abandoned grave of Paine, and when the Monument was moved in 1905, and the road widened, he cut off a piece of the tree over the grave for remembrance (this piece is in the TPNHA Collection at Iona College).
Lyod had an interesting life, growing up in Rhode Island and his family participated in two rebellions against the still-English model of government there (the Dorr Rebellion and again when a new constitution was written.) When the Civil War broke out he sided with the South and still opposed slavery, citing States’ Rights. He was a founding member of TPNHA in 1884 for caring for Paine’s presence in New Rochelle and his unwavering efforts to promote Paine’s ideas.
The original locations of the Monument and Gravesite
When Vale placed the monument in New Rochelle, he put it 30 feet to the north of the grave site. We know this from the description of it from the 1892 Eckler edition of Linton’s Life of Paine (see page 2 of the Newsletter The Beacon #4). The article in this issue from page 2, we know the Monument was moved straight back 15 feet to make way for the North street expansion. With these calculations we can determine that the gravesite is under the right lane of Paine Avenue (the street splits into two halves surrounding the Monument, entering it, and exiting it). It is about 3?4 of the way over in that lane. It is also approximately in the center of the sidewalk along North Avenue if it continues into Paine Avenue. The original Vale location of the Monument is also in the center of that sidewalk along North Avenue, directly in front of the present Monument location.