The Rochester Historical Society showed off some of Rochester’s interesting historical figures during a tour at Woodside Cemetery at the East Rochester Church/Museum on Wednesday evening.

Much of the tour focused on the Morse and Gallt families, the latter of which one tour guide, Barbara Bailey, is an ancestor of.

Before it became a museum, the Historical Society's HQ was a Methodist church and later became a Congregational house of worship. The cemetery was at the site on County Road before the church was, with the oldest grave dating back to 1828.

That grave belongs to Revolutionary War veteran Ben Gurney. The headstones of all the war veterans are marked with a flag, most of whom were from the War of 1812 and the Civil War.

One of the first graves Bailey spoke about was that of John Gallt Jr., who fought in the War of 1812. He served in the volunteer Massachusetts militia after an attack on Wareham by the British warship HMS Nimrod.

Buried nearby was John T. Gallt, a member of the Union Army.

“People said he was never the same after the war,” she said.

A soldier who fought with John T. Gallt wrote a letter describing the horrific sights and injuries they witnessed in battle.

“He would possibly be diagnosed with PTSD these days,” Bailey said.

Betty Beaulieu took the tour group to the grave sites of many Morse family relatives. Nahum Morse was both a farmer and a justice of the peace, while John Morse was a traveling salesman who lived on County Road.

Following the tour, the historical society served refreshments and held a meeting.