Of Graveyards and Things

Identifying Family Ambrotypes

2011-03-19T15:42:00.005-05:00

Last Thursday, my father was helping his mother clean out the basement of his mother’s (my grandmother’s) home, where she and several generations of the family have lived. At the start of the day, she handed my father a daguerreotype case which included an image of a young man. She said that it had belonged to her second husband, my step-father Henry Howland, and that it had been in her desk for a long time, but that she did not know who the image was of, presumably an ancestor of Henry’s. As the day progressed, Dad helped to clear out an area of the basement which was a work space of Henry’s, where he discovered another daguerreotype case, which included two images, of a man on the left and a woman on the right. My grandmother had not seen these before, and again presumed that they must have been ancestors of Henry’s, possibly a husband and wife.

Dad asked me to take a look at Henry’s genealogy and see if I might be able to come up with any possible suggestions to help identify these individuals.

Henry Emerson Howland was born in 1918 in Hanson, MA. He was the son of Henry Crapo Howland (b. 1 June 1879, Hanson, MA) and Minnie S. Smejkel (b. 1894, Germany). Since both of the dag cases included case manufacturer labels which were made in Massachusetts, I could eliminate Henry’s mother’s line as possibilities, and focus solely on the ancestry of Henry Crapo Howland. He was the son of Calvin Leavitt Howland (b. 1845, Hanson, MA) and Ada Marian Crapo (b. 1854, Bridgewater, MA).

With this information at hand, it was time to further inspect the labels attached to the dag cases and the images and their labels. The first important discovery was that none of the three images were actually daguerreotypes, although they are matted in daguerreotype cases. All three are actually ambrotypes.

Daguerrotypes were silver coated copper plates which have a mirror-like surface, and were often matted with a glass layer over the dag. Invented in 1839, they waned by 1864.[1] Ambrotypes were developed directly on a plate of glass, not on silver-coated copper plate like the daguerreotype or the blackened-iron of the tintype. Rotating the image will not cause the image to reflect like a mirror or look like a negative. The Ambrotype photograph was made by coating a piece of glass with a silver solution and exposing this to the image. The image is sometimes on the back of a glass plate and is sandwiched with another glass behind it. This was typical of early examples. Later images were developed on the front of a single plate of glass. The back of the glass was coated with a black lacquer or back with black paper or cloth. This allowed the negative-looking bare image to appear as a positive. They were invented in 1854 and waned by 1866.[2]

The images of the man and woman both have paper labels attached to the backs of the images which read “Daguerrotypes, Ambrotypes, and Photographs, by L.B. Howard, Artist. Rooms, Cor[ner] Main & School Streets, N. Bridgewater, Mass.”. These ambrotypes consist of a single piece of glass, with a white piece of paper at the back with the photographer’s label (not directly attached to the glass, just folded down with the matting). The paper label of the case manufacturer is directly attached to the case under the right-hand image of the woman, and reads “A.P. Critchlow & Co., Manufacturers of Daguerrotype Cases. A.P. C. & Co. Are the original inventors of the Composition for the Union Case (so called), including all of the various shades of color and fineness of texture peculiar to their manufacture and of the Embracing Riveted Hinges, thus securing them from breaking out as do others that are inserted with or without a metal brace. Patent applied for.”

Each of these labels helps to pinpoint the dates of the images. A.P. Critchlow Co. was founded in 1853 by Alfred P. Critchlow in Florence, MA. Critchlow sold his interests in the firm in 1857 to David G. Littlefield and within one year (1858) the firm name was changed to Littlefield, Parsons & Co.[3] Critchlow received two patents, the first Oct. 14, 1856, and April 21, 1857. Since this case states “Patent applied for”, and does not indicate the first patent date, it could be assumed that this dates the case about early 1856, prior to receiving the first patent. This is also of interest, because L. Bradford Howard of North Bridgewater is first listed as a photographer in 1856.[4]

Although it’s important to keep in mind that the dating of the daguerreotype cases does not necessarily directly correspond with the dating of the ambrotypes – L.B. Howard, for example, may have purchased a stock of the cases in advance and distributed them months or years after he first purchased them. But they help to establish a starting date, and it seems likely that considering the images for the man and woman are in a pre-patented Critchlow case (patented Oct 1856) and the ambrotypes were taken by L.B. Howard who is first listed as a photographer in 1856, it seems probable that the ambrotypes of the man and woman were taken about 1856.

The next ambrotype consisted of two pieces of glass, the bottom piece had a black lacquer painted on. There was no photographers label attached to this image. The daguerreotype case label reads:

“Littlefield, Parsons & Co., (Successors to A. P. Critchlow & Co.,) Manufacturers of Daguerrotype Cases. L.P. & Co. are the sold Proprietors and only legal Manufacturers of UNION CASES, with the Embracing Riveted Hinge. Patented Oct. 14, 1856, and April 21, 1857”. As previously mentioned, A.P. Critchlow and Co. became Littlefield, Parsons & Co. in 1858. Therefore, the case which holds the ambrotype of the young man is dated later than the case which holds the man and woman. In May 1866, Littlefield, Parsons & Co. became the Florence Manufacturing Co. By this time the daguerreotype and ambrotype had fallen out of demand and were rapidly being replaced by the tintype and carte de visite. Therefore, based on the age of the case, the image could be dated between 1858-1866.

So therefore, of the three ambrotypes, the man and woman are located in a case made circa 1856, taken by a photographer who started his business in 1856, although the images could have been taken slightly later if Howard supplies of Critchlow cases were old (but no later than 1866 when ambrotypes went out of style). The young man’s case was made between 1858 -1866.

I also showed the three images to NEHGS staff members David Lambert and Julie Otto, both experts in old photography and dating images based on clothing, etc. They both agreed that for the older-looking man, his collar-up style was fashionable for men in the 1850s, whereas the collar-down with bowtie style was fashionable for men in the 1860s.

Looking back to Henry Crapo Howland’s ancestry, his parents, Calvin Howland (b. 1845) and Ada Crapo (b. 1854) would be too young to be the man and woman in the c. 1856 ambrotypes. Calvin Howland’s parents, Friend White Howland (11 Feb 1811, Pembroke, MA – 10 Aug 1874, Hanson, MA) and Lucy Osborne (b. 11 January 1809, Pembroke, MA – 4 May 1885, Hanson, MA) would have appeared too old (45 and 47, respectively) to match the couple in the ambrotypes. Ada Marian Crapo’s parents, however, would have been an excellent match for both age and residence. Her father, Henry Emerson Crapo (b. 30 July 1826, Foster, RI – 23 October 1903, Bridgewater, MA) and mother Isabella Frances Lannagan/Lankin (b. 25 February 1832 – 25 October 1900, Bridgewater, MA) would have been about 30 years old and 24 years old, respectively, and were residents of Bridgewater during the 1850s and throughout the remainder of the century. The only Bridgewater photographer in the 1850s was L.B. Howard of North Bridgewater. The man, with a slight wrinkle on his forehead, appears to be about 30 years old, who worked for a liniment manufacturer. The woman is slightly more difficult to judge, considering her pursed expression, but she could reasonably be the 24 year old Isabella, who had married Henry E. Crapo in 1848 at the age of 16 years old, and had already had two daughters by 1856 and would have a third daughter in 1857.

Therefore, I conclude that the ambrotypes of the man and woman are most likely to be those of Henry Emerson Crapo and his wife Isabella Frances Lannagan of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, about 1856.

Henry and Isabella Crapo had three daughters, and therefore could not have had a son whose identity was that of the younger man in the post-1858 ambrotype. Henry E. Crapo had one brother, George Washington Crapo, who married at Dartmouth, MA in 1854 and was a resident of New Bedford in the late 1850s and 1860s. He was the older brother of Henry Crapo, and was born 1825. Therefore, since this ambrotype appears to be of a man younger than Henry Emerson Crapo, it is unlikely to be a match for George W. Crapo.

Going back to the direct line, Calvin Leavitt Howland was born 21 August 1845 at Hanson, who married Ada Marian Crapo at Bridgewater, MA on 7 September 1873. With the ambrotype dated circa 1858-1866, that would place Calvin aged 13-21 years old. Keeping in mind Dave and Julie’s comments that his collar style was popular in the 1860s, if the image was circa 1860-1866, that would make him between 15-21 years. The young man does appear to be late teens-early 20s, so therefore this could be a match for Calvin L. Howland. As a teenager, he learned carpentry skills and was a housewright by 1870. And as Grandpa Henry’s grandfather, that may also explain why my grandmother had this ambrotype in her desk, considering the close connection, whereas the ambrotype of the married couple Henry and Isabella Crapo was found in the basement – although they were Grandpa Henry’s great-grandparents, both of them had died before Henry was born in 1918, and therefore he would not necessarily have recognized their faces.

And of course, there's always the possibility with unlabeled photographs that these images could be people from the non-direct line of Henry's - great-uncles, cousins, etc. But with a little genealogy and photographic history, it appears that there are reasonable matches for the identities of all three ambrotypes - Henry and Isabella Crapo of Bridgewater, MA circa 1856 and Calvin L. Howland of Hanson, MA circa the 1860s. But if anyone out there recognizes these faces with labeled images - please let me know!

[1] http://www.phototree.com/ID_Dag.htm

[2] http://www.phototree.com/ID_Amb.htm

[3] http://www.luminous-lint.com/app/vexhibit/_THEME_Ephemera_Cases_02/2/0/0/

[4] Chris Steele and Ronald Polito, A Directory of Massachusetts Photographers, 1839-1900 (Camden, ME: Picton Press).

New Erastus Watson Everson (1837-1897) Blog

2009-02-05T15:30:00.002-05:00

For those interested in following the continued research into the life of great-great-great uncle Major Erastus W. Everson, be sure to read:

http://www.erastuseverson.blogspot.com/

Make sure to search your attics...

2009-01-20T21:12:00.003-05:00

You never know what genealogical treasures you may find!

This lovely photograph was found in a trunk of photographs that my mother-in-law inherited from her aunt. It's a photograph of Carmela (DiBona) Salvucci (b. 1875) and her first child, Luigi (b. 16 Oct 1898) (he later preferred "Louis" "Lou" or "Gig"). At the time, they resided in San Donato Val di Comino, Province of Frosinone, Italy. The family immigrated to Quincy, Massachusetts in 1910. According to the caption on the back, the photograph was taken circa 1900.

Genealogie en francais!

2008-11-13T16:47:00.002-05:00

I was working on French genealogy today, and came across a handy site, genealogie.com (although it does require a paid subscription).

In addition to having some great records indexed, I couldn't help but laugh at their advertisement on the page, "Who are your ancestors?":
(note the same smirk on each "ancestor"! The costumes may change, but the grin and wink remain the same)

Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions, 1711-2003

2008-03-22T13:27:00.000-05:00

Jean A. Douillette recently published Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions, 1711-2003. I have eagerly awaited this book for several years, after reading an article about Jean's work on Lakeville gravestone transcription work for their 150^th anniversary in 2003. Transcription is a time-consuming process - but when they are compiled into books such as this, they serve as invaluable tools for genealogists and those interesting in family history!

Earlier postings in this blog documented a few unsuccessful (but enjoyable!) trips to Lakeville and Middleborough to locate Ramsdell ancestors (Ammon-Booth, Richmond Cemetery). This book listed John and Sarah (Robbins) Ramsdell's gravestones, as well as the stones of Stephen Cornish Ramsdell (son of John and Sarah Ramsdell, and brother to my ancestor, John Ramsdell Jr.) and his family, whose stones I will visit and photograph once the weather warms up. Turns out the Robbins cemetery where John and Sarah Ramsdell were buried later served as a pauper's cemetery. My trip down Race Course Road brought me close to its location - but I was looking on the wrong side of the road! John Ramsdell Jr. and Maria Jones are probably buried in Middleborough with their son Edgar Ramsdell - perhaps someday there will be a Middleborough, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions published!

I wrote the following book review for Jean's website:

Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions is a remarkable genealogical and historical book that lists the gravestones and inscriptions from the 31 known cemeteries in the town of Lakeville. The organization of the book is very user-friendly; each cemetery chapter provides a history of the cemetery and directions on how to locate the cemetery, an important feature for readers who would like to physically visit the gravestones. Each chapter organizes the gravestone transcriptions alphabetically, and includes the epitaph, information about the physical state of the stone, and the carved artwork on the stone. Informative maps of each cemetery are included, and stones can be located alphabetically or by numbered location. Jean Douillette spent seven years documenting these gravestones, and her hard work reveals the fascinating stories of Lakeville citizens that were cast in stone. Douillette includes references to vital records and previous Lakeville gravestone research such as Charles M. Thatcher's 19th century Massachusetts gravestone transcription project. Since the time of Thatcher's compilation, some of the stones and cemeteries have unfortunately been lost, or the epitaphs faded. Douillette's book, therefore, serves not only as an essential collection of genealogical information about the lives of Lakeville's and Middleborough's residents for the past three centuries, but it also preserves that history for future generations. Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions is an essential book for anyone interested in the history and genealogy of Lakeville, MA.

Copies of this book can be ordered through: http://www.jadoui.com/

Helen Keller Photograph, 1888

2008-03-06T15:53:00.002-05:00

A recent donation to NEHGS included a wonderful photograph of an eight-year old Helen Keller in Brewster, MA in 1888 with Anne Sullivan. She is pictured with one of her beloved dolls.

View the press release here.

Letter to Mr. Otis L. Bonney of Hanson, MA, 1887

2008-01-19T11:25:00.000-05:00

I run the USGenWeb website for the town of Hanson, MA, and have always been interested in the history and genealogy of the town. Therefore, I am always on the lookout on eBay for Hanson memorabilia. I just won a letter, which I have transcribed:

The envelope is addressed to "Mr. Otis L. Bonney, Hanson, Mass." and was stamped "Oil City, PA, NOV 5, 2 PM". Otis must have handwritten, in a different script, "Answered, Nov. 10/ 1887"

The letter is handwritten in pencil on white paper with red lines.

===============================================================

Oil City, Pa. Nov. 4, 1887

Dear Cousin Otis,

If you will excuse this paper and pencil I will write you a long letter and think you will be rather astonished when you have finished.
Yes I have been very very busy in getting up Miles Standish, the entertainment was to have been given last evening, but when nearly time for the audience to gather[,] a fire alarm rang and the fire spread very rapidly and for a time the whole north side of the city was in danger, so we were obliged to postpone our entertainment until Tuesday the 8th. Alas[,] I am to be Priscilla, I did not wish to take any part but they all said I must be Priscilla [,] so I suppose it must be so.
I am still ver homesick and I think I shall be just as long as I remain in Oil City, as you say [,] if I had Jack and Carl here I might not be [,] but Willie is as much as I can attend to at once [;] he is a little mischief and goes from one thing to another about as fast as I can follow him. You say there may be a grand spring opening. The Dr. which I have had in Oil City says it will never do for me to teach school again, never in my life; now that may astonish you. You have asked me several times and so has cousin Grace whether I would talk or not but I have always avoided answering that question and thought I would continue to avoid it but have decided to tell you also about something and ask you if you can help me any. You have always been so kind that I feel almost as if I was imposing upon you. Well the truth of them matter is here I lost my voice again June 17th and from that time on have been unable to speak above a whisper, but can sing, I guess perhaps I have spoken aloud six words in that time, and the prospect of my speaking aloud is apparently just as far distant as it was April 24, 1886. My cough is very bad and the Dr. told me three months ago that my left lung was slightly affected but thought it might be nearly a cold but I had no cold at the time that I knew of, still he may have been right, any way my cough acts no better, but is harder than ever before. Well now comes the great secret which I have kept from you. After finding that my voice was not to be depended upon I knew that I must fit myself for something where a voice is not as essential as in public school teaching, so I pondered over it an concluded that short hand and typewriting would be the best thing, so Villa said I could take lessons of a young lady in the city here [,] so Sept 2 I took my first lesson and yesterday took my last lesson on the [theory?] so can now write any word in the English language & have noe to practice for speed, at present can write on an average of 42 words a minute. Now what I wish to do is to return east by Jan. for then I shall be able to write rapidly, and get private pupils and teach for six months then perhaps my voice can be depended upon and I can get a good position in some office in Boston. It seems to me I can't stay in Oil City another day but will try to stay until Jan. then the holidays will be over and I can settle down to work; What I want your help about is this, do you suppose you can get me any pupils? It will hardly pay for me to start with less than ten or a dozen. I wrote to Carrie Ford and asked her and she said she has asked several and Addie Brown would like to study it after she graduates, Barbie Raymond and Charles Ford will also take, I want if possible to be near Hanson, because you know Lillie and Jessie are there. Wouldn't you like to study it, Cousin Otis? I would love to give you lessons, now I will just explain the principle on which the system is founded, and you can judge of its simplicity. You will find that every word in the English language has one or more of the follow[ing] sounds or phonics for convenience take three positions in reference to the line (on this paper do not use the second line)
e o ai ou
a o oi
a oo

and are pronounced in the following words, eat, ate, arm, odd, ode, mood, hit, met, hat, hut, ire, oil, out
Now when the consonant r is combined with the phonic slants to the right (ere air ar) and so on, when l is combined they slant to the left ( ele, ale, al) and so on
then there are other combinations which are just as simple and are easily learnt.
Here is a part of Death of Little Nell, by Dickens
[two lines of phonetic transcriptions]
Translated, it is, "She was dead, no sleep so beautiful and calem for free from trace of pain so fair to look upon. She seemed a creature fresh from the hand of God and waiting for the breath of life not one who had lived and suffered death"
Will you write me at once what you think of it and whether you think you can get me any pupils. I love to write shorthand, but still think I love school teaching just a little bit better.
Give my love to all and tell Cousin Grace I will try and answer her kind letter soon.

Cousin Ida

If any wish to know my terms tell them $3.50 for short hand a month and $1.50 extra for typewriting. I think that is very reasonable.

=================================================================

I have not yet been able to identify who "Cousin Ida" was. From the letter, she may have had a son "Willie" William who lived with her in Oil City, and perhaps two sons, or brothers, named Jack and Carl who apparently remained in MA. She also indicated that someone named Villa suggested she take typing lessons in Oil City, perhaps a friend, kin, or husband.

Her cousin was Otis Lafayette Bonney (2 Dec 1838, Hanson, MA - 11 Aug 1922, Hanson, MA). He married Grace C. Cobb (28 Apr 1842, Hanson, MA - 1 Apr 1904, Hanson, MA). She may have been the "Cousin Grace" referred to in the letter.

Otis L. Bonney's sister, Ellen Josephine Bonney (b. 22 Feb 1845, Hanson, MA) married Noah A. Ford, and they had several children, including Carrie and Charles Ford, who most likely were Ida's potential pupils Carrie and Charles Ford.

Addie Brown may have been Addie R. Brown, born 8 April 1870 to Thomas and Lucy Brown.

Barbie Raymond may have been the daughter of Lewis Raymond and Mary C. Godfrey. In the 1880 Census, this family also included the brother of Barbie Raymond, George L. Raymond, age 26, with his wife Ida W. Raymond and their infant son William S. Raymond. In the 1900 Census, William S. Raymond was living in Hanson, MA with his grandmother, Mary C. (Godfrey) Raymond. Ida W. Raymond was the daughter of Ira R. Bailey and Laura A. White. This may be the "cousin Ida", however I have not yet been able to identify a direct connection between Otis Bonney and this family.

The mother of Otis Bonney was Angeline D. White of Easton. The mother of Ida W. Bailey was Laura A. White of Easton, so perhaps the connection is through the White family of Easton, MA.

The letter is extremely compelling, considering the "astonishing" news she had to give to her cousin Otis L. Bonney. If Ida W. (Bailey) Raymond was indeed "Cousin Ida", it seems that she returned to Hanson, MA, and perhaps taught typewriting and short-hand to a number of pupils.

Perhaps somewhere out there is the response letter written by Otis Bonney. If anyone knows more information about the identity of "Cousin Ida" or why she moved to Oil City, PA for a period of time, please let me know!

Joshua Thomas, died 9 April 1833, Bolton, NY

2008-01-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

I came across a poignant epitaph today from the Bolton Rural Cemetery, Bolton Landing, Warren County, New York.

Joshua Thomas of Bolton, NY predeceased his wife, Molly (Streeter) Thomas by over 20 years. She was the one who handled his funeral arrangements, including his gravestone.

His gravestone reads:

Joshua Thomas
(husband of Molly Streeter)
died April 9^th 1833
AE 67 years 3 mos. & 27 days
“I loved him.”

Slavery/AntiSlavery in New England

2007-11-07T14:58:00.000-05:00

In memory of MARGARET, servant to Mr. Joseph Crawford and wife of Mr. Anthony Kinnicutt, who departed this life October the 8th 1775 in the 49th Year of her Age. [slave gravestone, North Burial Ground, Providence, Rhode Island]

I have been reading one of my favorite publications, the Annual Proceedings of the Dubling Seminar for New England Folklife.

The Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife is a continuing series of conferences, exhibitions, and publications that explore New England's material culture, folklore, folklife, etc. In 2003, the focus of the seminar was on slavery in New England. Their Annual Proceedings 2003 contained a series of articles dealing with slavery in 17th and 18th century New England, Native American "apprenticeships", the abolition movement, life before and after emancipation, and the memory of slavery in New England.

Peter Benes, who is the director of the Dublin Seminar, wrote an article on slavery in Boston. I know of Benes as the author of Masks of Orthodoxy: Folk Gravestone Carving in Plymouth County, MA His wife performed a research study of probate records of Suffolk County, looking for instances where people would either leave slaves as their children's inheritance, or provide manumission for the slave. Benes then performed additional searches of vital records, church records, newspaper notices etc to provide an in-depth view of the families who owned slaves and stories of the slaves themselves.

I have been performing similar research on records from Plymouth County, and never cease to be fascinated by the stories these old records reveal. Although slavery is acknowledged as existing in New England's history, it still is not widely known or understood in what ways slaves, African and Native American, played a role in New England's culture and economy. I look forward to more research.

Exploring Brooklyn in Street View of Google Maps

2007-06-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

Googlemaps has come out with a wonderful new feature called "Street View". It allows you to explore neighborhoods visually through photographs. You can click on a spot, then see what it looks like from 360 degrees, and "travel" along the road.

Watch a demo of it here.

There are only a few cities available in this mode, and unfortunately Boston has not yet been added. But I explored New York City and then took a tour over the Brooklyn Bridge into Brooklyn. I've always wanted to get to Brooklyn to explore and photograph the large cemeteries in the area, and see the gravestones of some of my New York ancestors. So of course I looked for "Street Views" of roads that run parallel to Brooklyn cemeteries, in order to get a look at them!

Here's a view of Mt. Olivet Cemetery from Eliot Ave in Brooklyn.
And here's Linden Hill Cemetery from Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn.
Here's Greenwood Cemetery from 23rd St in Brooklyn.

And, of course, the Brooklyn Bridge!

There's still some bugs to work out with the program, but its a really fun feature to play around with and explore. Check it out!

Cole Mill, Carver, MA

2007-05-28T11:49:00.000-05:00

The other day Holly & I went to explore Cole Mill in Carver. It is located right near her home, a wonderful old farmhouse, and set back in the woods. We picked up a copy of the Carver, MA Images of America book, because I was interested in comparing photographs of how the mill formerly looked like versus how it appeared today.

But first some history (and of course a bit of genealogy!):
The first colonial settlement in Carver, MA was in North Carver, along the North Carver Green, known today as the Lakenham Green and district. Carver was originally the South Precinct of Plympton, which had branched out from Plymouth. One of the key features of this early settlement was Cole’s Mill, which was built in 1706. John Cole built a grist mill in 1706 and added a lumber saw mill in 1723 in the same area. He dammed the pond, now known as Cole Pond, off the Winnetuxet River, to use water power for his mills.

Here is the dam:

“As the mill expanded in the 19th century, it provided the industrial focus for the Lakenham region. The grist mill provided a place for farmers to have their grain milled, and the saw mill provided lumber for houses in the village center. The family-run business made shoe shipping boxes in the 1850s, supporting a local cottage industry, and began making cranberry shipping barrels in the 1890s to support the burgeoning cranberry business in the town.”

Cole Mill operated continuously from 1706 until 1947, producing lumber, barrels, boxes, and tacks. Over the years Cole Mill represented a number of buildings and several different types of mills, but they were all located on the land along the pond, and therefore simply referred to as a single entity.

John Cole Jr. built a home on High Street in the early 1700s at the head of the dirt road that led to the mill and pond. It has served as the Cole homestead for almost 300 years.
I have not been able to find the succession of ownership through the mid-1700s, but it was passed at some point to Hezekiah Cole (born 27 JUL 1777 – 17 FEB 1843), who ran the mill, followed by his son, Harrison Gray Cole (born 1818) ran the mill throughout much of the 19th century. Harrison’s son Theron Cole (born 1843) became the owner at the turn of the century, and the business was passed down to his son Frank, and later Frank’s son Larry Cole.

Here is the last remaining mill building:

Many old foundations of previous mill buildings and structures can be seen:

Here is an old piece of mill machinery still in the river:

Cole Mill is a beautiful historical site. Although almost nothing remains of the man-built buildings and mill structures, hints of what it once was are left behind: bits of iron tools in the dirt, overgrown foundations spread around the pond and river, even broken old cranberry boxes that were more recently produced there. Time has brought great changes to the place - now just a few yards away from where the mill was, the new section of Route 44 cuts through. John Cole would scarcely recognize the place. Yet it is incredible to consider how long the mill served as a cornerstone to the community, changing its products to fit the needs of its consumers, from the colonial period to modern day. Cole Mill is remarkable piece of local history.

Welcome, readers of "Touch the Elbow"!

2007-04-23T11:33:00.000-05:00

I was contacted the other day by Donald Thompson, one of three Civil War researchers who run a wonderful website and related blog about the Civil War, and specifically the 18th Regiment of Massachusetts. Donald Thompson, Tom Churchill, and Stephen McManus research and collect records, memorabilia, letters, etc. about the men who served in the regiment, and have compiled great biographies of the men.

One of those men from the 18th, my great-great-great uncle Erastus Everson, was recently featured on this blog as the subject of one of my genealogical biographies. He served in three regiments, and sustained head, chest, groin, and leg wounds during his service. But he was dedicated to the cause of the Union, and continued to work for the Freedman's Bureau and as an army assessor. He later became a newsaper man, as passionate a writer as he was a soldier. The story of Erastus's colorful life, and his run-in with the Ku Klux Klan after the war, are currently being featured on the blog "Touch the Elbow".

The phrase "touch the elbow" comes from a popular Union song, "Comrades, Touch the Elbow", to gather strength and unity before a battle.

When battle’s music greets our ear,
Our guns are sighted at the foe,
Then nerve the hand, and banish fear
And comrades, touch the elbow

Touch the elbow, comrades elbow
Elbow comrades, touch the elbow
Nerve the hand, banish fear
Comrades, touch the elbow

The blog features a wide variety of information and stories about the Civil War, and provides wonderful advice for those interested in researching the Civil War. "Touch the Elbow" is attached to their website on The Eighteenth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. For researchers, this website is a treasure trove of information. Nowhere is there such centralized information offered on the 18th Massachusetts regiment. Donald, Tom, and Stephen are working to publish a book about the 18th, and they have already published The Civil War Research Guide, on how to research ancestors of the Civil War.

Additionally, they have ventured far and wide to many cemeteries, gathering genealogical information and photographs, a past-time Donald refers to as "chasing the dead" - which is at the heart of this blog! If you are new to this site, please take a read-through, and share your thoughts!

FamilyTreeMaker and Reunion Genealogy software

2007-03-04T22:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my new genealogy software arrived in the mail! I have been thinking about buying new software for awhile now. I have Reunion, a wonderful program for the Mac. But I also have a subscription to Ancestry.com, which uses FamilyTreeMaker as its featured software. FamilyTreeMaker seems to be the most popular Windows program, so I decided to order a copy for our Dell laptop and see what the fuss was all about. I've had fun exploring its features over the past two days! Here's some of my initial observations:

Pros:
- FamilyTreeMaker is directly integrated with the Ancestry.com website. That means it gives me hints and links to records on Ancestry that match with my personal tree. I can then merge the record with my ancestor!
- It has wonderful publishing tools. It can generate a variety of reports, printed versions of trees or families, with lots of neat details and images.
- My order came with an extra nifty little program called "GenSmarts". It looks at your family tree and then generates a huge number of places to further research your ancestors. The program is "smart", and suggests websites and records that would have further information on your ancestor. I have already viewed many of the records it suggests, but it still has a lot of neat features.

Cons:
- I was hoping the program would have better web publishing capabilities. The automatic website you can generate only allows 2,000 members in a tree (but my basic family file has double that amount! So I can't easily use it).
-There's still no easy way to edit your family file once you have posted it to Ancestry.com through a GEDCOM. I am always adding new information to my family tree on my software. But unless you delete and upload your updated information as a separate GEDCOM or physically edit your posted tree on the website (after you have already edited the info on your software), there doesn't seem to be a straightforward solution.
- Maybe I haven't played with it enough, or have just used Reunion for so long - but stylistically, I prefer how Reunion looks and feels through its user interface.

So there you have it. I think I will still use Reunion as my primary genealogical software, but use FamilyTreeMaker whenever I want to print family files, trees, reports, etc, and use its research recommendations.

To my readers: what genealogy software do you use?

Mini-Genealogical Biography of Elizabeth Ann (O'Reilly) Mahon

2007-02-28T18:56:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth Ann (O’Reilly) Mahon (1852-bef1920)

Elizabeth Ann O’Reilly was born in November of 1852 to Thomas and Eliza O’Reilly, the fourth of nine children. In 1860, the O’Reilly family was living in Fairfield, Franklin County, Vermont. Fairfield is in northern Vermont, slightly to the east of St. Albans, and to the south of the Canadian border. Thomas and Eliza O’Reilly had immigrated from Ireland, and had probably entered the United States through Canada. Franklin County, Vermont was full of many Irish and Scots that had immigrated first to Canada, and then crossed the border to America. Probably a younger Irish son with no prospects of inheriting land in Ireland, Thomas O’Reilly came to America and began a new life. The O’Reilly’s were poor, but began a small farm in Vermont and raised nine children. Almost fifteen years after immigrating, both Thomas and Eliza were still illiterate.

The O’Reilly’s were a large Irish Catholic family. The kids were all born in Franklin County, Vermont. Mary O’Reilly was born in 1847, followed by John in 1848, Julia in 1850, Elizabeth Ann in 1852, Thomas in 1853, Edward in 1855, Helen in 1857, and twins William and Emily in 1864. By 1870, the family had moved west one town over to St. Albans, a larger town than Fairfield. The outskirts of St. Albans were still rural, and Thomas O’Reilly continued as a farmer there, maintaining a small farm amongst other agricultural immigrant neighbors of French Canadian, Canadian, and Irish descent.

Click here to see St. Albans and Fairfield, Vermont.
Click here to see Swanton, VT, close to the Canadian border and St. Albans, VT to the south.

Elizabeth O’Reilly soon met and married John Mahon of Swanton, Vermont. A man almost twice her age, he was born in February of 1830 in Ireland to Daniel Mahon (b. 1800 in Ireland) and Mary Conneley (b.1806 in Ireland), who immigrated from Ireland in 1834, when John was still a toddler. There may have been other Mahon children were born and died young or went unrecorded. For certain, John Mahon had one much younger sister. His mother Mary Mahon gave birth to Jane Mary Mahon (refered to by many nicknames over her life – most commonly Jennie) in 1846. In 1850, the census records 20 year old John and 5 year old Jane living in Swanton, Vermont with their parents on a farm. Two adult Irish farm laborers were living with them, 25 year old William McCue and 47 year old Michael Larrand. John Mahon was a skilled carpenter and a farmer. By 1860, John was living with and helping his aging parents with their farm in Swanton, and doing independent carpenter and joining work in Franklin County.

In 1870, John’s sister Jane’s husband, Jacob Coulombe, passed away, leaving her with two toddler sons and an infant daughter who had been born earlier that year. Jane, her three young children, John (now 40 years old) and their father Daniel all lived under the same roof in Swanton. Their mother, Mary (Connelly) Mahon, had passed away three years earlier in 1867 and was buried in the Swanton Catholic Church cemetery. Irish Catholic immigrants found a welcoming community along the Canadian border, unlike further south in Protestant New England, because of the long history of French Catholic Canadian settlement. Jesuit missionaries had posts in the area back to the earliest colonial days. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church in Swanton was the first Catholic church in town, and that is church the Mahons attended weekly. The church had been built in 1836, but received its first permanent priest in 1854. Prior to that, Catholic priests from nearby towns in Canada and St. Albans, VT would travel to the towns in Franklin County to preach. In 1851, the Swanton town hall & academy burned, from 1854-55 a severe drought caused severe forest fires, in 1858, Turillo’s hotel and the Catholic church burned. After so much destruction from fires, Swanton formed its first fire department the following year, in 1859, and rebuilt the Catholic church. The cemetery beside the church hosts a wide variety of French and Irish surnames, of which John’s mother, Mary Mahon, was just one.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church, Swanton, VT:

At the rather late age of 45, John Mahon married 23-year old Elizabeth O’Reilly in 1875 and they went on to have eight children, who were all baptized in the Swanton Catholic Church, with many Irish and French Canadian friends and family from the parish serving as godparents (almost all of the O’Reilly aunts and uncles served as a godparent to one of the Mahon kids!). Laura Catherine was born in 1876, John Francis in 1877, Mary in 1879, George Frederic in 1880, Thomas William in 1881, Helen Anna in 1882, Edward Daniel in 1884, and Daniel Patrick in 1889. John’s father Daniel Mahon continued to live with John’s growing family in Swanton until Daniel’s death in 1882.

1881 was a sad year for the Mahons. In March, five year old Catherine Mahon became ill and died. Several weeks later, Elizabeth Mahon, still mourning the death of her oldest child, gave birth to her fifth child in April. She named him Thomas, in honor of her father, but a mere five months later, Thomas William became sick and died at the age of five months in September of 1881. Three more Mahon children would be born after 1881, but losing two children in one year was a terrible loss for the Mahon family.

John and Elizabeth Mahon moved their family to nearby Fairfax, Franklin County, Vermont by 1900. John and George were living independently as boarders nearby, while Mary, Helen “Nellie”, Edward, and Daniel still lived at home. But another family tragedy would unite the family. John Mahon died probably in 1901. All of the Mahons then uprooted their lives to an entirely foreign state and city – Boston, Massachusetts. Coming to Boston, a large, bustling city, from a lifetime of rural farming in a small northern Vermont town must have required significant adjustment for the Mahons. I have no stories or records for why they came to Boston. Perhaps they knew someone in Boston who offered them assistance. Whatever the case, Elizabeth and all of her children relocated to Roxbury by about 1902.

City life was hard for some of Elizabeth’s children. Her daughter Mary became pregnant, and gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Catherine Mahon, in April of 1903. Boston’s well-known Catholic St. Mary’s Infant Asylum and Laying-In Hospital was little Catherine’s birth place and death place, and possibly Mary’s as well. Catherine died a month later in April at the hospital and was buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury. Mary Mahon died before 1910, possibly as a result of her giving birth.

Elizabeth’s other daughter Helen Mahon fared better. She met and married Eugene McCarthy in 1907, a young man originally from Marlborough, but working in the city. The McCarthy siblings and Mahon siblings shared dinners and special occasions with each other, and Edward Mahon soon fell for Eugene’s younger and only sister, Mary McCarthy. They married in 1910.

Elizabeth Mahon and her family boarded her sister Julia (O’Reilly) McGinley in 1910. They lived at 6 North Avenue, in Roxbury. Perhaps it was her sister Julia who first arrived in Boston and encouraged her widowed sister Elizabeth to move to Boston. Elizabeth died between 1910-1920 in Boston, in her 60s. Her son George Mahon then went to live with his aunts who had both moved from Vermont to Boston, Julia (O’Reilly) McGinley and Emily O’Reilly, and they ran a boarding house in Boston.

From the Canadian border to the heart of Boston, Elizabeth (O’Reilly) Mahon raised a large family, and faced countless joys and sorrows along the way. Those stories often become lost over the years. My grandfather had heard that his great-grandparents (John and Elizabeth Mahon) were from Vermont, and that there was a family plot (perhaps there is a Mahon or O’Reilly plot somewhere in Franklin County, VT), and they had been in Vermont “forever”. But alas, there were no Puritanical roots or colonial settlers in this family line! As far as Irish immigrants go, however, the Mahon and O’Reilly stories are fascinating to consider both their relatively early timeframe of immigration (1830s and 1840s for Mahons and O’Reilly’s, respectively) and their route of migration, from Ireland to Canada to America.

Mini-Genealogical Biography of Adelia Deborah Everson

2007-01-16T12:45:00.000-05:00

Adelia Deborah Everson (1849-1867)

Adelia D. Everson was born on June 3, 1849 in the town of Hanson, MA. Her parents, Barnabas Everson and Deborah Bates, had married the previous August of 1848. Adelia was Barnabas's first child, but the second for Deborah. 1846 had been a terrible year for Deborah, in which she first lost her husband Warren in January of consumption, and then lost her 9 month old son, also named Warren, of "cholera infantum". The widowed Deborah lived next to Maquan Pond, and she remarried Barnabas Everson, a neighbor who owned a large property across the street from her that extended back to Wampatuck Pond.

Adelia grew up in the house along Hanson Street (what is now Indian Head Street and Route 58). Her father Barnabas was a talented man: a farmer, a mason, a town selectman, a road surveyor, and eventually a saw-mill factory owner and worker in South Hanson, he was a well-known man and accumulated a substantial amount of real estate in South Hanson. Adelia was soon joined by her brother Richard in 1850, her sister Imogene in 1852, and two siblings that died extremely young - Lucia, born Dec 30, 1853, died 5 days later on January 4, 1854, and Lucius, born ten years later on July 17, 1863, died on the same day.

The Everson kids probably attended school on Maquan Street, which was the closest school building, located today near where the St. Joseph the Worker church is. The school was across the street from the almshouse, which today would be located near where the old Hanson middle school was. The Everson's home was slightly below where the intersection of School Street and Indian Head Streets are today, on the left-hand side. They would have been well-acquainted with their neighbors: Beals, Howlands, and Whites, who all had property along the road and extended back towards Maquan Pond.

Here is a map from 1859 showing the Everson's home and some of their neighbors:

(Barnabas's main home and property is on the left side of the road. Across the road, and neighbored by the Lyons and Beals is the home that Deborah owned after her first husband's death)

The Everson's neighbors below them, closer to Indian Head Pond, was the family of Asa and Cynthia Howland. (Their home is on the bottom of the map above) Adelia and her siblings knew the Howland kids (George, Nathaniel, Albert, Cynthia, and Lydia) well: they would have attended the same school together, and played together.

Perhaps Adelia and Imogene played with Cynthia and Lydia, who were just about their ages, and ignored the older Howland boys while Richard Everson ran off to play with them. But as they grew older, Adelia soon had her eyes on one of those Howland boys: Albert Howland, born on November 15, 1847 and two years older than Adelia. Albert, like so many men in the area, began working as a shoemaker. In October of 1867, when Albert was 20 and Adelia was 18 years old, they were married in the Congregational Church on High Street by the Reverend Benjamin Southworth.

Their happiness was to be short-lived. Just one month later, on November 30 1867, Adelia suddenly became sick and died unexpectedly. Both Albert and her family were shocked and filled with grief. Albert, still very young at 20, turned to the Eversons to arrange for her burial. Adelia was laid to rest alongside her two baby siblings, Lucia and Lucius at Fern Hill Cemetery, across the road from the church in which she had been married in such recent memory. Later, her parents, her sister Imogene, and Imogene's children George and Lillian would join them in a large family plot.

Here is her gravestone:

Albert remarried in 1872, five years after Adelia's death, a woman named Cordelia Gray, and they went on to have a family. That year Adelia's younger sister Imogene was also married: to George McClellan, who had been helping Barnabas Everson build a large brick chimney near Everson's newly acquired-saw-mill along the railroad tracks in South Hanson. Although life moved on, Adelia's memory was continuously honored by the preservation of several of Adelia's possessions. Adelia's mother Deborah owned a bible, which had been produced in 1833. Deborah, 14 years old at the time the bible was published, was probably given this bible from her parents, Moses and Deborah Bates.

On one of the first pages is written in a lovely cursive:
Deborah ______
East Bridgewater

The last name is torn away, but it most likely read "Deborah Bates", who was born and raised in East Bridgewater. Deborah carried this bible through her two marriages, and when Adelia was married, Deborah gave Adelia her treasured bible. Adelia had been working on some needlework, and decided to try her hand at creating some bookmarks. She created one for her father Barnabas. It is a floral wreath and reads:

Adelia
To Father

The second is a lyre, a classical musical instrument:

The final bookmark reveals the tragedy of Adelia's young death. The book mark is of a floral arrangement set in a large urn. But the stitching is only half-completed, for Adelia never had to chance to finish the bookmark.

At the very bottom of the bookmark reads : To my husband.

Albert returned the bible to the Eversons, along with Adelia's bookmarks. Placed inside of the bible, the bookmarks remained there as they were passed down from woman to woman through the generations, a tribute to Adelia Everson Howland, whose short life is remembered in part by three small hand-crafted tokens of affection for her loved ones.

Erastus Everson and the Laurens County, SC Riot

2007-01-15T16:13:00.000-05:00

In 1871, Erastus Everson was summoned by a government committee which was investigating the “Ku-Klux Klan conspiracy”. Erastus had worked for the Freedman’s Bureau after the Civil War throughout South Carolina, and had accumulated a great deal of experience regarding racial relations in the South. In particular, he was summoned for an experience he had after his duty in the Freedman’s Bureau, when he was working again for the army as an assessor. Erastus was an inadvertent witness to the Laurens County, SC riot in October 1870. He was to testify his belief that the riot was planned in advance in part by the Ku Klux Klan.

Erastus had to travel to Laurens county to purchase a horse for his boss. On the way over, he encountered a great deal of armed men. In the town, he inquired to a colonel who was stationed there with his troops, and was told that an election was occurring the following day, and advised to stay in town until the election was over. While staying at a hotel that night, he overheard a plot to throw the election that was to occur the following day, by capturing the ballot boxes, and starting fights with the state constables and any colored voters. He sent word to both the army colonel and his troops stationed in the town, as well as a note of warning to Mr. Crews, a colorful politician who led the local armed colored militia. Perhaps Erastus briefly saved the election day. Crew lined up his colored militia in his front yard, and white agitators called out threats, but no physical fighting occurred. Although tensions flared, the election went seemingly went smoothly. But it was not enough.

That night Erastus heard conversations and drunken boasts that the ballot boxes had been stuffed. But that was soon to be the least of Erastus’ worries. The following day, the infamous “Laurens County riot” occurred, in which thousands of armed riders came into the area, where brawling soon became deadly as the riot turned “into a negro chase”. Erastus ran outside to determine what was happened, and avoid the brawling and gunshots now spreading all over the area. Erastus fell in the street, and rolled out of the way of the chaos. Mr. Copeland, the general store owner, and mason, took in Erastus in the midst of the riot, and promised him a safe place to stay for the evening, and then Copeland soon left. Men came in and out of the house all evening, and some of them were bragging about the death of Wade Perrin, the most powerful black politician who had been elected the previous day. Erastus found himself in a difficult position – he discovered too late that he had been saved by Klan sympathizers. He could not escape into the night with the horse that he had purchased, because the roads were filled with vast amounts of armed men looking for a fight. After Erastus went to bed, a man called for him – it turned out to be Hugh Farley, a former Confederate officer who Erastus had dealt with a few years previous. Although a former enemy, Erastus considered him a gentleman, and when Hugh Farley promised to help Erastus get out of the area, Erastus took him up on the offer. They rode off into the night from Laurens County to Newberry County, almost 40 miles. Farley rode with Erastus and would often go ahead to picket groups of men along the way, then let Erastus pass. The rioting had spread throughout the entire county, with thousands of men searching for and causing trouble. Along the way, Erastus was threatened and almost shot several times. Through discussion with Farley on their journey, however, Erastus was soon horrified to discover that Farley was a probable Ku Klux leader. Once in Newberry, Erastus encountered a large group of men, several of whom he had formerly arrested as “bushwhackers” – who were not pleased to see “that God-damned Everson!” Farley had promised Everson safe passage, and then made Erastus Everson agree that he would make a statement supporting them later. He was to tell the government that the riot was necessary, and that no one was to blame in the matter. “I had promised Farley that if he would see me safe through, I would come down here and go before the executive committee of the reform party to make a statement, but I had to do things that a man would not ordinarily do. I went back on my word, because I could not do such a thing. I think, however, that I had no other way of saving my life. I know it, and so I have never been before that committee, and I never will go, because I cannot tell them what he wanted me to tell.” Once in Newberry, he was handed off to another man, but Erastus soon escaped and ran to the train tracks, where he caught a train. Aboard, he found three state constables who were escaping as well, along with Senator Owens. Erastus and the Senator hid in the mail-car privy, and made their way to safety.

Erastus Everson, a conservative repulican who had taken seven bullet wounds during the Civil War for the Union, and then dedicated years of service to the Freedman’s Bureau, helping to protect the rights of newly freed slaves in the South, inadvertently had found that his life had been saved by Ku Klux Klan members or sympathizers. He broke his promise to them, however, and reported all that he heard during his stay and remarkable escape from the Laurens County.

Learn more about the Laurens County, SC riot here.

Mini-Genealogical Biography of Erastus W. Everson

2007-01-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

Erastus W. Everson (1837-1897)

Erastus W. Everson was the eldest child of William F. Everson and his wife, Salome B. Crocker. He was born about 1837 probably in Hanson, MA. Three years later, his brother Frederic O. Everson was born, followed by his sister Sylvania Everson. They grew up on Pleasant Street in Hanson.

In 1850, at the age of 13, Erastus was living in Hanson with his family, and a 17 year old servant (or boarder) named Fidelia Hunt. He and his siblings were attending one of the small schoolhouses in South Hanson. Next door to them, extended Everson and Crocker relatives had a small shoemaking shop, and Erastus’s father most likely worked here during the day. To the north of them them was the Baptist parsonage, where Asa Bunson, the Baptist clergyman lived. Across from the Everson family was Levi Thomas’s family (Levi Thomas’ son, Levi Zelida Thomas, was a 23 year old school teacher at the time, and would eventually have a Hanson school named in his honor).

In 1860, Erastus, now in his early twenties, had moved up to Dedham, where he was staying at a hotel in Dedham village while he worked as a copyist. The hotel hosted a wide variety of individuals and families. There Erastus probably interacted with the hotel keeper and his family, W.H. Crossman, along with his wife and three young children. Perhaps he briefly befriended Frederic Eley, a 21 year old law student, as well as a 35 year old wood carver and his family, a 30 year old physician and his family, and many more who moved in and out of the small hotel.

But war was coming. Erastus enlisted for the Civil War as a Sergeant on 16 April 1861 at the age of 24 from Dedham, MA. He enlisted in Company A, 3rd Infantry Regiment Massachusetts (The Halifax Light Infantry) on 23 April 1861, and was mustered out on 22 July 1861. His brother, Frederick O. Everson, had also enlisted as a Corporal on 16 April 1861 at the age of 21, and several days later, on 23 April 1861, Fred enlisted in the same company as his brother Erastus. Fred was mustered out on 22 July 1861. Frederick did not enlist again, but Erastus was attracted to the army, and decided to provide more service.

Erastus soon enlisted in Company H, 18th Infantry Regiment Massachusetts on 24 August 1861 and was then promoted to Full Sergeant 1st Class on the same day. A year later, he was promoted to Full Lieutenant 2nd Class on 01 August 1862. At the end of the month, he was wounded on 30 August 1862 at the second Bull Run, VA. He was then again wounded on 13 December 1862 at Fredericksburg, VA. Several months later, he was promoted to Full Lieutenant 1st Class on 25 February 1863. He was honorably discharged from Company H, 18th Infantry Regiment Massachusetts on 10 December 1863, and the following day joined Company D, 20 Veteran Res. Corps, as a 1st Lieutenant.

In 1866, Erastus was assigned as the inspector general of the South Carolina troops for a period of eighteen months, and was stationed in Charleston, SC. He then served as an aid for the Freedman’s Bureau for three years, during which time he traveled all over South Carolina and made many acquaintances. One of his main tasks was to find and arrest “bushwhackers”, who were men that engaged in guerilla warfare attacks during the Civil War and Reconstruction. From 1869-1870, Erastus was stationed in Anderson, SC as an assistant assessor, and then he moved to Columbia, SC in 1870. In October of 1870, Erastus was present for the Laurens County, SC riot, in which he overheard and tried to prevent presumed Ku Klux Klan activity. He narrowly escaped with the assistance of several men in the area, who he soon was horrified to discover were probably Ku Klux members, and therefore responsible for the riot. My next posting will deal more with this fascinating event in Erastus’s life.

Erastus was a skilled verbal negotiator and eloquent writer (and from his writings and interviews, he had a sense of humor!). After serving as a soldier during the Civil War and sustaining a total of 7 bullets, he served as an aid that was not involved in direct battles. He was commissioned by General Howard to the Freedman's Bureau, and spent the early part of the Reconstruction negotiating and inspecting issues regarding things such as black labor and dealing with abandoned plantation property. The Freedman’s Bureau became very political towards the end of its time, encouraging blacks to vote for the Republican party, and was disbanded in 1869, although Erastus preferred not to be “mixed up” with politics. He was a self-proclaimed conservative Republican and greatly admired Abraham Lincoln and the reconstruction efforts. After his time with the Freedman’s Bureau, Erastus became an editor for the Union, SC newspaper, which was a Republican newspaper. “It is considered a conservative newspaper up North. They are sending me letters all the time, thinking that I am going astray!.. I am not a radical at all. I am not a radical republican, and never have been; but I believe in fair play”. Erastus spent the rest of his life as a newspaper man, both in the role of editor and writer. The 1880 Massachusetts census lists him as the “editor of a newspaper”, and in 1894 he is listed as a “journalist” from Marshfield, MA.

While a wealth of fascinating documents exist regarding Erastus’s time with the army, it is more difficult to ascertain the state of Erastus’s marriage from the documentary evidence. On October 28, 1869, Erastus married Harriet Rebecca Fales in Dedham, MA. Harriet’s father had died when she was two, and she had lived with her widowed mother in Dedham. It is unknown how long their courtship had been, due to the fact that for the majority of the 1860s, Erastus was not in Massachusetts. They married in the midst of his commission as an assistant assessor for the army in Anderson, South Carolina. They are listed as living together in Anderson, SC in the 1870 census, so Harriet moved down to South Carolina to be with him.

By 1880, the Eversons had returned to Massachusetts. The 1880 Massachusetts census presents a bit of a mystery, that either indicates a mistake made on behalf of the census takers, or that the Eversons were separated. Erastus is listed as living in Hanson, MA with his 65 year old parents and his 14 year old niece, Ella Gurney, the daughter of his sister Sylvania (who died in 1866). He is marked under the column for single, not widowed or divorced. Harriet is listed as Harriet Everson, living with her mother Rebecca Fales in Dedham, MA. She is noted as “married”. The Dedham census was taken on June 14 1880, and the Hanson census was taken on June 16, 1880. Perhaps Erastus was simply visiting his parents during this time, and the census takers in each town recorded incorrect information - the census taker is supposed to record who is living in the household, even if they are away on business, at school, etc. Certainly the census contains mistakes.

Harriet died September 28, 1887 in Dedham, MA at the age of 45, and is listed as the wife of Erastus Everson. They had no children together. Perhaps this was in part due to Erastus’ war wounds, or estrangement. In his pension application, Erastus is listed as an invalid, but certainly he could walk, ride, and travel long distances, which he did for the Freedman’s Bureau, and when he was charged with arresting bushwhackers, although he claimed to be easily tired due to his wounds.

Erastus next appears in the 1894 Marshfield, MA Directory, seven years after his wife’s death. His residence is listed as “North, on Green’s Harbor” and his occupation as a journalist. Family legend says that Erastus was granted the land north of Green Harbor, and the small island on the river as a reward for his Civil War service. I would like to research more about this. When was he granted the land? Did he have a permanent residence here? Certainly by the 1890s he did. Here is a photograph of Erastus in front of his hunting shack with two hunting dogs, supposedly on the Marshfield island which our family now owns:

Erastus died in 1897 in Marshfield, MA at the age of 60, having lived a very colorful life. Family legend says the Marshfield island was passed to Sherman McClellan, but at the time of Erastus’ death, Sherman was only 11. Sherman, Roddy, and Lillian’s mother was Imogene Everson. Both Imogene Everson and Erastus Everson were great-grandchildren of Levi Everson and Eunice Briggs. Erastus, having no children, passed the land via his cousin Imogene, and the land was eventually handed to Sherman McClellan. Further deed research is needed to verify the succession of ownership. That is a project for another time!

McClellan Sterling

2007-01-14T23:17:00.000-05:00

Here's a story with many questions still left unanswered. Nevertheless, it is amazing what a bit of oral tradition, combined with document research and material culture can reveal.

For my bridal shower, I was blessed to receive from my aunt Maria a set of silverware that belonged to my great aunt Lillian McClellan, the sister of my great-great grandfather, Roddy McClellan. I also received a family bible that had also once belonged to Lillian (although the bible, along with the bookmarks within it, will be an interesting story for another time!)

This is the silverware, with a note from Maria:

The pieces are beautifully designed, with elegant floral patterns along the handles. In addition, the ends of each of the handles are engraved with the word "Lillian":

For Christmas, my parents and Maria came together to give me a truly wonderful gift, certain to captivate the genealogist in me: Maria had a wooden silverware box that had originally belonged to Imogene (Everson) McClellan, Lillian's mother, and it was also in this box Lillian kept her engraved silverware.

Here is the wooden silverware box:

On the top of the box, however, is a small gold plate shaped like a shield that has the name Barnard engraved on it.

Here is the Barnard inscription:

To the best of my knowledge, there in no family genealogical connection to any Barnards. In addition to the box itself from Maria, my parents added to the gift by doing research themselves. Dad's knowledge of woodworking led him to the observation that the box was not hand-crafted by a family member - the work is beautiful and probably professional, as there is no external evidence of how it is connected (nails, pegs, etc). But neither is there any evidence of company markings or logos. Maria had pointed out that perhaps the silverware itself would have markings that would identify who made the silverware, and perhaps that would be connected to the box. My parents hypothesized that perhaps the silverware was purchased in the box, and that there might be a direct connection between the silverware and the box which held it. So my mother went online and found that the Barnard family of London had a long history of creating silverware, and that some of their markings indeed had symbols placed within a shield.

So for Christmas, I received not only the silverware box, but also a family story and some clues uncovered by my parents. The next part of this was to return home and check the markings on the silverware and see if they could be identified Barnard silverware.

On the fork, knife, and spoon were three hallmarks -
a lion, an ornate capital letter "R", and a crown
(apologies for the quality, this is the clearest photo I could take of such fine detailing):

The lion marker is the most straightforward. This is a "standard mark", which indicates the standard of the silver, in this case it is Sterling .925. The word STERLING after the marks also brings this point home! However, the use of the lion for the standard mark indicates that the silverware was made in Britain.

The second mark is an ornate capital R. This is the "date letter", and is a little more tricky to interpret. The date letter system was introduced in London in 1478, and later in other major cities where silverware was made. "Its purpose was to establish when a piece was presented for assay or testing of the silver content. The mark letter changed annually in May, the cycles of date letters were usually in strings of 20 and each cycle was differentiated by a changing of the font, letter case and shield shape." (from British Hallmarks) Although there are a wide variety of letters depending upon the city, Lillian's silverware date letter seems to best match with London's date letter of 1852.

Here are the London date letters (see the 1852 capital R):
Imogene Everson was born in 1852. Perhaps her parents purchased this silverware in honor of her birth, and Imogene later gave this silverware to her only daughter, Lillian, who then chose to engrave the silverware with her name.

The crown and lack of a maker's mark are a bit of a curveball. The crown is an extremely generic symbol, and without a maker's mark, it's probably impossible to judge who exactly crafted this silverware. So the Barnard connection is still left a mystery. Perhaps the silverware was an inexpensive line of the Barnard's. Perhaps Imogene simply received the box from elsewhere - a friend, a neighbor, etc. Whatever the case (and perhaps time will reveal more answers) it is wonderful to be in possession of objects with such a history, and I hope to someday pass these on to a daughter of my own.

To Maria, Mom, Dad, Lillian, and Imogene - thank you.

Musings of the blog...

2007-01-12T10:23:00.000-05:00

The blog format can serve many purposes, and is ever-evolving. Some post about politics, religion, or a variety of their interests. Blogs can be very personal, or just focused on world events. Recently my father has been writing about his childhood memories . One of my friends simply posts about dreams. My mother, a writer, uses hers for both the pleasure of writing, and also as a useful exercise in writing daily or weekly. My colleagues often use theirs to discuss current events in history, archaeology, museums, cemeteries, or genealogy.

This blog itself is a variety of styles and topics. It has cemetery reviews and cemetery reflections, photographs, some current events related to cemeteries, along with some aspects of genealogy, museums, and history.

Stay tuned for a new feature I will begin to incorporate as well: mini-genealogical biographies. Genealogical research generally takes a great deal of time (and in some sense, is never-ending… a visit to a new archives or library, or discovery of new records can often add great additional information to subjects one has already gathered information about!) But unless I am helping a person find information about an ancestor, or if I am researching for my town USGenWeb sites, I am often left with large stacks of paperwork and even more digital information in my computer, that I incorporate into my personal genealogical files. I always update my personal genealogy with Ancestry.com, and a variety of genealogy websites and forums, but using this format can allow for a greater sense of the individual. By writing these mini-biographies, I can help bring to life people from the past and share this information with the online community instead of just having it filed in my library. I hope that you, dear Reader, will find it to be an interesting new feature in this blog.

Ghost stories of Hilton Head, SC

2006-12-31T17:00:00.000-05:00

The majority of places we visited on the island were related to historical and cultural locations or events. However, most of Hilton Head has been developed in recent years. The majority of the island is divided into tourist and residential resorts with condos, hotels, and summer rental homes. With such relatively recent history, it was interesting to note the preponderance of ghost stories on the island. They were printed in restaurant menues, referred to in tourist literature, and displayed within the little museum in the Harbour Town Lighthouse. It would be fascinating to do a study to see at what points in time ghost stories arise in the popular culture. Perhaps in this case, the amount of ghost stories is related to the need to express a vast history (as "ghosts" are typically historical, by their very definition, their death/creation occured in the past)

Here are some of the stories:

The Ghost of the Harbour Town Lighthouse
Some people have reported that while walking up the steps of the lighthouse (which was completed in 1970), they have felt a chill and shrill shrieking of air upwards to the top of the lighthouse. According to the lighthouse museum, this may be the ghost of a Yemassee warrior, who over a thousand years ago left his family to fight, and when he returned discovered that his family had died near the spot where the lighthouse exists today. His mournful presence can still be felt in the lighthouse.

The Ghost of William Baynard
There seems to be several versions of this one. According to this story, the Baynard mausoleum located in Zion Cemetery is haunted by William Baynard. You may remember him as the man who legend says won the plantation from "Saucy Jack" Stoney, thus adding his name to the Stoney-Baynard plantation, whose ruins we visited. "William Baynard lost his young bride to fever in 1830, and he never recovered from his grief. So when it storms at night, the specter of the mourning widower rides his wife’s hearse, driving a ghostly team of four black horses before him."

Another version says that William Baynard's funeral procession can be seen passing by the ruins of the Stoney-Baynard ruins (we kept our eyes open, but to no avail) and his tomb in Zion Cemetery.

In doing a bit of genealogical research, however, it seems that William Baynard married Catherine Adelaide Scott in 1829. They went on to have four children, and he died in 1849. He acquired the Stoney plantation (Braddock's Point Plantation) in 1840. Doesn't seem that his "young bride" died of a fever after all! But facts don't have to play an important role in ghost stories, as we well know!

The Blue Lady
This was the first ghost story we encountered on the island. Our first night we dined at the restaurant CQ's. This tale also seems to have several versions, or have blended with each other. CQ's menu provides a version of the tale that depicts recent encounters with the Blue Lady. It describes a woman in a blue dress who has been seen from time to time.

The restaurant next to CQ's is the Harbour Town bakery and cafe, which is housed in an old lightkeeper's house, which was moved to its present location in the Sea Pines resort. Although we believe the sign said the lighthouse keeper's cottage had originally been located in Charleston, SC, it helps to provide a link to the evolution of the Blue Lady ghost.

Because elsewhere on the island, the ghost of a young girl named Caroline Fripp haunts Hilton Head Rear Range Lighthouse, where she died during the hurricane of 1898. The Blue Lady is most reported during the hurricane seasons. People say they 've gone or rode by the Old Lighthouse and would hear a women sobbing.

A history of lighthouses provides the probable basis for this story. When a hurricane hit the island, keeper Adam Fripp remained in the lighthouse, to keep it lit for ships on the ocean. Supposedly the wind extinguished the light, as he had a fatal heart attack. His daughter Caroline successfully kept the light lit throughout the storm, but she died shortly thereafter in her home, the lighthouse keeper's cottage.

Ghost stories have followed. Whether she has been sighted at or near the lighthouse (on the opposite side of the island from the Harbour Town Lighthouse, which is where CQ's and the Bakery are located), or in Harbour Town itself, a woman's sobs and appearance in blue has been reported time and again, the original story blending into the local folklore in different ways.

Overall, we were entertained and intrigued by the prominence of ghost stories on the island. Although it was easy to imagine the basis for many of the tales, the island itself had its moments of haunting beauty, with its evening fog rolling in from the ocean, or the Spanish-moss draped old oak trees at twilight...

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T09:09:00.000-05:00

Good morning, everyone!

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas.. Santa was good to us, and we hope he was to you, too!

Colonial Park Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia

2006-12-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

We took a day-trip to lovely old Savannah in the rain. With a series of road maps and our rental car, we made our way across the state border (and only got lost once!). Once in the city, parking was a bit hard to come by. It's a very pedestrian-friendly city, with almost every block in the historic district having large beautiful squares. The city was designed by James Oglethorpe as a series of land plots built around main squares (there are 24 in the historic district where we visited) along with space for public buildings and churches.

Because of the rain, we did not get to explore as much as we would have liked to. We caught just one cemetery within walking distance, the Colonial Park Cemetery. Although it is Savannah's second cemetery, the first cemetery is now located where a high riser building is.

The main entrance to the cemetery is on the corner of Oglethorpe and Abercorn Streets. Here is the large stone entrance, erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution:

From Colonial Park Cemetery

Immediately through the gate is a historical marker describing the cemetery and some of its famous burials:

From Colonial Park Cemetery

During the 19th century, the cemetery had become overgrown and abandoned. Efforts to turn the cemetery into a "park" to preserve the stones and the land resulted in landscaping the area, so now paths and trees dominate the space, along with the gravestones and vaults:

From Colonial Park Cemetery

Here is a marker informing visitors that hundreds of Savannah residents are buried here in unmarked graves from the Great Yellow Fever epidemic of 1820:

From Colonial Park Cemetery

I was surprised to see the amount of people originally from Rhode Island that were buried within the cemetery. Perhaps there were more direct connections between Providence and Savannah. Certainly, both cities were more tolerant of diversity - Rhode Island preached religious tolerance, and Savannah welcomed Jews, Irish Catholics, French Huguenots, etc. Perhaps there were also direct trade routes that encouraged migration to and from the two cities as well.

Here is the gravestone of Edward Greene Malbone, a Rhode Island native, who was a world-famous miniaturist:

From Colonial Park Cemetery

Perhaps another connection can be found... I came across the stone of Theodore Nash, whose carving bears a remarkable similarity to the designs of the Stevens shop of Newport, RI. Their stones were imported across the United States, so perhaps this is originally from their shop:

From Colonial Ceme...

I love this image of the broken urn against the backdrop of an oak covered in Spanish moss:

Despite the rain, it was a lovely site to visit.

Stoney-Baynard ruins, Sea Pines, Hilton Head, SC

2006-12-20T16:59:00.000-05:00

History of Braddock's Point Plantation

According to the Sea Pines Resort, in 1776, Captain John Stoney (1757-1821) bought the 1000 acres known as Braddock's Point Plantation on Hilton Head. It was passed to is son, Captain James Stoney (1772-1827) who inherited the property, left it at his death to Dr. George Mosse Stoney, who passed it to his son "Saucy Jack" in 1838. A gambler, "Saucy Jack", supposedly lost the house and land in a poker game. The winner was William Eddings Baynard. It's also possible that Saucy Jack simply went bankrupt and Baynard got the property. "Baynard was a highly successful planter of the world-famous Sea Island Cotton which he grew at Braddock's Point as well as his other holdings. He and his wife Catherine raised four children here at the "big house" and it was here that he died in 1849 at the early age of 49." The Baynard descendants left the property when the Union forces invaded Hilton Head Island in 1861. During the Civil War, the house was used by Union troops and supposedly was burned by a Confederate raiding party. Although the family later regained the land, they did not return to Braddock's Point. The house eventually decayed into the ruins of the present.

The Ruins
Here is the front of the house. There are large square holes where beams supported a large porch:

The most prominent aspect of the ruins was the remains of a part of the first floor:

From Stoney-Baynar...

The Stoney-Baynard home was constructed with tabby, a building material popular in the Low Country of South Carolina. Tabby was produced with lime, sand, and oyster shells, and made cement for foundations.

A modern support made from wood exists along the basement:

William Baynard was well known for his Sea Island cotton, which was a new cotton hybrid that was extremely popular. Of course, the success of the cotton was actually dependent upon the slave labor of the plantation. About a mile from the big house was "slave row" where poorly made and small slave cabins provided shelter to the plantation's numerous slaves. Directly near the main house's ruins, however, it the probable location of the slave cabin where the house slaves lived:

A slave kitchen and large tabby stone nearby also exist, the stone was probably shifted around during the Union occupation of the plantation, and used as a block for Union tents, according to archaeological digs.

The site was beautiful to explore. Today the surrounding land is overgrown with forest, and there are many trails to hike through. A sense of history was very much alive throughout. There is something quite evocative in ruins, and a loss of preservation. However, there has been recent interest in preserving the ruins and interpreting the site as both a story of the owners of the plantation, the slaves which worked upon it.

I found myseld musing on how the Civil War literally and figuratively destroyed the site: both the physical structure of the plantation, and the system of slavery on which the plantation was built.

Braddock's Point Cemetery, Hilton Head, South Carolina

2006-12-13T15:45:00.000-05:00

Harbour Town is located in the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head. It was built in the 1960s and 1970s as an environmentally-friendly (as much as resorts can be!) designed tourist spot. But the land there has a much longer history. A great deal of where Sea Pines is located was known as Braddock's Point, and the Stoney family and later the Baynard family had a large plantation there (see my post about the Stoney-Baynard Plantation Ruins).

There was a large slave population on Hilton Head, and several very large planations which each occupied a vast space on the island. After the Civil War, the newly-freed slaves (some of who had served for the Union troops who invaded the island early on in the war) settled the first freedman town, called Mitchelville. Largely isolated from the mainland, Gullah culture thrived here and on other coastal islands along South Carolina and Georgia, where language, customs, and culture were creolised from the variety of African heritages of the slaves, along with European influences. Gullah culture thrives to this very day on the island.

In Harbour Town - just beyond the complex where we stayed, I had seen a cemetery marked as "Braddock's Point Cemetery" on our driving map. We took a walk, and awkwardly nestled between several large hotels and condos was a small cemetery. Further reading lead us to the discovery that the graveyard was a preserved slave cemetery, where descendents are still buried.

Here is the cemetery, surrounded by buildings:

From Braddock's Po...

There were no graves dated before the Civil War, leading to the assumption that if slaves were buried here, they either were not allowed or could not afford permanent markers. Yet certainly the local community was aware of who was buried here, and there are probable burials in the cemetery of those who were born into slavery, and died after the Civil War.

Here are a row of graves from the Chisolm family, with both older simpler stones and modern laser-carved granite stones:

From Braddock's Po...

Many of the older stones (post-Civil war into the early 1900s) are simple stone with crude hand-carving. This perhaps indicates either a lack of gravestone resources on the island or the inability to import stones from elsewhere due to finances. An interesting feature on some of these stones, however, was that a ceramic plate was pressed into the center of the stones. This seems to be a unique quality of Gullah tradition. Often ceramic dishware are left or broken at a grave, as burial goods for the dead, or to ward off spirits.

Here is the gravestone of Wesley Young, born Apr 20, 1904, died Sept 26, 1940. The grave has a plate pressed into the stone:

From Braddock's Po...

Looking around for further information, I can only seem to find descriptions of burial and funeral practices of Gullah and African American cemeteries. Does anyone have further information about the significance of pressing dishware into the stones themselves?

Welcome to Hilton Head, South Carolina!!

2006-12-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of postings.. we have returned from our wonderful wedding and relaxing honeymoon! With much unpacking still left to do, here's a preview of exciting things to come!

Our honeymoon was spent on Hilton Head, a lovely island off the coast of South Carolina, right near the border of Georgia. We spent most of our days exploring the island's natural and historical sites, did a little shopping along the way, a lot of relaxing with our waterfront view of the harbor and Harbour Town's famous lighthouse, and took a day trip to Savannah! Since we are both history buffs, we made of point of checking out some really neat places that I will post about here in the blog.. several interesting cemeteries, including a former slave cemetery, the ruins of a plantation and some Civil War forts, and the proliferation of ghost stories on the island!

We saw no alligators, though! But we did see dolphins!

Creative legacy of the Civil War

2006-11-08T13:38:00.000-05:00

Having just finished watching the entirety of Ken Burns' The Civil War, I was struck by the vast amount of creativity it inspired. Indeed, the war itself still resonates today with meaning. Burns himself refers to it as "America's Iliad", the epic narrative of American history.

With the new art-form of photography developing through the Civil War, war reporters had a new means of bringing the war home to those living far from the battlefields. No longer were articles accompanied by sketchings, drawings or daguerrotypes, instead, real photographs could be included. But in addition to the shots of soldiers, ranks, and regiments came the terrible horrors of the war itself: images of corpses spread across the fields in a thousand different locations, in a thousand different ways, some known, others identities never to be discovered. Quick shallow graves were made by surviving soldiers or the townspeople nearby, the soldiers buried in land far from their homes. Lincoln dedicated Gettysburg Cemetery, Arlington was formed in Lee's backyard, and national cemeteries were set up across many states to account for the hundreds of thousands of the dead.

Although initially morbidly captivated by these images, as the war dragged on, it seemed that people were no longer interested in seeing yet another image of a poor dying soldier, or a survivor on crutches with a newly amputated limb. The documentary contains a fascinating photograph of a greenhouse who glass wall is made from the original wet-plates of Civil War photography. Wetplates were used to develop photographs on, it served as the negative. Battles and soldiers peer out from tiny glass plates across the greenhouse.

Walt Whitman was a great recorder for the time. He worked in some of the hospitals during the Civil War, exposed to much of the suffering of the soldiers. His prose and poetry were filled with direct and subtle references to the war, and his writings are a wonderful source for seeking insight to the war beyond the military strategies and battles, and instead into the social and cultural changes that resulted during and after the war.

Once the war was over, commemoration began in America as it never had before. The end of the 19th century marked the highest rate of public monument production. Practically every town square that was involved in the war constructed a monument for the men and boys they lost, and those that fought. Gravestone, monument, and stone companies in general made a good deal of business - so much so that some companies offered deals in which the face of a soldier statue could be modeled after individual men, if a photograph was provided! And as time passed and the direct memory of the varied causes of the war became murkier (slavery, states rights, the protection of the union, and countless personal reasons) one of the places in which nostalgia and memory held the most power was in cemeteries, whether large or small.

The Civil War had the most casualties of any American war (and still does). With so many dead, and often the cruel realities of retreat, rank seperation, or lack of manpower to sort through the dead, the "Unknown Soldier" became a familiar sight across many graves. Walt Whitman was haunted by such a sight, and the thousands who flock to places like Gettysburg and Arlington still are to this very day.

AS toilsome I wander’d Virginia’s woods,
To the music of rustling leaves, kick’d by my feet, (for ’twas autumn,)
I mark’d at the foot of a tree the grave of a soldier,
Mortally wounded he, and buried on the retreat, (easily all could I understand;)
The halt of a mid-day hour, when up! no time to lose—yet this sign left,
On a tablet scrawl’d and nail’d on the tree by the grave,
Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.

Long, long I muse, then on my way go wandering;
Many a changeful season to follow, and many a scene of life;
Yet at times through changeful season and scene, abrupt, alone, or in the crowded street,
Comes before me the unknown soldier’s grave—comes the inscription rude in Virginia’s woods,
Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.

Grave found at Dickenson homestead, Amherst, MA

2006-11-05T09:07:00.000-05:00

Every time I visited UMass, we would often drive past Emily Dickinson's homestead. She is one of my favorite poets, her imagery is beautiful and often stark and insightful. She is probably best known for her reclusiveness. She was born in 1830 and briefly attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley nearby, but left after a year due to homesickness. It wasn't until her thirties that she began to live reclusively, but by that point she had amassed a group of friends and acquaintances to which she held vast correspondance with throughout her life, even if she chose to rarely leave her home. Scholars of Emily Dickinson look to these letters to reveal the personal life of this wonderful poet, and shy but productive human being. Dying in Amherst in 1886, her family discovered a huge collection of poetry (40 hand-bound collections with over 800 poems!). While she often wrote poetry in her letters to friends, she was never recongized during her lifetime as a poet. Several years after her death her first collection of poems were published, and she has since grown to international fame.

On Halloween of this year, it seems, workers doing landscaping at the Dickinson homestead (which is now a museum) uncovered a gravestone buried in the lawn. See the article here. It belongs to Thomas Gilbert, father of Susan Gilbert who was friends with Emily and later married her brother Austin. But it was puzzling at first - because Thomas Gilbert already has an ornate stone nearby in Amherst's West Cemetery. It was soon sorted out, though - Thomas Gilbert was originally buried in Greenfield, but then was moved to be closer to the Dickinson's. His original stone from Greenfield, it seems, was placed in the Dickinson's possession. Perhaps it was used in the front lawn as a stepping stone? Every once in awhile a news story crops up in which that is the case - a garden stone is overturned and its discovered to be an old gravestone.

"What do you do with a used gravestone?" asked Jane Wald, the museum's executive director. It will be interesting to see!

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T07:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! May you have a spooky day.. and make sure to walk by a graveyard today! (No need to hold your breath or have a rabbit's foot!)

And may there be lots of candy!

Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA

2006-10-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

Mt. Auburn was featured today in an article by the Harvard Crimson as a destination to explore and admire just in time for Halloween. The article gives a brief history of the cemetery, plus a few spooky stories, and a list of some of the famous Bostonians buried within.

"The Ghost is Clear"

2006-10-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

Today's Enterprise had a fun article in the Local section that is "part of an occasional series leading up to Halloween" entitled "The Ghost is Clear"

It discusses the gravestone of Veva L. Johnson who is buried at the Mayflower Hill Cemetery in Taunton, MA. A large family monument lists her basic birth and death dates: born 28 OCT 1880 and died 26 APR 1884. Beside the family obelisk is a small cement rocking chair that states "Her vacant chair".

It features a photograph of the chair filled with stuffed animals, and a few interesting quotes. City Councilor Charles Crowley suggested that the stone has legends built up around it. "Legend has it that the young girl was scolded by her mother and had to sit in the corner. Her mother went to the store and told her, "Don't leave the chair while I am gone." While she was gone, the building caught fire and the young girl died" The cemetery commissioner was unaware of this story, although she stated that occasionally items appear on the rocking chair. "That's too spooky for me. I thought the rocking chair was there because the little girl (buried there) liked rocking chairs"
Crowley goes on to suggest that whenever the story makes its way to the local access station or media outlets near Halloween or for "haunted"-related stories, there is a surge in items left on the stone.

Fascinating stuff!

Unfortunately, looking to archival records debunks the legend, although it reveals a lot about the public and the power of myth.

Veva indeed died on April 26, 1884 in Raynham and was buried in Taunton at the age of "3 years, 5 months, and 25 days". Cause of death? "Spinal disease". Her parents are listed as Alson & Ida Johnson. She had a younger brother Carl born two years after her birth, who was living with his father and grandfather in the 1900 census. Her mother Ida died in 1898 at a young age from diabetes.

No mention of a fire - a pretty gruesome and specific cause of death that would certainly have been mentioned. By the late 19th century, Massachusetts death records were pretty well regulated, so it can reasonably be assumed that no such fire ever existed - it would have been noted. But even if it did - its hard to believe a mother would force a three year old to sit in a chair while she went out, let alone one suffering from a spinal disease. Ah, but what tragic irony the legend holds, and thus today the legend holds a gruesome power over those who hear it.

But what of the cemetery commissioner who thought perhaps young Veva really liked rocking chairs? Possibly, but it most likely had far more to do with the widespread cultural trend that was found in the Victorian-era period of mourning, in which children's gravestones were often carved or sculpted to represent material domestic objects, often with the child's presence missing within or on that object. The conception of "childhood" was being shaped and defined, evidenced in part by the rising prominence of the nursery as a distinctive room within American homes. The "empty rocking chair" (also popular were gravestones featuring empty cradles or beds) itself reflects a romanticized, if tragic, view from Veva's parents (or at least the surrounding culture) of the significance of Veva's absence from daily life.

Yet that cultural understanding of the rocking chair has mostly passed from modern gravestone trends. Without that context, the public looks at Veva's stone and envisions a child filling the chair, haunting it. But why the chair? they wonder. Vivid tales thus arise in attempts to explain the purpose of the chair linked to the child's death itself, while it certainly seems there is no direct connection. Veva did not die in a fire, nor did her love of her rocking chair cause her family to recreate it by her grave. Rather, the true tragedy of a child's death, linked with her physical deformity, caused her family to turn to a familiar form of children's gravestones from the era - a style that distinguished Veva's short life most prominently by her sudden absence.

Midge Frazel's Cemetery Blog, Granite in My Blood

2006-10-11T11:58:00.000-05:00

Visit Midge Frazel's great cemetery blog Granite in my Blood. Midge is the secretary of the Plymouth County Genealogists, which is a great local genealogical non-profit society, with an informative newsletter The Genealogical Inquirer.

Mount Auburn Cemetery lecture, Boston Public Library

2006-10-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

Just received a mailing from Mount Auburn Cemetery, and there is a great lecture coming up:

"W.E.B. Du Bois and the Enyclopedia Africana"
October 18, 2006, 6 p.m. Boston Public Library, Copley Square
Free and open to the public

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is the W.E.B. Du Bois Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. Earlier this year he had a fantastic documentary series on PBS entitled "African American Lives". I watched all the episodes, and loved every moment. Using genealogy and genetics, he researching his own history as well as several famous or high-achieving African Americans such as Oprah, Whoopi Goldberg, and Quincy Jones. It brought to live the thrill of the profession! I am often asked "what is it, exactly, that genealogists do?" The short answer is "research".. and that's when others lose interest. They regain it once the research has been done, and answers have been found! But I love the research process... it is a combination of skill and luck, knowing where to look for records, and piece together seemingly disjointed facts to recreate a life, then a family, then an ancestry. Henry Louis Gates documentary focused on the research process - including the frustrations of finding dead ends, the excitement of discovering previously unused documents, and even the personal wonder of seeing a relatives name on some long-forgotten record, and matching it up with a house or town that still exists. Gates documents the search for his own history, then presents the histories of his guest's to them personally. I love the passionate responses of Oprah when he presents her family history, the look of disbelief and then immediate connection when she learns of people who she never knew existed previously, but then relates to their actions and emotions. It is certainly worth watching. I think I even wrote a review on the series, I will see if I can find where that currently might be...!

So back to the Mount Auburn mailing. Henry Louis Gates is giving a lecture "W.E.B. Du Bois and Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience", which will discuss the history and culture of Africa and the African Diaspora including references to African Americans buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part of the anniversary celebrations of Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts, "Facets of Mount Auburn Cemetery: Celebrating 175 Years of a Boston Jewel." Should be very interesting!!

Ancient Peru pet cemeteries

2006-09-23T16:49:00.000-05:00

From an article today,

Archaeologists have uncovered over 82 dog tombs buried alongside humans in Peru. Their owners were the Chiribaya, who lived in the Osmore River valley. They were farmers who lived approximately from "AD 900 to 1350 before the rise of Peru's Inca Empire".

From a sociological standpoint, it is interesting to note that the dogs, adults and puppies, were buried with blankets food - "They are dogs that were thanked and recognized for their social and familial contribution," anthropologist Sonia Guillen said. "These dogs were not sacrificed." Were they kept as pets in the modern sense of the word? Or were they valued for their assistance as herders, hunters, etc?

In addition to the significance of the importance of dogs to these people, the Bioanthropology Foundation of Peru is also interested in searching for genetic links from these dogs to modern day Chiribaya shepherd dogs.

It's interesting to consider the genetics and genealogy of modern domestic dog breeds. Often there is mention of extinct breeds or earlier canine ancestors referred to in royal records of those elite who had dogs. Of course that doesnt account for the rest of the population's mutts!!

Howland Cemetery, Hanson, MA

2006-08-23T13:49:00.000-05:00

Every summer I explore this cemetery, as it is on my aunt's property, and never ceases ceases to captivate. I also try to photograph it each summer, keeping records over time of the state of the stones.

Per the advice and sharp eye of my Aunt Maria, we uncovered a broken headstone in the small Howland plot so that I could photograph it. Fending off the swarms of mosquitoes, I took several good photographs of it before reburying it, in attempts to longer preserve the stone from thieving hands. Several stones have disappeared over the years, with visitors to the campground nearby most likely the culprits, which is a shame.

The stone is of Pamelia Thomas (DRAKE) Howland, wife of Lewis Howland. She died 9 NOV 1869 in Abington at the age of 64 of consumption.

Her footstone reads PTH, it is pictured here resting on top of the base of another grave:

Here is a photo of Lewis Howland's stone, the only full gravestone left:

Lewis Howland, it seems, was the first interred in this small plot. Dying of small pox, he was buried here on his land, and his wife and some of his family chose later to be buried here as well.

Here is another headstone base with no stone attached to it, along with a small chunk of marble gravestone with no visible writing on it:

More deed and will research is needed, but it appears that the land passed into our family via Lewis Howland's brother Warren, who married Deborah Bates. When he died of consumption, ownership of the land passed to Deborah and her second husband Barnabas Everson.

Geocaching

2006-08-19T22:19:00.000-05:00

The kids today went on a grand adventure, courtesy of Geocaching.com.

The basic concept is that people take a waterproof container and place in it a logbook and a "treasure", then post its coordinates on the website. Those with GPS technology can then search for the "caches", sign the logbook, and take the treasure - so long as they leave behind a new treasure for the next explorers!

The site has opportunities for great creativity - some of my favorites so far have been sites near cemeteries. They leave clues to find specific gravestones throughout the cemetery, then have equations based off of dates on the stones to solve the cache coordinates. For instance, here is one from Union Cemetery, Carver, MA.

Find one near you - and happy hunting!!

New England Historic Genealogical Society, Newbury Street, Boston, MA

2006-08-18T12:59:00.000-05:00

Ooh exciting! Just got an email from NEHGS today with the fall lineup of lectures. Since I will be in Boston this fall, my interest is peaked! Here's one I am especially looking forward to:

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War
November 8, 2006, 7 p.m. presentation
Just in time for Thanksgiving, bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick will speak on the subject of his latest book, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War. Publisher's Weekly's starred review praised Philbrick's "remarkable effort" in bringing the founders of Plymouth Colony "vividly to life." Winner of the National Book Award for In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, Nathaniel Philbrick is one of America's leading popular historians, and his lecture on the subject of the Mayflower will surely be a fascinating one.

Philbrick is a great writer. I ended up reading In the Heart of the Sea after borrowing it from my friend Jojo, but leftovers were spilled over it.. so I bought her a new one and kept the slightly soggy version for myself! I am soon to purchase Mayflower.. but I always hesitate to buy books in hardcover. On the other hand, it should be an excellent addition to my library of colonial history books! Has anyone else read Mayflower yet?

Welcome, AGSers!!

2006-07-31T12:16:00.000-05:00

For those of you who have arrived to the site today from the Association for Gravestone Studies e-Newsletter, greetings!

Feel free to read through the blog, and leave feedback. I have been an AGSer for several years now. If you have similar cemetery blogs or websites, please share them!

Enjoy,
- Mary

Gettysburg National Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

2006-07-28T22:05:00.000-05:00

On the way home from DC, we stopped today at Gettysburg. Despite my love of American history and knowledge of the battles and details, I was not prepared for the sheer vastness of Gettysburg. Endless fields, and endless room for the imagination.

The National Cemetery at Gettysburg was created in efforts to bury the dead from the Battle of Gettysburg. A quick look at Wikipedia lists the casualties as such:
Union: 23,055 (3,155 killed, 14,531 wounded, 5,369 captured/missing)
Confederate: 22,231 (4,708 killed, 12,693 wounded, 5,830 captured/missing)
These numbers are unbelievable... the battle lasted 3 days from July 1-3, 1863, and was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. There was an immediate need to bury the dead, and the land for Gettysburg Cemetery was purchased. Several months later, Lincoln came to the cemetery's dedication and delivered his famous Gettysburg address there.

The Soldiers National Monument stands in the center, with semi-circles of graves flush to the ground around it, divided by states. The number of burials (details here) per state were:
* Maine ~ 104
* New Hampshire ~ 49
* Vermont ~ 61
* Massachusetts ~ 159
* Rhode Island ~ 12
* Connecticut ~ 22
* New York ~ 866
* New Jersey ~ 78
* Pennsylvania ~ 526
* Delaware ~ 15
* Maryland ~ 22
* West Virginia ~ 11
* Ohio ~ 131
* Indiana ~ 80
* Illinois ~ 6
* Michigan ~ 171
* Wisconsin ~ 73
* Minnesota ~ 52
* US Regulars ~ 138
* Unknown, Lot North ~ 411
* Unknown, Lot South ~ 425
* Unknown, Lot Inner Circle ~ 143
As you can see, most of the burials presently in the cemetery are of Union soldiers. The majority of Confederate soldiers were removed to cemeteries closer to home. While the soldiers monument which dominates the scene was intended to reflect the Union, what is interesting about Gettysburg is that it does not, in text or visually, talk of victory. History has marked the battle as a human tragedy, and the losses from both sides of the battle are overwhelmingly evident throughout the national park.

Beautiful and haunting poetry on large signs surround the stones along the walkway. As we walked through the cemetery, it was very overcast and began to rain, a fitting tribute to the somber nature of the cemetery and the nearby preserved battlefields.

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

2006-07-27T22:37:00.000-05:00

Of all the things to do in Washington DC, one of the places I was excited to visit was Arlington National Cemetery. Although it was incredibly hot, the trip was extremely worthwhile.

There is a great deal of parking, and pedestrian traffic is led through the Visitor's Center at the beginning of the cemetery, which has a little gift shop, an information center, and an exhibit that features large photographs of significant moments in the cemetery's history, along with explanatory text. The photos themselves are very overwhelming, but they barely come close to capturing the actual experience of stepping outside the doors and walking through the cemetery itself.

Arlington is the second largest national cemetery (the largest is on Long Island). Looking over a map of the cemetery, and considering the heat and the length of the kids' patience, we decided to go to the more famed spots: the Kennedy gravestones, and both sites of the Unknown Soldiers tombs.

JFK's site is moving, with an eternal flame that overlooks the Washington Monument across the Potomac River. The Civil War Unknown Soldiers vault contains 2,111 soldiers found across battlefields. During the Civil War, Arlington was the home to Robert Lee, and the mansion remains there to this day. He had vacated the property during the war, however, and it was used as a military base. Montgomery Meigs ordered that the unknown bodies be buried in Lee's yard, essentially preventing the Lee family returning to their home again.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers was interesting to see, because we arrived right as they had a changing of the guards. One soldier from WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam are buried within.

The cemetery has a combination of regular gravestones as well as the uniform white military gravestones. Seeing the precise rows of white stones in such large numbers is very moving to behold. Photographs do not do them justice. A sense of quiet patriotism permeates the cemetery.

National World War II Memorial, Washington D.C.

2006-07-24T21:51:00.000-05:00

This week we are in Washington DC on vacation!

While this technically doesn't count as a cemetery, this memorial along the Mall was of interest to me because a few years ago I met Nick Benson, stone carver from the John Stevens Shop in Newport, RI.

The John Stevens Shop has been in operation since 1705, and numerous articles and gravestone afficiandos have detailed stones in Newport - and much farther! - made from the shop. Today the shop is under the direction of Nick Benson, and the shop still handcarves lettering on stones.

During a course at Brown University, AC125 Gravestones and Burying Grounds, Nick Benson was a guest lecturer where he discussed the shop, as well as his recent undertaking - working in Washington DC where he carved on the National World War II Memorial. An interview with Nick Benson discusses the experience, and the John Stevens Shop website features excellent photographs of the process.

While I had never thought much about the physical carving of gravestones or monuments, after meeting with Nick I keep my eyes open for his - and the Shop's - signature style. It is remarkable to consider how the stonecarving tradition has been passed on throughout generations, across years and apprenticeships. The carving is beautiful, and all the more interesting when one considers the labor involved.

The WWII Monument is well-placed along the Mall, between the Washington and Lincoln Memorials. It is spacious and well-designed, and tourists (myself included!) enjoy taking photographs along each of the sections dedicated to individual states.

From Nick Benson's visit to AC125:

Green River Cemetery, Greenfield, MA

2006-07-24T12:53:00.000-05:00

This article comes via the sharp eyes of Margo, who is keeping watch of all New England cemeteries while I am on vacation in Washington DC!!

Erosion is endangering some 50 graves along the Green River, most of which are from the 1800s. The trouble is now to figure out just how exactly to undertake such a large project both safely and sensitively.

Of note, a 40-foot obelisk belonging to William Washburn and his family has fallen to the ground. Washburn was Massachusetts' Republican governor from 1872 to 1874.

Let's hope it all goes safely!

St. Mary's Cemetery, Middleboro, MA

2006-07-18T22:45:00.000-05:00

On the way home from the YMCA Jubee and I stopped by St. Mary's Cemetery in Middleboro. The cemetery is owned by Sacred Heart Catholic Parish in Middleboro. There's a tidy history of the church and cemetery here.

The cemetery is fairly large and is filled with modern stones, there is a great deal of large granite squares with surnames on the front and smaller individual names and dates etched on the back or on smaller flush stones nearby.

The middle of the cemetery is dominated by a large statue of Jesus:

As a Catholic cemetery, religious symbology is found throughout:

Here are a few interesting stones, one an older simple cross, the other an altar with a broken mirror:

A well-known phrase, but peculiar as an epitaph :
"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it is yours. If it doesn't, it never was."

To the very modern laser-etched stones, which allow for great detail:

“Forgotten” Cemeteries

2006-07-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

Recently I was a bit disturbed to hear on the radio that a body had been discovered by someone on their lunch break, close to where I work. The radio proclaimed that a murder investigation was underway – but it became quickly apparent that there was no need. The body was just one of many that were once part of a pauper cemetery in Cranston that had been forgotten, and largely paved over by Route 37. The full article is here.

They uncovered several remains, but estimate that hundreds – perhaps more than a thousand – are buried in the area.

Then a mere two weeks later, another “forgotten cemetery” was making news in the area. Although this time people were hired to seek it out. In Roxbury, the Boston archdiocese hired archaeologists to determine if an old cemetery was truly on its land. Hundreds of bodies were found, and some are in the process of being interred at Calvary Cemetery. More details are located here.

The stories, of course, piqued my interest, but are also saddening. As far as cemetery explorations go, my favorite trips are to small cemeteries, mostly family plots or smallpox cemeteries of which New England boasts so many. They are often set back deep in the woods, and there is a certain satisfaction in the adventure of literally finding the cemetery, followed by the academic satisfaction of recording the stones and bringing that information back to general knowledge, causing them to be “rediscovered” – no longer forgotten. These small plots are easily lost over time on public maps, especially if they are not positioned in prominent locations.

But as for the Cranston, RI and Roxbury, MA cemeteries, it seems to be a wonder that they could be “forgotten”. The Roxbury cemetery, according to the research, was off public maps by 1890, and the Cranston one by some point after the 1920s. Each with hundreds of bodies! Granted, in each case there were no visible markers – the Roxbury cemetery was an unmarked church cemetery, and the Cranston cemetery was for paupers. Still, considering the sheer size of each of the cemeteries, it is incredible how quickly they can disappear from the public’s awareness.

Ammon-Booth Cemetery, Lakeville, MA

2006-06-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

Don't let the title of this blog entry fool you - I did not intend to find the Ammon-Booth Cemetery today! I had gathered some of my lovely family members to go hiking through the woods of Lakeville off of Race Course Road, in search of the Ramsdell-Robbins Cemetery. Lambert and Thatcher both refer to the cemetery as being "set back in the bushes", into the woods and away from the road. Maps online and printed also positioned it slightly past halfway to the west on the road, and certainly made it look like it's location would be behind someone's house.

The Ramsdell-Robbins Cemetery boasts several ancestors: John Ramsdell, his wife Sarah (nee Robbins) and her brother Samuel Robbins, who owned much of the land around Race Course Road - he sold some of the land to form the Mullein Hill Church, which is right around the corner. Lambert's book puts the founding date as 1775, intriguing since Sarah died in 1848, Samuel in 1854, and John in 1856, and they are the only graves listed in Thatcher's book.

So my brother dropped us off halfway down the road and with my mother and some siblings we hiked in the woods between some properties, hoping to come across the cemetery back in the woods.

We were hopeful when we came across a substantial path that trailed a distance behind the homes along the road (the houses themselves were also set back deep into the woods as well). We came upon this:

A stream with a concrete and stone small walking bridge set across it! Very beautiful, and odd to find it deep in the woods. We debated it's construction date, and it's intended purpose. Just to the right of the bridge was also:

No real ideas here on what this structure was intended for... currently it is being used as a compost holder. But the proximity of the bridge to the stone structure most certainly indicates they were built around the same time, and perhaps used in tandem.

We followed the trail for awhile, then split up and searched the woods, pushing through thorns and lots of overgrowth, to no avail. As we walked closer to a home, a bewildered woman called out to us (her dog was having a howling field day!) and we stated our purpose (I always enjoy seeing people's responses to graveyard hunts... bafflement? enthusiasm? get off my property or I'll use my shotgun!? ... one never knows =) Although if a cemetery is on private property, one should always seek permission to explore and photograph it! But in this case, we had no idea where it was) In any case, the woman was nice and said that they owned the property all the way into the woods for 5 acres and had never seen a cemetery. So we trekked back to the road, puzzled. I called out to another neighbor if he knew of the location of the cemetery and he said we were on the wrong side of the road, and that a small cemetery was right across the street! So we excited crossed the road and soon found:

John Booth!? That rang a bell, I recalled a Booth cemetery in the area as well.. and sure enough, Thatcher lists:
Booth, John died 30 NOV 1802 in his 74th year
Booth, Lydia, wife of John, died 28 MAR 1784 in her 52nd year
Ammon, a Negro, belonged to Capt. William Canedy, 30 MAR 1778 in his 29th year.

The little cemetery is right along the road, although it is bushy and surrounded by trees. The only marked stone is John Booth's, which has obviously been tended to (with a veteran's flag) and he also received an updated gravestone. Lydia's is nowhere to be seen, nor is Ammon's.

However, it's very possible that Ammon's is:

Or a number of other large fieldstones nearby which look conspicuously placed, and therefore serving as unlabelled gravestones. Why was Ammon buried with Lydia, just a few years after her death, especially if he belonged to another man (Canedy?) Were they neighbors? Had the Booths formerly owned Ammon (although he was relatively young, but I am not sure of the rate of slave ownership turnover, especially in the north) Very interesting to consider.

As for the Ramsdell-Robbins Cemetery, I have sent an email to the Lakeville Historical Commission in hopes that someone there might know it's exact location. We shall see!

Parish Burial Ground at the Green, Middleboro, MA

2006-06-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

This afternoon Jubee and I grabbed some DQ and decided to spend our time as most other normal people do: walk through a graveyard nearby. As 105 was on the way, we pulled up along the cemetery and perused.

I had not been there in several years (has it really been seven years already!?), when it was one of the "field trips" in a New England Archaeology course I had with the wonderful Edward Gallagher. We had gone into the Congo church across the road (an exact replica, it seemed, to the Hanson Congo, and every other New England Congo Church!) Then we had explored the cemetery - it has a great many old stones, and lots of interesting carvings.

So today, I was happy to become reacquainted with the cemetery. From old slate to newer marble to newest granite, the cemetery is quite large, and still serves the Middleboro community. We stuck to the older sections, always my favorite. But perhaps my preference mimics the study of history in general - historians for the most part are not interested in the modern, but rather the past (About what time frame did your high school history classes go up to?). Yet with each successive generation comes a need to research the previous!

Sadly I had forgotten to bring my camera. But Jubee had pointed out that she was interested in finding poetry on stones, for she had been inspired after recently received an assignment to write an epitaph for an English class. I always love looking at gravestones from new approaches, so it was fun to seek out poetry.

I told her about the beloved epitaph oft-quoted by AGS'ers - "I told you I was sick!!"

There were many, many spiritual references. We searched around for paper and a pencil (usually staple goods in my purse), but only came up with our napkins from Dairy Queen.. so just jotted down a few.

Here's a sad one for a young girl:
"See the lovely blooming flower
Fades and withers in an hour
So our transient comforts fly
Pleasures only bloom to die"

In addition, I was interested in some stones in the back right corner, many of which belonged to the Thompson family. They were large white marble stones, mostly 1800s, but they were stained a dark red color. Is there a significant amount of local iron ore in the stone? I would like to look more into where stone is quarried for local stones.

Richmond Cemetery, Lakeville, MA

2006-06-13T13:46:00.000-05:00

The Richmond Cemetery, also known as the North Lakeville Cemetery, is on the corner of Taunton and Cross St. in Lakeville. The oldest stone seems to be from 1821. The cemetery itself is very neat, with some nice plantings and fresh flowers and veteran flags. It seems to be well cared for. The stones are mostly late 19th and early 20th century.

A view from Taunton Street... Richmond, Aldrich stones prominent:

Here are the some of the Richmonds, after which the cemetery is named...

Deacon Benjamin Richmond grave:

Prudence Richmond grave:

D. Frances and Amanda Dunham. Died Feb 7 and 8 1862. Daughters of Barnaba M. and Sarah S. Dunham. "A mother's love still lingers round thy grave"

Miller family monument:

Benjamin and George Leonard. Both died in South Carolina, a year apart.

Drove down to this cemetery after the visit to the Tack Factory Cemetery, over the town line on Taunton Street in Middleboro.

A view from Cross Street of the cemetery:

Tack Factory Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

2006-06-13T12:49:00.000-05:00

Went a few days ago to the Middleboro town hall to buy three death certificates, of 3 generations, hoping to find the burial site of the Ramsdells. Oswald Jones and his daughter Maria (Jones) Ramsdell's certificates yielded no burial locations. Her son, Edgar Ramsdell's, has the cryptic: Burial Place and Location: C-35.

So the clerk gave me access to a big old book that had the Middleborough section of Thatcher's Old Cemeteries of SE Massachusetts http://www.midlib.org/diglib/digcoll.htm , with a cross-reference to codes for death certificates. Middleborough cemeteries were given numbers, Lakeville one's letter. "C" corresponded to a "Cemetery on Taunton St., near the Lakeville Line". Heading home, I checked Lambert's Guide to MA Cemeteries and found it also known as the Leonard Cemetery or Tack Factory Cemetery (1819), in Middleborough.

Right off of Route 18, and cut off at a dead end by Route 495, Taunton Street on the Middleborough side is short. I'd like to learn more about the history of the Tack Factory itself. A quick google search says that the neighborhood itself is known as Tack Factory, but the only tack factory nearby on the national historic register is in Norwell.

The cemetery is right along the road, and surrounded by houses. A yard sale or party was going on across the street when we pulled up, most likely confusing them when we went instead into the cemetery. It is set higher than the road, with a few stone steps leading up the hill. Currently it is completely overgrown. Grass and weeds were growing as tall as the gravestones. Mostly family plots - I don't think I saw any solitary names. Leonards, Holloways, Woods, Tinkhams filled the place. There were some tall family obelisks or monuments, and some smaller stones.

The sheer amount of grass throughout the cemetery:

The right side of the cemetery:

The left side of the cemetery:

Leonard and Holloway stones:

Leonards and Drakes:

Holloway stones:

Namesakes of the cemetery - Leonards

My brother trekking through the tall grass:

But alas, no Ramsdells. At least not that we could see through the overgrowth. Are they there with no stones? Are the stones there but buried under grass and bushes? Or was the interpretation of the burial location mistaken? Perhaps I need to buy a few more death certificates of Edgar's siblings, or perhaps his wife, who died in Hanson. Maybe she was buried with him in Middleboro as well.

Pilgrim Hall Museum, Plymouth, MA

2006-06-08T10:41:00.000-05:00

I just read in the Boston Globe a review about a fabulous new exhibit at the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth called "Journey's End: Death and Mourning in Plymouth Colony". The exhibit explores various death, funeral, and mourning customs in the Plymouth area throughout it's history.
Some items of interest include:

*original 1704 will of Peregrine White, born aboard the Mayflower in 1620
*a silk needlework mourning scene of Charlotte Winsor from 1810
*the gravestone of Edward Babbit killed during King Philip's War in 1675
*the gold mourning ring of Plymouth Governor Josiah Winslow from 1680, with a lock of his hair
*a funeral hymn for Daniel Webster, who died in Marshfield in 1852
*fragments of the wool burial cloth used to wrap the body of Myles Standish in 1656

Pilgrim Hall Museum
75 Court Street Plymouth, MA
Through April 30, 2007

Old Burying Place, Plympton, MA

2006-04-15T16:29:00.000-05:00

The Old Cemetery in Plympton stretches along Route 58 in the center of town. The oldest gravestone is from 1707, although it is probably that several older burials are here, because there was settlement in the western part of Plymouth (which became Plympton) at least in the late 1600s. The left side of the cemetery is called Hillcrest Cemetery and it is separated by the main cemetery road.

The right side is the much older cemetery, overwhelmingly made of slate stones, most of which are suffering the fate of time. Many stones have sunk into the ground, or split in half horizontally or vertically, and many are faded or covered in lichen.
Here is a sunken stone with a beautiful winged death head:

Despite this, the cemetery has quite a few stones left in good shape, and these stones offer magnificent artwork that most people (outside the realm of gravestone researchers and those who like to wander about cemeteries!) are not aware of. The renown James Deetz did some early work here on his research of New England gravestones, published as an article entitled "Death's Head, Cherub, Urn and Willow", which eventually became incorporated into his great book In Small Things Forgotten. He identified the Soule family of Plympton as an important example of the transition from death heads to more humanistic forms, as well as the evidence of artistic flare individuals carvers had. The Soule stones are easily identifiable, for the boast a unique “Medusa” form that is a blend of skull and human face, with wild hair/wing forms radiating from the heads.
The article explains it much more thoroughly, even including a marvelous map of the evolution of the Soule’s forms themselves.

Here are two Soule stones with the Medusa head and heart shaped mouths:

As a comparison (and a compliment to the craftsmanship of the Soules), here is a much cruder form of the Medusa head that is by an unknown carver (perhaps a copycat - although I do not know the date on this stone) :

The town of Plympton also has done a significant amount of work in helping to preserve the cemetery. The town is still small, and it is good to see a town so value its history. Here is a very useful guide to the cemetery done by survey, which includes a master index of all the historical stones.
Some older transcriptions also exist through the Mayflower Descendant.

The cemetery is filled with old Plympton families, and there is a great website by Paul Bumpas with many pictures of individual graves. On a white marble stone I saw an interesting stone, of a hand holding a book (with no text, it appears).

I explored today seeking a few ancestors, but also surveying the Soule stones, admiring their distinctive style. After browsing through so many graveyards over the years, it is usually obvious to distinguish stones of a particular carver, for both the writing and the artwork provide clues. But all too often the written records of gravestone transactions are lost, and the names of carvers are lost to history. So it is heartening when names and records survive, thus providing a context to the beautiful designs gracing so many stones out in countless cemeteries.

I am also currently writing a research paper on childhood death in Puritan and Victorian New England, using gravestones and death poetry/elegies. The John Hay library boasts an impressive collection of broadsides that contain poems published upon the death of a child. And my personal photography collection includes a number of interesting children’s gravestones, but now I am seeking for a few more.

Thomastown Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

2006-03-27T23:04:00.000-05:00

3/27/06

The Thomastown Cemetery was formed in 1806. It lies on Purchase Street, near the border of Carver, and is long and rectangular in shape, with a chain-link fence surrounding it. The cemetery is still in use, and has a wide variety of shapes and sizes for the monuments.

The visit was in part to seek further for the Middleboro Ramsdells, to no success.

However, it did boast several stones with one of my favorite symbols:

There are several versions of this symbol, but the most heavy-handed of them always make me smile. The finger pointing above is fairly blunt to begin with, but when a sign is included above the hand, as is the case here with Angeline, that says HEAVEN, it certainly brings home the point.

A few interesting symbols on some children’s stones:
Dove and broken stem flower

A very stark broken stem flower - life cut short

Sleeping lamb figure:

More Middleborough searches to follow...

Burial Hill, Plymouth, MA

2006-03-27T20:37:00.000-05:00

Went on a visit today to the Pilgrim Hall Museum, then took a stroll through downtown Plymouth and ended up at Burial Hill, overlooking Plymouth Harbor. Nearby Cole’s Hill has the monument which always comes to mind: “ The Monument marks the First Burying Ground in Plymouth of the passengers of the Mayflower. Here under cover of darkness the fast dwindling company laid their dead, leveling the earth above them lest the Indians should know how many were the graves.” Cole’s Hill also has the large statue of Massasoit, as well as a sarcophagus which holds the bones of Pilgrims which periodically wash out from the hill, due to rains and erosion. (My mind always excites at notions of performing DNA testing on these bones!) Here’s a good description of Cole’s Hill and its significance.

Burial Hill, however, is separate and was once the main location for Plymouth’s fort. The oldest stone is 1681. James Deetz did much research in Plymouth, and wrote much about the area.

The main entrance to Burial Hill is well-marked:

A broad brick walkway leads up the Hill:

Here is a sketch from 1853 of Burial Hill:

(Bartlett, The Pilgrim Fathers (London: Arthur Hall, Virtue & Co., 1853))

And my contemporary view of the Harbor:

Burial Hill was the site of the first fort, as well as the powder house towards the back end, where another entrance is. It is also filled with many of the famous Pilgrims of the Mayflower and their descendants.

William Bradford's obelisk:

John Howland:

Burial Hill is steeped in history and Pilgrim lore, and the town of Plymouth knows it well. The place is sprinkled with an array of signs, plaques, and monuments from clubs and organizations marking places of importance and people of significance within the cemetery. For all of its touristy nature, however, it still makes for a fun experience.

Warrentown Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

2006-03-26T23:35:00.000-05:00

Am on a mission to find the burial location of the Ramsdells of Middleboro, circa late 1700-1800s. I know one set (John and Sarah Ramsdell) are buried in Lakeville (a field trip for another day!) but thus far finding John’s parents Seth and Soviah, as well as John and Sarah’s children has been a difficult task. Middleboro records do not seem to list the burial location of John and Sarah’s son (another John), who married Maria Jones of Virginia. John and Maria had a large family, with several children who died in middle childhood – old enough, I hypothesize, for their own gravestones, thus warranting a family plot.

Thus has begun a quest to wander through Middleboro cemeteries in hopes of finding them. John and Maria lived on Plain Street, in North Middleboro Street, called the “Lowlands” off of Thompson Street. (Hoping to find some records that the Ramsdell kiddos attended the East Middleboro school house, which was probably the closest school house to their home – the thought that they went to the tiny schoolhouse to learn, and now more than one hundred years later used by us every year for the East Middleboro Fair and countless 4H events is lovely! )

So I began today with the Warrentown Cemetery, as that seems to be the closest to their home. No luck though! But Thomas, Tucker, Vaughn, Washburn, Clap, Cushman surnames were aplenty, although the cemetery itself is not very large. A surprisingly low number of old Warrens, however, considering the neighborhood name! Set right along the road across from a cranberry bog, it was easy to access.

A view from the road:

A view from the graveyard looking to the bog:

Many veteran flags adorned the stones, which were mostly white granite and some slate. An interesting stone was set in the far back left corner though, beyond the marker for the yard. A tall polished granite monument, its shape was of a square tilted on a point, and it read :
IN MEMORY OF CHARLES ANDREW DRAFTS
DROWNED IN THE NEMASKET RIVER, MIDDLEBORO MA
APRIL 21, 1894

Here is the stone:

The Ramsdell quest continues…

Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

2006-03-26T21:06:00.000-05:00

Took the kids this afternoon to the Nemasket Hill Cemetery in Middleboro, although we arrived right before dusk and did not get much of a chance to linger.

The cemetery's oldest stone is from 1662, although it looks like a much more modern rural cemetery, for it has expanded greatly and has long winding pathways around a hilly landscape.

The Nemasket River runs along its back end:

The cemetery holds many of Middleboro's oldest families, including the Tomsons (more recently called Thompson, who have a street and more named in their honor in Middleboro)

John Thompson's original grave:

His wife, Mary Cooke's modern grave, sponsored by her descendants (made to mimick John's):

The holding tomb:

Overall, the cemetery was very pleasant to look at, and certainly made for leisurely strolling. Old stones are interspersed with new stones, and the cemetery is feels secluded, filled with many trees.

South Pond Cemetery, Plymouth, MA

2006-01-08T23:15:00.000-05:00

In doing yet another round of genealogy work, I was determined to find the burial location of some more recent ancestors that had lived in Plymouth, MA. By chance, I stumbled upon some previous transcription work online of Plymouth graveyards, and found just the folks I had been seeking.

(Now allow me a few moments of passionate advocacy!!) I am a strong supporter of online access, especially when it comes to cemetery transcriptions and other forms of genealogical information. The internet has truly transformed the profession, for amateurs and professionals alike. In many cases, people are unable to access records towns or states away, having records online either transcribed or digitally reproduced is crucial to the further education of personal histories and larger social histories as well. Now, on the other hand, I also love nothing more than pouring through musty handwritten pages of records in libraries and town halls across New England. But what a much more valuable resource they become when someone takes the time to transpose them to an online medium!

Back to the South Pond Cemetery… after Google-mapping it’s location, packed up in the van and head down Long Pond Road, then turned off onto Cemetery Hill Road.

The road was significantly marked at the beginning by the old South Pond Chapel, a First Baptist Church of Plymouth.

Cemetery Hill Road turned out to be much more a dirt path than anything! Leading deep back into the woods, it snaked by some large houses and cranberry bogs, finally reaching a small summit with the cemetery.

The graves I sought all appeared on one large granite obelisk:

Henry DANFORTH
Died: Aug 28, 1876
Aged 72
Martha (RAYMOND) DANFORTH (wife of Henry)
Died: July 30, 1880
Aged 76

Charles H. DANFORTH
Died: Sep 29, 1880
Aged 53

Lemuel RAYMOND
Died: May 23, 1833
Aged 72
Jedidah (ELLIS) RAYMOND (wife of Lemuel)
Died: Feb 18, 1868
Aged 96

The stones represent a very wide range of dates – the earliest surviving stone is 1793, and there are still current burials today. Because of its remote location, most of the surnames are old Plymouth family names, and after referencing some old maps of the area, it seems to correspond directly to those who lived near the ponds. Life and death by the ponds, still distant from the busy nature of downtown Plymouth. Out here though, most of the roads are still dirt, an odd combination of old houses with newer “mansions “. I’d recommend a summer-time visit, however – the snow and mud of the winter along these bog roads would make most cars think twice about venturing onwards!

Hope Cemetery, Barre, Vermont

2005-08-20T14:24:00.000-05:00

Opened in 1896, this magnificent cemetery is not only a resting place for the dead, but also a showcase of stunning sculpture and art. There are countless websites filled with great photographs of the gravestones. Here's a good one, and here's the official site.

With granite quarries close by, Barre became a bustling town of immigrants, especially Italian stoneworkers. It is this unique population that led to such a wondrous cemetery - the gravestones here are often beautiful, and sometimes humorous, sculptures. Soccer balls, cars, lumber trucks, airplanes, as well as lifesize sculptures of the deceased (often-times the carver himself!) or angels - there is so much to behold within this large cemetery.

Soccer ball:

A large "A" for the Arnholm family:

A statue of Jesus:

Even the stones flush to the ground had room for creativity:

I went up for a memorial service of my fiance's great aunt, and a big family reunion in Barre. Both were lovely. The family up here are descendants of Italian stone workers in the quarries. Here is the stone for Rodolfo Sironi and Luigia Conti, the original immigrants (along with several young children and her second husband Antonio Somaini):

Hope Cemetery is so large, it was impossible to absorb everything in one visit.. all the more reason to come back!

Center Cemetery, Hanover, MA

2005-07-24T20:46:00.000-05:00

A quick review of a jaunt through Center Cemetery today. I went throughout Hanover today helping to take photographs of the Walnut Hill Garden Club's traffic islands, where they have planted flowers at most of the major intersections. Assigned to some of the ones near the center of town, I also took the opportunity to snag some pictures from the cemetery!

Hanover was granted the land for the cemetery here in 1727 from Scituate, its mother town. It remains to this day the main cemetery for the town.

From the "History of Hanover", here is an old photograph of the cemetery:

Here is a modern view from Silver and Main Street:

Here is the view of the cemetery from Main and Center St, with a view of the tombs:

And while I was walking through the cemetery, I snapped one of my favorite photographs. The landscape and Congo church in the background look so striking:

Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA

2005-07-16T21:01:00.000-05:00

7/16/05

For a full account of all my photos from this visit, please visit here.

As one of the first stops along the Freedom Trail in Boston, this old cemetery is always bustling with visitors, tourists part of walking tours, or people just interested in the sheer history of the place. The third oldest Boston cemetery, it was founded in 1660. The burying ground was initially deemed the “South Burying Ground”, it was located in the southerly part of the early city of Boston. But as Boston quickly expanded, it was redubbed the “Middle Burying Ground”, but eventually settled with the modern name the “Granary Burying Ground”, because there was a large grain storage building (in 1737) where the present day Park Street Church is located. The name stuck after all these years!

Off of Tremont Street, and surrounded by the church, the cemetery boasts a number of famous and infamous Bostonians. Patriots like Sam Adams, Paul Revere and Mister John Hancock himself are buried within, along with the victims of the Boston Massacre. Interesting historical signs are posted about the cemetery, detailing both Boston history and cemetery history.

The stones themselves are an absolute sight to behold – being one of the oldest cemeteries in Massachusetts, and thus New England and the US, it offers a rather unique experience – to witness not only remarkably old stones, but also to see the intriguing artwork, poetry, and culture behind them. From Puritan to Brahmin, the stones offer wonderfully obvious transitions from stark morbid memento mori stones to many evolutionary stages of anthropomorphic effigies and winged angels. Here is Puritan art in its finest form. It has captivated countless generations, and will continue to do so for a very long time.

Lakenham Cemetery, Carver, MA

2005-06-18T20:32:00.000-05:00

The oldest stone from Lakenham Cemetery is 1718. Although Carver is right next to Plymouth, it was not widely settled into later years of Plymouth Colony. Very marshy, it now serves as a vast harvest of cranberry bogs. Back then, its marshes were appreciated, enough so to be purchased in large plots by Plymouth families, but for the most part they kept their live-in residences within Plymouth limits.

Being bordered closely to Plympton, Lakenham Cemetery also contains a large number of stones carved by Ebenezer Soule (of Plympton) and his sons in the 1700s. The Medusa heads in various forms are found frequently in Lakenham's rows of graves. Here are several examples:

There is also a good genealogy site with some pictures from the cemetery.

Munroe Cemetery, Hanson, MA

2005-06-17T18:14:00.000-05:00

After trekking to the Stetson Cemetery down by the Hanson airport, I made my way down a long graveled driveway to a group of houses, set back from Route 27, near the Great Cedar Swamp. Sitting in the "front yard" of these houses rests Hanson's oldest cemetery, the Munroe cemetery.

The cemetery was first made on the land of Henry Munroe Sr. for his wife Hannah, and two of his children, Bennett and Mercy, all who died in December of 1759 of smallpox.

Hannah, dau. of Henry Josselyn and wife of Henry Monroe, died of Small Pox, Dec. 20, 1759, 41st yr.
Mercy, dau. of Henry and Hannah, died Dec. 17, 1759, 14 yrs. [of Small Pox]
Bennett, son of Henry and Hannah, died Dec. 23, 1759, in 4th yr. [of Small Pox]

Over the years the little cemetery grew to accomodate more of the Munroe family, and others connected with them.

It is well preserved to this day, which is understandable considering it can be viewed quite prevalently from the homes near it (unlike the Stetson cemetery, which has been forgotten and neglected).

Stetson Cemetery, Hanson, MA

2005-06-17T16:57:00.000-05:00

No longer found upon modern-day maps, this forgotten cemetery on the border of Hanson, Pembroke, and Halifax had become my Holy Grail during the past year. I came upon a document from the late 1800s detailing it's location and also found a map from 1879 which had it's location marked.

For photographs and more info, see my USGenWeb Hanson cemeteries page.

Armed with lots of bug-spray and long sleeves, my mother (an avid supporter of these graveyard wanderings, one of the blesssed few to be enthusiastic about such ventures!) and I trekked down past the railroad tracks, cranberry bogs and airport, searching in hopes of stumbling across the cemetery. Eventually a piece of broken slate was spotted amongst the underbrush, and further exploration revealed a decent spread of stones, terribly overgrown, neglected - a dismal sight to see.

I recorded with paper and pencil as well as camera all of the stones I could find, although I know for certain that there are a number of stones which I missed - either lost in the brush or stolen along the years.

Update:
It seems that many years back my grandmother had also done some research here, and recorded what stones she could, including one that I did not see in my journey there. The epitaph (for Soviah, widow of Bethuel White, who died 12 MAR 1859, aged 81 years, 5 months, and 22 days) creepily reads:
My children dear, I pray draw near
A mother's grave to see
Not long ago I was with you
And soon you'll be with me.

Interesting to see that epitaph in 1859, echoing the oft-quoted older version:
Remember me as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so you will be
Prepare for death and follow me

Forge Farm Cemetery, Potowomut, East Greenwich, RI

2005-04-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

The Old Forge Farm is a magnificent household that I was blessed to visit. As part of a project in house museum planning and preservation, a group of us met with the wonderful Tom Greene, a descendant of the famous Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island. The farm is where Nathanael was born, and beyond it lies a Greene family plot, surrounded by a beautiful old New England stone wall. The RI Historical survey says there are about 60 burials here with 25 gravestones.

The stones are a fascinating combination of old fieldstones and broken slate, as well as many white marble stones, along with some tall and imposing monuments highlighting the accomplishments of the Greene descendants.

Tom's dog Harmony led the way into the cemetery:

Here are some of the older stones:

The voluminous text of Christopher Greene's stone, son of Nathanael:

With the Forge Farm in the background, and the plot itself set back from the road, it is quite a peaceful environment. If you plan to venture there, be sure to stop by the farm and ask Mr. Tom Greene for permission – and he’ll have many stories and tall tales of his ancestors to share!

Cocumscussoc, North Kingstown, RI

2005-02-16T00:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I visited the Narragansett Indian land in Rhode Island known as Cocumscussoc which became the original colonial/Indian tradepost in 17th century RI. Established by Roger Williams, the post was run by Richard Smith, who built a home here.

"Captain Richard Smith built what has long been designated as the "Old Castle," within one-half mile of the village of Wickford. This, in 1639, was erected for the farm house of Captain Smith, and here the good Roger Williams, who also fled from persecution, often visited. The brave and just old Canonicus and also Miantinomo frequently visited Smith. This castle was built by Smith as a trading post or house, and as a protection against the troublesome Indians. It was fifty feet square, two stories high, and its walls were of rough stone, two feet in thickness. It was used as a garrison and fortification during the Indian war, and it was there that Captain Benjamin Church assembled his forces before marching to the great swamp fight, and after his victory, with the dead and wounded, burying some forty-two of the slain in one grave" - From USGenWeb article on the history of North Kingstown.

There exists today a large marker which stands as a memorial to the soldiers who died during the infamous Great Swamp Fight and are buried in this mass grave.

Known today as "Smith's Castle", the original house was burned to the ground during King Philip's War, and soon rebuilt and remains today, having undergone several structural changes. It serves now as a wonderful house museum which preserves and collects documents and artifacts from the colonial through the Victorian period, each of the rooms reflecting a different period in the life of the house.

Also on and near the property are several small cemeteries - the Smith plot, the Updike plot (who inherited the house later), and also a large burial area of the slaves to the Smith and Updike families.

"HISTORICAL CEMETERY #: NK346 SERVANTS/SLAVES NORTH KINGSTOWN RI
81 burials with 1 inscriptions

NOTE: Located near the Updike-Ayrault and Congdon lots near Cocumscussoc. Harris describes it "on plain north of the above yards in open lot quite an extensive burial yard of the colored servants of the above families." Harris counted 72 large and 8 small graves all with rude stones. He speculates that there may have been more whose marks have been removed. " - From the Historical Cemeteries of North Kingstown, RI.

I definitely would like revisit Cocumscussoc for further exploration - but right now February in New England is chiiiiiiilly!

Wintery New England Days...

2005-02-12T18:39:00.000-05:00

It's been a long and cold winter, and good ol' Punxsutawney Phil, "King of the Groundhogs, Father of all Marmota, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of Prognosticators" (I kid you not, check out the website !) has foreseen an even longer winter. Got almost three feet of snow in the "Blizzard of 2005" awhile ago, and with continual cold winds and temperatures, cemetery exploring is just not at it's peak. Photos are hard to take with the glare of the sun against the snow, and frankly it's much nicer to stay inside and gather cemetery and genealogical info with paperwork and the internet - beside a nice fire with some hot cocoa!

With the start of the New Year, it's time to begin planning what the year has in store. When it gets warmer, I will trek out to the almost-forgotten Munroe Cemetery and the definitely-forgotten Stetson Cemetery, both in Hanson. Munroe Cemetery is still marked on maps, but the Stetson Cemetery no longer exists on any modern maps, and I hear has sadly fallen into great disrepair. Both are hosts to some of the oldest stones in the town (1750s-70s), along with 1800s stones from relatives and neighbors.

A quest for photographs will bring me to Colebrook Cemetery and Mt. Zion Cemetery in Whitman, where many former citizens of South Abington are buried, boasting a rich array of colonial names.. Gurneys, Reeds, Ramsdells.. the list goes on and on.

Much of the Providence cemeteries are left to be explored, and some, especially St. John's, require photo re-shoots - my harddrive crashed right around Christmas and I lost many good photos. While going digital was a huge blessing in many ways, I should have had the forethought to burn them all to CDs or print them for good measure! Hard lessons indeed.

Since I'm buried in snow, much of my work recently has been on the wonderful USGenWeb where I serve as the Town Coordinator for Hanson, MA - check out the website. I have been collecting many books, papers, and maps and trying to compile genealogical, historical, and cemetery information about the town as I can, and it is a pleasure to contribute and work on.

Here's to spring!

Jennings Hill Cemetery (Japan Cemetery), East Bridgewater, MA

2004-11-26T22:54:00.000-05:00

The sun had almost set as we reached Jennings Hill Cemetery, also known as Japan Cemetery, which boasts a cannon which is placed by the cemetery sign. This cemetery is bordered by High St and Plain St. Surrounded by a stone wall, the cemetery itself is elevated above the road, the land here once owned by the Jenning family, after which the hill (and subsequently the cemetery) and a small stream nearby was named. I have been unable to locate the significance behind the other name - “Japan” cemetery. While Bridgewater does have neighborhoods such as Scotland named for the immigrant populations that eventually settled the area, there certainly is nothing to indicate a Japanese association here.

I’ll mention an epitaph I have spotted upon several stones across the Bridgewater cemeteries:
In memory of Edward Mitchell,
who died Nov. 26, 1828, æt. 89.
His mind was tranquil and serene,
No terrors in his looks were seen;
His Saviour's smiles dispelled the gloom,
And smoothed his passage to the tomb.

There is a good description of the history of the Jenning family and some transcriptions of the stones in the cemetery. The oldest burial is from 1766. There are distinctive sections of old stones and new, as well as a great deal of open space without stones. According to William Latham’s Epitaphs in Old Bridgewater, this cemetery was also used as a pauper cemetery.

Vernon St. Cemetery (Alden Cemetery), Bridgewater, MA

2004-11-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

The Alden Cemetery on Vernon Street is Bridgewater’s second oldest cemetery, although the majority of stones from the 1700s are unmarked. Most of the gravestones, therefore, are from the 19th century. Latham’s book provides an incredible view into what the land must have been like at the time. Located in Titicut, a former Native American settlement, Bethia Fobes was the first white child born in this area. With just a few houses far and few between, the land where the cemetery is must have filled very slowly at first, for it was not physically close to many settlers in the Bridgewater area – because at this time, there were not many to begin with.

But here is one of the few stones from the 1700’s, which says:
ZL
1754, probably Zebedee Leach, died aged 5.

The yard is surrounded by a short stone wall, and some of the stones along Vernon Street are very close to the road and wall.

There are many interesting stones, some of which have not stood up well to the tests of time. On the other hand, some of them have decided to stand up on their own… (these footstones have been pushed up from the ground, probably from years of New England winters with the ground beneath the stone freezing then thawing.)

There are some sad epitaphs on a series of siblings stones, who died within a few years of each other:
Helen M. dau, of Job H. and Betsey Johnson, died Sept. 27. 1849, aged 1 year, 4 mo., 23 days.
It is hard to give thee up, sweet one,
'Tis hard to give thee up;
But nature's saddest work is done,
'Tis the last bitter cup.

Mary E., daughter of Job H. and Betsey Johnson, died Aug. 11, 1846, æ 1 year and 11 mo.
This lovely bud so young and fair,
Called hence by early doom;
Just come to show how sweet a flower,
In paradise could bloom.

Freddie Morton, son of Job H. and Betsey Johnson, died Aug. 18, 1856, æ 2 years, 10 days.
O, it is hard to part with one
We loved so much on earth;
But we will put our trust in him
Who gave his spirit birth.

There is a gravestone with a favorite symbol of mine, the finger pointing towards heaven. The stone itself may just be a cenotaph, as it reads:
Edwin Hayward, member of Co. I, 38 Regt., M. V.,
born Jan. 17, 1844,
died at Baton Rouge, La., Aug. 21, 1863.
Asleep in Jesus, ay, though he sleep with strangers,
In the redeemer's eyes his dust is just as sacred,
And He will bid it rise

Keith Cemetery (South St. Cemetery), Bridgewater, MA

2004-11-26T22:43:00.000-05:00

First stop along the way was the South Street Cemetery, also known as the Keith Cemetery, is a fine example of older New England cemeteries. A round driveway cuts through it. The oldest burial seems to be from 1756, as Joseph Harvey’s epitaph states he was the first to be buried in the cemetery.

In memory of Mr. Joseph Harvey, 2d,
who died Feb. 21, 1756,
in ye 36th year of his age;
being ye first person buried here.
And also in memory of Mr. Seth Harvey, his son,
who died at New York, July 25, in ye 24th year of his age, 1776,
in the glorious cause of liberty.

Yet the land itself was not officially deeded to be a cemetery until 1772, according to Latham. It seems to be common in these older grounds that cemeteries would spring up as they were convenient, allowing the legalities of the property ownership to fall later into place.

The cemetery has a number of interesting epitaphs, spanning from the 18th century

Note an interesting comparison at the outlook of death:
From 1794, a focus still on the mortality of the body, and the ultimate will of God:
Here lies Lucy, wife of Mr. Eleazer Cary,
who died Apr. 29, 1795, in the 30th year of her age.
How loved, how well done avails thee not;
To whom related, or by whom begot;
A heap of dust alone remains of thee;
'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be.

Here in 1851, however, grief of a young husband is permanently etched,:
Charlotte L., wife of George H. Gurney,
daughter of Isaac and Betsey W. Packard,
died June 5, 1851, in her 21st year.
Could I but see that dear departed,
My soul would gain relief,
I should not then be broked hearted,
Bourne down with tears and grief.
O cruel death! why did you sever
The tie that made us one?
And hide her from my eyes forever,
Tell me, why was it done?

And I shall end with an alternative version to that preferred epitaph:
In memory of Mrs. Susan H., wife of Zephaniah Keith, died Apr. 6, 1824, æt. 41.
Come, living friends, see where I lie,
Remember you are born to die;
But be prepared for death and heaven
Is all for which the longest life is given.

Bridgewater Cemeteries

2004-11-26T22:41:00.000-05:00

Decided to spend a day out of my Thanksgiving weekend taking a tour of some of the Bridgewater cemeteries. The great folks who submit to the USGenWeb Bridgewater site such as Dale Cook and Arthur Richardson have a superb cemetery section, and they were in need of a few photographs for some of the graveyards, so I brought along my camera and drove about the town.

Here's a summary of the cemeteries visited along the way.

Swan Point Cemetery, Providence, RI

2004-11-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

Providence's beautiful garden cemetery, Swan Point still inspires and is accessible to "leisure uses" that it was designed for - although not so many as there once were! Security guards constantly buzz about to make certain you don't get TOO leisurely! No blading, biking, animals, no faster pace than a "brisk walk", beverages and food items are frowned upon. It's no longer the place to bring the family and dog to have a picnic or a jog through - but still magnificent nevertheless.

Swan Point was founded by Thomas Hartshorn in 1846, arising from the "vivid intellectual community composed predominately of Providence's emerging middle class in the mid-nineteenth century", according to Swan Point's "A Historical Walking Tour".

On my visit today the clouds dimmed the beautiful foliage that exists throughout the entire cemetery, but luckily the rain held off for the journey. To get to Swan Point, you venture down Blackstone Boulevard, it's trolley tracks still running down the center, though no longer in use.

Once within the cemetery, it's best to grab a map from the office, because it's easy to get lost down the long winding paths. Of of Providence's best and brightest lie buried here, and a look in every direction grants view of huge monuments with elegant and finely crafted sculptures. Since most American museums were not invented until the late 1800s, places like Swan Point are an excellent means by which you can view American art and sculpture.

There's the original receiving tomb for the cemetery which was designed by Brown University grad Thomas Tefft.

There's the John Rogers Vinton sarcophagus which was designed as a publicity push for the cemetery. Swan Point was looking for a way to bring in potential customers, so they offered a free burial to a war victim - and John Vinton fit the bill, having just recently passed away in the Mexican American War at the Battle of Vera Cruz. Note the cannonball which killed him sitting atop the monument.

There's the Colonel John Stanton Slocum Stone, a soldier who died in the Civil War at Bull Run. His granite monument is carved with his uniform and military accoutrements draped in mourning over the stone.

Victorian art at its finest when it comes to the representations of the innocence of youth:

As Swan Point was expanding, they literally bought the road which used to pass through Providence to Pawtucket and up to Boston, and had it moved to where Blackstone Boulevard currently is today. "Old Road" now runs through the middle of the cemetery, one of the very few straight paths.

"Its secret lies in understanding and continually reinventing the delicate relationship between the natural and the created. Perhaps more than any other garden cemetery, Swan Point presents a comfortable amplitude for any visitor's experience. The land undulates easily, seemingly spontaneously, and delightfully. The variety of specimen trees and shrubbery, both planted and native to the landscape makes this a tree lover's dream."

The Seekonk River was once a magnificent view from the cemetery, but now modern environmental regulations issue that any vegetation growth along watersides must remain there, in order to help prevent erosion, so the river is no longer as viewable. Still a pretty sight, however.

Overall, a pretty place to wander. The cemetery is still in use, a funeral procession was coming in as I was leaving the gates. "From its inception, Swan Point Cemetery has been a place for both the living and the dead. It is one of those rare places where both have always comfortably inhabited the same space."

Happy Halloween!

2004-10-31T04:37:00.000-05:00

My most favorite holiday, as you surely must be able to guess.

In honor of this day of terror, hauntings, and (yum) candy, I present to you this article from the Providence Journal on gravestones, which even includes an interview with Professor Robert Emlen, Brown University's curator, and my current professor for the class "Gravestones and Burial Grounds". What a perfect fit!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEAD MEN MAY TELL NO TALES, BUT THEY STILL HAVE PLENTY TO SAY
Sunday, October 31, 2004
LAURA MEADE KIRK Journal staff Writer
http://www.projo.com

"As you pass by pray cast an eye
As you are now so once was I
As I am now so must you be
Prepare for death and follow me"

There's no better time than Halloween to plan a trip to your local cemetery. But forget about looking for ghosts and goblins, or even the tipped-over tombstones that supposedly mark the graves from which vampires escaped. If you really want to get frightened, read the epitaphs on some of the gravestones -- especially those dating to the early 1700s.

How's this for a blunt reminder of your fate, as seen on the tombstone of Ceesar Wheaton, who was buried in the North Burial Ground in Providence in 1780: "Look on my grave as you pass by and learn of me that you must die." Or check out the symbols on these historic gravestones, where the carvings range from crude images of skulls and hourglasses that have run dry to ornate images of winged cherubs and doves and even heavenly scenes. Of course, there are also plenty of more mundane grave markers -- especially those of the last century, which merely cite the person's name, date of birth and date of death.

But the trend lately seems to be a shift back toward more decorative gravestones, like those of our ancestors from the Victorian age. Advances in technology have made it easier and less expensive to have everything from laser-engraved portraits of the deceased to favorite song lyrics and images of the person's hobbies carved into the stone or an attached plaque.

There's a lot more to a cemetery than a bunch of stone markers, said Pierre Morenon, an associate professor of anthropology at Rhode Island College, whose students study burial places. "Graveyards are just really interesting places." But, he said, as with most people, "a lot of our students have never been in one before and have never looked at them this way."

BEVERLY BETHUNE FINDS IT unfortunate that many people think cemeteries are creepy. Bethune, the epitaphs expert for the Association for Gravestone Studies in Greenfield, Mass., sees them as a treasure trove of information. Each gravestone, she said, is like "a little personal history book" that tells a story about the person buried there, but also about the community.
The size, shape, lettering and designs ultimately reflect cultural and societal changes, as well as changes in religious beliefs over time, she said. Mornon agreed. "When you look at tombstones, you look at how people . . . want the dead to be remembered. It often, I think, reveals a great deal about the how the larger society functions." Some people, he said, placed great emphasis on titles, or military service. Others gave little regard to a woman's family, identifying her primarily as the wife of someone else. Even the size of the tombstone varied -- with women and children receiving much smaller grave markers than the men during the 1700s and 1800s. There's even symbolism in the placement of graves and headstones, noted Larry Stanford, who leads cemetery and ghost tours in Newport that are especially popular this time of year. For example, the top of a hill in a graveyard was considered the choice location, perhaps since it was closer to heaven, so that's where many of the wealthy are interred.

And many of the earliest graves in the Common Burying Ground on Farewell Street in Newport are laid out like beds, complete with two gravestones -- the larger one at the head and a smaller one at the feet. Stanford said most of the bodies were laid out with the feet facing east because of the belief that Jesus Christ will rise again in the east. They wanted to be propped up in that direction so they'd be ready to rise from their graves and follow him.

But Robert Emlen, a professor of American civilization at Brown University who teaches a course on gravestones and burying grounds, said many of the headstones in the North Burial Ground in Providence face west, likely because of the early Christian belief that "on Judgment Day the sun will rise in the west."
REGARDLESS OF THE DIRECTION of the stone, most gravestones from a particular era feature the same sorts of symbols and epitaphs, Emlen said. The Puritans, for example, had a very stark view of death and dying. Hence, their gravestones tended to refer to the person "buried" there and often were adorned with dark images of grinning skulls and grim epitaphs warning others of their imminent demise.

"It's as if the dead are kind of pointing the finger at the living and saying, 'Straighten up and live right," Bethune said. ". . . They definitely believed that Hell was a possibility for people who had not lived well. So they wanted to remind you while you were still alive to straighten up." That view of death softened over time, Bethune said. So by the mid-1800s, gravestones often said such things as, "asleep in heaven" or "gone but not forgotten." For children, a common epitaph was, "budded on earth to bloom in heaven. The images adorning gravestones also changed, she noted, with skulls giving way to winged cherubs and more hopeful signs such as a willow tree, which represents resurrection, or a dove, which is a messenger from God. Some even featured crude portraits of the individuals buried there.

Many of the graves from the Victorian era also were more ornamental than their predecessors, and the designs on the gravestone are similar to designs found on furniture and artwork of that period, Emlen said.

And it's interesting to watch how language and lettering changed, with many of the earliest gravestones including references to "ye" instead of "the" or using a lower case letter f instead of the letter s. The earliest residents also were juggling two calendars, the Gregorian and Julian, so if someone died during the crossover between 1722 and 1723 on the two calendars, the date on their gravestone would read 172 2/3. It's all symbolic of the times, he said. "Every age has something interesting in it" when it comes to studying gravestones of different eras, Emlen said.

EPITAPHS ALSO RAN THE GAMUT, from standard phrases to tableaus recreating the person's entire life or death. One gravestone in Newport reads Life how short. Eternity how long. Another, memorializing two infants who had died, reads: Sleep on sweet babes and take thy rest. He called thee home. He thought it best. Some can be pretty dire, Emlen said, noting one that reads: Old age being come her race ends when God's fatal dart he sends. "That doesn't sound very benevolent -- your race is over when God sends the fatal dart? That sounds petty scary," he said.

Others have a variety of detail. One in the North Burial Ground in Providence describes how Capt. Allin Brown was captured by a British ship in the harbor of Newport, where he was infected with the Small Pocks of which he died May 4th, 1778, in his 57th year of life. One spells out the drowning of 4-year-old Hope Brown in 1768, saying: This babe was drowned. Her infant prattle delighted her fine parents. Unknown, she left their house and unsuspected, she fell into a watery grave and went to God.

Another stone there, in memory of Obadiah Brown, who died in 1762, reads: Descendant of a good family, he had strong mental powers guided with exquisite judgment. (He) was honest, industrious, frugal, temperate, affable, benevolent. A grave magistrate, kind husband, tender parent, a perfect pattern for master and all useful men.

Then, there's a tribute to Patience Borden, which describes how she was commonly called Sterry, a free woman of colour and humble disciple of Jesus. She gave to the First Baptist Church in this town of which she was a member 230 dollars as a fund for the relief of the poor of color of that church. She died in 1811 and her contribution at the time must have been fairly significant for it to have been memorialized, Emlen said.

NOT ALL GRAVESTONES CARRIED images or epitaphs. Emlen said that the fanciest stones or those with the longest epitaphs may have belonged to families of wealth since stone carvers charged by the letter. On the other hand, many gravestones belonging to some of Rhode Island's wealthy families were as stark as those belonging to a servant or slave. Ultimately, it was "a matter of personal preference," Bethune said.

The carvings and sayings also serve as a reflection of the culture and beliefs at the time. For example, a tombstone in Newport marks the graves of two young children. On the cemetery marker, along with their names, is a crude carving of an arm, with the notation that the children's mother's arm had been amputated and buried there in 1786. Early Christians believed the body had to be intact to make the journey to heaven, Stanford explained. So when the woman died seven years later, she was buried next to her children -- and her amputated arm.
(Contrast that with today, when it's not uncommon for people to have their bodies cremated and their ashes scattered.)

But by the 1900s, the trend was toward plain gravestones without fancy carvings or epitaphs, Bethune said.
Morenon said one reason for that is that the early cemeteries were seen as landscaped areas where people could go and enjoy nature, while also paying tribute to the dead. "We don't see that so much today. I think we've shifted much more to the view that a graveyard is a place where we house the dead. . . . I don't think cemeteries are as much of a community place as they used to be." Bethune agreed. "We tended to want to keep death out of sight, out of mind. . . . You got your name and your date on a slab and that's it. No nothing."

That's changing, Emlen said. "In the last few years, there's been a real revolution. . . . Technology and society has allowed us to do what we want to do" with gravestones. "There used to be a dress code of what was appropriate and what was not," Emlen said. But today, almost anything goes. "In a way, we're coming full circle," Bethune agreed. "If you drive to a new section of a cemetery today, you may see a laser-etched portrait of the person [who died] and, on the back, see a eulogy and maybe a list of the children's names. . . . You see more and more people using details on gravestones. Technology has made it more affordable."

There's also more of a move to memorialize the person, instead of just burying them and forgetting them, she said. "What we're seeing now is an increase in personalization of the gravestones, which is very similar to what the Victorians did. They believed that the stone was a personal statement about that individual." That statement can be anything from a favorite biblical passage to a song lyric; a recently placed stone in the North Burial Ground reads: Who loves ya, baby. The personalization also shows up in decorations on the stone. One in the North Burial Ground from 1986 features a country scene with a horse-drawn carriage pulling up to a farm house and the words: Home at last.

Humor is also finding a place on tombstones, Bethune said, noting that one gravestone in Oregon says: This wasn't on my calendar. One of her favorites is an Arkansas gravestone for a doctor, which reads: Office moved upstairs.

Emlen said a well-known gravestone in Little Compton identifies a woman as someone who "should have been the wife of" someone else. Some epitaphs prove to be unfortunate, Bethune noted. For example, she said, she hates to see the popular Victorian-era epitaph "gone but not forgotten" on a stone that is broken or has fallen into ruin. Ironically, the fake gravestones commonly seen this time of year usually feature the epitaph RIP -- short for rest in peace. "It's on nearly all the fake ones, and you just don't see that on the real thing."

THOUGH TOMBSTONES HAVE CHANGED over the years, ultimately they're all the same -- serving as a lasting reminder of the dead and a warning to the living of what is to come. Consider this poem on the back of a tombstone marking the North Burial Ground grave of Ernest Lavell Tucker, who died in 2001. He'd written the poem himself, and his family paid to have it memorialized in a bronze plaque on the back of his grave. It reads in part: My life is so complicated, it's like I'm just here to survive. Time is running out. I feel myself coming closer and closer to death every day. . . . We are definitely living in our last days. So now it's just like what ever. Ultimately, the message isn't much different from the verse penned on a gravestone in 1702 in the Common Burying Ground in Newport: Behold and see for as I am now, so shall thou be. But as thou art, so once was I. Be sure of this: That thou must die.
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St. John's Churchyard (formerly King's Churchyard), Providence, RI

2004-10-14T17:14:00.000-05:00

King's Church was founded in Providence, RI in 1723. During the American Revolution it's name was changed to St. John's (no need for English loyalty anymore!), and the current church structure was built in 1809.

I love this churchyard, tucked away down a brick path along the historic houses of Benefit St. - if you are unaware of it's existence, it is easy to stroll past it without even recognizing it. Stepping into the yard, you are taken back in history - it is easy to imagine Poe courting his love, Helen, who lived in a house just beside the churchyard, or Lovecraft, ninety years later, being spooked amongst it's stones at some midnight hour.

From Lovecraft's writings:

" About the hidden churchyard of St. John’s—there must be some unsuspected vampiric horror burrowing down there & emitting vague miasmatic influences, since you are the third person to receive a definite creep of fear from it . . . . the others being Samuel Loveman & H. Warner Munn. I took Loveman there at midnight, & when we got separated among the tombs he couldn’t be quite sure whether a faint luminosity bobbing above a distant nameless grave was my electric torch or a corpse-light of less describable origin! Munn was there with W. Paul Cook & me, & had an odd, unaccountable dislike of a certain unplaceable, deliberate scratching which recurred at intervals around 3 a.m. How superstitious some people are!"
-Letter to Helen V. Sully, 17 OCT 1933

"Poe knew of this place, & is said to have wandered among its whispering willows during his visits here 90 years ago. Last August I shewed this place to two guests, & we all sat down on an altar-tomb & wrote rhymed acrostics on the name of Edgar Allan Poe..."
-Letter to Frank Utpatel, 15 FEB 1937

Earlier today I revisited this lovely churchyard as part of AC125, and as usual, the rain soon followed. It was so cloudy during most of the visit that photographs were nearly impossible. It made for a neat view of the state house, though, rising from the mists downtown. There are always new things to explore and discover, and happily I ran across several unusual stones that I had not noticed before which captured my interest. It seems the BLODGETT family of Providence, RI in the early 1800s took a dramatic departure from the usual soul effigy / urn and willow motifs which were most common during this time period. Some of the children who died young have uniquely carved shapes that resemble Christmas trees, both right-side up and upside down. I have never seen such an icon on stones before. It most likely is a variation on a natural plant or tree, perhaps symbolizing to the same effect a willow tree, but it does not resemble such a tree at all. Perhaps further research into this BLODGETT family will reveal explanation. The family seems to be of a long line of Providencers (William Blodget 6 JAN 1775-24 JUN 1847, son of William Blodget and Ann Phillis Chace, married Mary Anne Power 23 FEB 1777 - 28 NOV 1840, daughter of Capt. Nicholas Power and Rebecca Corey), so I am not quick to jump to an "ethnic" or regional explanation. For now, it's a mystery.

North Burial Ground, Providence, RI

2004-09-22T15:43:00.000-05:00

An excellent primer before visiting this massive burial ground was "North Burial Ground, Providence, Rhode Island Old Section 1700-1848" by John E. Sterling. Through a lot of time, dedication, and the handy use of modern cemetery software and support of the RI Historical Society, Sterling created a record of burials for the older section. This was a huge undertaking, because although you can access about 16 gigantic books of interment records for about 73,000 individuals, these books only record from 1848 forward - yet the burial ground had been open since 1700! By 1848, there was already 22 acres worth of stones - that's a lot of unrecorded burials! Sterling's book, then, provide the vital facts about thousands of Rhode Islanders.

Visiting the North Burial Ground, as you might imagine, is an overwhelming experience. How is one ever to begin? Begin at the beginning, as they say. I normally head for the oldest part of a cemetery anyway, although the "oldest" area here is now surrounded by all sorts of time frames, with family plots giving a huge range of dates.

I had read that several years ago the cemetery was in pretty poor shape, but that through an overall push in the government to bring tourism back to Providence, and dedicated volunteers and asking nicely of the poor underpaid groundskeepers, the ground had been greatly improved. I'd say it worked, everything was neatly manicured, and the sheer size of the place just keeps the mind in a state of awe. Sure, people die - but in the city, there's a LOT of people who die - which makes for a graveyard so large that you can see stones to the very edge of the horizon.

Generally when I visit a graveyard, I have one of several purposes
1) My own pleasure (sure it's morbid, but if you are reading this, you know how interesting and FUN it can be)
2) Recording the epitaphs and positions of the stones. This is usually for small graveyards which have been forgotten and are in need of preservation.
3) Recording specific graves. This is usually for my own genealogical research, and involves larger graveyards.

But here at the North Burial Ground, I had no need to document preservation, nor did I particularly have a vested interest in particular lives of the silent community of the citizens of Providence, so instead I could simply focus on the design, the landscape, the humanity and realness of the city within this burial ground.

Usually it is the stories of the lives of people on the stones which strikes me, but here I was fascinated by the artwork. Providence was much more liberal than the Massachusetts towns of the same time, and that allowed for a greater freedom of expression on the stones. Icons and epitaphs still dazzled despite the years, so distinctly different from the usual Puritan stones I am used to studying.

There are just too many stones to absorb. But they are beautiful, and while I do not envy the work John Sterling and those RI chroniclers who went before him, I am in awe of the research they put forth to document the stones in the North Burial Ground. I highly recommend you take a visit there.

Howland Smallpox Cemetery, Hanson, MA

2004-06-26T13:07:00.000-05:00

My family owns a portion of land along Maquan Pond, which has been owned by the family for many generations. In the 1800s it used to be a combination farmland and unusable bogs. For a time it belonged to the Howland family, and their farm was not far from the pond. An isolated uprising of smallpox hit the town in the mid 1800s, and Lewis Howland and his family were affected.

Lewis Howland was a furnaceman, and he was the son of Warren and Peddy Howland. He was born 31 MAR 1806 in Pembroke, MA (which was soon to become Hanson), the eldest of 7 children. He died of small pox at the age of 40 years, on 14 APR 1846 in Hanson, MA. Since much of rural Massachusetts was still superstitious or uninformed about the nature of disease, his body was prevented from being buried in the public cemetery, and he was interred towards the back of the Howland farm.

Lewis Howland's stone

Lewis Howland's brother Warren had died just several months before Lewis himself. Warren Howland Jr. was born 23 JAN 1813, the son of Warren and Peddy Howland in Pembroke, MA. He married Deborah Bates 11 NOV 1840. They had one boy, Warren Howland III who was born 26 DEC 1845. Sadly, however, Warren Jr. died of consumption 22 JAN 1846, several months after the birth of his son. He was buried in Fern Hill Cemetery, Hanson, MA. Deborah Bates, now a widow, then had to deal with the death of her son several months later, 21 SEP 1846.

Deborah Bates Howland, now a widow and childless, soon remarried Barnabas Everson on 25 AUG 1848. Barnabas was a smart investor, and good with property, and soon owned the land on which the Howland farm was. It was through the Everson family that the land was then passed down generation after generation to our family ownership of it today.

That's the history of the area that I have ascertained through family stories, documents, and gravestones.

As for the current state of this small cemetery, time and thievery have not been kind. The cemetery is surrounded by four granite posts with an iron rail around it. Only one stone fully remains, that of Lewis Howland, and the entirety of the stone has been removed from the ground and lies facing upwards. It is made from white marble, and has eroded, but the epitaph is still readable. There is evidence of another gravestone, with the base still remaining with two small iron posts sticking up from the base. Beside it is a footstone which reads, barely, PTH. This is the footstone of Pamela Howland, Lewis's wife.

A great amount of leaves and overgrowth now cover the area. Several of the stones are missing, a prime target for those wandering near Camp Kiwanee.

Hobart Cemetery Epitaphs

2004-05-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

Here are the epitaphs of the graves I could read in the Hobart Cemetery. Some are exact transcriptions with accurate language, however, with the interruption of the sheriff's department, most are just the pertinent dates on the stones along with the names. Hopefully I will have the time to come back later and more accurately transcribe the stones.

The first burial upon this hill was:

DRUSILLA HOBART
daughter of Thomas and Jane
who died March 3 1793
aged 16 years 11 months
"Here lies a corpse both cold and __
The first inter'd upon this hill
In her 17th year God saw it bef(it)
The fate of man should her __"
[slate]

(quick sketch, not exact copy)
THOMAS HOBART
who died January 30 1794
aged 68 years
[slate]

Sacred to the Memory of
JANE HOBART
wife of Mr. Thos Hobart
who died October 15 1797
aged 65 years 9 months
"Faith wrought by grave looks thro' death's deepest gloom
And all the terrours of his frown defies;
She smiles complacent at the closing tomb
And keeps on immortality her eyes.
Suche, reader was the Faith, we humbly trust
Of her whose body moulders here in dust."
[slate]

ISAAC HOBART
died JUNE 12 1832
aged 78 yrs 7 m 8 days
LYDIA, HIS WIFE
died JAN 22 1844
aged 88 yrs 3 m 2 days
[white marble]
(Isaac Hobart was born 1753, son of Thomas Hobart and Jane Bailey)

MARY FOSTER HATHAWAY
wife of Cushman Hathaway
died July 18 1826
aged 26 years
[slate]

BARZILLA E. RIDER
son of Ezra and Eleanor
died Sept. 8 1825 aged 4 yrs 4 mo 21 days
[slate]

In memory of
Mr. EZRA RIDER
who died Oct. 28 1826
aged 43 yrs 5 mo
[slate]

ELISHER D. SHERMAN
died Oct 21 1832
aged 68 yrs
[slate]

Mrs. RUTH,
wife of ELISHER SHERMAN
who died Oct. 4 1836
aged 74 yrs
[slate]
[there is a record of a marriage between "Ruth Sherman and Joseph Hobart of Bridgewater, APR 6 1820"]

These are the latest stones:
ALPHEUS C. HARDING
died JULY 4 1879
aged 58 yrs 1 m _0days
"And on that beautiful shore."
[white marble]

HANNAH C.
wife of ALPHEUS HARDING
died JAN 29 1899
aged 75 yrs 6 m 5 days
[white marble]
(Hannah C. Hobart was born 1823, the daughter of Isaac Hobart Jr and Lettice Barker)

Hobart Cemetery, Hanson, MA

2004-05-28T00:11:00.000-05:00

Today I ventured out to a abandoned little-known cemetery in Hanson, MA, the "Hobart Cemetery". My father had mentioned its location to me, and I had seen several passing references to it in my readings. When I headed out early in the morning, it was pouring, but I was looking forward to the adventure of trekking out into the woods and finding it's location, not worried too much about the fact that taking decent photos would be impossible. After a few errands and a half hour drive, the rain had lessened to a drizzle, but I was still glad I had on long warm clothes and my boots.

I parked along the side of the road when I saw a sign marking a water supply for the town, since this was one of my only references for the graveyard's general location. I had also been told that it was "up on a hill in the woods" in the general area away from the main road. So I parked and with camera and notebook in hand, started hiking. Sure enough, after a few minutes, I could see a few old rock posts marking the outlines of a small cemetery. Someone must remember about this little graveyard's existence, because there was a thin line of string attached to all of the old posts. That must have been the extent of preservation attempts however, because sadly all of the stones within were knocked down, several broken with pieces nearby, and some pieces missing entirely.

I saw evidence of approximately 10 stones, and luckily almost all of them were still readable. The earliest stones were the family HOBART, along with some later stones of HARDING, SHERMAN, HATHAWAY, and RIDER. As I began taking a few shots with my digital camera, I realized I lucked out - taking photos of gravestones which are lying on the ground is one of the trickiest things to do, since the light never falls on it properly - but since it had just poured, the water had filled all of the carvings and made the writing seem to pop out clearly in my photos.

I quickly jotted down the epitaphs I could read, and was about to take a look at them more in-depth when a huge noise disturbed the peaceful quiet of the rainswept hilltop - a bullhorn shouting "WHOEVER IS IN THESE WOODS, COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP! I REPEAT, LEAVE THE WOODS NOW AND WALK SLOWLY TOWARDS ME! THIS IS THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT!"

Why would the sheriff's department be calling me out? I packed up my small amount of gear and walked down out of the forest to a clearing where I saw an armed officer standing there, looking apparently surprised to see a young blonde woman stepping out instead of a terrorist trying to poison the town's water supply. I slowly walked up to him, and as I explained the situation, he was first baffled - he had never heard of a cemetery back there, only the water supply which is much deeper in the woods. I was gruffly asked to leave the area, and then he drove off. Yikes. I guess I shouldn't have parked so obviously near the sign post on the road! I never even thought about it. Will play it smart next time, and park in a strip mall's lot =)

Quite the adventure! My next post will have the epitaphs listed, and some preliminary research I did on the genealogy of each of the people in the graveyard.