And Now For Something Completely Different…

…at least different to what one (at least for me) usually finds while hunting down cemeteries. In a small suburban/rural New England town, I had heard of a “family” cemetery on a particular road. On exploring the location of this small cemetery, I discovered a large “Polish National Catholic Cemetery” to the right of it and behind and to the left…….an all Jewish cemetery, The Israel Brotherhood. Neither were on the “list” I had gotten of the town graveyards!

It was truly awesome, as in “full of awe” and not the modern slang meaning “cool” although it was that as well. Being a student Kabbalist and begining to learn the Hebrew alphabet, it was stunning to see all the Hebrew on the stones along with other symbols of faith such as lions, trees, and of course the Star of David.

The stones were close set and many had pebbles, sea glass or other objects placed on them. I knew it had some tradition behind it but I didn’t now what. I asked a Jewish friend of mine who said :

The rocks and other things are instead of flowers. Flowers die.

When someone dies in the Jewish faith, also, there are no flowers on the casket or in the home of the grieving. The flowers would need care and the grieving persons shouldn’t have to worry about anything but grieving. Also, again, flowers die.

There are other reasons behind the tradition that date back thousands of years to desert living. I also found out that in the Jewish tradition, the body is to be buried as soon as possible after death, preferably before sunset of the day of death and that embalming and cremation are forbidden.

After some research and information given to me by another friend, I was intrigued by the differences in Jewish burial traditions from the primarily Christian ones I was familiar with. I highly encourage you to go to this GUIDE TO JEWISH FUNERAL PRACTICE which is very informative and detailed yet stated in an easily understandable manner. Other good links shall be supplied below.

Jewish Funeral Customs

Question: Why do we place pebbles on grave stones?

Guide To Jewish Burial and Mourning Practices – PDF

And Now You Know the Rest of the Story…

It’s stories like this that make history and roaming graveyards so interesting to me.

From THE HISTORY OF HUDSON NH by Webster Kimball

THE FIRST MURDER COMMITTED IN THIS TOWN, SO FAR AS IS NOW KNOWN OCCURRED JUNE 26, 1775 WHEN SAMUEL DAVIS SON OF ENSIGN NATHANIEL DAVIS WAS SLAIN WITH AN AX IN THE HANDS OF ROLAND RIDEOUT, AN INSANE PERSON. DAVIS WAS ENGAGED IN CONSTRUCTING A WATER HEDGE AT THE SHORE OF THE MERRIMACK RIVER, ON THE LINE BETWEEN HIS FATHERS LAND AND THE CUMMINGS FARM, ABOUT SIXTY RODS NORTH OF TAYLORS FALLS BRIDGE. HE WAS BORN IN THIS TOWN DECEMBER 21, 1757. PROBABLY RIDEOUT WAS ASSISTING IN THE WORK, AS ON MARCH 6, 1775 THE TOWN VOTED TO GIVE NATHANIEL DAVIS FOUR SHILLINGS PER WEEK, LAWFUL MONEY, FOR KEEPING ROLAND RIDEOUT. RIDEOUT CONTINUED TO CAUSE THE TOWN MUCH TROUBLE AND EXPENSE, UNTIL 1779, WHEN HE WAS REMOVED TO WILTON AT THE EXPENSE TO THE TOWN 30p-5s-0d LAWFUL MONEY.

2 SOUR S18

The court records are currently in the state archives at Concord and are identified as follows;

DAVIS, Samuel, yeoman, of Nottingham-West, vs RIDEOUT, Rowland, yeoman, of Nottingham-West, rec date 1776, recognizance, murder, file #2251.

Rowland pleaded not guilty however from the evidence presented it was obvious that Rowland hit Samuel Davis in the back of the head with an ax. Rowland was committed to confinement for an unspecified period where he died in 1779.

Images of the original Trial Documents from Concord NH:

Strolling in the Cemetery with Peter Vaughn

In my daily comings and goings, I constantly pass a small victorian era cemetery in Hudson NH. Set across the street from the local shopping plaza and right next to McDonalds, it stretches back behind the local Hanaford.

After seeing some of the remote and beautifully decorated landscapes of other cemeteries, it makes me think “Who would want to be laid to rest HERE?” I mean, it’s like the small graveyards in the center of Boston Ma. Who could consider THAT resting in PEACE with all the streets and large buildings that have gone up around it?

Several times I have wandered through while wasting a little time and always find myself without my camera. I keep saying “I’d love to photograph some of these statues” but the next time I’m there I find myself without the ability once again. There are some really nice angels and Celtic crosses here, being a largely Irish cemetery full of Morans, Sullivans and such, although I did see in the back and on the side, a small French section. They are still inturring people today so I’m sure eventually it will be more mixed.

Well this time (as it often is)  my stroll was accompanied with the presence of my dearest friend, Peter Vaughn. He had his cell phone camera available and took a lovely picture of one of the statues. It came out so beautifully that I had him send it to me for this post. Thank You, Peter

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Shoddy Work

Anyone who has taken any time gazing at old gravestones has seen the shoddy workmanship. A letter left out of the name, only to be added above the approximate space, a name split in half between lines are not uncommon. One would think they might plan it out a bit better.

(HUSBAND’S FIRST NAME IS NAT>>>HANEL?)

Some of these seem to be common abbreviations of the time like the letter “Y” with just an “e” super-scripted after it. I have also seen the name “Benjamin” shortened, but as it was consistent throughout the stone (father had same shortened spelling) then I can only assume it was on purpose to save on space.

I wonder how these stonecutters got away with such work. One wold think that if the customer paid for a stone, that it would be right or the engraver not get paid. Maybe back then you paid and got what you got. I wonder how many family members lived on broken hearted that not only was a loved one gone, but now the memorial stone was messed up for all time.

Here is a stone from a Windham NH cemetery. The motto across the top reads: mors indies accelepat (It’s squished but that’s not a real HUGE thing).

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK IN CLOSER DETAIL

The problem is that it SHOULD read: mors indies accelerat.

WOODCUT PROM ASCHAM’S SCHOLEMASTER – A tree growing out of an effigy on a tomb with the motto “Etsi mors indies accelerat post funera virtus vivet tamen” (though death hastens on daily yet virtue will live on after the burial)

~~Social England: From the accession of Henry the Eighth to the death of Elizabeth, edited by Henry Duff Traill, James Suamarez Mann

Yes, that’s right. The engraver left off the little leg on the “r”. I looked really close to see if it had just filled in with lichens or eroded away in that spot but it simply wasn’t cut. Poor Adam’s last name was also spelled wrong, having to add a letter “e” after the fact.

Gumpas Cemetery, Pelham NH

One old cemetery set high on a steep hill on the side of the road. Lots of research to do here. The earliest stone I could read was 1705. I’ll be traveling back to Pelham soon. In the front, the stones are early 1800’s for the most part but if one travels toward the back, you will find some really old stones. Some are unreadable, or might only after a rubbing. It’s not prohibited here but I don’t make it a habit so I had no supplies.

Some interesting stones were for the family of Ferguson. John and his wife, Anna have a stone with two faces and a scalloped edge. He died in 1753 and she several years later in the 1760’s. (Forgot to write it down and obscured in pic, darn it)

There was also a stone for John Butler who passed in 1759. His stone has had it rough yet it has been encased in a cement block. The block is easily two feet by two and the stone is only held in a small cut out on one side by two bars.  This seems an odd preservation method, leaving it exposed yet “jailed” in like that.

The oldest I found was Mrs Josiah Hamble who passed in November of 1705* at the ripe age of 43. There was one other that was very hard to read and I’ll have to take a closer look another time and look a few details up.

*Correction: upon closer examination and a little research, the date of Mrs Hamble’s death was actually 1765, not 1705. As it turns out, there were settlers in the town of Pelham prior to this date but a plaque in one of the other old cemeteries stands in rememberance of them stating that they were burried in unmarked graves due to the lack of availability of markers (due to material or skilled workers perhaps?) prior to 1765.

Don’t Feed Off The Dead

Today I had a lovely morning hitting three old cemeteries. (posts soon to come)

In one, there was a hill and the back half was covered in low lying blueberries. They were everywhere and many were ripening nicely.

I said to my friend, “If we weren’t in a cemetery, I’d eat some”.

“What difference does that make?”

“I think it would be disrespectful,” I replied.

“To whom? The dead people here?”

“Yes.”

One should not disturb plants about old graves unless its a trimming back of overgrowth so that the markers can be read or preserved. Would they mind? I don’t really know and since I am not skilled enough to ask, I’d rather be safe. Plus these plants are growing and getting nourished from DEAD BODIES. Ick factor? I’d rather not feed off the dead, for many reasons.

Respect

Prompted by a recent comment left to one of my posts, I find it necessary to state what most would take for common sense.

Someone wrote to me about visiting one of the places I have talked about in my posts. They mention how they climbed all over one of the stones and "weren't so respectful" at another. And in case that person looks, no, I did not approve the comment. Please never let me in the same room as this person. I don’t care if you believe stories of haunting or myths associated with these places or not, these are the resting places of people who were once alive and kicking, just like we are now.

I don’t write about these places so that uncouth punks can go and wreck havock. I write of them because they are interesting and beautiful, like a museum or the Grand Canyon. There are unwritten rules of respect one should show at places like this and if your mothers didn’t teach you right then I suggest you go learn it from somewhere. I can’t believe I have to actually explain this.

Taking pictures, even touching most markers is fine, unless in a very old cemetery where the stones are old. Most of these sites post “no rubbings” or other advisories. This for the preservation of the place for you and others to come.

Ayer Lion

In the Lowell Cemetery is a witch and a lion.  No, there isn’t a tin man, nor is there a wardrobe involved. There are myths and medicine men, however.

In a previous post I mentioned “Witch Bonney” looking toward a “protector” believed to be this beautiful carved lion figure. The information and facts on the real person resting here is just as interesting as Bonney’s. (At least I think so)

James Cook Ayer was a successful patent medicine tycoon. The town of Ayer Ma was supposedly named after him, but I couldn’t check the source of that. It is most likely him or earlier relations since his family was very prominent in Ma with connections to Harvard, the Lowell & Andover R. R., and did present the Memorial Library to the town of Ayer.  His brother Frederick, a wealthy textile industrialist, owned multiple mills in Lowell and Lawrence and was the president of the American Woolen Company.  Frederick Ayer’s daughter married George S Patton (Yes, THAT Patton).

Moving to Lowell  he  studied medicine and apprenticed under a local druggist. Eventually he earned a degree in medicine. His interest in medicine was not to become a doctor but in pharmaceutical chemistry and medicine compounding. Many of J.C. Ayer’s medicines were common household items purchased from travelling salesmen. Among these were Ayer’s Sasparilla Tonic and Ayer’s Cathartic Pills. Images and more information can be found HERE. His success was due in part to his wide advertisement, some of which was through his own published popular free almanac “for the use of farmers, planters, mechanics, mariners and all families” starting in 1853. If you visit Lowell and find yourself traveling down Middle St, you can still see the building where J.C. Ayer’s Lab was.

The story of this man is inspirational as he seemed to work hard, always better himself (such as devoting hours a day to learning different languages such as portugese) and I barely scratch the surface of this man. I encourage you to read History of Lowell and Its People by Frederick William Coburn which is where I got the image of him above.

I haven’t found the reason his grave is marked by this magestic animal, but he does look rather “lion like” in his picture, don’t you think? His grave is one of my favorites in that cemetery.

Bio/Into

Bio/Intro to be featured on May 7, 2009. Keep an eye out HERE

Evergreen Cemetery History

There stands a bolder with a bronze plaque on it in the Evergreen Cemetery in Nashua NH. The plaque was placed there in November of 1901 as a memorial of the “Old South Meeting House” and “Bird Meeting House”

This is the cemetery I posted about after the ice storm. The branches have now been cleared and Mr. Lund’s stone is no worse the wear.

Just North and across the path stands a prominent figure in the history of this town.

Fascinating information on the history of these meeting houses and the surrounding area and development of Dunstable/Nashua Village can be found here. For more historical information on the area, start at part one. (Geography, Topography, General Description and the ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS.)

Part 2 – FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT to 1702 INDIAN WARS FROM 1702 to 1725, Including: Proprietors – Charter of Old Dunstable – List of Heads of Families in 1699 – Indians Wars – [up to Lovewell's War with the Pequawkets in 1725]

Part 3 – FRONTIER HARDSHIP AND STRUGGLES 1730 and BEYOND

Part 4 – DUNSTABLE (NASHUA NH) DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Part 5 (first link I have on the page) – DUNSTABLE (NASHUA NH) FROM 1800 to 1860

Part 6 – NASHUA DURING THE REBELLION (CIVIL WAR)

Part 7 – NASHUA FROM 1870 to 1885

Part 8 – BIOGRAPHIES OF PROMINENT CITIZENS