Gravestone Girls...the Results!

Brenda, the chief Gravestone Girl, was able to draw a full house to the Chicopee Public Library!  Well, there may have been one or two chairs left open, but a great turnout nonetheless.  I've seen this presentation before as I had engaged her services for the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society a few months ago, with one significant difference.  This time, I had a part!

A couple of blogs ago, I talked about my "Big Tour" of Chicopee cemeteries with Brenda.  She came armed with a book that also sits on my reference shelf, "A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries - Second Edition" by David Allen Lambert.  Mr. Lambert has been working for the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston since 1993.  In January of 2013, his 20th anniversary with NEHGS, he was named "Primary Genealogical Resource".  He has authored a number of books and articles over the years and truly deserves the position. My copy of the book is pristine....Brenda's copy is torn and taped, contains copious notes and marginations, and is stuffed with note cards and book marks.

My contribution to the program was providing the background on some of the historic residents whose grave stones were photographed and used in the presentation.  But in addition to the Chicopee names, Brenda provided the "history" of graves dating back to what early humans did and how they did it.  From a humble, stone lined hole in the ground to the Pyramids at Giza, humans have paid a lot of attention to their dead.

[caption id="attachment_3503" align="alignleft" width="300"] Here Lies ???[/caption]

Next was a lesson in geology.  It's important to know what you're looking at and why certain materials were used.  For example, Western Massachusetts graves of the period are largely sandstone or brownstone. No mystery there as this area has large and once very productive brownstone quarries. The problem with brownstone, according to Brenda, is that the porous nature of the stone leads to the wicking of moisture from ground, moisture which freezes in the winter.  Since frozen water expands, it has a tendency to literally tear apart the tombstones and cause them to be illegible.  Even marble, believe it or not, does not make a good choice for an everlasting monument.  It's soft and quickly (in geological terms) loses the detail and again, becomes illegible.  I've seen thousands of grave stones in that condition and Brenda showed the group what they can expect with 17th century burials.

[caption id="attachment_3505" align="alignright" width="242"] Maria Anne Williston[/caption]

 

 

The iconography was particularly interesting.  Keep in mind that 17th century colonists were, as a group, very religious and carried there beliefs to the great beyond.  Stones with angel's heads with wings, vases, skulls and other symbols can be found throughout New England.  Into the 18th century, the carvings became much more detailed.  A fallen tree with the hand of the Almighty coming out of a cloud holding the ax that did the deed; branches of oak trees with a few acorns attached; weeping willow trees; and the hugely symbolic hand with one finger pointing up.  "In other words," Brenda said, "if you're looking for me after I die, look up, not down!"

 

 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="350"] Bigelow Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

The 19th century brought what we know today as the cemetery.  The first cemetery in the US is Mount Auburn, a few miles outside of Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Far more than just a clearing in a field or next to a church, Mount Auburn was (and is) an elaborately landscaped "park" where hard working citizens of the city could stroll through and spend a quiet Sunday afternoon.  Seeing someone having a picnic in a cemetery was not an uncommon site.

 

Not so many families today pack up the kids and head off to the local cemetery but it's still, in some areas, a place to go on Memorial Day or the birthdays and anniversaries of loved ones, where the graves are decorated with flower arrangements or other ornamentation where allowed.  Most cemeteries today have strict rules outlining what is tolerable and what is unacceptable.  Not so much up here in the Northeast, but I can remember a Robison/Robinson family reunion in northern Alabama where it was a tradition in full bloom, if you'll pardon the expression.  Every cemetery, no matter how well maintained, was an explosion of color.  Very few stones went bare.

Now we're into the 21st century and technology has not abandoned the gravestones we see today.  From a simple message such as "Here lies..." or "In Memory o...f" we can see color photographs of the dearly departed, laser etched portraits with some in color, solar powered videos and QR codes (Quick Response) that take you to a website where the family can upload, well, anything about the occupant of the grave!!  You can download QR code readers to your smartphone or iPhone that are incredibly easy to use.  Click here to download the one I use.

By the way, here's how you can get to the Old Bones Genealogy website with a QR code:

[caption id="attachment_3506" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Old Bones Genealogy of New England[/caption]

 

 

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