Category: Cemeteries

Cemeteries4 Comments

Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

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South Pond Cemetery, Plymouth, MA

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading South Pond Cemetery, Plymouth, MA

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Hope Cemetery, Barre, Vermont

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Hope Cemetery, Barre, Vermont

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Center Cemetery, Hanover, MA

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Center Cemetery, Hanover, MA

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Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Granary Burying Ground, Boston, MA

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Lakenham Cemetery, Carver, MA

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Lakenham Cemetery, Carver, MA

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Munroe Cemetery, Hanson, MA

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Advertisements 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, … Continue reading Munroe Cemetery, Hanson, MA

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Stetson Cemetery, Hanson, MA

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Stetson Cemetery, Hanson, MA

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Cocumscussoc, North Kingstown, RI

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Cocumscussoc, North Kingstown, RI

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Wintery New England Days…

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Wintery New England Days…

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

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Jennings Hill Cemetery (Japan Cemetery), East Bridgewater, MA

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

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Advertisements 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 … Continue reading Vernon St. Cemetery (Alden Cemetery), Bridgewater, MA