Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions, 1711-2003

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 150th 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 … Continue reading Lakeville, Massachusetts Gravestone Inscriptions, 1711-2003

St. Mary’s Cemetery, Middleboro, MA

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 … Continue reading St. Mary’s Cemetery, Middleboro, MA

Parish Burial Ground at the Green, Middleboro, MA

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 … Continue reading Parish Burial Ground at the Green, Middleboro, MA

Tack Factory Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

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 … Continue reading Tack Factory Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

Thomastown Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

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 … Continue reading Thomastown Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

Warrentown Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

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 … Continue reading Warrentown Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleborough, MA

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, … Continue reading Nemasket Hill Cemetery, Middleborough, MA