Flowers

"ESTHER Wife of SIMEON CARTER Born Wilmington Mass., April 8, 1798. Died Stoneham Mass., Dec. 17, 1865 Aged 70 years, 8 months."

                              " Addie S. Wife of Byron Stacy. Died Sept 22, 1882, AE. 32 yrs."

"Charles Cummings 184(?)-1927

Nellie Woodward 184(?)-1922

Walter O. Cummings 1881-1949

1869 William C(??) Summer (?) 19??

1873 Elizabeth S. Bonner 19??

CUMMINGS"

Husband and Wife

The grave on the left has what I think are wheat sheaves. Wheat sheaves apparently symbolize a life of plenty given by God.

"Lydia G. Stearns BORN July 29, 1780 DIED May 2 1862. Erected by daughter (illegible) Gregg."
"James Stearns BORN August 30 1774. DIED Jan 14 1854. Erected by his daughter, (illegible) Gregg."

Lovely wreath. Wreath is a Christian symbol meaning victory of achievement.

Children

It's an unfortunate fact that the mortality rate for children in the past was pretty high.

                                                                      "Ellen M.
                                                   Dau. Of C.H. & E.J. Stephenson
                                                              Died Oct 24, 1904
                                                         AEt 1 yr. 5 ms & 15 ds"

                                                         Simply "Two Children."

            "In Memory of two children, sons of Mr. John and Mrs. Molley Chamberlin."
              On the left side, "Eliot died Jan y (illegible) 1796 aged 2 years, 11 months & 11 days."
                          Right side, "Jonathan died Feb 25th 1797 aged 17 days."

                                                                        "An Infant"

        
                                                                     "SARAH
                                                 dau. of Eben(???) and Mary Ann Jones
                                                                       DIED
                                                   April 11 1836 AE 10 mo. 19 ds
                                                   So fades the lovely blooming flower."

 
                                                                     "Little Harry"

                                                   "......of Thomas and Mary Mould."
Middle heart "Thomas Mould aged 16 months DYED y 1 of August 1681."
Right heart "Elizabeth Mould aged 16 months DYED August y 20 1684."

                       
                         "Mary, dau. of Solomon & Mary Cram, died Sept. 24, 1781 AE. 2 YRS."

Memento Mori

These were taken at a little cemetery in Wilton, NH.

I'm not sure what this symbol means. It appears to be a cross within a four petaled flower, but it could be something altogether different. This is the first one I've seen like this.

This memorialized four people. The sleeping angel means simply death, according to my research. The angel is beautifully done and still looks great.

Possibly English Ivy? English Ivy on early American graves means friendship and immortality. In England, Ivy grew up and often covered graves and apparently, the trend continued here. I think this particular example is lovely and delicate.

Double grave of a married couple. There are two coffins, an hourglass (I think,) and skulls. This one is interesting in that the male memorial looks different from the female (on the right.) The male has wings while the female has flowers.

                                                                "Memento Mori"

Do you know about the first symbol? Leave a comment and let me know what it is.