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"

Highgate Cemetery

Last November (almost to the day,) we visited Highgate Cemetery in London. The cemetery is famous (and infamous) and many notable people are buried there, including Karl Marx, Douglas Adams and George Eliot.

It's a massive and sprawling place and burial plots are crammed any which way. Highgate Cemetery has been a desirable place to be buried since the Victorian era and space is running out.

                                                                    Karl Marx

 

                                                                       George Eliot
   Her tombstone was tucked up away towards the back of the cemetery. 

Weeping Willows

                                      "William Abbott DIED Jan 14, 1824"

                                 "Hannah, wife of William Richardson Died Dec 20, 1818 AEt. 46  
                                                                  To Die is Gain..."

  "In Memory of Mr. John Bofee Jr., son of Mr. John & Anna Bofee, who departed this life Oct 21, 1802 in the 20th year of his age. 
                  And is the lovely shadow fled,
                  The blooming wonder of his years!
                  So soon enshrined among the dead,
                  He justly charms our pious tears.."

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."

The Blue Lady of Vale End

I don't profess to know much about ghosts, but I find the folklore and legends surrounding ghost stories absolutely fascinating.

My mother in law took me out to a cemetery in Wilton, NH called Vale's End and showed me a very special grave. It didn't appear to be anything special on first glance, although for some reason it stuck out among the headstones.

All of the other cemeteries I've visited (except Salem, of course,) have been empty except for me. Vale's End had a couple of teenaged boys that came over to examine this particular grave. They saw that I was taking pictures and asked me if I were trying to capture orbs. That kind of surprised me and I replied, "No. So-called orbs are just specks of dust, after all." I was taken off guard and answered rather more harshly than I intended.

Anyway, on to the Blue Lady...

Here is a photo of the headstone of Mary (nee Ritter) Spaulding and Mary (nee Flynn Colburn) Spaulding , the first and second wife of Isaac Spaulding.

The script on the headstone is barely legible. A candle with the icon of the Virgin Mary was placed at the front of the headstone and pennies covered the cement in front of it. Apparently, it's a popular location for various rituals.

Legend has it that the first Mary Spaulding rises from her grave as a beam of blue light and slowly sinks back down. I've read it described as looking like a transporter from Star Trek. No one knows why the Blue Lady haunts her grave, but if I had to put my money on it, I'd say she's upset her husband's second wife was buried on top of her.

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.