On a Grave Subject

Mt. Hope Virtual Tour: The Merchant of Bangor

2012-01-15T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here lies the Remains of
Joseph H. Marie Junin
of La Rochelle in France
who departed this Life
the 18th Feby AD 1791,
In the 32d Year of his Age,
& the second Year of the
E'ra fo the French Liberty
Carrying with him
to the Grave
the sorrows of all
who knew him
May his soul rest in peace.

Friday night did not go well for Joseph H.M. Junin. No one truly knows what passed between the French fur trader and his nephew, Louis Paronneau, that evening. What is known is that the merchant--and suspected British spy--was found dead in his bed inside his small log cabin situated on one acre of land at the foot of Exchange Street in Bangor.

Junin purchased the parcel of land from Bangor settler, Jacob Dennett, on July 7, 1790 and established the cabin which served as both his trading post and home. His business “was what was called a trucking business; that is, an exchange traffic, where little or no money was used” (1882:538).

Despite rumors that Junin served as a British spy who used his influence with the Native population of the region to create trouble for American Revolutionaries in 1777, he was accepted into the young settlement on the shore of the Penobscot River, and welcomed as one of only three or four merchant/traders in the region.

Image: 1790 United States Federal Census Record for David Howe,
assistant to the Marshall of the District of Maine. Number of free
white persons in the house hold, 2.

When Junin arrived in the fledgling community, he was accompanied by his 16-year-old nephew, Louis Paronneau. On the evening of Feb. 18, 1791, just seven days before Bangor’s incorporation as a city, Paronneau, “in great excitement rushed into the house of Jacob Dennett” and declared his fear that “the Indians would kill his uncle.” Shortly after the boy left the Dennett house, the report of gun fire was heard by witnesses in the area.

Junin’s cabin was visited following the gun fire, where witnesses found a scatter of muskrat skins on the floor and the 32-year-old trader dead his bed, shot twice through the head as he lay sleeping. According to accounts written by Joseph Porter (1887), Paronneau insisted that three Indians broken in and shot his uncle.

Historians’ accounts agree that five men, including Jacob Dennett, searched the woods and roads, through deep snow to search for rogue members of the Penobscot tribe and found no evidence of other parties.

Jonah Eddy, Justice of the Peace, summonsed a jury of 13 reputable men to the home of Jacob Dennett to view the body of the murder victim and hear testimony of witnesses to the evening’s events. The panel found probable cause that Paronneau committed the murder in order to gain possession of his uncle’s holdings.

As a result of the inquest, an arrest warrant was issued for Paronneau who was found three days later on February 22, traveling south along the Penobscot and apprehended.

Paronneau was held for trial at Pownalboro Jail. While in jail, Paronneau was not idle. On April 8, 1791, he wrote to the French Consul at Boston, Phillippe Andre Joseph de Létombe. The letter, now held in the Archives Nationales, Paris, is mentioned in passing in French Consuls in the United States by Nasatir and Monnell, and would have been unavailable to early Maine historians, who declared it a mystery as to how such a powerful political figure became involved in the case on the boy’s behalf.

According to Nasatir and Monnell, Létombe communicated to Chancellor Fleurieu:

"A young man named Paronneau, 15-16 years old, called by his uncle, M. Junin to Penobscot a year or two ago in the fur trade with the Indians. Boy arrived last year; he went to College de Soregu-Languedoc. Boy met schoolmates here. Informed last Fall that Junin was killed by him. Jury of Inquest said it was willful murder. Louis Paronneau imprisoned; says he is innocent" (1967:56).

Enclosed with this communication, Nasatir and Monnell note, is the letter of Paronneau to the Consul of France dated April 8, 1791. The letter is briefly summarized as follows:

“Asks his aid. Says he is innocent. Is in debt” (1967:56).

The Chancellor was sent to Pownalboro to “make and inventory” and serve as a guardian to Paronneau. Létombe also retained the region’s most prominent attorneys to defend the boy: John Gardiner and General William Lithgow, Jr.

The desperate youth did not halt his pleas for assistance with the French Consulate of Boston, however. On April 14, 1791, before his letter was even able to reach Boston, Paronneau authored a telling letter to President George Washington, published in The Papers of George Washington Presidential Series Vol 8, March-September 1791.

The letter, in Paronneau’s words, follows:

"Oh! Glorious Deliverer of your Country; I most Humbly beg you to excuse my temerity in Daring to expose before your Highness a Picture of woes to which your mild Heart will be very sensible.

I have left my Country, at that prayer of a beloved uncle; The most Horrid murder has Deprived me of this Dear father, and (Could your Excellency believe the sad tale) black injustice with all its most Criminal Jury accuses me of being his murderer: I am Dragged in a Narrow Gaol where innocence ought Never to go: Nor my tears, nor my prayers, nor my innocence Can move the flinted Heart of inhumans who perhaps (oh Horror) are guilty of the Crime of which they accuse me.

be your Greatness Judge of my griefs in thinking of the Sorrow of a father and of a Mother that tenderly Cherish their son who pay's em with the same Love. I weep bitterly: not for myself, I weep, since I am innocent: but for the whole family of which I have always been the Delight.

In the name of your shining glory, in the name of Humanity, Design to interest yourself in the behalf of an unjustly accused youth; in the name of your greatness bear to the French Nation may your remedy the Dangerous sickness of one of her Limbs. with the most profound respect I implore all the succor, all the pity, all the tears that Justly Deserves of your Highness, the most unfortunate, the most thankful of the part you will take to his misfortunes, & most Humble Servt,

Louis Paronneau"

Though there is no evidence that Washington responded to the plea in any particular manner, it is interesting to note that Paronneau makes no mention of his uncle’s identity in his letter. Junin, whose actions during the Revolution and close relationship with the Penobscot Indians were tracked closely and reported by John Allan, superintendent of the Eastern Indians, Machias, would have been well-known to George Washington. Also of interest in Paronneau’s letter is his narcissistic tone and the suggestion that his accusers―rather than rogue Penobscot Indians―may be responsible for the murder and are framing him. In fact, the boy, while claiming innocence, makes no mention of the defense he emphasized to Dennett, Eddy, and the men of Bangor.

In July 1791, Consul Létombe traveled to Pownalboro to attend the trial. Under the representation of Gardner and Lithgow, Paroneau was acquitted of the charges and the balance of his uncle’s estate—minus costs for the search, inquest, several casks of rum for use by the Jury and gaoler, and 39 shillings for a gravestone—was turned over to John James Paronneau. In a communication to Chancellor Thevenard, Létombe flatly states, “I am sending him to his parents at La Rochelle.”

On August 3, 1791 Paronneau again wrote to President Washington, informing him of his release.

"My Lord, Pardon my Freedom if I dare flatter my Self that your generous Heart (if Nevertheless great objects interest themselves to small ones) hath heard with pleasure & joy the News of my Deliverance. yes: Justice hath taken place, & them who Seeked the News my Death have been Disappointed. you Highness hath, without Doubt, received the Letter I took the liberty of writing at the time of My Detention, Knowing your greatness was the father of Humanity, I have take the Leave of expounding my misfortunes: Misfortunes which I had not merited. the Love I bear to my parents too Strongly engages me to return to them; to make any Delay: therefore, I go: to Consolate a Desperate family, Mourning Brothers, & Sorrowful friends. if ever fortune favours me as much as to bring me to this Country again; please your excellency to give me the Leave of presenting my Self before"

Again, Paronneau’s personality shows in his letter as he makes no mention of the French Consul intervening on his behalf or that is it, indeed, the Consul who is sending him home to France. Though this was the Consul’s intent, there is evidence the boy eventually ended up in French colonial Region Grande Anse in Santo Domingo where his name is recorded in the Jérémie Papers, 1714-1896, currently held in the University of Florida in Gainesville archives. According to the Jérémie Papers, on April 20, 1796 a request was issued by M. Lefranc, trustee, to inventory the property of the late M. Louis Paronneau.

While events played out in the life of Louis Paronneau, his uncle, Joseph Junin was afforded burial by Bangor citizens in the cemetery at the corner of Oak and Washington Streets, a 39-shilling slate marker noting his grave. The French trader was later relocated to Old City Cemetery, adjacent to Mt. Hope Cemetery in 1835, along with other graves from the Oak Street cemetery, to clear the property for use by the railroad.

Note that the Tympanum of the slate stone is broken off. Though the overall style of this stone, as well as several of the older slate stones surrounding it, is in an earlier colonial design, with very narrow shoulders and no boarder design surrounding the tablet inscription, due to the date of the stone around 1791, the tympanum design could likely have been an very early Federalist urn motif which rose to popularity following the American Revolution, particularly after the death of George Washington in 1799.

Sources:

Filby, P. William, ed. (2010). Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research.

History of Penobscot County, Maine with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. (1882) Cleveland: Williams, Chase & Co.

Jérémie Papers, 1714-1896. MS Group 17 (8-20). University of Florida in Gainesville Archives.

Nasatir, Abraham P. & Gary Elwyn Monell. (1967). French Consuls in the United States: A calendar of their correspondence in the Archives Nationalles. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Porter, Joseph W., ed. (1887). The Bangor Historical Magazine, Vol. II. July 1886—June 1887

Porter, Joseph W. (1877). Memoir of Col. Jonathan Eddy, of Eddington, ME: with some account of the Eddy Family, and of the Early Settlers on Penobscot River. Augusta, ME: Sprague, Owen, & Nash.

Twohig, Dorothy,ed. (1999). The Papers of George Washington. Presidential Series: Vol 8. March-September 1791. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.

United States Federal Census (1790) Record for David Howe, assistant to the Marshall of the District of Maine.

Submission Edited: 01/19/2012

© Kimberly J. Sawtelle, 2012

Visit the first installment of the Mount Hope Cemetery Virtual tour at:
http://onagravesubject.blogspot.com/2011/09/virtual-tour-of-mount-hope-cemetery.html

Grave markers Stolen from Woolwich Maine Cemetery

2012-01-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

In early January 2012, two significant, historical grave markers were reported missing from the Nequasset Cemetery in Woolwich, Maine.

The first marker, dating from Maine's colonial period, is dedicated to the memory of Deacon Samuel Ford. The thin, tablet-style marker, features a unique winged-head design with the inscription, "Know ye the Hour." Additional historical information about the marker is available through the Maine Memory Network online at http://www.mainememory.net/artifact/12469/.

The second missing marker belongs to the grave of Reverend Josiah Winship, who departed this life Sept. 28, 1824. This slate marker features an elegantly carved willow-and-urn motif, as can be seen in the attached image, photocopied from the January 2012 Maine Antique Digest.

Please share this information widely among your friends and associates, including antique dealers.

Any information regarding the missing stones should be directed to the Maine State Police, or the stones may be returned to the Nequasset Cemetery.

Virtual Tour of Mount Hope Cemetery

2011-09-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

September 17, 2011 tour sponsored by Maine Old Cemetery Association hearing the history of the nation's first Civil War monument honoring the Union dead, dedicated June 16, 1864.

In June 2011, I was asked to give a walking tour of Mount Hope Cemetery for members of the Association of Gravestone Studies attending the 34th annual conference in Waterville, Maine. Since then, I've given a couple more walking tours, each one expanding as people ask questions, spurring me to research the cemetery and its residents in greater and greater depth.

Comments from friends living at a distance have spurred me to move my tour content to a Virtual Tour available through my On a Grave Subject blog. Due to the scope of information, I will start with an historic overview and expand as I have opportunity. For more information about the history of Bangor, Maine please visit the Bangor Museum and Center for History website. The Maine Memory Network also provides access to rare historical resources.

Historic Overview of the City of Bangor, Maine

View of Mount Hope Cemetery, the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States consecrated July 21, 1836.

The City of Bangor, situated on the West bank of the Penobscot River and bisected by the Kenduskeag Stream, was first settled in 1769 by Jacob Buswell (Bussell), along with his pioneering wife and eight children. By 1772, the settlement of Kenduskeag Plantation boasted 12 families: Buswell, Howard, Crosby, Dennet, Smart, Treat, Rowell, Webb, Webster and Hathorn

In Memory of Sarah Crosby, wife of Simon Crosby died June 1st 1810. AE. 79. She was an honour to her family, and a bright example of the Christian Religion. Sarah and a half-dozen of her descendants were relocated by the Crosby family from the "Crosbyville" plot on Thatcher Street to Mount Hope Cemetery, thus avoiding the fate of many small family burial grounds obliterated by urban development.

Bangor's earliest public proceedings were dated 1789, when community members established a place of public worship. The act of incorporation was obtained February 25, 1791, 22 years after the Buswell family settled on the banks of the Penobscot. By this time, the village included 567 members. The good Reverend S.L. Pomroy was selected to file the official papers for Kenduskeag Plantation's formal incorporation.

In Memory of Francis Elliott, son of Daniel & Issabella Lambert Died Jan 7, 1827. Slate willow and urn style stone in the old Bangor City Cemetery.

As he entered the clerk's office, Rev. Pomroy was humming his favorite hymn entitled, "Bangor." When the registry clerk requested the name of the new community, Pomroy misunderstood and gave the clerk the title of the hymn. From that moment forward, Kenduskeag Plantation was known as Bangor.

In 1834, a city charter, council and mayor were established and the city, riding a surge of timber harvesting, log drives and ship building, grew rapidly in population and wealth. Following major floods of the city in 1846 and 1849, epidemic Cholera outbreaks resulted in significant numbers of deaths.

Historic Overview of Bangor's Public Burial Grounds

View of Bangor's old City Cemetery. The position of stones relocated from Bangor's oldest burial grounds indicate that bodies did not accompany the markers. The earliest marker is a slate marker dated 1791.

Though small, family burial plots were scattered across the Bangor landscape and have long-since disappeared under urban growth, the earliest communal burial ground was located on Thomas Hill, near the present day junction of Highland Avenue and Highland Street. As the town's population increased, the grounds located on this steep slope were quickly abandoned and two new burial grounds were established on opposite sides of the Kenduskeag Stream around 1807.

One burial ground was located on the lot now occupied by the YMCA building at the southerly end of Court Street. The second lot was located between Oak Street and the Penobscot River.

In 1834 as the city's charter was adopted, "the prevailing sentiments of its citizens strongly favored the selection of new cemetery grounds." Discussion regarding the location of the new burial grounds grew heated and the Bangor Horticultural Society was formed to purchase 50-acres on the outskirts of the city and hire Charles G. Bryant, a noted local architect, to design a "landscape" or "garden" cemetery. Consecrated on July 21, 1836, Mount Hope Cemetery was second only to Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge Massachusetts to reflect the mid-19th Century American disenchantment with urban centers and a desire to provide a romanticized rural atmosphere within reach of the city dweller.

The relocated gravestone of Tolman Cary, the son of Ezra Cary and Cynthia Tolman was born July 17, 1796, Sterling, Mass. He graduated from Bowdoin College and was a practicing physician in Sangerville, Maine. He died in Bangor, June 28, 1830. Source: General catalogue of Bowdoin College, 1794-1916.

According to Albert W. Paine, counselor at Law, in his History of Mount Hope Cemetery, Bangor, Maine, written in 1907, around 1837, the extension of Court Street to Hammond Street was completed. As today, the court house was adjacent to a steep hill leading into a deep valley. In order to finish Court Street, it was deemed necessary to dump the hill into the valley.

Unfortunately, the selected resource included one of the two cemeteries established in 1807. Having been active for the previous 30 years, there were still living relatives of the dead residing in the city. One evening, during a stroll, a local citizen recognized a coffin protruding from the fill area, as well as human remains. There was an immediate outcry and what remains could be located and secured were removed and re-buried at the second 1807 cemetery, located near Oak Street.

Thirteen years later, in 1850, the City Council closed the Oak Street cemetery and in December of that year, conveyed the property to Maine Central Railroad. Burials from the cemetery were relocated to what is now the old section of Bangor City Cemetery, which lies directly adjacent to Mount Hope Cemetery. Bangor City Cemetery, though a separate entity, is under management of the Mount Hope Cemetery Corporation.

Management and maintenance of Mount Hope and Bangor City Cemeteries are undertaken by Superintendent Stephen Burrill.

For more information about Mount Hope Cemetery, a cemetery map, and access to interment records, please visit the Mount Hope Cemetery website.

Stay tuned for the next stop on my Virtual Tour of Mount Hope Cemetery and an opportunity to meet Bangor's first European victim of murder at the hands of another European.

Next stop on the virtual tour, The Merchant of Bangor:
http://onagravesubject.blogspot.com/2012/01/mt-hope-virtual-tour-merchant-of-bangor.html

In Memoriam: The Resurrection of Job

2010-07-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

Like so many others, nearly everything Job Collett created during 50 years of hard work and dedication, disappeared in the roaring flames of the Great Bangor Fire of 1911. Today, though his image lives on in the microfilm and digitized archives of The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier, his name is all but forgotten, save the prominent lettering on a large granite monument that marks his place of rest at Mount Hope Cemetery on State Street.

The imposing marker bearing the name of Job Collett is crafted from fine-grained, gray granite and stands at the head of a family plot containing six graves. The stone exhibits architectural characteristics of the Classic Revival period with the hipped-gable “cap” design featuring a false entablature with engraved dentil frieze. A graceful, concave curvature of the four sides of the stone save the monument from a clumsy, blocky feel, while the raised Commercial Gothic lettering makes an authoritative statement.

The rigid structure of the primary marker and foot markers for Job, second wife Elizabeth, and son Charles T. Collett, stand in stark contrast to the sentimental Victorian era white marble markers for Job’s mother, Jane Marks and Job and Elizabeth’s infant children, Willie and Lillie. In even greater contrast is the romantic, yet naturalistic marble stump gravestone memorializing Job’s first wife, Julia M. and eldest daughter, Jennie M.

A graceful, curvilinear grape vine is carved climbing the front of the stump marker, its roots exposed as if having been pulled from the earth; its fruit withering on the vine. Atop the stump’s slanted top lay a dove in the throes of death, a twig of laurel pillowing its small head.

Lettering on the front and sides of the stone are mixed raised Commercial Gothic for the proper and family names, and engraved Lombardic-style lettering providing dates and status as “wife” and “daughter.” The inscriptions read: Julia M. Collett / April 1, 1828 / Sept. 16, 1853. Jennie M. / Daughter of Job & Julia M. Collett / July 26, 1850 / Feb. 22, 1872. Wife and daughter of / Job Collett.

Each of the cut tree limbs on the Collett stump stone exhibits the checking pattern of wood cut and exposed to weather and drying. Three straight lines radiate from a central point in each limb. The frequency of occurrence of this particular pattern in rustic stump stones through out Maine, indicate it is an established part of the overall form. Likely it also represents the Holy Trinity, as a vast number of rustic tree stump stones in the Bangor region are located in the Catholic cemetery. That the pattern carries over to stones carved for Protestant markers points to the mark being part of an accepted design and a likelihood, that the stone cutters themselves were of the Catholic faith.

The stone of Jane Marks, mother of Job Collett, is executed in a Gothic Revival motif, reflecting the decorated English gothic style with a ribbed, acute arch with ornamented terminals. The central design is that of an open book or Bible with the words: “St. John Chap. XIV” carved on the left facing page; the King James version of which reads:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

The word “Mother” appears in raised Commercial Gothic lettering, matching the style of Job’s primary marker as well as that of Julia and Jennie.

On the back of the stone the inscription is engraved in Lombardic-style lettering which reads: Jane Marks, wife of Thomas Collett, died April 23, 1862, AE. 68 years. Native of Milksham [sic], Wilts [sic], England.

The final white marble stone in the Collett family plot is that marking the graves of infants Willie and Lillie, children of Job and second wife, Elizabeth A. (Sawyer) Collett.

The sentimental stone depicts a lamb, either dead or sleeping, atop the stone asymmetrically draped in fabric with tassels adorning the corners. As with the other stones on the lot, the names of the children are in raised Commercial Gothic font while the engraved inscription on the back of the stone is completed in Lombardic-style lettering. The inscription reads:

Willie T.
Died March 30, 1856,
AE 5 weeks.
Lillie,
Died July 19, 1866,
AE 7 weeks, 4 days.
Children of Job & Elizabeth A. Collett

In stark contrast to the marble markers, the foot marker for Job Collett, wife Elizabeth A. (Sawyer) and son Charles T., are stark, almost industrial gray granite blocks matching that of the primary stone. Inscriptions are incised in Commercial Gothic lettering bearing just the facts and no particular sentiment.

Job Collett
Born May 26, 1825
Died July 26, 1894

Elizabeth A.
wife of
Job Collett
Born May 17, 1834
Died Nov. 4, 1906

Charles T. Collett
Born Dec. 26, 1857
Died Nov. 16, 1919

Who was Job Collett?
Job Collett was born on May 26, 1825, a native of Melksham, Wiltshire, England; the son of Thomas and Jane (Marks) Collett. Thomas and Jane immigrated to New Haven, Connecticut approximately 1826, with Job (then age one) and three older sons, Jacob, John, and Thomas, Jr. in tow. The family later moved to Lowell, Massachusetts and finally to Bangor, around 1845. The Collett name first appears in the Bangor Maine City Directory in 1846. Both Thomas and Thomas, Jr., living on Pine Street, are noted as file cutters in this directory but Job’s name is absent from the listing.

In 1848, Thomas, Sr. and son John are listed as file cutters in the city directory, doing business at the Exchange Street location but neither Thomas, Jr. nor Job is listed. It is not until 1851 that Job’s name makes it’s first appearance in the Bangor City Directory, listed as being employed at Woodbury & Collett File Factory and Hardware Store, 35 Exchange Street, Bangor.

The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier (The Whig) in July 1847 notes the “removal” of T. & J. File Factory, Hardware and Saws to a storefront on Exchange Street, next to Phillips & Witherley’s Brick Block, three doors north of York Street. According to later articles in The Whig, the file factory was apparently named for brothers Thomas and Job. First evidence of the Woodbury & Collett partnership appears in The Whig on April 10, 1850. From that point forward, Job Collett ran daily advertisements promoting the sale of new and re-cut files, first from the joint Woodbury & Collett venture and from 1852 on as a solo operation.

Following his death in August 1897, The Whig ran a brief article stating: “The late Mr. Job Collett was a pioneer in this city in advertising by a cut of himself. Many of The Whig readers will remember the “ad” and the position it occupied for years at the head of the first column on the first page with the injunction, “Files! Files! Now is the time to sharpen up,” while below was a cut of M. Collett sitting at a file block in the act of cutting a file. He used this “ad” for years and became well known all over the State thereby.”

A wood cut portrait of Job Collett seated at a file block cutting a file ran almost daily from 1850 until the 1880s on the pages of The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier, making Collett a pioneer of self-promotion among local businessmen. The copy typically read:

Files! — — — Files!
Now is the Time to Sharpen Up
and get ready for business. I have on hand
1000 Dozen Files
and am finishing off 150 dozen per week
which I am selling at
The Lowest Prices.
And will warrant them equal to any imported
Call and see them.
Old Files Re-cut as usual
Job Collett — — — Exchange Street

It was during the early period of Job Collett’s career that he married his first wife, Julia M., also a native of England. Research has yet to reveal if the marriage occurred in Maine or Massachusetts. The couple produced a daughter, Jennie M., on July 26, 1850, the same year Job ventured into his solo file cutting business. Three years later, Julia died on September 16, 1853. The cause of Julia’s death has not been established and no obituary noting her passing appeared in The Whig.

Daughter Jennie died on February 22, 1872. Jennie’s brief obituary, which provides no cause of death, appeared on page two of the February 24, 1872 Whig & Courier: “DIED In this city, Feb. 22d, Jennie M. Collett, daughter of Job Collett, aged 21 years, 6 months and 26 days. The funeral will take place Sunday afternoon at 10 1/2 o’clock, at the Vestry of the Universalist Church. Friends and relatives are invited.”

As a widower with a toddler to raise and a business to grow, it was necessary for Job to remarry. His second wife was Elizabeth A. Sawyer, age 19 or 20, of Old Town, Maine. Together, the couple raised Jennie and gave birth to five children of their own. Their eldest child, Willie T., died in at five weeks of age in 1856. Ten years later, baby Lillie would die at only seven weeks and four days old, in 1866. Charles T., Carrie and Henry Eugene all survived to adulthood.

Elizabeth undoubtedly saw to the raising of children and various, typical household duties of the day as she was noted in the U.S. Census Reports as “keeping house.” Elizabeth is mentioned only four times in The Whig, once as a participant in a musical production at Norumbega Hall in the early 1880s; once when Job took ill while in Howland and she was called to his side; again when falling in 1887 and breaking her wrist while attempting to board a carriage; and finally—and the only time by name—in Job’s obituary, July 1894.

Intent on building his business and wealth, in 1857 Job invested in constructing a brick structure on the corner of York and Exchange Streets, which initially housed Pomfret & Langley West India Goods, Grocery and Provision Business in August 1857. Through the records of The Whig, it is obvious businesses changed frequently in and out of the Collett building while Job’s business continued to operate out of its original Exchange Street storefront. The onset of the Civil War and subsequent economic depression of the 1870s likely contributed to this frequent turn over of occupants.

Though a G.A.R. flag holder is placed at Job’s headstone in Mount Hope Cemetery, there is no record of the gentleman serving during the war. While other prominent businessmen of the day freely spoke out in support of the war, there is only one mention of the staunchly republican Job Collett in the columns of The Whig between 1861 and 1865 (beyond his usual advertisement), leading one to believe that, publicly at least, he was discrete in his opinion of the War Between the States.

Prominence and Prosperity
In 1861, The Whig reported that Job filed a claim against City Council for damaged done to his property as a result road grading done on Exchange Street. The matter was tabled and no further mention of the issue is made in the pages of the press, however, in 1871 Job was named a Street Engineer for the Bangor City Council. Following this appointment, the editors of The Whig, began to mention Job Collett with increased regularity and eventually with a familiarity that suggests a relationship beyond that of just business.

As business and social success visited Job Collett, so too apparently did thievery. On February 8, 1870, Fred McKenney was found guilty of breaking into the file factory on the night on January 11, 1870 and stealing files, bank bills and copper coin. According to The Whig: “One piece of money was fully identified by Mr. Collett as the same piece that had been lying for some length of time on his desk in the shop.” The defendant’s efforts to deflect blame by testifying he received the coins and other money from his wife did not sway the jury. No mention was made of Job executing changes to his banking habits.

The prominence of the social circle in which Job Collett moved is most evident in the February 21, 1873 edition of The Whig, when he is listed among citizens who meet to discuss approval of the Shore Line Railroad. Among citizens selected to serve on an investigation committee on behalf of the City Council were: A.W. Paine; S.P. Strickland; Sprague Adams; L.J. Morse; S.P. Bradbury^1; R.S. Prescott; G.W. Merrill; W.B. Hayford; Charles Dwinel; Job Collett; J.G. Clark; George Stetson; and George A. Thatcher, all well-known and successful businessmen noted throughout Bangor’s early history.

In the 1860 United States Federal Census, Job Collett was listed owning real estate valued at $1000 and personal property valued at $1000. In 1870, Job’s wealth and holdings increased to $3000 in real estate holdings and $2000 in personal property. By 1880, Job is noted in the U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedule as having a capital value (both real and personal) of $6000. The value of materials in the factory was placed at $2700 while the products were valued at $9000.

In addition to his personal and business holdings, in 1880 the File Factory employed 10 full-time, year-round employees and as many as 19 part-time hands, paying over $5000 in annual salaries. The factory operated three boilers to power grinders and other machinery. Additionally, he leased the grinder in the old jail to handle overflow work. Wages paid to experienced hands exhibited Job’s value for his employees as he paid $2.50 per day to skilled mechanics and $1.25 per day to ordinary laborers.

Within the decade of the 1880s, references to Job Collett, Esq.— denoting him as a gentleman of high but non-specific social status — began to appear in The Whig. He was listed as a local delegate to the Republican caucus, traveling to both Augusta and Portland to carry out his duties, and listed among officers of the Penobscot Lodge of Odd Fellows.

It is obvious from the pages of The Whig, Job worked to reach success as a Bangor businessman and once achieving that status, enjoyed the fruits of his labor becoming increasingly involved in social and political arenas among the higher ranks of Bangor society.

Decline and Death
Having enjoyed many years as a successful businessman, the tide began to turn for Job Collett at 6 a.m., January 24, 1882 when fire broke out in his shop, by then shared with the Bangor Edge Tool Co. operated by C.A. and J.H. Peavey—inventors and manufacturers of the world famous Peavey logging tool.

Exchange Street, ca. 1895, from the corner of York Street. The red arrow marks the sign for Bangor Edge Tool Co. located at 53 & 55 Exchange Street. The Job Collett File Factory was housed at 35 Exchange Street, in one of the store fronts closer to the viewer in this photo. From the collections of the Bangor Public Library. Cat. No. G-91 974.131.A78. Used with permission.

According to The Whig, the fire was discovered by an engineer of the Bangor Edge Tool Co., upon reporting for work at 6 a.m. The fire originated in the grinding room used as a sawing and stock turning room and was suggested to be “the work of an incendiary.” Two rooms and the contents were destroyed, including the Tool Company’s lathes, belts, saws and the File Factory’s grinders. Equipment located in an adjoining blacksmith shop was moderately damaged. Losses for Job were estimated at $500 with no insurance coverage while Bangor Edge Tool Co. lost $1500 worth of insured equipment. Though The Whig hinted at nefarious origins of the fire, no specific conclusions of an investigation were ever reported.

With neither son apparently having an interest in taking over the family business, Job’s file factory began a steady decline following the fire while the Bangor Edged Tool Co. quickly recovered and continues in operation 128 years later as Hand & Edged Tool Manufacturing in Bangor, with three employees and annual sales estimated at $160,000.

In October 1882, more trouble arose when on a trip to Howland, Job Collett took seriously ill. According to the October 2, 1882 edition of The Whig, “Yesterday morning his wife received a dispatch saying that he was dangerously ill and requesting her to come immediately with a physician, and she started at once in company with Dr. Jewell. We are unable to learn the cause of his illness but hope it may prove less serious than at first appeared, and that he may be speedily restored to health.”

This episode was the start of a long series of illnesses for Job that apparently inspired him to turn his attention from the file cutting business to launch Job Collett’s Electrine, the Great Neuralgic and Rheumatic Remedy, in January 1887. Sold by A. M. Robinson, Jr. at No. 1 Granite Block for 50-cents per bottle, Job Collett’s Electrine was for external application. Advertisements run from 1887 through 1888, promoting the patent medicine as “curing rheumatism, neuralgia, headache, backache, kidney troubles, diarrhea and all aches and pains by outward application.” The venture failed to thrive.

Troubles for the businessman continued when, in November 1887, a 100-pound grindstone at the jail workshop used by the File Factory for grinding files, “flew off just after the machinery had been started, it running slowly at the time, and struck a slight, temporary partition a few feet distant breaking it down. It then flew back against the wall. The shock threw the stone out of position and the belt of the machinery came off striking a workman named J.E. Meaghan and knocking him down. His head was somewhat bruised by the fall but he was only slightly injured.” The incident resulted in $25 worth of damages.

Despite his efforts to restore his health through patent medicine, Job’s decline continued. On April 21, 1892, The Whig reported, “The many friends of Mr Job Collett, who has been so long confined to his house by illness, were glad to see him able to ride out yesterday.” The recovery was short-lived, however, and two years later, Job Collett died on July 26, 1894. His obituary ran in the July 27 edition of The Whig:

Mr. Job Collett, a well known and highly respected citizen of Bangor passed away yesterday afternoon at his residence on the corner of Center and Somerset streets and the announcement will be received with sorry by his many friends in this city and elsewhere.

During the past five years Mr. Collett had been in poor health, resulting from several attacks of pneumonia and the grip but the immediate cause of his death was a shock of paralysis which he experienced Tuesday morning.

The deceased was born in Melksham, Wiltshire Co, about 10 miles from the cilty of Ball England, May 26, 1828 and was consequently 69 years and 2 months of age.

At the age of one year he came to the United States with his parents who located in New Haven, Conn. and went from there to Lowell, Mass. He came to Bangor in 184-. He was for a time in company with his brother Thomas in the file cutting business and afterwards with Mr. Woodbury but that said he became sole proprietor.

During his long and honorable business career of nearly fifty years he was located on Exchange Street. He was a successful businessman and at the same time made an excellent reputation for square dealing in his transactions. He was a sterling citizen and all respected and esteemed him for his many high qualities.

In politics he was an earnest Republican and ably served in the Common Council and as a member of the city committee of his party for a number of years. He was a Knight Templar, a member of Penobscot Lodge of Odd Fellows and of Katahdin Encampment and one of the charter members of the Mellta Club.

He was genial, generous and kind-hearted; a devoted husband and loving father. He was twice married and his second wife who was Miss Elizabeth Sawyer, survives him. He also leaves two sons, Charles and Eugene and a daughter, Mrs. [Lin?]wood C. Tyler to mourn his loss.

They will have the deepest sympathy of a host of friends of their bereavement.

The funeral will occur next Tuesday but the hour has not as yet been definitely determined upon. It will be announced later.

And on August 2, 1894:

The funeral services of the late Mr. Job Collett were held yesterday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock at his late residence on the corner of Center and Somerset streets and there was a large number present. The floral offerings, which were profuse and beautiful, included designs from St. John’s Commandery, Knights Templar, the Odd Fellows and the Mellta Club, to which he belonged. Rev. Charles H. Cutler of the First Parish church officiated and Mrs. W.A. Nelson sang several appropriate selections. The bearers were Messrs Charles F. Collett, H. Eugene Collett, Jacob Collett, L.C. Tyler, John Sawyer, and William Sawyer. Col. C.V. Crossman had charge of the funeral arrangements. The interment was at Mt. Hope.

Photo of the corner of Exchange and York Streets in Bangor in July 2010 showing the Nichols Block built in 1892.

Even prior to Job Collett’s death, the building he constructed in 1857 was replaced by the Nicols Block in 1892; a structure that survived the Great Bangor Fire of 1911 and still stands on the corner of Exchange and York streets.

In March 1898, the storefront that long served as Job’s file factory was taken over by a printing business, removing all evidence of a half-century of operation. Snarking at the newest competitor in their midst, The Whig editors lamented the obliteration of Collett’s former signage and memory and speculated in the March 31 edition, “Whether or not Mr. Printing will succeed in gaining as enviable a reputation as Mr. Collett established in years gone by remains to be seen.” Unknown to them at the time, The Whig would in 1900, merge with Mr. Printing and become one with the Bangor Daily News, established and first housed on Exchange Street and still in publication today.

Memories in Stone
With the story of Job Collett now known, what can be concluded in regard to the identity of the man from the grave markers in the family plot?

Of significance is the fact that Job knew, served on city committees with, and was a member of fraternal organizations with Simon P. Bradbury, who operated S.P. Bradbury, the most prominent of at a number of monument companies simultaneously operating in the city of Bangor during Job’s lifetime. Specializing in marble gravestones and tablets, one example of Bradbury’s marble work is the marker of Deborah L. Ulmer (pictured below) located in Corinthian Cemetery, Corinth, Maine, where the maker name, “Bradbury Co, Bangor” is clearly visible. The design, like those of the Collett women and children, is distinctly Victorian.

Being as Job and Bradbury were follow businessmen and brothers in fraternal orders, a strong circumstantial case can be built for S.P. Bradbury Co. likely being the source of the three marble markers on the Collett lot. Since each stone specificly identifies relationship ties to Job, described in his obituary as “genial, generous and kind-hearted; a devoted husband and loving father,” I will argue that the sentimental stones were selected by Job, himself, to commemorate the women and children, and represent his own sense of loss and mourning. Why the choice of a rustic stump marker for Julia and Jennie in distinction to the infants’ gravestone and his mother’s marker, remains a mystery.

The stark contrast between the sentimental, Gothic Revival Victorian stones and the authoritative Classic Revival design of Job’s own stone, as well as the G.A.R. flag holder appearing beside his foot marker, I feel can be directly attributed to Col. Christopher V. Crossman, 1st Maine Heavy Artillery and Commander of the G. A. R. — B. H. Beal Post, No. 12 who was, according to Job's obituary, in charge of funeral arrangements. With this information teased out of the record, the startling juxtaposition of sentiment and authority in the Collett lot is less surprising.

Indeed, it is likely two entirely separate personalities were involved in selecting the memorial pieces: that of Job in selecting the marble monuments, and that of C.V. Crossman, a best friend and military man who—like Job’s many male friends—esteemed and sought to preserve his reputation in choosing the rigid granite markers. Placement of an honorary G.A.R. flag holder was also likely directly brought about by Crossman and supported by Job’s friends who were also Civil War Veterans and sought to recognize him as a “brother” in death.

Footnote
¹Simon P. Bradbury operated S.P. Bradbury, a stone cutting and monument company that was a significant provider of marble and granite headstones, monuments and tablets. The only display ad found, to date, for S.P. Bradbury appeared in the May 12, 1852 edition of the Bangor Whig and Courier, promoting the arrival of 3000 feet of Italian and American marble “of very superior quality.”

Son Edgar H. Bradbury was born in Bangor in 1843, married Susan Hovey Trask and relocated to Chicago as secretary of the Gowen Marble Co., 1870-78. He then established a wholesale marble business in St. Louis. 1878 as E. 11. Bradbury Marble Co.

References
1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Year: 1860; Census Place: Bangor Ward 6, Penobscot, Maine; Roll M653_447; Page: 110; Image: 111; Family History Library Film: 803447. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Year: 1870; Census Place: Bangor, Penobscot, Maine; Roll M593_552; Page: 197B; Image: 403; Family History Library Film: 552051. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

“A Big Grindstone Breaks.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 7 November 1887. Microfilm.

AllBusiness.com. “Hand & Edge Tool Mfg - Bangor, Maine,” retrieved July 10, 2010 from, http://www.allbusiness.com/companyindex/Maine/Bangor/Hand_and_Edge_Tool_Mfg/F3BF3765CFEADD214330A8941ECCDE9B-1.html

Fisher, Joy, contributor. Penobscot County ME Archives History – Businesses – City Of Bangor 1883 , retrieved July 10, 2010 from, http://files.usgwarchives.net/me/penobscot/directories/business/1883/cityofba425gms.txt

“Funeral Services of the lat Mr. Job Collett.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 1 August 1894. Microfilm.

Harris, Cyril M., ed. Illustrated Dictionary of Historic Architecture. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1983. Print.

Lettering in Marble. Vermont Marble Co. The Barta Press, Cambridge, n.d. Digital.

Marquis, Albert Nelson, ed. The Book of St. Louisans: A Biographical Dictionary of Leading Living Men of the City of St. Louis and Vicinity. 2nd Ed. A.N. Marquis & Company, Chicago, 1912. Print.

“Mrs. Job Collett met with quite a serious accident.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 20 May 1887. Microfilm.

Nonpopulation Census Schedules for Maine, 1850-1880. Microfilm. Maine State Archives, Augusta. Ancestry.com. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Web.

“Obituary: Mr. Job Collett.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 27 July 1894. Microfilm.

“Serious Illness of Job Collett, Esq.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 2 October 1882. Microfilm.

“State vs Fred McKenney.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 7 February 1870. Microfilm.

Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Web.

“The many friends of Mr. Job Collett.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 21 April 1882. Microfilm.

“The late Mr. Job Collett.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 2 August 1894. Microfilm.

“The old and well known place on Exchange Street.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 31 March, 1898. Microfilm.

“The rooms recently damaged by fire.” The Bangor Daily Whig & Courier 31 January 1882. Microfilm.

Whitman, William E. S., ed. The Wealth and Industry of Maine for the Year 1873. 1st Annual Report. Sprague, Owen & Nash, Augusta. 1873. Print.

“Yesterday’s Fire: Frost-Bitten Firemen Fighting the Flames.” The Bangor Daily Whig &
Courier 25 January 1882. Microfilm.

In Memoriam: Francis H. Duffy & Bridget Ann Loftus Duffy

2010-06-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

The June 2010 GYR “scavenger hunt” blog carnival prompted me to start my own scavenger hunt for information about the people who lay beneath some of my favorite gravestones. My interest in grave stone research began with the question of how individual identity is depicted in a public space through grave stones and memorials but until now, I hadn’t sprung the cash necessary to access some of the more extensive online archives in a search for answers.

My birthday gift to myself this year was membership in Ancestry.com© which has given me access to volumes of information including census information, city directories, military records and digitized microfilm of the Bangor Daily Whig & Courier newspaper. This has afforded me an opportunity to conduct primary research from the comfort of my home office during hours that the physical archives of the Bangor Public Library, University of Maine Special Collections, Maine Historical Society, Maine State Archives, and the Bangor Museum and History Center are not available.

In this “In Memoriam” series of blogs, I will start with only photographs of grave stones I find interesting or attractive—owing exclusively to my own personal taste—and do my best to search out information about the identity of the individual or individuals memorialized in a quest to answer how individual identity is depicted in the public space of a cemetery.

Francis H. Duffy and his wife Bridget A. Duffy

This white marble grave marker, located in Mt. Pleasant Catholic Cemetery, Bangor, Maine, depicts a combination of architectural features from the Gothic revival movement that started in the 18th and culminated in the 19th Century in America. The impact of Gothic revival in Bangor can still be seen in the architecture of buildings surviving from the mid-19th Century. As lumber barons and merchants cultivated their wealth, elaborate homes built in the latest architectural styles became a means of telegraphing business success, affluence and social standing. So the question becomes, does this broadcasting of success through architecture translate to gravestones that feature popular architectural styles of the era?

The well-carved Duffy stone depicts an unusual combination of Carpenter Gothic-style wings framing a lancet (blind) arch, supported by Byzantine-style Corinthian columns with acanthus leaf capitals. The apex of the arch is ornamented with a trefoil, theoretically symbolic of the Holy Trinity. The names of the dead are located within an arched door that features bilateral notches appearing mid-way in the doorjamb.

Above the arched door, the stone features an intricately carved floral arrangement that includes not only a sheaf of wheat—symbolic of full harvest and resurrection—and a fern frond—symbolic of sincerity—but also two delicately executed Iris blooms. The Iris blooms, if interpreted as fleur-de-lis can represent love and passion. As Iris, the flowers are symbolic of protection. While I have seen many similar stones depicting either ferns or wheat, this is the only stone I’ve found to date that combines these three symbols in such a fresh, energetic and flowing, almost living, artistic arrangement. Certainly execution of the carving itself is owed to the craftsman who wielded the chisel, but what does the stone communicate about the individuals interred below?

Who were Francis H. and Bridget A. Duffy?
As any genealogist can tell you, learning details about the lives of women in the printed record is difficult as emphasis in the earliest centuries of American history was placed on men and men’s activities. As a result, the information I cite here about Bridget Ann Loftus Duffy is in relation only to her marriage to Francis H. Duffy.

Francis H. Duffy was born in 1828 in Ireland, the son of Patrick Duffy and his wife, Bridget A. Francis’ father, Patrick, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland. His mother, Bridget, was born in County Mayo, Ireland. The small family of three immigrated to the United States, arriving July 7, 1835 in Passamoquoddy, ME when Francis was age 12. In 1835, the route for Irish immigrating to Bangor was by foot along the Airline Road, now known as Route 9.¹ On April 23, 1868, Francis became a Naturalized American citizen.

On August 3, 1846 at the age of 18, Francis married Bridget Ann Loftus, also age 18, in Bangor. Bridget Ann Loftus was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States. Three years later, the couple gave birth to their first child, Mary Ann Duffy, on September 10, 1849. The child died on February 10, 1885, during a trip to Ohio. A complete list of the Duffy children follows:

Children:
Mary Ann Duffy, born Sept. 10, 1849; died Feb. 10, 1885 in Ohio
Thomas Duffy, born 1851, Bangor
Edward A. Duffy, born Feb. 28, 1855, Bangor; died Aug. 12, 1890, in Seattle Washington
William Duffy, born 1857, Bangor, died Aug. 12, 1890
Margaret Duffy, born 1859, Bangor
Isabella Duffy, born 1859, Bangor
George F. Duffy, born Mar. 16, 1866, Bangor
Charles Duffy, born April 6, 1868, Bangor
Frank Duffy, born August 1878, Bangor

According to the 1850 United States Federal Census, Francis Duffey [sic] was then age 22, living in Bangor with wife Bridget Duffey [sic], age 21, Mary A. Duffey [sic], age 2, born 1848 in Maine and Ellie O’Hara, age 17, born about 1833 in Ireland. Duffy’s occupation was listed as “gardener” in 1850 census and all subsequent years of the United States Federal Census in which his name appears. In 1850, his holdings were valued at $400, and both Duffy and Bridget were identified as being able to read and write. By 1870, Duffy’s holdings increased to $2000 and his household retained Isabella Morrissey, age 14, as a domestic servant, while the Duffy children Edward, William, Isabella and Ellen all attended school.

Exploration of the Bangor Daily Whig & Courier quickly revealed that Francis Duffy was not simply a gardener, but was a horticulturalist and founding member, officer and executive committee member of the Bangor Horticultural Society. Duffy’s gardening business was, in reality, a profitable greenhouse located on Court Street in Bangor. Duffy advertised his greenhouse with prominent listings appearing annually in the Whig and Courier during the late winter, early spring months.

The advertisements appear nearly identical year after year, with line art illustration of a pedestal garden urn and the headline: MAY DAY At Court Street Green House. F. H. Duffy will hold a Ticket Sale of Choice and Valuable Plants, on May 1st. Tickets shall be numbered so as to correspond with the numbers on the pots, which will give every one a fair chance to draw one plant, but in addition to that I shall put up three large Prizes. The first shall consist of eight plants, the second six and the third four. The plants, which I shall offer, will consist of Azalea indicas, Cinerarias, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Heliotropes, Moss Roses, many varieties, Salvias, Antirrhinums, Bengal, Tea, and many other very choice Roses. Also, fifty choice Prairie Roses, with many other fine plants. No Verbenas, Pansies, Daisies or Cheap Plants, will be offered in this sale. Tickets 25 cents. Green House open at 5 o clock and will keep open all day. Francis H. Duffy, Florist.

As a member of the Bangor Horticultural Society, in September 26, 1861, Duffy exhibited his skills as a gardener and florist, winning in contests for the best and largest display of first premium vegetables, $5.00 prize; best two nectarines, $2.00 prize; largest squash, .50 prize.

By 1900, the Duffy children were marrying and moving on. Oldest son Thomas gained early work as a joiner while daughter Elizabeth married Thomas F. Conners, born in New Brunswick, who worked as a moulder and founder. In the 1900 census, the Duffy household included only Francis and Bridget, both recorded as age 72, and bachelor son Frank whose occupation was listed as “gardener.” As Frank took over the Court Street Green House, Francis retired, being listed as “unemployed” for three months at the time of the census.

Two years later, Bridget would die in March 1902. As Bridget preceded him in death, one can speculate that it was in fact, Francis who selected the white marble gravestone that now stands in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Would it then be Francis who identified with the luxuriant style of the Gothic revival stone or did he choose the style to reflect Bridget’s own taste? Almost certainly, Francis, a knowledgeable horticulturalist, can be credited with the choice of the elegant, eternal floral arrangement and the symbolism of wheat, ferns and Iris. On December 24, 1908, Francis followed his Bridget to the grave and the stone he selected to memorialize both their lives, thankfully free from vandalism, still serves its quiet duty 102 years later.

¹Mundy, James H. 1990. Hard Times, Hard Men: Maine and the Irish 1830-1860. Scarborough, ME: Harp Publications.

July 2010 Graveyard Rabbits Carnival: Scavenger Hunt

2010-06-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

1. Cross. This particular style of rustic cross can be found in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Bangor, ME and are attributed by local folklore to a single gravestone dealer, Rogan's Memorials. My research on these stones is ongoing.

It's all about the lens flare.

2. Heart. A granite, conjoined heart commemorating the tragic loss of the Frost siblings, Michael A., Jr, Sept. 10, 1998-Sept. 10, 2002 and his little sister, Linda J., May 9, 2000 to Sept. 10, 2002. The children died as the result of a fire in their home in Harmony, Maine. The grave, which features a portrait of the children together, is located in West Ripley Cemetery.

3. Fraternal symbol. A cast aluminum flag holder depicting the emblem of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America. Gold is an official color of the group, signifying “the rich blessings and material means” that members share with “those less fortunate.”

4. Monument. The Civil War memorial monument from Oak Grove Cemetery, Brewer, Maine. Designed with Italian marble and Frankfort granite by Hallowell Granite Company and S.P. Bradbury of Bangor, and made by S.P. Bradbury. Erected Fall of 1872 and dedicated May 30, 1873. In Memory Of The Citizen/Soldiers/Of Brewer Who Died/In Defence Of/Our Country/War Of/1861-65.

5. Flower. “She died in beauty, like the rose.” So reads the epitaph on the stone memorializing Rachel J, wife of Isaac Foster, Esq. Rachel died Oct. 7, 1838 at age 22 years, 1 month. The cabbage roses on her marker match those decorating the broken stone of Elizabeth P., wife of Isaac Foster, Esq. Hemlock Stream Cemetery, Argyle Township, Maine.

6. Hand. This combination of a hand holding an anchor atop a Bible and framed with laurel leaves appears in Jordan Cemetery, Harmony, Maine.

7. Angel. This Heavenly Angel seems utterly unimpressed with the duty of escorting Carrie W., wife of John S. Page and daughter of Enoch E & Elizabeth Brown to eternal life. Carrie died Aug. 28, 1871 at age 28 years and 8 months. The Angel one exudes an air of abject indifference even as she carries a scroll that reads, "Meet me." Or not. Whatever. Ireland Cemetery, Harmony, Maine.

8. Bird. Unlike so many bird images on stones, with broken wings or broken necks or just plain dead, this clearly live dove sits atop a small scroll-covered kern marking the grave of Harold V., son of H.V. and S. M. Furbush, 1915-1917. Kenduskeag Cemetery, Kenduskeag, ME.

9. Tree. At West Lubec Cemetery, Lubec, Maine, a low stone wall marks the boundaries of a substantially sized family lot with a single marked grave attended to by an eternal mourner. Cedar trees ring the interior of the stone wall at regular intervals providing a pastoral feel to the grave site.

10. Star. A cast aluminum American Legion flag stand marks the grave of a war veteran in Corinthian Cemetery, Corinth, Maine.

11. Obelisk. The Clement-Gerrish Cemetery in Kenduskeag, Maine is a small family cemetery typical of many that dot the rural Maine landscape. While this yard is well maintained, it is not unusual to stumble through to woods upon a cemetery with a large obelisk protruding from the overgrowth.

12. Four-legged animal. An anonymous elephant from Milford Cemetery, Milford, Maine. There is no obvious inscription for the occupant of the grave that is marked.

Admit it; you were expecting a lamb or maybe a dog. To paraphrase Bullwinkle, “Hey, Rocky, watch me pull an elephant out of my hat.”

13. Photo. Hiram Tripp, 1849-1922, porcelain portrait tile of Tripp with two horses and a dog. The tack on the saddled horse shows examples of Canadian Plains-style/Ojibwe beadwork. Molson Cemetery, Molson, WA.

14. Military Gravestone. Joseph J., son of Joseph B. & Hannah Elder, of Co. E, 22 Regt. Me. Vols died at Bellefontaine, Ohio Aug 20, 1863, AEt. 20 ys. 4 ms. Originally of Corinna, Maine, Joseph J. Elder served the Union army as a musician.

15. Mausoleum. Cassidy mausoleum in winter. Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Bangor, ME.

Gifts from the Heart: Homemade Monuments & Memorials

2010-05-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

In July 1991, I was drawn to visit the grave of childhood friend, Kathy Frost, murdered by her husband in October 1987. If you ever watch the forensic shows on A&E that explore cold cases, you’ve probably seen her story. Kathy was a sweet, shy, retiring woman who met a monster through the lonely-heart classifieds. He took advantage of her, insured her life, then proceeded to drug and throw her off Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park, shattering her body on the rocks 80-feet below. Investigations showed Kathy wasn’t the first of the man’s wives to fall victim to the same scheme.

As a reporter for a local weekly newspaper it was my job to put emotions aside, investigate and report on the death of a hometown girl. Though Kathy was murdered in 1987, it took me until 1991 to visit her grave site. My reporting days were finally behind me and it was time I paid my respects.

At that time, it had been a number of years since I’d visited any cemetery. As a child, I was taken along on my Mother’s genealogical scavenger hunts; wandering among gravestones while she documented names and dates. Each Memorial Day, my brothers and I were loaded into the car to visit and plant geraniums or pansies on various family graves. Growing up, I remember cemeteries as reverent locations—peaceful, somber, and sedate. Grave offerings were limited to a pansy or two for distant relatives and a geranium for more immediate family. Such was my frugal Yankee experience of paying respects to the dead.

Arriving at the cemetery to visit Kathy in 1991, I drove through the oldest section of the yard. It was neat and trim and everything I’d come to expect in a proper Maine cemetery. Imagine my surprise when a riot of color and overt ornamentation greeted me as I rolled slowly into the newer section of the graveyard. I was instantly struck by the flamboyance of mortuary decor that not only looked like—but was—yard art! Plastic, molded animal-shaped planters. Wind chimes. Whirly-gigs. Was that a ‘bend-over lady?’ Good Lord in Heaven! What was going on?

I immediately pulled out my camera and started documenting what I saw. As a budding anthropologist, my curiosity spiraled. I had to learn what was meant by such abundant ornamentation. At the time, I was less curious in the gravestones than the temporary memorial displays assembled by family and loved ones of the departed.

Pumped full of book learning, having returned to college to complete my undergraduate career only two years earlier, my brain buzzed around symbols as I attempted to establish patterns of behavior that could be documented, analyzed, and labeled. ‘How,’ I asked myself, ‘do “we” as a society depict individual identity in public space?’ I was certain this was the question on which to focus.

In the 20 years since I started my research, I have never been able to tease out a succinct answer to my original question. How does one separate the issue of individual self-identity from the interpretation of identity in a cemetery setting? The bottom line remains steadfast in my mind; unless an individual prepares for his or her own burial, selecting the monument, epitaph and plantings in perpetuity, such matters reside in the hands of the family and friends—those left behind for whom mortuary customs are about memorializing a loved one and commemorating the meaning of that individual’s life in relation to his or her own.

Over these 20 years, I’ve heard much lament about the cold, anonymous feeling of many of contemporary, urban cemeteries. The drab sameness of block granite stones with a central surname are said to have been birthed from the spirit of mechanized uniformity that lead to Allied victory in World War II and the subsequent mushrooming of tract housing across the American suburban landscape. Ease of mowing maintenance now regulates the style and height of stones and the what, if any, flowers or plantings are allowed. And so, it is to rural cemeteries that I turn these days to find memorials born from deep feelings of tragedy, loss, mourning and memory, as gifts from the heart.

Pulling again from my personal history, the first homemade stone I share here is the very first gravestone I ever visited—that of my elder sister, Sawtelle Baby.

Sawtelle
Baby
Aug 1958

Monson slate marker hand engraved by Elmer C. Sawtelle, my father, for his first-born; a baby girl who died of asphyxia when the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck at birth. Devastated by the loss of her child, my mother opted to not name the baby and my father created the only gift he would ever be able to give his infant daughter, a simple hand-carved stone to mark her grave. Crocker Cemetery, St. Albans, ME [07/04/2001 photo]

Josiah Hills
Died Mar
23 x 1800
Eadg 34 [sic]

Primitively carved field stone marker at the grave of Josiah Hills in Bradford, ME. Field stone markers found in older, rural Maine cemeteries are typically uncarved and mark graves that were known only to family members who marked them. Today, the identities of souls so memorialized are lost to time. [Undated photo]

The Frost family plot in Dexter, ME, is a six person plot containing the burials of four individuals, grandparents Leslie and Madeline Frost and granddaughters Cindy Ann, who died in infancy, and Kathy Lynn, murdered by her husband in 1987. [07/27/1991 photo]

White crushed rock serves as a popular bedding material for burial plots across the country. Frequently, a plot may be surrounded with railroad ties and filled with crushed stone, reinforcing the boundaries of a family burial spot. [07/27/1991 photo]

Dad and Mom

The identity of Dad and Mom is unknown at the time this photo was taken. Though the couple may have belonged to a near-by family marker, the orientation of the mortuary display in relation to the granite marker made it appear that the sites were unrelated. The display contained two, handmade, wooden window boxes that displayed an arrangement of silk and plastic artificial flowers. The identity of the burials is marked only with ornaments spelling out “DAD” and “MOM” in plastic flowers. Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Dexter, ME [05/29/2001 photo]

Dale Lowell
1961-1963

Bronze temporary marker bolted to a cast concrete form. The marker is approximately the size of a five-gallon bucket and has a domed top. Lee Cemetery, Dover-Foxcroft, ME [08/24/2001 photo]

Wilkins
Grist stone marker
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Dexter, ME
[04/19/2008 photo]

Bronze plaque with the family name marking bolted to an old grist stone. The stone marks the gravesite of Helen Small Wilkins, April 16, 1913 to June 22, 2006. According to her obituary, published in TheDailyME online, Helen was part of the fifth generation to operate the Grist Mill in Dexter. Her husband, Clair G. Wilkins, February 15, 1912 to December 23, 1977, operated the Dexter Grist Mill for many years prior to his death. The gristmill now serves as home to the Dexter Historical Society.

Dorian D. Pickering (nameplate inscription)

Dorian
1965-1997
(marker inscription)

The name and dates are fabricated using slot-head screws. An accompanying punched-brass nameplate is mounted on a black stone, possibly slate. Mountain View Cemetery, Loomis, WA [05/06/2003 photo]

Detail: Dorian Pickering’s homemade marker with a metal plate attached to a rectangular greenstone marker.

Raymond Lyons
1898-1950
Riverside Cemetery, Riverside, WA
[05/06/2003 photo]

Marker made from a wire-spoke rim with an aluminum temporary grave marker bolted then welded to the wheel. The entire piece appears to have been over-painted with silver Rust-Oleum®.

Helena Hoverson
1873-1939

Bronze plaque bolted to a marker made from various stone, quartz and other mineral samples cast in concrete. Riverside Cemetery, Riverside, WA [05/06/2003 photo]

Chase

Undocumented, homemade concrete marker, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Dexter, ME. Form-cast concrete was painted white with silver paint used to highlight the surname and small pebbles used as decorative elements surrounding a china plate depicting praying hands. Primitive yellow rose buds are painted to the left and right of the central ornament. When the site of this marker was last visited in 2009, the memorial was no longer in place. [07/27/1991 photo]

Farrar
Ivan R.
1890-1960
E. Louise
His Wife
1895-1983

Bronze plaque with names and dates bolted to a monument made of water-eroded stones embedded in concrete. West Ripley Cemetery, Ripley, ME [06/27/2001 photo]

Woodard
Theresa M.
May 27, 1972
Mar. 19, 1985

Darrell A.
Apr. 30, 1971
Mar. 19, 1985

The Woodard children were tragically lost in an early morning trailer house fire March 19, 1985. Buried side-by-side, the graves are marked with a conjoined heart, laser-cut marker. In 1991, the heart theme was carried throughout the mortuary display with white stones forming the outline of a heart surrounding a Christian cross. Bright pink and blue silk flowers marked both sides of the display that included little boy and little girl angel figurines. [07/27/1991 photo]

My Beloved Wife
Charlotte K. LaCourse
1938 – 1971
Nespelem, WA
[05/15/2003 photo]

Burial mound covered with a large, aluminum metal form. A pink granite headstone includes Christian symbolism and a porcelain portrait of the deceased. Cast into the concrete base securing the headstone is metal tubing that is bent to extend over the burial mound. A second curved piece of metal tubing is visible at the foot of the mound. The fixtures were not in use at the time of this photo but the placement suggests the fittings serve a display function for grave offerings.

A standard-issue, laser-engraved and black pigmeted granite foot maker is surrounded by an elaborate, homemade mortuary display. A large section of green indoor-outdoor carpeting covers a large grave plot, underlying a white picket fence. Eye-screws placed at a uniform level around the base of the fence exterior provides secure placement of white, pink and red artificial [silk] flowers. A variety of life-size plastic castings of small animals, such as rabbits and squirrels are carefully placed around the perimeter of the fence. A variety of cast, plastic birds including ducks, an owl and a pair of love-birds, are situated on perches that are secured through eye-screws along the interior of the fence. The day these photos were taken, an older gentleman was tending the gravesite, fluffing flowers and adding pieces to the display. [05/08/2003 photo]

Loving Memories Last Forever
Sula Christine Faulks
29 Nov. 1930- 31 Jul. 1989
I love you.
Tunk Valley Cemetery, Riverside, WA
[05/08/2003 photo]

A large, elaborate masonry mortuary display memorializes Tom L. Craven and three other U.S. Forest Service firefighters from the Northwest Regulars #6 crew, killed in the Thirtymile Fire Disaster, 30 miles north of Winthrop, WA on July 10, 2001. The fire was started by a camper’s fire near the Chewuch River and burned 9300 acres before being brought under control. The deaths occurred because a water drop was held up by environmental concerns.

Killed in the fire were Devin Weaver, Jessica Johnson, Karen Fitz Patrick and Tom Craven. The only firefighter buried on site of the memorial is Tom Craven whose father was overseer/caretaker for the Blackminer’s Cemetery at the time of Tom Craven’s death. According to a May 20, 2003 interview with town historian, Nick Henderson, the memorial was tended daily by Craven’s mother and father and was continuing to expand. [05/19/2003 photo]

Tom L. Craven
Beloved Son, Husband, Brother
Daddy & Friend
January 12, 1971 – July 10, 2001
Crazy Crave
Black Miner’s Cemetery (aka Mt. Olivet Cemetery) Roslyn, WA
[05/19/2003 photo]

News From the Front

2010-04-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

In the late 20th, early 21st Century, increased attention is being paid attention to the impact of war on the families of soldiers who serve, soldiers who are wounded and soldiers who die. Research suggests that the shared commonality of fear and separation from loved ones contributes to the construction of alternative community bonds—a sense of shared sacrifice, loss and survival, as well as the strengthening of common political and religious ideals.¹

The same might be said for families who struggled through the Civil War, when the war between the states lead to the disruption of nuclear family bonds by the long-term of service and the all too often, permanent separation by death.

Evidence of this theory can be seen in the epitaphs of war dead from the Civil War era. While government-issued grave markers adhered to the standard of name, rank and unit, markers purchased and erected by families of the fallen often exhibit epitaphs that include the cause and/or the circumstances of death.² One can theorize that this sharing of the intimate details of death was rooted in sorrow and mourning as well as pride and strong sense of shared familial, political, religious and community beliefs and fears at a time of war. In one instance illustrated here, the notation of wounds experienced during the Civil War on the gave of a surviving Veteran, points to the impact of this era as defining the lives and identities of many Americans.

The following images of gravestones and memorials for Civil War veterans reveal a common theme; though circumstances may have varied, in all cases there was a common cause of death: War.

Brothers in Arms & in Blood
Austin W. Whittier
A member of Co. H 1st Me Heavy Artillery
died at Philadelphia Pa.
Aug. 20, 1864,
of wounds received in battle at
Petersburg Va.
Æ. 18 yrs. 10 mos. 20 days.

Andrew J. Whittier
a member of Co. H. 6th Regt. Me. Vols.
died at Mt. Pleasant Hospital Washington
May 31, 1863,
of wounds received at Fredericksburg Va.
Æ. 30 yrs. 5 mos. 13 days.
His grave is at Mt. Hope cemetery Washington D.C.

They died for their country.

Leonard E. Kenneston
a member of
Co. H. 16th Regt.
Me. Vols.
died at Belle Plain Va.
Feb. 8. 1863.
Æ. 27 yrs.

Thomas E. Kenneston
a member of
Co. H. 16th Regt.
Me. Vols.
died at Windmill Point Va.
Jan. 25, 1863.
Æ. 24 yrs. 11 mos.

They died for their country.

Died in captivity

In memory of
Prentice M. Clark
1839 — 1864
Died in Andersonville Prison.

Family also listed on the marker:
Fred L. Clark
1842 — 1901

Louisa Clark

Laura E. Clark

Lost on the Battlefield

Eugene Lord
wounded in the assault
before Petersburg, Va. June
18. Died at City Point, June
25, 1864. Æ. 19 yrs.
2 mos & 6 days.
Son of Augustus &
Hannah Lord.

Stone is marked with a relief carving of the emblem for Co. F 1st Me. Heavy Artillery Me.

In memory of
Wm. H.H. Bates
musician of Co. H 31st
Regt. Me. Vols. Killed in
action near Cold Harbor Va.
June 3, 1864,
and buried on the field.
Æ. 17 years.

Son of John B. &
Rachel P. Bates

The nation called for soldiers;
One of that quota I supplied;
Dear mother, for his country,
Your son has bled and died.

Andrew W. Strout,
A member of Co. D. 30th
Regt. Me. Vols. Killed in
Pleasant Hill battle at
Mansfield La.
April 9, 1864
Æ. 22 yrs. 5 mos.
& 21 days

Died for his country the union to save,
Far, far away is his unknown grave.
Peace to his ashes hallowed the spot
God knows the place we know it not.

Officers of the GAR

CAPT.
Isaac Winslow Case
Co. H. 22nd Regt. Me. Vols.
Son of
Dr. Isaac & Abigail P.
CASE
died of Congestive chill
while in the service of his
country at Port Hudson La
July 6, 1863.
Æ. 40 Years

His trust was in Christ alone
Whom he had followed in life
Whom he triumphed in at death

In memory of
Calvin Sanger Douty
Colonel 1st Maine Cavalry
U.S. Volunteers.
Killed on the field of battle
At the head of his Regiment
On the 17th day of June 1863,
at the victory of Aldie Va,
In the third year of the war
For the Union
Aged 50 years.

As a husband and father he was devoted
And exemplary, as a public officer
Upright and efficient, as a private
Citizen, enterprising and useful,
And as a soldier, discreet, intrepid
And “faithful unto death.”
This tribute to his worth is erected by
His widow, and only surviving child.

Detail of the Calvin Sanger Douty memorial. Though badly eroded, the relief image of a mounted soldier with sword raised, leading his soldiers into battle is still clearly visible. While there is significant evidence that the position of the hooves of a mount does not communicate the specific cause of death, Mrs. Douty appears to have opted to use the symbolic imagery of a horse with a single raised hoof to reinforce the message that her husband was wounded in battle and died as a result of his wounds.

Lieut. Eli W.
Son of Richmond
& Isabella B. Parkman.
Died June 16, 1864
Æ. 24 yrs. 2 m’s. 15 d’s.
He was a Lieut. of Co. D. first
D.C. Cavelry, Shot June 15, 1864
Near Petersburg.
Gone Home.

Reason for Pride, if not death

1843 • Roscoe G. Tebbets • 1936
A volunteer of the Civil War
Served in Co. H. 31st Me. Regt.
Wounded through the left lung
Involving his heart during the
Battle of Lee’s surrender
April • 1865

His wife
1874 • Mina G. Nason • 1857

Notes

¹Garbarino, J., Kostelny, K. and Dubrow, N. (1991). No Place to Be a Child: Growing up in a War Zone. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Press.

²Sawtelle, K. (May 22, 2009) Frock Coat and Flag: Union Soldier Markers in Central Maine. Retrieved April 17, 2010 from http://onagravesubject.blogspot.com/2009/05/frock-coat-and-flag-union-soldier.html

Woodman of the World Marker in Maine

2009-05-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

While out shooting images for a new online friend on May 25, 2009, my husband and I stumbled across a trophy I’ve been searching for in Maine for years...a Woodman of the World marker. It is located in a small cemetery on the Etna-Dixmont town line in Maine.

When traveling in Washington state, I was able to photograph a large number of this style of marker but this is the first I’ve found in the state of Maine, where Woodmen of the World (WOW) was not as popular a fraternal order.

Today, WOW is known pretty much as an insurance company but in the early years, it was a fraternal order that included a pledge among members to care for each others families in the event of the breadwinner’s death. Benefits included a gravestone provided by WOW. Popularly, these are seen as evocative and almost monumental “tree stump” markers but the organization provided a number of other markers, as well.

The inscription reads: Camp 64 Here Rests a Woodman of the World Dum Tacet Clamat Bernard J. Shay Beloved husband of Annie B. Shay 1856 - 1915. Annie B. Shay 1849 - 1931.

Less realistically carved bark than the Maine stone, this stone is located in Conconully, WA. The inscription reads: Here Rests a Woodman of the Worldm Dum Tacet Clamat, John E. Goggins, Born July 28, 1874, Died Oct. 21, 1907.

Bearing only the WOW insignia, this stone located in Loomis, WA also varies from the popular tree-stump motif. Here Rests a Woodman of the World Wm. H. McDanie Nov. 8, 1856 Aug. 10, 1916.

Located in Republic, WA, this tall tree-stump stone is typical in design to what one would expect to be marked as a Woodman of the World stone. In this case, there is no insignia included on the marker. This points to the popularity of the rustic tree stump motif, even among those who were not members of the fraternal organization.

The inscription reads: Thomas Reaney, Ap. 16, 1830, Feb. 24, 1903; Catherine Reaney, Aug. 16, 1828, Sep. 16, 1914

For a comprehensive article on the WOW monument program, please see: “The Woodmen of the World Monument Program,” Anne Stott in Markers XX: Annual Journal of the Association for Gravestone Studies, Richard E. Meyer, editor, Greenfield, MA, 2003.

Frock Coat and Flag: Union Soldier Markers in Central Maine

2009-05-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

Arlington National Cemetery Image Number: 708887 by MrPyro. stock.xchng® vi

In my earliest independent wanderings through cemeteries in central Maine, around 2001, I came across the first of a fascinating style of Civil War headstone that still has me searching the landscape for contemporaries. In this preliminary paper, I will discuss features of the stones’ design elements in the hope of receiving feedback from readers regarding similar stones they have encountered so that I may compile a larger pool of samples for analytical purposes.

Introduction
Growing up in the 1970s, when American Bicentennial fervor encouraged the wholesale bleaching of marble gravestones and monuments as a worthy and patriotic past time for school children, I first learned that the U.S. government issued standardized grave markers for members of the military dating back to the Civil War. Having this idea ingrained early, the headstone I stumbled across in a secluded cemetery in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, on August 22, 2001, came as a bit of a surprise.

The finely carved and polished, white marble stone depicted a bearded Union soldier in bas relief. In profile, a left-facing soldier, standing on a grassy plain, was wearing a Union wool cap and frock coat and was holding an American flag incised with 33 stars and 13 stripes carved in alternating relief (Figures 1 and 4).

Figure 1: A bearded Union soldier, dressed in uniform, stands in profile in a grassy plain holding the staff of an American flag in his right hand. The carving is realistic in style and appears to be historically accurate, down to the number of stars and stripes on the flag. (Photo: Kimberly J. Sawtelle).

____________________

Even more startling was the personal detail recorded in the inscription and epitaph:

I died for my country.
Daniel W. Hayes
A member of Co. H.
1st Me. Heavy Artillery
Died at Baltimore Md.
June 18, 1864
Æ. 50 yrs. 1 mo.

The morning came but the angel of death
Had passed over the compound and they found him
Asleep like a Christian warrior at rest
With the emblems of warfare around him.

In a world of rank and file uniformity, where personal concerns are second to duty, honor and country, in a quiet country cemetery, surrounded by the chirr of crickets and buzz of cicada, stood a tribute that memorialized the nation's Civil War, an individual who died and the tinge of a mourning widow’s bitterness.

The message of mourning was reinforced on Mrs. Hayes adjacent marble marker, which recorded:

Nancy A.
Wife of
Daniel W. Hayes
DIED
Nov. 14, 1905
Æ. 86 yrs. & 10 mos.

Beloved, at last with thee will I rest
And with thee in Christ I will rise.

Accustomed to seeing simple marble markers bearing only the most rudimentary information about the individual honored, the complexity of the detailed relief carving and the expansive, emotional nature of the inscription immediately made me question the origin of the Daniel W. Hayes headstone and wonder whether I could find more like it, if I searched.

History
Although the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines they mark now lay at rest, more than 3,000,000 government-issued headstones currently stand at attention in private and national cemeteries across the United States.¹ The simplicity and uniformity of design of the typical stone tablets famously portrayed in annual Memorial Day landscapes of Arlington National Cemetery, was established in the days prior to the Civil War and the creation of the country’s first national cemetery in 1861.²

In the earliest days of cavalry units assigned to duty on the western frontier, responsibility for the burial of soldiers who died in service fell to garrison commanders by default. Over time, a standardized tradition of grave markers emerged. ³ According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, these markers were traditionally a wooden board with a rounded top and minimal identifying inscription. This responsibility-by-default was codified on September 11, 1861, when the U.S. War Department issued General Orders number 75 which made it the official duty of commanders to bury and mark the graves of their dead.⁴

The use of wooden grave markers, modeled on those used in frontier territory, continued until the close of the Civil War. In 1865, the enormity of maintaining some 100,000 burials in the national cemeteries began to make its impact felt. At the cost of $1.23 a piece with an average lifespan of less than five years, it became obvious that a more permanent solution for marking the graves of fallen soldiers was necessary.⁵

As with all things related to government, there was strong and enduring debate over the materials to be used for U.S. military headstones. White zinc and durable stone were the top contenders with the options of marble or granite receiving approval after seven long years of discussion.⁶ Given the impact of acid rain on both zinc and marble markers in the modern era—an issue not remotely imagined between 1865 and 1872—the decision yielded the most economical results in terms of longevity, particularly in cases where granite was the stone of choice.

Duty, honor, pride and—most importantly—unity are concepts promoted by all branches of the United States military. The simplicity of these concepts is reinforced in the regimented standard defining government-issued slab headstones and strict guidelines controlling the size, silhouette and inscriptions of the stones. In 1873, William W. Belknap, secretary of war, issued the first slab headstone design, referred to as the “Civil War” type—10-inches wide, 12-inches in height above the ground and 4-inches thick (Figure 2). These dimensions were changed in 1903 to 39-inches in height above the ground, while the 12-inch width and 4-inch thickness remained unchanged (Figure 3).⁷

Belknap’s original Civil War-type stone was polished above ground with a sunken shield within which the soldier’s name, rank, state and unit were inscribed in bas relief. The stone was initially issued to members of the Union Army, the unmarked graves of eligible Revolutionary War veterans, veterans of the War of 1812, the Mexican War and Indian Campaigns.⁸ At the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, the stone was chosen to mark the graves of the American dead of that campaign.⁹

It was not until the mid-to-late 20th century that regulations were adapted to allow for greater personalization of military headstones and markers to include indicators of military service (e.g. “Vietnam,” “Lebanon,” “Persian Gulf”) to be inscribed on stones for soldiers killed in action¹⁰ and approved emblems of belief and terms of endearment.¹¹

Figure 2. This lichen-encrusted example of Belknap’s original Civil War type headstone is located in Corinna, Maine. The brief bas relief inscription within a sunken shield reads: Lieut. Sam’l Gould Jr., Co. E, 8 ME. INF. The inscription provides no death date or additional personal information. (Photo: Kimberly J. Sawtelle)

____________________

Figure 3: The gray granite stone of Stephen Magoon, located in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, is an example of Belknap’s Civil War type headstone modified after 1903 to increase the height to 39-inches above the ground. The bas relief inscription within a sunken shield reads: Stephen Magoon, Co. D, 24 ME. INF. Similar to the earlier style of stone, the newer design provided no options for greater personalization. (Photo: Kimberly J. Sawtelle)

Investigation
Following the initial discovery of the Hayes stone, I began searching other cemeteries in the central Maine region (now referred to as the “Maine Highlands” by the Maine Office of Tourism) for similar markers. Focusing on another research objective at the time, finding Union soldier stones was a secondary consideration during my excursions. As a result, the initial search was not particularly systematic and by no means complete.

To date, a total of 11 stones have been identified, predominantly in small (100 or fewer marked burials) to medium-sized (100-1000 marked burials) rural cemeteries. The largest concentration of these stones is located between Palmyra, Hartland and St. Albans, near the boundaries of the Penobscot-Piscataquis-Somerset tri-county region (Map 1). A total of 10 stones occur within a 30-mile radius of each other in this geographic area: two stones in Dover-Foxcroft, one stone in Garland, one stone in Bradley, one stone in East Corinth, one in West Corinth, one in Palmyra, two in Hartland and one in St. Albans. A single stone was also identified in Whiting, Maine, approximately 120 miles to the east.

Map 1: To date a total of 11 Union soldier stones have been identified, 10 of which fall within a 30-mile radius of each other in the Penobscot-Piscataquis-Somerset region. The eleventh stone is located in the Whiting Village Cemetery, Whiting, Maine. (Map is not to scale and intended only to indicate estimated proximity.)

____________________

Figure 4: The finely carved and polished, white marble of the Hayes stone shows little evidence of erosion. Left-facing in profile and somewhat barrel-chested, a bearded soldier stands on a grassy plain wearing a Union wool cap and frock coat. His right knee is slightly cocked and he supports the staff of an American flag, incised with 33 stars and 13 stripes carved in alternating relief. See above for inscription. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

____________________

Figure 5: Within five miles of the Hayes stone (Figure 4), William Bates’ white marble marker shows considerable surface erosion of the relief-carved Union soldier. The left-facing, somewhat barrel-chested, beardless soldier stands with his right knee slightly cocked. He wears a wool Union cap and frock coat and braces the staff of a flag in his right hand. At his feet is a drum standing on its side. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

In memory of

Wm. H. H. Bates,
musician of Co. H. 31st
Regt. Me. Vols. killed in
action near Cold Harbor Va.
June 3, 1864,
and buried on the field.
Æ. 17 years.
Son of John B. &
Rachel P. Bates.

The nation called for soldiers;

One of that quota I supplied;
Dear mother for his country,
Your son has bled and died.

____________________

Figure 6: This highly veined, thin white marble slab with a floral boarder lacks significant surface erosion. Union soldier is carved in shallow relief standing atop a brick wall. He wears a wool Union cap and frock coat. The figure is rigid and stylized, and somewhat disproportionate with a jutting chin, short legs, shallow chest and bell-shaped frock. The oversized flag displays 16 stars and 13 stripes. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Joseph H

Son of Ephraim &
Temperance Bachelder.
DIED
At Camp Nelson, Ky.
Nov. 16, 1863.
Æt. 26

Warrior rest, thy toils are ended

Life’s last fearful strife is o’re;
Clarion calls with death notes blended
Shall disturb thine ear no more.

____________________

Figure 7: Details of the Joseph Bachelder portrait reveals a squat-faced gentleman with somewhat curly hair and sideburns. Executed with considerably less skill than the carvers of the portraits pictured in Figure 1 or Figure 12, the static form is disproportionate with long arms, short legs and long, jutting chin. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Figure 8: A second, thin white marble slab marker identical in form to the Bachelder stone (Figure 6) stands a few feet away in the same Palmyra cemetery. The rigid Union soldier is carved in shallow relief, standing atop a brick wall. He supports a flag in his right hand displaying 13 stars carved in a circle and 13 stripes. The stone exhibits a laterally bisecting break and poor repairs, possibly using some form of marine cement. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Herbert S.

Son of E. H. &
Sarah F. Judkins.
DIED
Aug. 17, 1863.
Æt. 19 yrs. 6 mos.

We had no cowards in our band,

Who did our colours fly:
Here sleeps a gallant soldier
Who was not afraid to die.

____________________

Figure 9: Carved on an identical slab marker with floral border as the Bachelder stone (Figure 6), the portrait for Herbert Judkins was executed by a different hand. The soldier is rendered in better proportion than the Bachelder figure, though still more stylized and “folk like” in form. This soldier is clearly clean-shaved and younger in appearance with short, curly hair and prominent nose. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

____________________

Figure 10: This white marble slab stone located in Whiting, Maine is most similar in style to the Bates stones (Figure 5). The soldier portrait shares elements of the Bates and Hayes stones. Though the figure is more slender and stiff in execution, it stands with the right knee slightly cocked. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Albert L. Crane

A member of Co. E.
31st Regt. Me. Vols.
Died at Brattleboro, Vt.
Aug. 22, 1864.
Æ 24 yrs. 2 mos.
Son of Wm. P. &
Elizabeth Crane

In the nations hour of peril

He was found among the brave,
Home, life, and friends he sacrified
His country’s life to save.

____________________

Figure 11: One of 11 stones located to date, the Israel Hodsdon stone in West Corinth, Maine is the only marker to feature a right-facing, somewhat barrel-chested soldier. Personalized details of the carved figure include the insignia of a First Sergeant on the soldier’s sleeve and a moustache. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Israel Hodson

First Sergent [sic] of Co. H.
6th Reg’t. Maine Vol’s.
Mortally wounded at the
Battle of Rappahannock
Station, Va. Nov. 7th
DIED
Nov. 9, 1863
Aged 24 yrs. 9 mos. 15 ds.
Son of Nathan & Dorothy Hodson.

____________________

Figure 12: Detail of the Israel Hodsdon portrait shows a realistically carved gentleman in his prime executed by a skilled hand. The sleeve of his uniform depicts the rank of a First Sergeant and the portrait itself includes straight, neatly trimmed hair to the collar, no sideburn and a moustache. The flag features a circle of 23 stars in the field and 13 stripes carved in alternating relief. Note how movement is depicted at the hem of the frock coat, adding to the realism of the portrait. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Figure 13: The Whittier stone in East Corinth, Maine, lists the names of Austin and his older brother Andrew, who pre-deceased him in the war by 15 months. The stone’s inscription notes that Andrew’s body is interred in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Austin W. Whittier

A member of Co. H. 1st Me. Heavy Artillery
Died at Philadelphia Pa.
Aug. 20, 1864,
of wounds received in the battle
at Petersburg Va.
Æ. 18 yrs. 10 ms. 20 days

Andrew J. Whittier

A member of Co. H. 6th Regt. Me. Vols.
Died at Mt. Pleasant Hospital Washington
May 31, 1863
Æ. 30 yrs. 5 mos. 13 days

His grave is at Mt. Hope Cemetery, Washington

____________________

Figure 14: Though stylistically quite different than the Whittier headstone, this thin slab headstone notes the loss of two brothers only two months apart. In this instance, the older brother is listed most prominently on the stone, which was broken and in disrepair when photographed. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Like Patriots they toiled and died for their country.

James R.

Son of William M. &
Ann Palmer,
Died at Lexington, Ma.
Sept. 20, 1861,
Æt. 27

Leroy M. Palmer

Died at City Point, Va.
July 1, 1861, Æt. 17

____________________

Figure 15: In Bradley, Maine, the Union soldier profile is carved in the tapered die of a white marble cottage-style stone marking the Strout family plot. The epitaph makes clear that location of Andrew Strout’s grave site was unknown to the family. (Photo: Kimberly Sawtelle)

Andrew W. Strout,

A member of Co. D. 30th
Regt. Me. Vols. Killed in
Pleasant Hill battle at
Mansfield La.
April 9, 1864,
Æ. 22 yrs 5 mo.

& 21 days

Died for his country, the union to save

Far, far away is his unknown grave

Peace to his ashes hallowed the stop

God knows the place, we know not.

____________________

Discussion
Dates of death carved on each of the 11 stones cited in this paper (though not all pictured) range throughout the duration of the Civil War, from July 1, 1861 (Leroy Palmer) to February 8, 1865 (George H. Moulton). All were likely carved and erected during the Civil War or shortly after peace was declared since, during that period, the government did not issue stone markers. In some cases, the portrait markers serve to indicate a fallen soldier’s grave, while in others it is a memorial only, with the bodies of the fallen men buried far from home and family or lost in the chaos of the post-mortem battlefield.

Easily two to four times the size of Belknap’s Civil War-type marker, adopted in 1878, it is most likely the stones originated from local monument suppliers using blanks supplied by quarries in Vermont, a primary source of marble headstones to the central Maine region in the mid-19th Century. A 1907 Vermont Marble Co. trade book illustrates marble slab stones similar or identical to those used for the portrait markers (Figures 14-17). What is currently unknown to the author is if the portrait stones were provided as a pre-carved stock item during the war years and sold as blanks that were personalized locally, as was the case of many standard headstone designs (Figure 18).

It is possible the Union soldier portrait design was created by stone carvers, or others in the mortuary industry, and shared through word-of-mouth or trade publications. The final possibility is that the design is unique to central to Downeast Maine, created by one or more local carvers and shared through word-of-mouth or some other means of communication. This is a question that can be answered only through more comprehensive research.

Figure 14: Page 54 of the 1907 Vermont Marble Company Trade Price Book illustrates one of the styles of slab headstone favored for Union soldier portrait markers. Style numbers 2092, 2095, 2098 and 2104 are nearly identical to the 11 stones discussed here. The checkmark on line 1 of the price list was made by the original owner of Rogan’s Memorials; potentially indicating that the blank was a popular stock piece for the Bangor, Maine dealer.

Illustration provided courtesy of Dick Coffin, current owner of Rogan’s Memorials, established in 1881, to whom the 1907 trade book belonged.

Figure 15: Monument design number 2098 is comparable in style to the marble slabs used for the Bates, Crane and Whittier headstones (Figures 5, 10 and 13)

Illustration provided courtesy of Dick Coffin, current owner of Rogan’s Memorials, established in 1881, to whom the 1907 trade book belonged.

Figure 16: Monument design number 2104 is comparable in style to slabs used for the Hayes headstone (Figure 4).

Illustration provided courtesy of Dick Coffin, current owner of Rogan’s Memorials, established in 1881, to whom the 1907 trade book belonged.

Figure 17: Monument design number 2092 appears to be the most popular style to slab stone in the Palmyra-Hartland region, used for the Bachelder, Judkins and Palmer headstones, among others (Figures 6, 8 and 14).

Illustration provided courtesy of Dick Coffin, current owner of Rogan’s Memorials, established in 1881, to whom the 1907 trade book belonged.

Figure 18: The 1907 Vermont Marble Company Dealer Price List includes model No. 2102, a white marble slab headstone featuring the standard heaven-pointing hand. This tablet blank, as well as other popular designs, were provided to dealers from the Vermont quarry, requiring only personalization through carving the deceased personal information and epitaph.

Illustration provided courtesy of Dick Coffin, current owner of Rogan’s Memorials, established in 1881, to whom the 1907 trade book belonged.

Summary
So where does that leave us, in terms of the origins of the Union soldier portrait stones?

The similarity to marble slab markers included in mortuary stone price lists points to Vermont as the most likely source of the headstone blanks. Personalized inscriptions and portraits—including symbols of individuals’ roles during the Civil War—support a hypothesis of the markers being carved locally and erected by the fallen soldiers’ families between 1861 and 1865. Details of death on the battlefield or in camp, a sense of familial mourning and patriotic pride intermingle in portraits, inscriptions and epitaphs, a feature markedly differing from the minimal inscriptions recorded on government-issued gravestones.

Stylistically, stones within close geographic proximity show decidedly characteristic styles of carving that suggest limited source origins of the stones. A quick visual comparison of the 11 stones discussed here, exhibit the workmanship of several stone carvers. It is possible that several carvers in a single shop created the stones from a basic example within a specific community. While stones in the Dover-Foxcroft to Corinth area display a realistically rendered soldier within a classical arch, stones from the Palmyra-Hartland region place a disproportionate, stylized portrait inside a circular medallion. The question then becomes, how was the design communicated from carver to carver between communities? The origin of the design and geographic occurrence can be determined only through greater research.

Citations
¹ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (Reviewed/Updated Date: March 12, 2009). Burial and Memorials: General History, retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.cem.va.gov/hist/history.asp
² U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (Reviewed/Updated Date: March 12, 2009). History of Government Furnished Headstones and Markers, retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.cem.va.gov/hist/hmhist.asp
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Sammartino, Therese T. (n.d.). A Promise Made—A Commitment Kept: The Story of America’s Civil War Era National Cemeteries. Washington, D.C.: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration.
⁷ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (Reviewed/Updated Date: March 12, 2009). History of Government Furnished Headstones and Markers, retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.cem.va.gov/hist/hmhist.asp
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Department of Veterans Affairs Communications & Outreach Support Division. (2009). Government-Furnished Heastones and Markers. Washington, D.C.: Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

Bibliography
Department of Veterans Affairs Communications & Outreach Support Division. (2009). Government-Furnished Heastones and Markers. Washington, D.C.: Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.

Sammartino, Therese T. (n.d.). A Promise Made—A Commitment Kept: The Story of America’s Civil War Era National Cemeteries. Washington, D.C.: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration.

Steere, Edward. (1954). Shrines of the Honored Dead: A Study of the National Cemetery System. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army Office of the Quartermaster General.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (Reviewed/Updated Date: March 12, 2009). Burial and Memorials: General History, retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.cem.va.gov/hist/history.asp

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (Reviewed/Updated Date: March 12, 2009). History of Government Furnished Headstones and Markers, retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www.cem.va.gov/hist/hmhist.asp

Vermont Marble Co. (1907). Price List of Rutland White, Rutland Blue, Sutherland Falls, Esperanza Blue, Pittsford Valley. St. Albans, VT: St. Albans Messenger Company Print.

© Copyright May 2009 by Kimberly J. Sawtelle. All rights reserved.

To protect the safety of the above cited headstones, locations and cemetery names were deliberately omitted from this publication. For additional information or to contact the author, kimberjs@gmail.com.

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