Early Americans who wanted to class up their epitaphs a bit could choose the Latin "obit" (abbreviated "obt."). Dropped into an otherwise unremarkable epitaph, "obit" conveys a desire to seem educated or perhaps to connect with the classical past with words as well as with images.
"Obit" comes from the Latin obire, which means "to meet," or, in this context, "to meet death." I took Latin in high school, but am no classicist, so if anyone reading this knows the difference between obire and morior, speak up and let me know.
An interesting note: More Harrington's father, Jonathan Harrington, Jr. served as a fifer with Capt. Parker's militia during the Battle of Lexington in 1775 (he was 16 or 17 at the time). He was the last surviving veteran of that battle when he died in 1854. Read Benson Lossing's 1848 interview with Harrington here.
More Harrington, Lexington, MA, 1802
No comments:
Post a Comment