It's been a while since I posted a gravestone. The snow is mostly gone, but it's still very cold and icy, so I haven't been able to go on graveyard field trips.
When going through some photos from last fall, I noticed this one from the North Burial Ground in Providence:
I took this picture because I was looking for examples of that strange plant-like shape — I didn't even notice the spelling of "Martha" as "Marther."
We've seen this spelling variation before with Annar Lawrence and Alletherr Grosvenor.
Love it.
My friend just sent me the link to your blog, and its almost just like mine, i am currently a grad student at trinity in hartford and am doing my research methods project on gravestones in norwich ct. certain ones, that at this point i am not sure if they are footstones or headstones...how crazy is that?
ReplyDeleteGreat! I always love to hear from another taphophile!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Willimantic and have some familiarity with the local graveyards, so if you ever need a tip or want to float a theory, drop me a line @ chopkins@fas.harvard.edu.
RJO,
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right — the Mather tomb is in terrible shape. When I saw it last summer, the sandstone slab was broken into at least 3 pieces and the bricks were looking pretty sad. I can't imagine that the winter weather has improved things much.