Thursday, March 19, 2009

Willie, Mary, and Charlie

Willie, Mary, and Charlie
Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA

This sweet monument in Mount Auburn Cemetery is dedicated to three siblings, two of whom died within days of one another in 1849 and a third who was born after his siblings' deaths and died in 1856.

One interesting thing about this memorial is that it does not specify the children's family name. This caught my eye because, in the 18th century, children's grave markers almost always name the father and (usually) the mother. These Victorian children are not memorialized as dependents of earthly parents. Instead, they belong only to the God to whom they turn their smiling, noseless faces.

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