Monday, April 6, 2009

Another Husband Stone

Yesterday was a lovely day, so I took the camera for a spin. The light in the Harvard Square burying ground is perfect around 3pm this time of year.

Many of the stones in Harvard Square are from the Lamson workshop, including this one, the John Parker stone (1712). I'm not sure which carver is responsible — the lettering looks a little clumsy for the Lamsons, who usually use strong, clear letters and, in the 1700-1720 period, lots of capitals, especially in the deceased's name.
Whoever this carver is, he uses the phrase "Husband of" which is something I've never seen on a Lamson stone before. Unlike Obadiah Wheeler, this carver seems not to have made a habit of identifying men as husbands — at least, I haven't seen other examples before (though I'll be keeping an eye out from now on). In context, the "Husband of" seems to connect John Parker to Nathaniel and Prudence Hancock as much as to Mary Parker.

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