Friday, June 25, 2010

Gravestone of the Day: Lydia Duncklee

Here is a sweet stone that is in a sad state of decay:
Lydia Duncklee, 1797, Charlestown, MA
This Stone
Was Erected
By JOHN P DUNCKLEE, 1797
In memory of his beloved wife
LYDIA DUNCKLEE,
who died Feby. 22 1797
Aged 38 Years.
And of their Infant son
Nathaniel Mead Duncklee
who died Jany. 31 179-
age 2 Weeks.

There are several notable things here:
  • the stone tells us when it was erected
  • the name of the person who erected the stone comes before the name(s) of the deceased
  • the epitaph makes explicit reference to emotional attachment

1 comment:

Jim Blachowicz said...

This isn't the only stone in Phipps cemetery that's scaling off in this way. I'm not sure why. I don't think I've seen this many cases elsewhere.

By the way, this was carved by Robert Fowle & lettered by Caleb Lamson II, who worked together for quite a while...