Wikipedia Quote of the Day

From the entry on East Cambridge:

"Dorothea Lynde Dix became an advocate for the humane treatment of the mentally insane in the Antebellum era when she volunteered as a Sunday School teacher at East Cambridge, Massachusetts."

Gravestone of the Day: Nathaniel Appleton

Nathaniel Appleton, 1726, Cambridge, MA

Here Lyes ye Body of

Nathaniel Appleton

onely Son of ye Revernd.

Mr. Nathaniel Appleton

& Ms. Margaret His Wife

Who Suddenly Departed

this Life Decembr. 1st Anno

Dom: 1726. Aged 21 Mo

Nathaniel's brother, Jose, is buried nearby.

Gravestone of the Day: Katharine Chauncy

Katharine Chauncy, 1667, Cambridge, MA

MRS

KATHARINE CHAUNCY

AGED LXVI DYED IAN XXIII

ANo: DOM MDCLXVII

Gravestone of the Day: Samuel Epes

Samuel Epes, 1760, Cambridge, MA

I am too lazy to transcribe this myself. Here is the William Thaddeus Harris' transcription:

Samuel Epes was a promising young lawyer and politician who died of consumption in 1760. His mother married Harvard President Edward Holyoke after the death of Samuel's father in 1741, when Samuel was eight years old. Holyoke considered Samuel a son — his diary contains entries such as "August 20 [1746] Sons John Holyoke and Samuel Epes first attended school in Boston."

I have not been able to find a translation online. My high school Latin is rusty, but this also looks like another way to say died: "Animam sjus in Jesu sinum expiravit." That must be something along the lines of "His soul expired in Jesus." Sinus means a curve or fold, so maybe something like Jesus' embrace? Does maceratus mean "to chew"? Tabesco means "to waste away," which makes sense because he died of consumption, but "to chew" seems a little graphic.

Gravestone of the Day: William Warland

William Warland, 1708, Cambridge, MA

WILLIAM

WARLAND SON

OF WILLIAM

& TABITHA

WARLAND WAS

BORN OCTOBR Ye

3RD 1706 & DIED

AUGUST 23RD

1708 AGED 1 YEAR 10

MO & 17 DAYES

This is not the first stone I have found that has the year added in as an afterthought. Since the year of death seems to be crucial information, I think that these stones might offer some clues about the time that elapsed between a death and the carving of a gravestone. I think that it would be easier to leave off the year if the stone were carved in the same year as the death — to the person who carved this stone, young William died in August, not August of 1708. I would venture that this thought is easiest to have between August of 1708 and the spring of 1709. It's not hard evidence, but it is suggestive.

Gravestone of the Day: Hubert Russel

Hubert Russel, 1726, Cambridge, MA

Here Lyes Buried

the Body of Mr.

HUBERT RUSSEL

Who Decd. June

the 4th 1726

Aged 39 Years

Also Here Lyes one of his Children

It is commonplace to find gravestones dedicated to a mother and one or more of her children. Similar stones for fathers are rarer. I find them most frequently in maritime communities like Plymouth, where a child's gravestone also serves as a cenotaph for a father lost at sea. A few other gravestones celebrate the achievements of successful patriarchs.

Gravestone of the Day: Walter Hasting

Walter Hasting, 1699, Cambridge, MA

HERE LYES Ye BODY OF

WALTER HASTING

WHO DIED SEPTEMBER

25TH 1699 & IN

THE 21 YEAR OF HIS

AGE

I love the mustaches.

Gravestone of the Day: Ellen Fox

Ellen Fox, 1682, Cambridge, MA

HERE LYES Ye BODY

OF ELLEN FOX WIFE

TO THOMAS FOX

AGED 82 Yrs DECD MAY

27 1682

Gravestone of the Day: Jose Appleton

Jose Appleton, 1723?, Cambridge, MA

Here Lyes ye Body

of Jose Appleton,

Son of Revd Mr.

Nath[aniel Appleton]

I think that this is the gravestone of Jose Appleton, infant son of Nathaniel and Margaret Appleton, who died at the age of 3 months on June 6, 1723. Revd. Nathaniel Appleton was born in Ipswich in 1693 and came to Cambridge to preach. His wife, Margaret Gibbs, was the daughter of Watertown minister Henry Gibbs. The couple had at least 13 children.

There were several boys named Jose in the extended Appleton family in the 17th and 18th centuries. There is a Jose in the lineage of Jesus (see Luke 3:29, KJV) — many modern translation report the name as "Joshua." Other translations use Jose or Joses as a variant of Joseph. I imagine that the Appleton family probably pronounced this name JOES, not ho-SAY.

Just add Jose to the list of names you might not expect to see among English-speaking colonists in New England, along with Vashti and Jezebel.

Gravestone of the Day: Jonathan Marsh

Jonathan Marsh, 1708, Cambridge, MA

HERE LYES ye BODY

OF JONATHAN MARSH

JUNIOR SOPHISTER
WHO DECEASED IN

ye 19th YEAR OF HIS

AGE AR HARVARD

COLIDGE IN CAMBRIDGE

JUNE ye 10 1708

Red-Tailed Hawks Again

I've started bringing my camera along every time I go to the grocery store on the off chance that I might catch a glimpse of the juvenile red-tailed hawks on Alewife Brook Parkway. I got lucky today — they were posing for the cameras. No flying yet, though the committed birdwatchers said that the two older ones have started stretching their wings and hovering over the nest. They certainly look like they're thinking of taking the plunge.

Update:
Here are some videos of the nesting pair (Buzz and Ruby - the chicks are Lucy, Larry, and Lucky) and the chicks' early days:

More videos here.

Gravestone of the Day: Mary Lyon

Mary Lyon, 1760, Cambridge, MA

Here lyes Interr'd ye Body

of Mrs MARY LYON, in her

first Marriage Consort to Mr 

THOMAS PRENTICE whom she 

survived more than 50 Years, &

Expired March ye 2d 1760 in ye 84th

Year of Her Age: not Impatient

of Life, but Satisfied with it:

Her Children rise up & call her blessed

A bit of Mary's history can be gleaned from this genealogy of her first husband's family:

Gravestone of the Day: Ann Erinton

Ann Erinton, 1653, Cambridge, MA

HERE LIES Ye BODY OF ANN

ERINTON AGED 77 YRS DECD

DECEMR 25 1653

I think there's a good chance that this stone is backdated. It looks very much like these stones from the 1670s and 1680s:

• Susanah Goose, 1674
• Marcy Allin, 1678
• Cutler children, 1680

Gravestone of the Day: John Gove

John Gove, 1704, Cambridge, MA

HERE LYES ye

BODY OF JOHN

GOVE AGED

ABOUT 77 YEARS

WHO DECEASED

NOVEMBER ye 24th

1704

Gravestone of the Day: Dorothy Manning

Dorothy Manning, 1692, Cambridge, MA

HERE LYES ye BODY

OF DOROTHY

MANNING WIFE TO

WILLIAM MANNING

AGED 80 YEARS

DIED IULY 26

1692

Gravestone of the Day

Hannah Angier, 1714, Cambridge, MA

Here Lyes Buried the Body

of Mrs. HANNAH, Wife of the

Revrnd Mr. SAMUEL ANGIER

and Daughter of the Revnd. Mr.

URIAN OAKES, Sometime President

of Harvard Colledge; and Pastor

of Harvard Colledge; and Pastor

of Cambridge Decd. Augt. 15th, 1714

AEtatis 55.

Gravestone of the Day

John Appleton, 1699, Cambridge, MA

HERE LYES ye BODY OF JOHN

APPLETON ye ELDEST SON OF

COLLO. JOHN APPLESTON OF

IPSWICH & ELIZABETH HIS WIFE

AGED 15 YEARS & 10 MO. DYED

SEPTEM. ye 24 ANNO DOM: 1699

& IN ye FIRST YEAR OF HIS

ADMISSION INTO HARVARD

COLLEDGE IN CAMBRIDGE

Watson's Corner Casualties

 

Three of the men who were killed at Watson's Corner on April 19, 1775 are buried beneath this monument in the Old Burying Ground between Harvard Square and Cambridge Common. The fourth casualty, Isaac Gardner, is buried in Brookline.

ERECTED BY THE CITY

A.D. 1870

TO THE MEMORY OF

JOHN HICKS,

WILLIAM MARCY,

MOSES RICHARDSON,

BURIED HERE.

JASON RUSSELL,

JABEZ WYMAN,

JASON WINSHIP,

BURIED IN MENOTOMY.

MEN OF CAMBRIDGE

WHO FELL IN DEFENCE OF

THE LIBERTY OF THE PEOPLE

APRIL 19, 1775.

OH WHAT A GLORIOUS MORNING IS THIS

Watson's Corner

I live in an area of Cambridge that used to be called "Watson's Corner." There's an historical marker near my house that tells the story of four local men who were killed by retreating British soldiers after Lexington and Concord.

AP Redefines "Ancient"

I was pretty excited when I saw this AP headline: "Ancient Skeleton Found in Cambridge." Was it a Native American burial site? A lost 17th-century burying ground? Proof that Vikings sailed up the Charles?

Sadly, none of those things. According to the AP, the "ancient" skeleton is "about 100 years old."

Boo. I'm not sure I'd refer to anything that dates from the late 19th/early 20th century as "ancient," unless, perhaps, it was something with a very short shelf life. I suppose if I found a 100-year-old muffin, I might call it "ancient."

Disappointing.