Happy Desembar!

This message brought to you by Obadiah Wheeler
and the Farber Gravestone Collection.

Consort of Temperance Atwood

A while back, I highlighted the epitaphs carved by Obadiah Wheeler in which he identifies men as husbands to their wives.

This example from Plymouth, MA is not quite the same thing, but it is similar: William Atwood is identified as the "Consort of Temperance Atwood."

Since it is so rare to see an adult, white man identified in terms of his relationship with another person, I wonder whether this may say something about the position of women in maritime communities. Historians have long recognized that port towns tend to have a disproportionate number of female-headed households due to the long and frequent absences of male mariners. Is it possible that whoever commissioned this epitaph was accustomed to treating Temperance Atwood as the head of the Atwood household?

Also, I would name a hypothetical child "Temperance" if Pete would let me. It's a good twin name for "Patience."

Genealogical Information Gone Wild

When Mary Alleine (or Allen) died in 1727, Obadiah Wheeler carved an extensive genealogy on her gravestone. Whether by design, oversight, or lack of space, he neglected to mention Mary's death date (September 18, 1727) and her age.

Here lies ye body of mrs

Mary Alleine ye wife

of mr joshua Alleine

of Mansfield by whom

she had seven Sons & thre

daughters john joshua

Geideon Yalberton [?] Samuel

George Eleazar Miriam

Mary Sary After he dyed 

she married mr william

Moore of Windham

William Moore's stone exhibits a similar commitment to naming as many people as possible.

A nearby footstone reiterates some of this information:

Mrs Mary Alleine

Aleios Moore she

had ben ye wife of

Mr joshua Alleine

& then of Mr Wm

Moore Dye

172

Mary Alleine, Windham Center, CT, 1727

carved by Obadiah Wheeler

Husbband to . . .

During the eighteenth century, most New England gravestones encoded the language of patriarchal hierarchy into their epitaphs. White women, children, and enslaved African Americans of all ages were almost always identified in terms of their relationship to white, male heads of household. For example, you might find a series of gravestones with these epitaphs:

"Here lies ye Body of John Smith"

"Here lies ye Body of Ann Smith, wife of John Smith"

"Here lies ye Body of Nathan Smith, son of John Smith"

"Here lies ye Body of Violet, servant of John Smith"

It is very unusual to find a gravestone dedicated to an adult white man that mentions any other member of his family. The exceptions are typically young men (18-25ish) who are unmarried and still identified as sons and double stones commemorating both a man and his wife or child. In the latter case, the pattern still stands: "Here lies ye Body of John Smith died March ye 20 1745 also his wife, Ann Smith . . ."

In all of my gravestone hunting, I have only found one 18th-century carver — Obadiah Wheeler — who regularly identifies white men in terms of their relationships with their family members. Wheeler lived in Lebanon, CT and his work can be found in many of the surrounding towns, including Windham, Lebanon, Norwichtown, Coventry, etc. He doesn't always add "husbband" to men's epitaphs, but my informal, casual efforts have identified several examples:

"Thomas Huntington Esqr & Husbband to Mrs Elizebeth Huntington"

Windham Center, CT

—*—*—*—*—*—*—*—

"Decn Shubael Dimmuck Husband to that Worthy Gidly Woman Mrs joannah Dimmuck"

Mansfield Center, CT

—*—*—*—*—*—*—*—

"Capt Jon- Websters who was the loveing Consort of Mrs Elisabeth Websters"

Lebanon, CT

—*—*—*—*—*—*—*—

Sadly, I can't read the inscription of this one, but the words "Husband" and "Sarah" are legible:

Lebanon, CT

—*—*—*—*—*—*—*—

This is probably my favorite one, so I'll quote it in full:

Here lies ye Body of 

Mr William Moore who 

had been ye Husband 

of three Wifes Mrs Mary 

Moore & Mrs Mary Moore 

& Mrs Tamazon Moore 

Who died April 28 

1728 & 77 year of his age 

I pray God Bless my louing Wif 

My Children & my friends

I hope in Heauen to see you all

when all things have their ends

I should also mention that "Tamazon Moore" is going on the list of great names.

—*—*—*—*—*—*—*—

Wheeler's quirk didn't really catch on — later local carvers seem not to have replicated it much at all. I did find one exception. This stone was carved by Jonathan Loomis in 1776. Slater notes that Loomis was stylistically influenced by Wheeler, saying,

[Loomis' stones] are of large size with faces that are rather crude resemblances to those carved by Obadiah Wheeler. The Wheeler influence is also evident in the frequent use of the central Heart and stemmed six-rayed rosettes in the horizontal below the face (Slater, The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern Connecticut, 17).

"Mr Thomas Barrows Const to Mrs Esther Barrows"

Mansfield Center, CT

Here are some more examples of Wheeler's family identifications from the Farber Gravestone Collection.

"That Worthy Vartuous & Most Jnieneuous Jenieal Woman"

Of all the New England gravestone carvers, Obadiah Wheeler is my favorite. Maybe it's because I grew up just down the road from his home in Lebanon, CT, maybe it's the adorable soul effigies or the way he incorporates compass marks into his designs. I just love his work.

Then again, perhaps it isn't so mysterious — I am captivated by vernacular language on gravestones and Mr. Wheeler was the king of creative spelling. His letter forms are so appealing — just look at that lower-case g! — his capitalization so unpredictable, and his word choice so delicious, how could you not enjoy his work?


The Sara Laffingwell stone (1730) is a good example of what I love about Obadiah Wheeler's carving. Besides the simple-yet-solid lines of the feathers, the donut borders, and the central heart, there are those marvelous eyes! Is that God? A bird? A demon? Sara Laffingwell's soul? And why is it looking at me like that?

Many Wheeler stones have the suggestions of eyes in the curlicues on either side of the heart, but only a few have the staring God-bird-demon-soul eyes.

Then there's the epitaph, which cold, digital transcription cannot reproduce accurately:

Here Lyes ye Body of

That Worthy Vartuous

& Most jnieneuous 

jenieal Woman Mrs

Sara Laffingwell Wife

To Cap john Leffingwell . . . 

At least, that's what I think it says. I've interpreted those words as "virtuous," "ingenious," and "genial." The man loved adjectives and was not afraid to take his best crack at spelling them.

That's not a very scholarly take on Wheeler's carvings, but that's ok. Sometimes, it's nice to just enjoy these works viscerally.