Gravestone of the Day: Henry W. Green

Henry W. Green, 1819, Providence, RI

Henry W. Green

Son of Mr. Thomas

and Ann Green.

he died October

13th 1819, aged

1 Year 9 Months

& 24 Days.

Weep not for babes for they are blest,

And in their saviors arms do rest.

Gravestone of the Day: Edward

Edward, 173[9?], Newport, RI

Here lieth Edward

Negro Servant to Mr

Henry Collins died

Febry ye 16 173[8]/[9]

in ye 21st year of

his age.

He was faithfill

and well Beloved

of his Master.

Gravestone of the Day: Abigail Alden

Abigail Alden, 1725, Duxbury, MA

HERE LYES ye

BODY OF MRS.

AbIGAIL ALDEN WIFE

OF CAPT. JONATHAN

ALDEN WHO DECd.

AUST. ye 17th.

1725 IN

ye 81st. YEAR

OF HER AGE

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: Farnum Chickering

Farnum Chickering, 1824, Providence, RI

In Memory of

Mr.

Farnum Chickering

son of

Capt. Dean & Sarah Chickering

of Andover, Mass.

He died Dec. 1, 1824.

in the 37th year

of his age.

The Tingley family carving machine strikes again. I'm sure we can find a place for Farnum Chickering in The Memoirs of Fanny Forward.

More Red-Tailed Hawks

Any bird watchers out there? There is a nest of juvenile red-tailed hawks on Alewife Brook Parkway in Cambridge, just across from the shopping plaza with the Whole Foods and the movie theatre. The bird watchers gathered there assure me that the two oldest chicks (45 and 43 days old) are just about ready to fly.

Execution of Children and Adolescents in Early America

I am glad to see that J.L. Bell has taken up an exploration of the history of capital punishment for juveniles in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Graham v. Florida.

I have commented on this issue in my guest post over on Executed Today regarding the execution of Hannah Ocuish in 1786. I agree with Bell that this story cannot be told without acknowledging that all of the youngest children put to death in the United States have been children of color.

More discussion on the Early American Crime blog.

Name of the Day: Polycarpus Snell

I found this name in East Bridgewater yesterday.

Gravestone of the Day: Ezra Alden

Ezra Alden, 1767, East Bridgewater, MA

Here lies Buried

Mr. EZRA ALDEN

Who Died

NOVEMBER 5th

1767 In ye 36th

year of his age.

There are several stones in the Old Grave Yard in East Bridgewater, MA carved by Nathan Hayward. Many of them have unusually deep relief carving like that found on the Ezra Alden stone.

Gravestone of the Day: Exsperience Doggett

Exsperience Doggett, 1736, Trumbull Burying Ground, Lebanon, CT

[???] DEATH

EXSPERIENCE

DOGGETT

EXSPIERED

NOVM --

1736 IN Ye

28 YEAr

OF HER

AGE

Back from California

I apologize for not really keeping up with comments for the past week or two — between the frenzy of final grading, my prospectus defense, and a week-long trip to California for my brother-in-law's graduation, I have not been tending to this blog as I should. The auto-posting seems to have worked well, though, so I have no complaints.

This summer, I will be working for two professors, doing course development on two new Gen Ed courses.

The first, to be offered in the Spring 2011 semester, is called Tangible Things: Harvard Collections and World History. It is meant to be an introduction to Harvard's many material object collections as well as an exploration of the birth of academic disciplines and the porous boundaries that separate them. This course has been in development for a year and is in the nitty-gritty stage of planning actual assignments, hammering out a syllabus, and honing readings. It is a tricky course to plan because so much of it involves traveling to museums and archives, but Harvard does not have preregistration (and this is a new course), so we have no idea whether we will have 25 students or 250.

The second, to be offered in the Fall 2011 semester is called Dead or Alive. It is an historical approach to many contemporary issues of life and death, including abortion, medical research, eugenics, reproductive technology, end-of-life care, disposal of the dead, etc. This course will use the case study method to introduce students to these issues and their histories. Another grad student and I have been researching and writing cases this semester and are meeting later today to determine which cases will make the cut. We also designed several assignments for possible use — my favorite involves asking students to design an environmentally sustainable cemetery that will serve the material and spiritual needs of Cambridge residents for the next 200 years.

I will also be starting serious work on that tiny project called my dissertation. At the moment, it is just a daunting pit and I can hardly stand to tiptoe to the edge. I think my first step is to make a To Do list that breaks it down into manageable parts so I can start somewhere.

And, of course, I will be going out with my camera to photograph gravestones. The weather is beautiful today, but I have meetings and email to catch up on. If the weather holds, I'll go out tomorrow.

Looking forward to a great summer!

Jump Rope Hat

Brooklyn, NY, May 29, 1886, from Life Magazine Archive

Kids just don't wear their jumping hats anymore.

Gravestone of the Day: Abigail Thomas

Abigail Thomas, 1753, Marshfield, MA

HERE LYES THE

BODY OF Mrs ABIGAIL

THOMAS WIFE OF Mr

GIDEON THOMAS WHO

DIED SEPTEMBER ye

25th 1753 AGED 52

YEARS & 9 MONTHS

AND 28 DAYS

Gravestone of the Day: Robert Gibbs

Robert Gibbs, 1762, Providence, RI

Here lieth Interred

the Body of Robert

Gibbs Junior, Son

of Robert Gibbs Esqr.

who died Octor. 7th.

1762, in the 32d. Year

of his Age.

Blessed are the Dead

Who die in the Lord.

Gravestone of the Day: Abiel Goodin

Abiel Goodin, 1762, York, ME

Here lyes Interrd ye Body

of ABIEL GOODIN, Who

was one of ye ruling Elders

of ye first Church in this Town;

He was Exemplary

for his prudence, patience

Piety and Industry.

He died Octor 28th 1762

Aged 69 Years

Gravestone of the Day: Rebekah Hooper

Rebekah Hooper, 1675, Copp's Hill, Boston, MA

REBEKAH

HOOPER THE

DAVGHTER OF

GORG HOOPER

AGED 2 YEARES

AND 10 WEEKES

DYED THE 15 OF

OCTOBER 1675

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