tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83999012566274475922024-03-06T12:02:49.208-08:00The Essex Street IrregularsRory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-425654264511937262020-03-22T14:04:00.001-07:002020-03-23T08:19:08.431-07:00Video Walking Tour<br />
Greetings, all --<br />
<br />
Well, these are weird, uncertain times. Not dark times ... not yet. But right now, we all just have to calmly wait and see. Wash your hands, stay home as much as you can, and above all Take Care Of Each Other.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I will still be updating the blog with photos and musings from/about the Charter Street Cemetery and anywhere else that appeals to me. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Nobody knows what this all means for the tour industry here in town, probably nothing good; when I am not writing or performing, I am a tour guide here in town. Because you aren't coming to Salem anytime soon, I have begun posting videos to bring the walking tour to you. The first one is here:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzpvCtpWPIQ&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0zOF5mkiuVfED7xoqwxTCSdWitSa9YoVD-9FSlxhBm3WaIFH2RXD2UJbk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzpvCtpWPIQ&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0zOF5mkiuVfED7xoqwxTCSdWitSa9YoVD-9FSlxhBm3WaIFH2RXD2UJbk</a><br />
<br />
And more will follow. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Do you enjoy what I do? Want to help out? There are a few ways you can show some support, any and all of which would be hugely appreciated!.<br />
<br />
The easiest way is to share the love -- tell a friend! Tell an enemy! Tell a random passer-by about this guy and his blog and his walking tours and his books in Salem! <br />
<br />
You can also buy a book! Check with your local brick-and-mortar shop first, but failing that, hit up Amazon: </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ARory+O%27Brien&s=relevancerank&text=Rory+O%27Brien&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1">https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3ARory+O%27Brien&s=relevancerank&text=Rory+O%27Brien&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Last but not least, there are a few tipjar-style options available: people don't generally tip novelists, but maybe we can start a trend ....<br />
<br />
<span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="background: rgb(249 , 249 , 249); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Venmo: <a href="https://venmo.com/Rory-OBrien-18">https://venmo.com/Rory-OBrien-18</a>
Ko-Fi: </span><a class="yt-simple-endpoint style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=APKkpp-hSLAUmHIzamaI91IY1VN8MTU4NDk5NzI3OEAxNTg0OTEwODc4&v=tzpvCtpWPIQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fko-fi.com%2Froryobrien&event=video_description" rel="nofollow" spellcheck="false" style="background-color: #f9f9f9; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: var(--yt-endpoint-text-decoration, none); white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">https://ko-fi.com/roryobrien</a><span class="style-scope yt-formatted-string" dir="auto" style="background: rgb(249 , 249 , 249); border: 0px; color: #030303; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Paypal: theroryobrien@juno.com
</span><br />
Until we meet again ... and we WILL ... just be excellent to each other.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-32060528998963591522020-03-09T10:59:00.003-07:002020-03-09T12:44:09.539-07:00The Lynde Family Tomb <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1HkXVEkVb686TN9MznD1fYNYzEY-O5qVB1-h4x7NZguXg8JXI4pYiJSHte_aXGva5RkJhCUIIEmDQ0qfTp1sIdLdI1riJdASfLqjbmq1Z3G4DdT7QKh503bYpU2IzVJeoBWhraxRusk/s1600/Lynde4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1HkXVEkVb686TN9MznD1fYNYzEY-O5qVB1-h4x7NZguXg8JXI4pYiJSHte_aXGva5RkJhCUIIEmDQ0qfTp1sIdLdI1riJdASfLqjbmq1Z3G4DdT7QKh503bYpU2IzVJeoBWhraxRusk/s320/Lynde4.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You might walk around the Lynde family tomb in the Charter Street Cemetery without giving it a second
glance; many people seem to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is big, but plain, and there
is no inscription anywhere, so you would have no way of knowing that there
are, somehow, the remains of *eight* people, spanning three generations,
entombed there. And that one of them is connected to an important event in American history. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The family patriarch, Benjamin Lynde, Sr., was a prominent
lawyer and magistrate, born in <st1:city><st1:place>Salem</st1:place></st1:city>
in 1666 and dying here in 1749.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
became Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (as would his son, Benjamin
Junior, who is the real reason for our visit, and about whom more in a minute).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Benjamin Senior married Mary Browne (d. 1753, age 74); in addition
to Benjamin Jr., the couple had another son, William.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>William would die young at age 37 in 1752.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Benjamin Junior married Mary Goodridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their daughter, Hannah (1735-1792), was named
after her great-grandmother on the maternal side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">All of these folks are laid to rest in this tomb, and
records indicate there are two more – a William Brown, with no “e,” who may be
a relative of Mary, and a Primus Lynde, who died in 1787, with no age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Primus was a “man” belonging to Benjamin
Junior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, a slave.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Frank Cousins of course took a photograph pf the tomb:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5UetEH3uYKgBfGKUiwKhymY9VtMz8nEimn8iHhdqDe1l92i4OpX7PYLLQ5pE_Bg_iFyKmtbNG5VnRzj0wFHHl40Va8MKKu2gik20waQ4FiPy6tOCCv0Eu81vKaHVHuG8jxkMYkZ087-c/s1600/download.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1537" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5UetEH3uYKgBfGKUiwKhymY9VtMz8nEimn8iHhdqDe1l92i4OpX7PYLLQ5pE_Bg_iFyKmtbNG5VnRzj0wFHHl40Va8MKKu2gik20waQ4FiPy6tOCCv0Eu81vKaHVHuG8jxkMYkZ087-c/s320/download.png" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Prof. Donna Seger of SSU has researched the women in the Lynde
family, and her work is well worth your time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I will refer you to her Streets of Salem blog, rather than just plagiarize
her findings:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://streetsofsalem.com/2019/03/03/the-lynde-ladies-of-salem/">https://streetsofsalem.com/2019/03/03/the-lynde-ladies-of-salem/</a>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The 250<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the Boston Massacre was
just last week, and Chief Justice Benjamin Lynde, Jr. presided over the trial of Capt.
Preston and the redcoats accused of firing on civilians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three colonists were killed, and two more
would later die of their wounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John
Adams acted for the defense, winning acquittal for six of them; two others were
convicted of manslaughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those two
claimed “benefit of clergy,” and were branded on the thumb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwaYxcLEiL4OTGjRk1Pltzbgq1mwmm1Marwb8vy7odwdQbuWMb0Ocp7wKKV76OHB1QVlr4vgWfqQJ9KBD0Uq5Y3R2MdciubI8JWFwqW5o62NxMPH8BeAfdVG3bNFDoPJtjHVjHbLnOYqA/s1600/Boston_Massacre_high-res.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1361" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwaYxcLEiL4OTGjRk1Pltzbgq1mwmm1Marwb8vy7odwdQbuWMb0Ocp7wKKV76OHB1QVlr4vgWfqQJ9KBD0Uq5Y3R2MdciubI8JWFwqW5o62NxMPH8BeAfdVG3bNFDoPJtjHVjHbLnOYqA/s320/Boston_Massacre_high-res.jpg" width="272" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Lynde was described as “nervous,” and took extensive notes
during the trial. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><st1:place>Adams</st1:place> must have known that <st1:city>Salem</st1:city>
was the Chief Justice’s hometown, as he would later remark:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">”<span style="background: white;">The Part I took in Defence of Cptn. Preston and
the Soldiers, procured me Anxiety, and Obloquy enough. It was, however, one of
the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested Actions of my whole Life,
and one of the best Pieces of Service I ever rendered my Country. Judgment of
Death against those Soldiers would have been as foul a Stain upon this Country
as the Executions of the </span><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Quakers</span><span style="background: white;"> or </span><span style="background: white; color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Witches</span><span style="background: white;">, anciently.”</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">
</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><st1:street><st1:address>Lynde Street</st1:address></st1:street>
in downtown <st1:city><st1:place>Salem</st1:place></st1:city> is named after Benjamin
Senior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you pass by, follow the
sign down to the Gallows Hill Theater and take in the show</span>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3U-Xkkjdvj5ZnX25Z690shpo8KsaMYIEMcxcB6SFES45NHp4vJGEw7J-pyhSYgg1sS6V2EYl_hQyeVhebftVuoNgZ9OmCRE-kvIhtOtA8YD8Keus2OzfSjyiDyFV2Qiat3HnQH7nxY0/s1600/DSC01178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo3U-Xkkjdvj5ZnX25Z690shpo8KsaMYIEMcxcB6SFES45NHp4vJGEw7J-pyhSYgg1sS6V2EYl_hQyeVhebftVuoNgZ9OmCRE-kvIhtOtA8YD8Keus2OzfSjyiDyFV2Qiat3HnQH7nxY0/s320/DSC01178.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-58134378460151981532020-01-02T07:48:00.000-08:002020-01-07T12:11:11.437-08:00Catharine Andrews <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuiNYanQg-Ij9oUf6CMFKNahNJhYYaM7_2RX49TXFo72itMaL8ONM47xTm36kvyYjCYbk0MfGofxdpB8F9Sgql65Ltgc99_9ox17ntW1_W7BbvyQeRIRFx9pAaI5-yrFo3Cni2WUuFs0/s1600/Catharine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuiNYanQg-Ij9oUf6CMFKNahNJhYYaM7_2RX49TXFo72itMaL8ONM47xTm36kvyYjCYbk0MfGofxdpB8F9Sgql65Ltgc99_9ox17ntW1_W7BbvyQeRIRFx9pAaI5-yrFo3Cni2WUuFs0/s640/Catharine.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Tucked away next to the gate connecting the Salem Witch
Trials Memorial and the <st1:place><st1:placename>Charter</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Street</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place>, you will find a small,
unassuming stone marked "Catharine Andrews."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is some simple braidwork decorating the edge of the stone, and
that’s all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Because it is so isolated and has nothing on it aside from her
name, I admit I have occasionally passed by her stone with a tour and quipped, “I
guess nobody liked Catharine.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s
just a dumb thing to say, especially when walking over someone’s grave, and she
deserves better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I decided to take a
closer look and try to puzzle out her story in an effort to make it up to her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">The lack of info made me think that maybe this was in fact a
footstone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those of you who are not
familiar with footstones, the footstone is a small, plainer stone placed<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>roughly six feet behind the headstone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People often say that they want to read the
inscription on a headstone and admire the carvings, but they feel disrespectful
standing on someone’s grave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
traditionally, in older New <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>
cemeteries, the body is buried on the side opposite the carving, so that you
can read the stone without standing on the grave itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next time you are reading a headstone, look
over the top and you will often see a small stone some feet behind it,
sometimes plain and sometimes with initials or the name; that’s the footstone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Turning once again to William Carlson’s “Charter Street Cemetery Burial
Records, </span><st1:place style="font-size: large;"><st1:city>Salem</st1:city>, <st1:state>Massachusetts</st1:state></st1:place><span style="font-size: medium;">,
Genealogical and Historical,” my suspicion was confirmed – “her headstone is
missing, only the footstone survives,” he tell us. He also thanks an Andrews descendant for helping him with the family history. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Catharine was the daughter of Captain Nehemiah Andrews and
Catherine Seamore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nehemia was master of
a schooner, Thomas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In 1794 Nehemiah and the schooner were “detained under embargo at <st1:city><st1:place>Bordeaux</st1:place></st1:city>.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not entirely clear on the story, but he ended
up filing a claim with the US Treasury for his detention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Their daughter Catharine was born on <st1:date day="21" month="10" year="1772">October 21, 1772</st1:date>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The couple also had a son they named Nehemiah; the son
would go on to marry an Elizabeth Ledbeter, and they would have a daughter they
likewise named Catherine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not a
professional genealogist, or even an amateur one, and recycling given names
makes tracking family history tricky. (And seeming to switch freely back and forth between "Catherine" and "Catharine," and "Andrew" and "Andrews" isn't a real help, either.) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">“Our” Catharine evidently never married, and died too young
at age 25.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carlson’s book says that the inscription
on her now-missing headstone read, “In Memory of Catherine Andrew, daughter of
Captain Nehemiah Andrews obt <st1:date day="5" month="7" year="1797">July 5 1797</st1:date>,”
and included a short verse:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Farewell my friends,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Dry up your tears,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">I must be here</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Until Christ appears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: medium;">My apologies, Catharine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I will never again make a stupid quip at your expense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> May you r</span>est in peace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-57552605966067677392019-11-25T15:12:00.002-08:002019-11-27T06:42:38.373-08:00Captain John Turner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8U3zngCBRy3hBxsCrW9wgIFNqeYeN2e9-Hlbyry04UKg2pOdb-wlHBy-4yFUckBnAsA9Y-zyP__ZdXd4Yw8n4EaaGvZDU3q0vYCKxp2UlgCbfJz0WjIrKuDzJEecwWMqrHsUSDKAt9Us/s1600/DSC01001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8U3zngCBRy3hBxsCrW9wgIFNqeYeN2e9-Hlbyry04UKg2pOdb-wlHBy-4yFUckBnAsA9Y-zyP__ZdXd4Yw8n4EaaGvZDU3q0vYCKxp2UlgCbfJz0WjIrKuDzJEecwWMqrHsUSDKAt9Us/s400/DSC01001.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Captain John Turner was born in Salem on September 8, 1644. His father was an indentured servant who had completed the terms of his indenture, and his mother's maiden name was Freestone. Like many Salem men, he became involved in the maritime trade with the East Indies, and I have also found mention that he was "a successful hat and shoe merchant." He was soon one of the wealthiest men in town. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Around 1668 he bought some land from a widow, Anne Moore, to build a house for himself and his new bride, Elizabeth (calling her "new" may be a bit of a stretch; there seems to be no agreement on when they were married, with possible dates ranging from 1660 to 1669). Widow Moore already had a house on the property, but Turner deemed it unsuitable and tore it down and built a new house on the site. This new house was a typical two-over-two design, with two rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs, build around a gigantic central chimney. It would have had a gable end roof, and may have looked something like the Witch House. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Growing fortunes and a growing family (the Turners had six children) meant putting an addition (and "ell") on the house, adding another gable ... and another ... and another. The house grew into a mansion as Turner renovated, upgraded, and remodeled. Eventually, the house would have seven gables. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErY2iVvCoInzQGhcvKf9OwsHVd7DOLyZVFv6ZMyk-kwEsMkZhyroAOGU8wakfC0opJ7isGo14i0ySmrqtlZL6sIBj_rzt96ofxom5uxVypbQ3QVaLEHPvt879Eib-M20U1yiSYNw2Qy0/s1600/House_of_the_Seven_Gables_Before_Restoration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="993" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiErY2iVvCoInzQGhcvKf9OwsHVd7DOLyZVFv6ZMyk-kwEsMkZhyroAOGU8wakfC0opJ7isGo14i0ySmrqtlZL6sIBj_rzt96ofxom5uxVypbQ3QVaLEHPvt879Eib-M20U1yiSYNw2Qy0/s640/House_of_the_Seven_Gables_Before_Restoration.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">His son, John Turner II, would continue to expand the mansion. His grandson, John Turner III, was evidently a wastrel who would lose the mansion his family had lived in for three generations. It was bought by the Ingersoll family, who started making their own changes to the house ... like removing some of the gables. Susanna Ingersoll lived there in the 19th century and on one of his visits, her cousin, Nathaniel Hawthorne, began to think about a novel. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There is a lot more to write about the House of the Seven Gables (Caroline O. Emmerton deserves her own *book,* not just a measly blog post), but I want to get back to the captain. When he died in 1680, and the young age of 36, he was laid to rest in the Charter Street Cemetery. One source says he died at sea but offers no details. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQ9ycAf726lkHCfwPtXw26Cn7qj8Ac1WcqKFCHf2jo1EJ4n_Bm7R-NPCPzboWQVJu0OuUoeA8-HYO9bCUxrbZt_2rHvWtmvD-PJs8BPXsiQTaF_qIuIfXhqr1A-IxnpPAD7Lw3k_Lsuw/s1600/DSC00997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQ9ycAf726lkHCfwPtXw26Cn7qj8Ac1WcqKFCHf2jo1EJ4n_Bm7R-NPCPzboWQVJu0OuUoeA8-HYO9bCUxrbZt_2rHvWtmvD-PJs8BPXsiQTaF_qIuIfXhqr1A-IxnpPAD7Lw3k_Lsuw/s640/DSC00997.JPG" width="480" /></a> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">His epitaph simply reads:<br /><br /><span style="background-color: #fafafa;">Here lieth the </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Body of </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa;">JOHN TURNER</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Aged 36 years </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">who departed this life </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the 9th of October </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">in the year of our Lord</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">1680.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">His box tomb is on the eastern side of the cemetery, what I always think of as the left-hand side, over by the Salem Wax Museum.<br /><br />But ...<br /><br />As you enter the cemetery from the gate on Charter Street, you will see a (bronze?) map mounted on a slab of granite, giving the locations of the "Graves of Greatest Historical Interest." The map went up sometime in the early 1990s. According to the map, the captain is in a completely different location .... </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yqLbZ3XptkaQbTYOk0mVyvaIFsF-6Fdv0nvPnqB5fM4hBtwRYhdp1hG4A3xogIoMP2ldmqzZyQnXwH8F4Dxg1t7TRE890rT3y7Y2DxAxRYOpr6kgJzlMl0EfhQ-i_fFl6P2lzKIIim8/s1600/DSC01033+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yqLbZ3XptkaQbTYOk0mVyvaIFsF-6Fdv0nvPnqB5fM4hBtwRYhdp1hG4A3xogIoMP2ldmqzZyQnXwH8F4Dxg1t7TRE890rT3y7Y2DxAxRYOpr6kgJzlMl0EfhQ-i_fFl6P2lzKIIim8/s640/DSC01033+-+Copy.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_N6c9wgVqSeAYwiZkl26l1-Dgh509VxouoOmbRIhmbcdVvzVqdU29qd55lvD2mpPyQEEBxVYHacl99WO53mfh0yPuRueUzz2tZcHNtatSKrWlzUQR9_9Pdl0rcll6p8aJDQbSOjJelo/s1600/Map2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_N6c9wgVqSeAYwiZkl26l1-Dgh509VxouoOmbRIhmbcdVvzVqdU29qd55lvD2mpPyQEEBxVYHacl99WO53mfh0yPuRueUzz2tZcHNtatSKrWlzUQR9_9Pdl0rcll6p8aJDQbSOjJelo/s640/Map2.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The map places his tomb over on the right, not far from the map itself. And there are Turners buried there, including a John Turner, but he is not *that* John Turner. I spent a few minutes trying to parse the vagaries of Turner genealogy, and so far, I can't tell if those Turners are related to the captain. I also briefly entertained the notion that the captain had originally been in the spot the map indicates and got relocated after the map went up, but no, the map is simply wrong. One John Turner got confused with another. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkMVKrnjGXtRLFvbO5_g4uyJtGl0sKpNHT4Gs9S0bNvdru2lFyHmjy_sgMbzJ6G8uBuIYzw_YdCj56p67iPVYI1eZtC8qjCCJVL8owsl6RA0c-nOcYlob4CgTcMVKd0pS9BdLqlePFR4/s1600/Other+Turner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCkMVKrnjGXtRLFvbO5_g4uyJtGl0sKpNHT4Gs9S0bNvdru2lFyHmjy_sgMbzJ6G8uBuIYzw_YdCj56p67iPVYI1eZtC8qjCCJVL8owsl6RA0c-nOcYlob4CgTcMVKd0pS9BdLqlePFR4/s640/Other+Turner.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Visit the captain's tomb, and then head down Derby Street to take a tour at the House of the Seven Gables (it's a good tour, and the organization does a lot of good work). Both things are well worth your time.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">www.7gables.org </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fafafa;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #fafafa;">On a personal side note: I have tried to read The House of the Seven Gables *three times* and can't finish it. H. P. Lovecraft may have called it "the immortal tale -- </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">New England’s greatest contribution to weird literature," but I find it a chore and a bore. However, I did enjoy the 1940 film version, starring Vincent Price. </span></span><span style="background-color: #fafafa; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span>Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-15176886609417518052019-11-15T06:53:00.001-08:002019-11-16T06:47:24.119-08:00Nathaniel Richardson <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQG0bjk-UZmKNO1EWptfjF7fMxqdwUG0bZbDNjYQp7dwlZhtnURJPtxEtxzLFtyTdKMNx6gNjJLQ_7YYSJirMlHpwl7dxfh3AIMoQnwuYl6YRI04-ElFkjfVG0SwQpgjdVEv0bWjZSSY/s1600/DSC00933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQG0bjk-UZmKNO1EWptfjF7fMxqdwUG0bZbDNjYQp7dwlZhtnURJPtxEtxzLFtyTdKMNx6gNjJLQ_7YYSJirMlHpwl7dxfh3AIMoQnwuYl6YRI04-ElFkjfVG0SwQpgjdVEv0bWjZSSY/s320/DSC00933.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Nathaniel Richardson was a leather tanner who, at the time of his tragic death on January 25, 1794, ran the most successful tannery in the county, located just off the Common. His simple headstone informs us that "His death was instant, from the pressure of a building he was assisting to remove. He was an industrious man in the full prosperity of Life." He was only 54. His stone has an unusual border (in her great book "Our Silent Neighbors," Betty Bouchard describes it as "resembling the crimping of a pie crust," and it certainly does) that I have not seen elsewhere. <br /><br />Although not seen too often today, moving a building was a fairly common practice in the old days. He and others were moving a house down Daniels Street, toward the water, when it slipped, falling on Nathaniel and killing him instantly. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fate had not been kind to the rest of the Richardson family, either; Nathaniel and his wife, Eunice (nee Putnam, <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">1751-1846)</span>, had a daughter, Betsey, who died just a few weeks short of her first birthday (though their five other children would live into adulthood). Betsey is buried right next to her father: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik87ZLf-ksoizPfnCH28hkHE-zMlT2CjkWVrmCksYYUOAqCA7HozHYvyTL7TMl8LRSsOBkul-y9iTvVjoEVtGhHazHgLQvJIh_Oyp7U1lyw0MGfssaPBVACaxnnY7xizNmab-zA0GDQnc/s1600/Betsey.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik87ZLf-ksoizPfnCH28hkHE-zMlT2CjkWVrmCksYYUOAqCA7HozHYvyTL7TMl8LRSsOBkul-y9iTvVjoEVtGhHazHgLQvJIh_Oyp7U1lyw0MGfssaPBVACaxnnY7xizNmab-zA0GDQnc/s320/Betsey.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />Betsey's stone is inscribed at the very bottom:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Sleep on, my babe, & take thy rest</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>God called thee home, & tho' it best.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And then Nathaniel's brother, Joshua, killed himself in 1774 at the age of 28. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He is also nearby.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugaMdvv8Efkj2L7JREK98YXhh-Nr7YzseG-ZJbkvQ2Hj0IsAlj0tH_OpSrd9UQZ2Yzd3vu3fY1FmtcBaVoOZxQ2ZojrGJdkW71FZRLTbY4S81CsfpEMiuSmAlzaHrm52XvZ5EElSX68A/s1600/Joshua+R.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjugaMdvv8Efkj2L7JREK98YXhh-Nr7YzseG-ZJbkvQ2Hj0IsAlj0tH_OpSrd9UQZ2Yzd3vu3fY1FmtcBaVoOZxQ2ZojrGJdkW71FZRLTbY4S81CsfpEMiuSmAlzaHrm52XvZ5EElSX68A/s320/Joshua+R.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The bottom of Nathaniel's the stone reads, "Ux Et Fil Vi Pos." I don't speak Latin, but fiends of mine do, and they tell me that the phrasing is kind of odd, but it looks like it translates as "Placed by wife and six children," evidently including Betsey. Which is sweet, in a Wordsworth's "We Are Seven" kind of way. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span>Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-61937363555861178732019-11-10T13:03:00.000-08:002019-11-10T13:19:29.344-08:00Hot Potato <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <st1:place><st1:placename>Charter</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Street</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> was reopened on Monday,
November 4<sup>th</sup>, as promised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That’s good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am glad to see
that; I was worried that once it was locked, it could remain so
indefinitely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But obviously I was
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People naturally discussed the situation on social media
like facebook and instagram during the month of October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the comments I saw were supportive of
the closing, saying it was the right thing to do to protect the cemetery, and
that it was great that the city was stepping up to preserve our irreplaceable
history, finally making it a priority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It seems that, in general, this was viewed as a win for historic
preservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I am not sure that’s really how the story goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think a lot of well-meaning folks are
seeing what they want to see here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I, at
least, am seeing a pretty different story.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG1IFf0MNzXd7Gd08a8EyIFK3TRzefhIkX5E3PjhghrVXP9ynojkFyOn0novoP-YBCDpfw5fw5j9C4o57voncMh_0S5TSp6z1H1vaFjsmko6ALONwwRgkMR7-gKUmXAv82XraNDfBo18/s1600/DSC00845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEG1IFf0MNzXd7Gd08a8EyIFK3TRzefhIkX5E3PjhghrVXP9ynojkFyOn0novoP-YBCDpfw5fw5j9C4o57voncMh_0S5TSp6z1H1vaFjsmko6ALONwwRgkMR7-gKUmXAv82XraNDfBo18/s320/DSC00845.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t have official stats in front of me, but I would
estimate that the cemetery can easily get a thousand or more visitors on a busy
day in October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a hell of a lot
of foot traffic, especially in a space that’s not designed for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And while the vast majority of people are
respectful, there are always a handful of people who misbehave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly, one great solution would be to staff
the cemetery with volunteers, like a museum (because the cemetery is the functional equivalent of a
museum).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s what Destination
Salem did for a couple of years, going a step further by limiting the number of
people allowed into the cemetery at a time, capping it at 100.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This worked well, as far as I could see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It allowed people to visit the cemetery, and
there were monitors on hand to keep an eye on things and tell people not to sit
on headstones and whatever else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But Destination Salem chose not to continue staffing the
cemetery for 2019.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Talking with someone
familiar with the situation, I was told that DS felt it was more than they
could or should have to handle, and that it was really the city’s
responsibility anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And those are
fair points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
That put the ball back into the Department
of Public Works’s court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now DPW has a
lot on their plate throughout the year – filling potholes, fixing water-main
breaks, snow plowing, and a ton of other things – and they are especially busy
during October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over-busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may have heard me say that visiting
downtown on November First, you won’t find so much as a gum wrapper on the
sidewalk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that’s thanks to the
hard-working folks at the DPW.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Taking care of cemeteries is part of DPW’s bailiwick, but in
Hallowe’en season they have a lot of other stuff to do, so babysitting a
centuries-old cemetery might not have been top priority (even though it is in
the description of what the DPW does on their website).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they did have options here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The could have asked DS to lend them some
volunteers (I heard that the info booth downtown had more people than they knew
what to do with this year), they could have hired a police detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am told that DS gave DPW plenty of notice,
so they had time to figure something out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, they took the easiest, laziest approach,
which was locking the cemetery up and keeping people out (or at least trying
to; I saw people sneaking in there during the month).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also need to point out that in my opinion, this process
was not handled particularly transparently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I attended the September meeting of the Cemetery Commission, where the
closing of the cemetery was first brought before the commission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the members asked the fellow from the
DPW if the public guides in town knew about this proposal (many tours,
including mine, include the cemetery), and he assured them that the guides were
all well-informed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I’m a public guide,” I put my hand up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And I first heard about this yesterday.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The two other guides in the room likewise stated that they
had only heard about this in the last 24 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The guy from the DPW offered apologies, saying that he could have sworn we all
knew what was going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And none of us
did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m skeptical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
whole thing reminds me of the way the PEM handled the Phillips Library move –
decide what you’re going to do, keep quiet about it, and by the time the public
finds out, it’s too late to do anything else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>DPW apparently had months to figure out what to do here, and they waited
until August. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until pretty much the
last minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the other guides at
the meeting tells me she made numerous attempts at following up with the guy
from DPW, and he never returned a single phone call or email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cemetery Commission also bears blame here. They voted to
let it happen, and the only real discussion I heard, sitting in those meetings,
was one commissioner explaining that she hated how <st1:city><st1:place>Salem</st1:place></st1:city>
wasn’t the same as it had been when she was growing up. Now it was all about tourism, and the wrong kind of tourism at that. Destination Salem's Kate Fox, to her credit, pushed back against the anti-tourism grumbling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoPNquYh1Q7MOD2HAxfm3rbuMq6g4CrjSFoX_Srb_nGMwHlITG5or9dw2oH6m0qxim2JLD26seF6Kiqf9sPVu9p61FJ-0RtplJ9YSjB3DC8YEa8Psi2GhXFXXx7b3Vk95mLKiKgrREVA/s1600/DSC00689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoPNquYh1Q7MOD2HAxfm3rbuMq6g4CrjSFoX_Srb_nGMwHlITG5or9dw2oH6m0qxim2JLD26seF6Kiqf9sPVu9p61FJ-0RtplJ9YSjB3DC8YEa8Psi2GhXFXXx7b3Vk95mLKiKgrREVA/s320/DSC00689.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a hard time seeing this as the city stepping up to
preserve our sacred historical treasures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have a hard time seeing it as the city pushing back against the
nonstop carnival that downtown becomes every October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t help but see this as a failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cemetery got tossed around like a hot
potato, with departments crying, “Not IT!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was time to come up with a plan but in the end, the laziest choice
was made – lock it up and walk away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
cemetery wasn’t locked in the name of preservation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was locked because nobody could be
bothered to do anything else</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I agree that downtown can be overwhelming in
October.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heck, I’m trying to steer a
tour group through the thick of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes,
commercialized tastelessness abounds, and I am the first to roll my eyes at the
guy who wants a dollar for a picture of him putting a noose around your
neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the cemetery is full of
genuine, first-hand history, and you can visit it without spending a dime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you hate the people in cheap costumes
spending money in t-shirt shops and asking where the Hocus Pocus house is, I am
not sure how you can support denying access to a site of real historical
significance that can be visited and appreciated for free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <st1:place><st1:placename>Charter</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Street</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> absolutely IS an
important, irreplaceable treasure, and it deserved better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-62752622362952412102019-11-10T08:44:00.001-08:002019-11-10T13:30:14.296-08:00Zacheus Barton <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoe6yhoSTgY-fNGt8_AmCc3YMQnBxKgmTtg-fxpoRHwVqHK5N7jSzcbWW0RSMhogMOv0IngiMFdioKGzIBLKgAO4R2JrCmqJvJ93Rkdz_JOMrUvxl6KmHTNB3hksjiuLd8XiaFeN-ok8/s1600/Barton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWoe6yhoSTgY-fNGt8_AmCc3YMQnBxKgmTtg-fxpoRHwVqHK5N7jSzcbWW0RSMhogMOv0IngiMFdioKGzIBLKgAO4R2JrCmqJvJ93Rkdz_JOMrUvxl6KmHTNB3hksjiuLd8XiaFeN-ok8/s320/Barton.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Zacheus Barton has a small but impressive stone which has
held up well though the years.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He was the fourth of six children.
Sidney Perley tells us that his father, John Barton, was “a physician
and an apothecary. He married Lydia
Roberts of Marblehead <st1:date day="7" month="6" year="1675">June 7, 1675</st1:date>;
and on a voyage from <st1:country-region><st1:place>England</st1:place></st1:country-region>
the vessel touched at <st1:country-region><st1:place>Barbados</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
where he was called on shore to attend a case of yellow fever. He took the fever and died there in December,
1694. His widow subsequently conducted a
store; and died <st1:date day="13" month="5" year="1713">May 13, 1713</st1:date>.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br />Zacheus was a tobacco merchant, or at least he tried his hand at being one. He handed over a cask of tobacco to a Captain Lewis Hunt, having an "agreement to dispose of the same and remit the net proceeds." He died a month later, on October 14th, 1707. He was 25 years old, never married, and his cause of death is not known (at least not by me). </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The death’s head is very detailed, with great feathered
wings, and the are acanthus leaves filling in the borders.
The rest of the stone is so nicely done that the hourglass(?) at the top
sticks out like a sore thumb. It seems
very crudely done, compared to the rest of the workmanship here, and it is
barely recognizable as an hourglass; I might not even know what it was supposed
to be if I hadn’t seen hourglasses on other stones. I assume “JG” is the carver, but I do not
know who he is. </span></span>Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-39607239786123114982019-11-08T07:43:00.000-08:002019-11-08T07:43:10.039-08:00Food for Thought? <br />
One of the clutch-the-pearls claims made to illustrate the unacceptable behavior people engage in is that people visiting the Charter Street Cemetery are walking or sitting around ... EATING!<br />
<br />
This article makes the rounds from time to time, and tells us that people used to eat in cemeteries pretty frequently. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/picnic-in-cemeteries-america">https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/picnic-in-cemeteries-america</a><br />
<br />
Nothing about snacking in a cemetery strikes me as offensive or inappropriate on the face of it. When I am finally laid to rest, come visit and bring snacks. I won't mind. <br />
<br />
Leaving your half-eaten fried dough on someone's headstone ... well, yeah, don't be that guy. Have some basic sense here. <br />
<br />
Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-17069546302560118712019-11-07T13:54:00.000-08:002019-11-07T13:55:46.118-08:00But *Those* People, Too ...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSQ7KaLfHF1LLC6a7PPH7pL_uohqswc9T9EJAU4b2Ff5ZFolK8_6DZy4asnC9h8ngekbyCJxhokubhmzP1_5RROeqi2LH2-R3j1Ln-eOHiePZWA-CsUit6nzDOAgcqsbKJ4i8SRgHPB8/s1600/DSC00892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSQ7KaLfHF1LLC6a7PPH7pL_uohqswc9T9EJAU4b2Ff5ZFolK8_6DZy4asnC9h8ngekbyCJxhokubhmzP1_5RROeqi2LH2-R3j1Ln-eOHiePZWA-CsUit6nzDOAgcqsbKJ4i8SRgHPB8/s320/DSC00892.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The <st1:place><st1:placename>Charter</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Street</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> is reopened!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is good to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was among those worried that once it had
been locked, it might never be unlocked again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have been sick and staying in, so only just got over there today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spent maybe half an hour or so, taking photos,
and saw at least twenty people cycle through, taking pictures and admiring
headstones. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And because I am my father’s son, and I will talk to anyone,
I asked a few people what brought them out to visit the cemetery today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One woman was a big fan of the movie, Hocus Pocus (which I
just saw this week, finally, and thought it was incoherent and not remotely
entertaining, but I digress) and always wanted to visit <st1:city><st1:place>Salem</st1:place></st1:city>
to see the filming locations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew
that <st1:street><st1:address>Charter Street</st1:address></st1:street> was not
the cemetery featured in the movie, but visited anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Another woman was from <st1:city><st1:place>Seattle</st1:place></st1:city>,
and on a trip east.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had come up from
<st1:city><st1:place>Boston</st1:place></st1:city> with her boyfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me that she always made a point to
visit cemeteries when she could; being a history buff, cemeteries are an important
resource.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was looking for Mary Corey’s
grave.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe_1FJXb56bWg2nHpPY3F4lsEqhlPiRP8mdfWCtm7fo0J8vzOH6IK8oiJpQldFIVakI_r8UAVVRjsGPhToYV0xlDrreVXOERCfHuFEumWwwxzq1T8rujvEnUpj1z6YIKIAy2Dh39-4eE/s1600/DSC00909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDe_1FJXb56bWg2nHpPY3F4lsEqhlPiRP8mdfWCtm7fo0J8vzOH6IK8oiJpQldFIVakI_r8UAVVRjsGPhToYV0xlDrreVXOERCfHuFEumWwwxzq1T8rujvEnUpj1z6YIKIAy2Dh39-4eE/s320/DSC00909.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Another pair of women told me that they were genealogists,
just visiting for the day, and they always checked out graveyards on the off-chance
that they recognized a familiar name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
far today, they hadn’t.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As I was leaving, a father was coming in, with a couple of young,
single-digit aged kids.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">“Remember, it’s not a playground,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is a graveyard, you have to be
respectful.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It’s easy to troll social media and find pictures of people
misbehaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve seen those pictures,
too, and it pisses me off as much as it does you, believe me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I think most people understand where they
are, and treat it with respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
everyone, obviously, but I would say the vast majority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a scientific sample by any means, but
on my visit today, I saw people with genuine interest in the history of the
cemetery, and <st1:city><st1:place>Salem</st1:place></st1:city> generally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t see the “people wearing all black,
and talking about horror” that one of the cemetery commissioners so reviled
(see the post titled, “Those People”).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
just saw some nice people who were happy to be there, and they would have been
locked out last week, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And that
would have been a shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-87886039491751549942019-11-04T09:50:00.003-08:002019-11-08T07:19:19.787-08:00An Aged Person <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyjfnFfNmerFK19l-Px41g9WW9WuZfvpO3GHrv6NaS0xG2I5wVYbi54jNuK49H-xDzvQ1dRE9eHH-Rw02zEYQJbUdnKd2WZaCclCRveq5qqZElHDnW0EDWYhnWZML7doYwKsVBfWHUvM/s1600/DSC00804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPyjfnFfNmerFK19l-Px41g9WW9WuZfvpO3GHrv6NaS0xG2I5wVYbi54jNuK49H-xDzvQ1dRE9eHH-Rw02zEYQJbUdnKd2WZaCclCRveq5qqZElHDnW0EDWYhnWZML7doYwKsVBfWHUvM/s320/DSC00804.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Being Cotton Mather's brother couldn't have been easy.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Mathers all seem to have been overachievers -- Increase Mather, the family patriarch, was president of Harvard. Nathanael's brothers, Cotton and Samuel, were both Harvard-educated ministers. Nathanael entered Harvard at the tender age of 12(!) and earned a degree (his first) at 16. He"excelled" and was called "extraordinary." At age 14, he dedicated his life to God ... and that is perhaps when his health began to decline. Noted Salem historian Sidney Perley tells us that, "His dedication consisted of devotion to prayer
for personal sanctity, and he deliberated so much and so seriously that had
became morbid and melancholy." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Perley goes on to say that "He had contracted ill habits of posture of body,
which, persisted in, produced effects which made him appear like an old man." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Nathanael earned a second degree from Harvard and that's when he health seem to have become a serious problem for him. He came to Salem seeking treatment under a Dr. Swinnerton; future Salem witch trials judge Samuel Sewall (the judge who would later apologize for his involvement in the hangings, and call for a day of fasting and prayer and atonement) visited, as did Nathanael's older brother, Cotton. Sickly and worn out, Nathanael died at the doctor's house on October 17th, 1688. Cotton closed Nathanael's eyes and is said to have written his epitaph --</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Mr.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nathanael Mather</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Decd October ye 17th </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">1688</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">An Aged person</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">That had seen but</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">Nineteen Winters</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">in the World.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">He didn't die in the wintertime, and so the use of "Winters" as opposed to "Summers" underscores the sense of loss here. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dr. Donna Seger has also written about this on her blog, The Streets of Salem, which is well worth your attention. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://streetsofsalem.com/2016/01/27/the-most-poignant-epitaph-ever/">https://streetsofsalem.com/2016/01/27/the-most-poignant-epitaph-ever/</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(I apologize for the quality of the photo above; it was the best I could do, racing into the cemetery just before it was (illegally) locked up. I couldn't come back the next day when the light was better. And no, that's not an "orb" at the top, it's lens flare. Grow up.) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">UPDATE: With the cemetery reopened, I was able to go back yesterday and get a better photo of Nathanael's headstone. I did not realize, upon my first visit, that he is laid to rest next to Dr. Swinnerton and his wife, so I have added their stones as well. I may look up the Swinnertons and do a post on them in the future. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DoTIEiwkU2hdRyQNZjDb7OY1srKAjMiDHyY90xKYn3Rc7rfqgw-JynUdSCRcb4TP-2fHcFt1UOtJty9GTLIdwtC-eoJQjMaKHKq5bEMxzx_ZDfxX2wkgXPWrTVQg81jatig7ISqK3EU/s1600/DSC00895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DoTIEiwkU2hdRyQNZjDb7OY1srKAjMiDHyY90xKYn3Rc7rfqgw-JynUdSCRcb4TP-2fHcFt1UOtJty9GTLIdwtC-eoJQjMaKHKq5bEMxzx_ZDfxX2wkgXPWrTVQg81jatig7ISqK3EU/s320/DSC00895.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2HxTuv3QnOjuZDy-aVlVgO-dwv9oL_chd9SB-mQRX_2_SKgeYgdBVYnuVBTQfBB6k5HbRbyaVYxWsjiZUDla6GiW33hlevbnsEgQTvyKmOqskBCbZiQNyL9iRmLMjeViXciipA-si04/s1600/DSC00897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2HxTuv3QnOjuZDy-aVlVgO-dwv9oL_chd9SB-mQRX_2_SKgeYgdBVYnuVBTQfBB6k5HbRbyaVYxWsjiZUDla6GiW33hlevbnsEgQTvyKmOqskBCbZiQNyL9iRmLMjeViXciipA-si04/s320/DSC00897.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV50YfaTBpKiKBpEeh4ptCz-xgH2CpYJ1dUaqq15EQF1jievouIxid5LT2ljcHAVF_rE51A4af5grCFR9l1AXCseQ4hmkYRRXvSM5FBHNBHvSEC0sSwPrUFJEXRf4r0WDGB2zm1N2gWVY/s1600/DSC00896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV50YfaTBpKiKBpEeh4ptCz-xgH2CpYJ1dUaqq15EQF1jievouIxid5LT2ljcHAVF_rE51A4af5grCFR9l1AXCseQ4hmkYRRXvSM5FBHNBHvSEC0sSwPrUFJEXRf4r0WDGB2zm1N2gWVY/s320/DSC00896.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-38522600370714028212019-10-30T12:22:00.002-07:002019-10-30T12:30:32.127-07:00Go Ask Alice <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Alice Orne died too young, at only 30
in 1776, and her grave is marked with a impressive headstone. The
cherub is distinctive, and I almost wonder if it was based on someone
specific. (I say “almost,:” because as far as we know, such
portraits were not a thing).
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tR7eWqpCLZqwYCX_Ou9Dv1UZh8IpbticTxiIG2HAiul5Tkf_FDJSUIHewAlV-BX6mzu072xFPPzdd86hT6MIf1ACH6s18u13H1tAAl9jyh0mYdFqzoET9TtYWxE4SfJUJbkfgRYEcIc/s1600/alice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tR7eWqpCLZqwYCX_Ou9Dv1UZh8IpbticTxiIG2HAiul5Tkf_FDJSUIHewAlV-BX6mzu072xFPPzdd86hT6MIf1ACH6s18u13H1tAAl9jyh0mYdFqzoET9TtYWxE4SfJUJbkfgRYEcIc/s320/alice.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Her epitaph reads:<br />
<br />
This stone
has something great to teach,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And what you need to learn:<br />
For
graves, my friends, most loudly preach</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Man's infinite concern.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-67257126036220351592019-10-30T11:46:00.000-07:002019-10-30T11:46:56.739-07:00What Don't Two Wrongs Make ...? <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8SnoBhG7fJoOTbzoDEq1sb_wfsjDk_OBxdGcpMpBZtzrQlMMunZ97Z3_fq6lQ5oephwz7Emkb6pzG_cNniGUmtlT4aV15ZS3Tc2vhdHWUcripttUorArXgs_hVzXosSkA0mElQmvbAs/s1600/20191018_171257.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8SnoBhG7fJoOTbzoDEq1sb_wfsjDk_OBxdGcpMpBZtzrQlMMunZ97Z3_fq6lQ5oephwz7Emkb6pzG_cNniGUmtlT4aV15ZS3Tc2vhdHWUcripttUorArXgs_hVzXosSkA0mElQmvbAs/s320/20191018_171257.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For
a little while, I seemed to be having some variation on this
conversation once a week –</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ME:
Locking up a cemetery and denying public access is against the
law.<br /><br />SOMEONE: But the Quaker Cemetery is locked!</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">ME:
That would still be against the law …. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Put
another way –<br /><br />ME: Robbing banks is against the
law.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">SOMEONE: But Dillinger robbed banks!<br /><br />ME: That
would still be against the law ….</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHuwWsEMovt-9RHzNrm86tyYP3Kj62-2uKUBBfzotr8vuTtmxwgf6gipZqZGznR_LGn24UYRD_RrinUIaNufgowjXc3I0dA0bu1TJNmSmmX0_lA7n2uKDC17gmjBPXBue2Dn9lEa_AzU/s1600/20191018_171408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJHuwWsEMovt-9RHzNrm86tyYP3Kj62-2uKUBBfzotr8vuTtmxwgf6gipZqZGznR_LGn24UYRD_RrinUIaNufgowjXc3I0dA0bu1TJNmSmmX0_lA7n2uKDC17gmjBPXBue2Dn9lEa_AzU/s320/20191018_171408.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Quaker Cemetery, also called the Friends' Cemetery, is located on
Essex Street, right next to my dentist's office; last year I got a
crown in the room that looks out over the cemetery. Quakers were NOT
welcome in early Salem, and indeed Puritans outlawed the religion and
punished Quaker missionaries who came to town to preach or protest. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
cemetery was open for a century, from 1718 to 1818, next to the
long-gone meeting house. Findagrave tells us that “<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Many
graves are unmarked and several stones are severely eroded,” </span></span>and
informs us that the cemetery also holds the remains of Quakers
transported from other locations in Boston and Peabody. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pointing
out that one cemetery is locked in no way makes locking a second
cemetery permissible. I really have no idea what the logic behind
that argument is supposed to be. Two wrongs, we were all told as
kids, don't make a right.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
it does set a troubling precedent.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One
of my concerns, from the very beginning, has been that once the
Charter Street Cemetery is locked, it will remain locked. Those in
charge will decide that it is easy, it doesn't cost money, and it
seems that most people who express an opinion on the matter are in
favor of the closure (if only because those of us who opposed it are
being ignored). And we already have one locked up cemetery, and no
one is complaining about that, so why not a second? </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And
even if it does not remain locked year round, the city could decide
to lock it back up next October. It went so well the first time,
right? </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
I have pointed out that locking a cemetery is against the law, I am
sometimes met with vague assurances that it is allowable if the
cemetery is deemed “at risk” or “endangered.” When I have
asked, no one has cited a source for this supposed information.* The
Quaker Cemetery can in no way be described as at risk or endangered.
It is under no imminent threat. But it's locked. And it shouldn't
be either.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pkvZlYRbLOlmsLeQntYS9RHX852_IAw315kDC2UPyYR9hdxfGmPsnwEOpUasSkPBxMNGo4GIW_yAXCBwt4pne7BKkQmqzizQ2af2128_oYMzzqsSOfxrC7QsOfDnUdLXEaokq1nraZU/s1600/20191018_171329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-pkvZlYRbLOlmsLeQntYS9RHX852_IAw315kDC2UPyYR9hdxfGmPsnwEOpUasSkPBxMNGo4GIW_yAXCBwt4pne7BKkQmqzizQ2af2128_oYMzzqsSOfxrC7QsOfDnUdLXEaokq1nraZU/s320/20191018_171329.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br />*people “know” that an endangered cemetery can
be locked in the same way people “knew” a witch couldn't recite
the Lord's Prayer. It's something they just kinda think has to be
true, right? Because it just makes sense. Even it it's not actually
documented anywhere. FFS, let's not go making decisions on things we
just think must be true; we got into a lot of trouble in town for that last
time. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-67911118988548408512019-10-29T08:30:00.003-07:002019-10-29T08:31:26.539-07:00Making Headlines <span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The Charter Street Cemetery was on the front page of the Salem News today, along with my friend Giovanni, owner of Haunted Footsteps. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/no-issues-in-closed-cemetery-except-for-some-tour-groups/article_9da13223-8df8-533d-b132-91be306d9e20.html">https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/no-issues-in-closed-cemetery-except-for-some-tour-groups/article_9da13223-8df8-533d-b132-91be306d9e20.html</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />It's a bad headline, but that is the fault of the headline-writer, not the reporter filing the story. Reading the headline alone, you might think that the only "issues" in the (illegally) closed cemetery were being caused by tour groups, which is certainly not the case. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The article states that "<span style="background-color: white;">The move was made to protect the cemetery from damage caused by tourists unaware of the centuries-old gravestones’ fragility." And that's incorrect. I attended the meetings where closing the cemetery was discussed and, as noted in another post, historic preservation and protecting the cemetery never came up, and was clearly not ever the point (see the post entitled "Those People."). </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-11455544319592667242019-10-24T06:19:00.001-07:002019-10-24T06:19:46.894-07:00Those People <br />
I went to both meetings where the Cemetery Commission discussed closing the Charter Street Cemetery. I submitted a letter against the closure. I seem to have been the only one. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness.<br />
<br />
The discussion at those meetings was ... interesting. <br />
<br />"I hate what Salem has become," said one member of the commission (I did not catch her name). "Everyone comes here and everything is about witches. You can't go downtown without seeing a bunch of people in black talking about horror."<br />
<br />
She went on a bit from there, and that's when I started to see a big piece of the puzzle.<br />
<br />
This seems to be less about historic preservation, and more about Those People, the ones in black talking about horror. The people "we" don't like, the ones who aren't "like us," the ones who come here for the "wrong reasons." Dammit, why aren't they coming to hear about the spice trade? Or Hawthorne? And why cant I go to Almy's on a Sunday afternoon anymore? <br />
<br />
We're all in favor of historic preservation. Nobody wants to see the Charter Street Cemetery trashed. It's irreplaceable.<br />
<br />
But ...<br /><br />Nobody was saying that at those meetings. <br />
<br />
There was finger-wagging at Those People. The ones who come here for the wrong reasons, the reasons we don't like. They're messing it all up for Us because they don't Get It ... like We do. <br />
<br />
I could be wrong, but I just feel that when it comes to sorting out the arguments in favor of closing the cemetery, historic preservation seems to have been the last thing on anybody's mind. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-14577526770170550772019-10-15T07:06:00.000-07:002019-10-15T07:06:02.231-07:00Simon Bradstreet (or, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpc9KnCB7XITOn-FeeU0fyeIDlfevtDi93dM91I7Yj-DN-IBlJjJmP9XzXiG4qe4PoNoNpFWvr6hI4rc5RpwICVN4mq1u8bmdZJtFzIAff7_UtcdGTcrZZHySLDieuPxKdB147JJ_ZF0/s1600/DSC00668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMpc9KnCB7XITOn-FeeU0fyeIDlfevtDi93dM91I7Yj-DN-IBlJjJmP9XzXiG4qe4PoNoNpFWvr6hI4rc5RpwICVN4mq1u8bmdZJtFzIAff7_UtcdGTcrZZHySLDieuPxKdB147JJ_ZF0/s320/DSC00668.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's get back to talking about notable graves in the Charter Street Cemetery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">On the western side of the cemetery (over on the right-hand side, as you enter through the main gate) you will find the impressive box tomb of Governor Simon Bradstreet, one of the most active figures in colonial politics. He was a magistrate, a businessman, a diplomat, and of course Governor. Cotton Mather called him "the Nestor of New England," referring to the wise king from Homer's Odyssey. (But then again, Mather referred to my home state of Rhode Island as "the sewer of New England," and "the fag end of Creation," so I am not sure how much I trust his judgment here).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Regardless, Bradstreet does seem to have been an impressive character with a long list of credits to his name. He arrived in America aboard the Arbella in 1630, along with other Puritans as part of the "Winthrop Fleet,"dropping anchor at the end of my street(!). The huge plaque, placed on the tomb in 1917, describes him (in both English and Latin) as "A man endowed with keen judgement whom neither threats nor honors could sway."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />He was twice married, both times to a woman named Anne. His first wife was the poet Anne Bradstreet, first American poet, or at least the first published American poet. You English majors in the crowd (like me) will remember reading her work in your survey Am Lit class. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The Author To Her Book," is self-deprecating and pretty great --</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><i><span style="background-color: white;">Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Who after birth did'st by my side remain,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Who thee abroad, exposed to public view,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Made thee in rags, halting to th' press to trudge,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Where errors were not lessened (all may judge).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">At thy return my blushing was not small,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">I cast thee by as one unfit for light,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Thy visage was so irksome in my sight;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Yet being mine own, at length affection would</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Thy blemishes amend, if so I could:</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">And rubbing off a spot still made a flaw.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">I stretched thy joints to make thee even feet,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">In better dress to trim thee was my mind,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">But nought save homespun cloth, i' th' house I find.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">In this array 'mongst Vulgars may'st thou roam.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">In critic's hands beware thou dost not come,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">And take thy way where yet thou art not known;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">If for thy Father asked, say thou hadst none;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Which caused her thus to send thee out of door.</span> </i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />And "To My Dear and Loving Husband" is written to Simon --</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><i><span style="background-color: white;">If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee;</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">If ever wife was happy in a man,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Compare with me ye women if you can.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">I prize thy love more than whole Mines of Gold,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Or all the riches that the East doth hold.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Nor ought but love from thee, give recompence.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Thy love is such I can no way repay,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">The heavens reward thee manifold I pray.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">Then while we live, in love lets so persevere,</span><br /><span style="background-color: white;">That when we live no more, we may live ever.</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Anne and Simon had eight children together (one died in infancy). She died in 1672 and is buried in North Andover. Simon went on to marry another Anne (the niece of Governor Winthrop) in 1676. He died in Salem at the ripe of age of 93, on March 27th, 1697.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But, you will say, you are spending a fair amount of time talking about the first Mrs. Bradstreet, who you admit isn't even buried in this tomb. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't worry -- neither is Simon.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the late 1700s ("sometime between 1789-1796," according to William Carlson's "Charter Street Burial Records, Salem, Massachusetts, Genealogical and Historical," 2009) the tomb changed hands and the new owner, Daniel Hathorne (Nathaniel's grandfather) cleaned it out(!), removing the remains of Simon and the second Anne. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">What did he do with them? Where did they end up?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Nobody knows ...!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
<br /><br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-40294077409940223222019-10-10T07:59:00.001-07:002019-10-10T08:45:08.913-07:00Books!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqZF7j5jKA8ObtXDeraz1lsGOx5rcWDrUAzSDZcBud09xmQYj1qf_otFqjUBHPSkHOYDTpVVe9WRHDVlu_ORO5PVt57tivqOPBfNVptVtKF0vJD79B4WjeHK9c-CBNBomvEIVpSBNW2c/s1600/20191010_103725+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisqZF7j5jKA8ObtXDeraz1lsGOx5rcWDrUAzSDZcBud09xmQYj1qf_otFqjUBHPSkHOYDTpVVe9WRHDVlu_ORO5PVt57tivqOPBfNVptVtKF0vJD79B4WjeHK9c-CBNBomvEIVpSBNW2c/s320/20191010_103725+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Yesterday, I visited the Higginson Book Company, tucked away in a neighborhood where you might not expect to find a bookstore. Higginson reprints historic books and pamphlets (hardcover and softcover) at good prices. I grabbed the three booklets above. This will, I think, be the first of many visits.<br />
<br />
Can you find most of the material somewhere online for free? Probably. But supporting your local, independent bookseller/publisher is good for the soul.<br />
<br />
Check out their website below. They are having a sale!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://higginsonbooks.com/pages/frontpage">https://higginsonbooks.com/pages/frontpage</a><br />
<br />
Higginson used to be located in the infamous Joshua Ward House, said to be The Most Haunted House In Salem(!). But that, I think, deserves its own post at a later date. Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-50237784491921678082019-10-08T13:21:00.000-07:002019-10-10T08:44:24.188-07:00Doraty's Not In Charter Street Anymore(?)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <st1:place><st1:placename>Charter</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Street</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place> opened in 1637, though evidently
the spot was already being used for burials almost a decade before that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what is the oldest surviving stone in the cemetery?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One 19<sup>th</sup> century guidebook mentions that the
oldest legible stone is dated 1650.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have looked for that stone, but haven’t been able to find it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps I missed it, perhaps it is no longer
legible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the question comes up, most people will point to the stone
of Doraty Cromwell, which is dated 1673.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Doraty was the third of Philip Cromwell’s five wives; she is buried next
to him, and her stone shows classic death’s head and hourglass imagery common
to early <st1:place>New England</st1:place> gravestones.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have pointed this stone out to people on my tours,
commenting that the stone is so old, and the workmanship so simple, almost primitive,
that it somehow seems modern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
simplicity of the designwork makes it look, at least to me, almost Art Deco.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So old, it looks new.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4R_eDqto7-KtC95QegiQEdMe7MmszNTRUICYvSFGPQtggdUiyMiK0vXAiiTjcsKTKQW9hIJmhSGrfE0oO6h5k6Kan4W5RQjaZdA3KnPTKpGhRjpvbGc2BiJNyRtQ0LwI8kFKQH9sChU/s1600/DSC00654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid4R_eDqto7-KtC95QegiQEdMe7MmszNTRUICYvSFGPQtggdUiyMiK0vXAiiTjcsKTKQW9hIJmhSGrfE0oO6h5k6Kan4W5RQjaZdA3KnPTKpGhRjpvbGc2BiJNyRtQ0LwI8kFKQH9sChU/s320/DSC00654.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But then I discovered something odd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Frank Cousins was a noted <st1:city><st1:place>Salem</st1:place></st1:city>
photographer, active in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spent much of his time photographing older
buildings and landmarks around town (for which we are forever grateful!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took a number of photographs in the <st1:place><st1:placename>Charter</st1:placename>
<st1:placename>Street</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>Cemetery</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
and Doraty’s stone is one of them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The photo is available here:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:2b88r256r">https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:2b88r256r</a><br />
<br />
Don’t forget to enlarge the photo for a better look; the level of quality here
is really great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s obvious at a glance that THAT stone is very different
from the stone that is there now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
is much more detail – check out the feathers on the wings, the graceful
curlicue eyebrows on the skull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cousins’s
photo shows crossbones on the left-hand side, but today we have a second
hourglass instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the inscription is also noticeably different – the “memento
mori” in Cousins’s photograph is completely gone, the E in “ye” is larger, and
crossbar on the H in <br />
”Philip” was straight and now is curved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And on and on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there are similarities as well – they are the same shape,
they both have a large chip along the top edge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The H and the E in “Here” run together on both. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What’s the story here?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is it the same stone, just completely re-carved (which only raises
further questions of Why and When)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
it a replacement stone that was carved to resemble the original (again, Why and
When)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What happened to the original
stone, if this isn’t it?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I find out anything, you will be the first to know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(My thanks to Donovan Loucks, webmaster of the excellent and
thorough <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.hplovecraft.com/">www.hplovecraft.com</a>, for drawing my
attention to the Cousins photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks,
dude!) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-21602049273888804292019-10-08T06:04:00.001-07:002019-10-08T06:04:49.651-07:00FAQ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHjXVw5PVmY1wvxsZcVgofuLxPvNB7kojUXAg3yzg7UXu6cERqoDJbq-HPG2vtR1ivS1hDnhODxHOWpCBTgFy6MjW6eAHWT2egdXOeANXyfmWY28lCfpCbkB_SQ-V1yiJdBtVJ8jbPeQ/s1600/DSC00890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDHjXVw5PVmY1wvxsZcVgofuLxPvNB7kojUXAg3yzg7UXu6cERqoDJbq-HPG2vtR1ivS1hDnhODxHOWpCBTgFy6MjW6eAHWT2egdXOeANXyfmWY28lCfpCbkB_SQ-V1yiJdBtVJ8jbPeQ/s320/DSC00890.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JJ2MYpYjloOP292iYD0ZocnM33hFbkMZaTUSI3zvf3jgCtEd4rLr_5asjPJ-vaXw9uZtdESZ2tK9Q88aaslGE-ORtC-iNFXC27Md5ItdSO3yLDCrWLyE04gToWWW0Q_J4PL6N_yFv58/s1600/DSC00891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JJ2MYpYjloOP292iYD0ZocnM33hFbkMZaTUSI3zvf3jgCtEd4rLr_5asjPJ-vaXw9uZtdESZ2tK9Q88aaslGE-ORtC-iNFXC27Md5ItdSO3yLDCrWLyE04gToWWW0Q_J4PL6N_yFv58/s320/DSC00891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The city has placed a laminated FAQ at intervals along the Charter Street Cemetery fence. Laminated sheets held on with zip ties may not be aesthetically pleasing, but at least people can learn some information about the cemetery. And, as you can see from the photo above, people *are* stopping to read. <br />
<br />
The text is a reprint of the FAQ that can be found here:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.salem.com/home/news/charter-street-cemetery-frequently-asked-questions">https://www.salem.com/home/news/charter-street-cemetery-frequently-asked-questions</a><br />
<br />Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399901256627447592.post-77253473039476014152019-10-05T12:44:00.004-07:002019-10-05T12:44:49.625-07:00Locked Out <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvafKv7l-1d9gc-0EhVjJaAsVwfBfKper35NaIPTNtF38bmwg4kYnowwSfEBIdHI7jvS4Y9yRztXHhdQmm6nPuYREt_3KmrptK5vu7ljB4hI_mdeft52R5BIW3tfz6qCU1uKZBXL44E8/s1600/DSC00850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvafKv7l-1d9gc-0EhVjJaAsVwfBfKper35NaIPTNtF38bmwg4kYnowwSfEBIdHI7jvS4Y9yRztXHhdQmm6nPuYREt_3KmrptK5vu7ljB4hI_mdeft52R5BIW3tfz6qCU1uKZBXL44E8/s320/DSC00850.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The Charter Street Cemetery will be closed for the month of October. This is bad news. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br />As a public guide in Salem, I understand the many challenges the city faces every October (and beyond). Preserving invaluable historic sites, protecting them from tourists who seem to regard the city as little more than a theme park, is a major difficulty, and one for which there is no easy solution.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br />The Burying Point, also known as the Charter Street Cemetery, is the oldest cemetery in the city, and the final resting place of many Salem notables. The Burying Point’s historical significance makes it a stop on many, if not all, walking tours in town. Unfortunately, in October, the cemetery can become overrun with uninformed tourists not being careful around the irreplaceable headstones. The dangers this situation poses have led some to recommend closing the cemetery entirely for the month of October.<br />This is a flawed idea for several reasons.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br />First, it violates Massachusetts General Law, Part I, Title XVI, Chapter 114, Section 42a. That section states, “No cemetery … shall be closed for visitations between the hours of eight o'clock antemeridian and sunset …” This point has been brought up before, and the response has been that the Burying Point can be locked because the Quaker Burying Ground on Essex Street is closed and locked at all times. But citing another example of the law being broken does not seem to be a particularly forceful argument.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br />Secondly, the licensed public guides in Salem are not the problem. I am aware that many residents regard tour guides as little more than a nuisance, pedaling lies to tourists and taking their money, but that perception is simply incorrect. The majority of us got into the tour business because of our love of history, and our delight in sharing it with others. Locking the gate makes our jobs harder, and just ensures that there will be fewer knowledgeable, invested people to help keep an eye on the place.<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Further, one of the problems mentioned at the previous commission meeting was that overnight, people are often seen jumping over the wall and into the cemetery. This is obviously trespassing, but locking the gate will not solve it. Locks keep out only the honest.<br /><br />It has been proposed that access only be allowed to people on a licensed tour. While this seems like a possible solution, I feel it creates other problems. It could be seen as charging people admission for access to a public space. Many residents are perhaps understandably unhappy with the nonstop carnival that downtown can feel like in October, and allowing access to a historic cemetery on a cash basis only makes matters worse.<br /><br />In previous years, monitors have been stationed at the cemetery gates, allowing in a limited number of visitors at one time, in addition to licensed tour guides. This seems to have worked well, and I see no reason why approach this can’t be continued<br /><br />Protecting the cemetery, and encouraging visitors to more fully appreciate its significance and not just treat it like a movie set, is a major challenge. Simply locking the gate and waiting until November is the laziest solution.<br /><br /></div>
Rory Ravenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07361462538593061518noreply@blogger.com0