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The Town & the City: Lowell before and after The Civil War

Originally created to be a digital archive for Lowell documents from 1826 to 1861, this website has grown to cover many periods and events in Lowell's history.

Cemeteries & their Gravestones in Early Lowell

Cemeteries in Early Lowell

Gravestone Rubbings

These gravestone rubbings were made by the Lowell State College History Club and the Lowell Historical Society in 1973. They are located at the Center for Lowell history.

        Woodbine Cemetery

        Mammoth Road Cemetery (Pawtucket Burying Ground, Pawtucket Cemetery)

        School Street Cemetery

        Lowell Cemetery

        Hildreth Cemetery

        Edson Cemetery

        Clark Cemetery

        St. Patrick Cemetery

        Old English Cemetery

Click here for the Lowell Cemetery Projects page on the Center for Lowell History website.

Cemeteries in Early Lowell

"Benjamin Day's Workshop" on LowellIrish website

"Buried History" on the Room 50 Blog (The School Street Cemetery)

Benjamin Day at findagrave.com

Death's Head, Cherub, Urn and Willow.By James Deetz and Edwin S. Dethlefsen (Originally published in Natural History Vol. 76(3) 1967, pp. 29-37).

 

Early Lowell Cemeteries

Hamblett Cemetery      
39 Jordan St    
Hamblett Cemetery on findagrave.com                       
https://mhc-macris.net/Documents/LOW/Photos/LOW_807.jpg       
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.807   

Pawtucket Burying Ground (Pawtucket Cemetery) (Mammoth Road Cemetery)              
60 Mammoth Road
Pawtucket Burying Ground (Pawtucket Cemetery) (Mammoth Road Cemetery) on findagrave.com             
https://mhc-macris.net/Documents/LOW/Photos/LOW_808.jpg       
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.808
In use from 1796 to 1899, it is also known as the Pawtucket Cemetery and earlier as the Pawtucket Burying Ground.

School Street Cemetery              
460 School Street, School and Branch Sts
School Street Cemetery on findagrave.com
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.803              
The land was purchased from Joel Spaulding on November 5, 1810 for $23 by the inhabitants of Chelmsford as that section of Lowell was within the boundaries of Chelmsford at the time of purchase.  It was officially designated as Cemetery No. 1 at the time. 

Old English Cemetery   
1099 Gorham Street   
Old English Cemetery on findagrave.com    
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gsr&GScid=2184889 
The Old English Cemetery was purchased by the town of Chelmsford from Simon and Susanna Parker on March 31, 1832 for $428.  It was officially designated as Cemetery No. 2 at the time.          

Clark (Hunt - Clark) Cemetery   
Alcott Street (Windward Road, Douglas Road) AKA Northwest Cemetery  
Clark Cemetery on findagrave.com 
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.804   

Hildreth Cemetery          
299 Hildreth St 
Hildreth Cemetery on findagrave.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildreth_Cemetery
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.805
Lowell Cemetery Desecrated [youtube video]
Please note: Because of the extensive vandalism that occurred in 2009, some of the gravestones that were beyond repair were replaced. Because of this sometimes the gravestone at the findagrave.com site is different from the picture of the gravestone rubbing on this site.

Hildreth Family Cemetery

Hildreth Family Cemetery on findagrave.com       
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.805
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildreth_Cemetery#Hildreth_Family_Cemetery
The privare Hildreth Family Cemetery is behind the public Hildreth Cemetery and is protected by a wall and two locked gates

Coburn/Pierce Burial Ground (Claypit Cemetery, Old Burial Ground)    
Pawtucket Blvd. and Old Ferry Road, 810 Varnum Ave
Claypit Cemetery on findagrave.com          
https://mhc-macris.net/Documents/LOW/Photos/LOW_809.jpg       
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.801               
http://primaryresearch.org/rediscovering-dracuts-oldest-burial-ground/               

Woodbine Cemetery    
541 West Meadow Road
Woodbine Cemetery on findagrave.com
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.800                   

Lowell Cemetery            
1018 Lawrence Street
Lowell Cemetery on findagrave.com   
https://mhc-macris.net/Documents/LOW/Photos/LOW_802.jpg       
http://www.lowellcemetery.com/               
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowell_Cemetery
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQm4BcoV5BQ

Edson Cemetery
1375 Gorham Street
Edson Cemetery on findagrave.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edson_Cemetery
https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LOW.806
The first 30 acres were purchased in 1846 from William and Hannah Spence.  Additional cemetery land was acquired in 1877 and Edson Point was purchased in 1924. It was officially designated as Cemetery No. 3 at the time of its purchase.

Gravestone Rubbings

These gravestone rubbings were made by the Lowell State College History Club and the Lowell Historical Society in 1973. They are located at the Center for Lowell history.

Note: Æt is the abbreviation for the Classical Latin aetatis, genitive of aetas, life, age or ​aged (a specified number of years); at the age of.

Gravestone Rubbings - Woodbine Cemetery

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      Abiah Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Parker Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Rachel Coburn at findagrave.com

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      Ephraim Coburn at findagrave.com

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      Freeman Huggins at findagrave.com

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      Ann D. Huggins at findagrave.com

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      Thomas McDole at findagrave.com

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      Rev. Thomas Parker at findagrave.com

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      Sarah Richardson at findagrave.com

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      Lydia Tyler at findagrave.com

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      Capt. Jacob Tyler at findagrave.com

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      Dolly Varnum at findagrave.com

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      James B. Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Dorcas Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Charles Varnum, II at findagrave.com

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      Lucretia Varnum at findagrave.com

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      James Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Anna Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Phebe Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Thomas B. Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Mary Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Dorcas Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Thomas Varnum at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - Pawtucket Burying Ground / Mammoth Road Cemetery

      Rebekah Carlton at findagrave.com

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      Jeremiah T. Ames on findagrave.com

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      Frances Gorham Ames at findagrave.com

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      Phebe Maria Ames at findagrave.com

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      Betsy Chase George at findagrave.com

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      Mary Ann Gould at findagrave.com

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      Aaron Marshall at findagrave.com

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      Esther Marshall at findagrave.com

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      Sarah Fitch Sears at findagrave.com

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      Abner Shofford at findagrave.com

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      No record found at findagrave.com

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      Ebenezer Bowers at findagrave.com

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      Lydia G. Carter at findagrave.com

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      Hezekiah Coburn at findagrave.com

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      Capt. Peter Coburn at findagrave.com

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      James H. Fletcher at findagrave.com

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      Capt. John Ford at findagrave.com

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      Abby Jane Gage at findagrave.com

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      Prudencia Jane Gale at findagrave.com

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      Mary Hoar at findagrave.com

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      Joshua Marshall at findagrave.com

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      Susan S. Marshall at findagrave.com

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      Joshua Marshall, Jr. at findagrave.com

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      Thomas Newell at findagrave.com

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      Parker Richardson at findagrave.com

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      Susanna Richardson at findagrave.com

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      Abijah Smith at findagrave.com

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      Patty Upton at findagave.com

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      Eliza VanDorn at findagrave.com

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      Susannah Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Eleanor Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Eleanor Varnum at findagrave.com

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      Alfred Webster at findagrave.com

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      Sabra Wilson at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - School Street Cemetery

      John M. Hastings at findagrave.com

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      Allice Robbinson at findagrave.com

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      Nancy Vinton Waitt at findagrave.com

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      Hannah Dustin Waitt at findagrave.com

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     Jeduthan Parker at findagrave.com

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      Thomas E. Billings at findagrave.com

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      Micajah H. Bowers at findagrave.com

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      Mary R. Bowers at findagrave.com

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      Arthur Cabot at findagrave.com

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      Lucinda Carter at findagrave.com

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      Ann Elisabeth Fletcher at findagrave.com

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      Sophia Frye at findagrave.com

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      Elizabeth Frye at findagrave.com

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      Betsey Hastings at findagrave.com

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      Archibald McFarlin at findagrave.com

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      Sarah Ann Rider at findagrave.com

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      Mary Ann Sargent at findagrave.com

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      Mary Ann Sawtell at findagrave.com

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      Rebeccah Spalding at findagrave.com

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      Joel Spalding at findagrave.com

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      Jane Ann Thompson a findagrave.com

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      Sarah W. Wetherbee at findagrave.com

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      Abigail Whipple at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - Lowell Cemetery

      Augusta H. Lock at findagrave.com

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      Mary S. Mead at findagrave.com

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      Susan E. Parker at findagrave.com

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      Ruby W. Mead on findagrave.com

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      Sarah Abigail Mead at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - Hildreth Cemetery

Please note: Because of the extensive vandalism that occurred in 2009, some of the gravestones that were beyond repair were replaced. Because of this sometimes the gravestone at the findagrave.com site is different from the picture of the gravestone rubbing on this site.

      Capt..Charles R. Hamblet at Findagrave.com

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      Martha S. Gale at findagrave.com

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      Lydia Goodhue at findagrave.com

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      Jesse Goodhue at findagrave.com

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      Moses Goodhue at findagrave.com

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      Patty Hall at findagrave.com

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      Amos Hall at findagrave.com

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      Phineas Hall at findagrave.com

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      Rebeckah Abbot at findagrave.com

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      Daniel C. Abbot at findagrave.com

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      Patience Abbot at findagrave.com

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      John Adams Bradley at findagrave.com

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      Abigail Doak at findagrave.com

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      Elbridge Gerry Richardson at findagrave.com

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      John Eldad Eastman at findagrave.com

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      Rhoda R. Flint at findagrave.com

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      Martha Friend at findagrave.com

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      Polley Frye at findagrave.com

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      Enoch Frye at findagrave.com

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      Henry Hall at findagrave.com

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      Lucy Hovey at findagrave.com

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      Thomas Hovey at findagrave.com

      Mary Hovey at findagrave.com

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      Oliver Jones at findagrave.com

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      Dolley Jones at findagrave.com

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      Lydia Jones at findagrave.com

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      Henry A. Jones at findagrave.com

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      Olive Jones at findagrave.com

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      Mary Kittredge at findagrave.com

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      Ruth Page at findagrave.com

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      Benjamin Richardson at findagrave.com

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      Richard W. Richardson at findagrave.com

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      Rhoda Rogers Worcester at findagrave.com

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      Jonathan Hervey Stanley at findagrave.com

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      Prudence Thissell at findagrave.com

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      John C. Thissell at findagrave.com

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      Mehitable Thissell at findagrave.com

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      Rhoda Worcester at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - Edson Cemetery

      Alpheus B. Conkey at findagrave.com

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      [cenotaph / statue]

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      Sarah McCurdy at findagrave.com

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      Oliver Lawrence at findagrave.com

Note: findagrave.com lists the cemetery as Edson. The date of death, 1839, is before the creation of the Edson Cemetery.

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      Abel Davis at findagrave.com

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      Folsom B. Fifield at findagrave.com

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      Samuel D. Flanders at findagrave.com

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      Amos H. Maxfield at findagrave.com

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      Caleb Shattuck at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - Clark Cemetery

      George E. Brown at findagrave.com

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      John Chapman at findagrave.com

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      Lydia Clark at findagrave.com

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Note: The four lines of poetry are from a poem by Anne Steele (1717 - 1778)

      Nancy Clark at findagrave.com

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      Lydia Clark at findagrave.com

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       Rhoda Clark at findagrave.com

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     Sally Clark at findagrave.com

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      Abigail Hunt at findagrave.com      

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       Martha Chapman at findagrave.com

Note: The meaning of Memento mori

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     Mary Hunt at findagrave.com

Note: The meaning of Memento mori

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      Timothy Hunt at findagrave.com

Note: The meaning of Memento mori

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      Timothy Hunt at findagrave.com

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      Jacob Marshall at findagrave.com

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      Patty Marshal at findagrave.com

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      Mary M. Brown at findagrave.com

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      Martha Chapman at findagrave.com

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      Abigail B. Osgood at findagrave.com

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      Mary Robb at findagrave.com

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      Mary Russel at findagrave.com

Note: The long s is used in the name Russel

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      Eldad Worcester at findagrave.com

Note: the "D." stands for Deacon.

Note #2: The lines of poetry are from Job' Hymns: or, a Book of Songs upon the Book of Job by Ralph Erskine

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      Deacon Thomas Clark at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - St. Patrick Cemetery

      No record at findagrave.com

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      No record at findagrave.com

       The meaning of IHS on the gravestone

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      Philip Farley at findagrave.com

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Gravestone Rubbings - Old English Cemetery

      The Children of John M. & Elizabeth Carter at findagrave.com

      Sarah E. Carter at findagrave.com

      Napoleon J. Carter at findagrave.com

      Eveline M. Carter at findagrave.com

      William W. Carter at findagrave.com

      Elizabeth Carter at findagrave.com

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      George P. Barker at findagrave.com

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      William Barker at findagrave.com

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      Thomas Alldritt at findagrave.com

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      Thomas Alldritt at findagrave.com

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      Abigail Babb at findagrave.com

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      Laura Baldwin at findagrave.com

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      Augusta Ellene Banister at findagrave.com

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      Pamelia Baxter at findagrave.com

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      Joseph Cocker at findagrave.com

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      John Drummond at findagave.com

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      Georgeanna Emery at findagrave.com

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      Albridge G. Farnham at findagrave.com

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      Mary Ford at findagrave.com

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      Eastman M. French at findagrave.com

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      Jesse L. Gowdy at findagrave.com

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      Elkanah Grosvenor at findagrave.com

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      Mary Harwood at findagrave.com

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      Alonzo J. B. Hunkins at findagrave.com

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      Caroline Jameson at findagrave.com

      Maria F. Jameson at findagrave.com     

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      Jennett Jones at findagrave.com

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      Zopher Jones at findagrave.com

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      Abby Maria Kennedy at findagrave.com

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      Catherine Long at findagrave.com

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      David Morrison at findagrave.com

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      Maria Neal at findagrave.com

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     William Neal at findagrave.com

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      Emily M. Osgood at findagrave.com

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      James Philbrick at findagrave.com

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      Sally Russell at findagrave.com

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      William Shaw at findagrave.com

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      Lucy Streeter at findagrave.com

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      Andrew Thompson at findagrave.com

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      Susan M. Thompson at findagrave.com

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      William Henry Treadwell at findagrave.com

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     Mary Ann Watson at findagrave.com

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