St. John's Church Cemetery

After over a week away from home and this blog, I'm back with camera full of photos that includes cemeteries, views from an Amtrak train speeding south to Virginia and back to New York City, as well as views of Brooklyn shot from an elevated subway line. Although the trip was nice, it's always a relief to get back to New York City. For those of you who don't appreciate urban living, it might be hard to understand the appeal of Manhattan as a permanent resident. But having grown to enjoy the city after a decade in Greenwich Village, I can take pleasure in its vibrancy and diversity - as well as the convenience of walking to whatever I need.

These photos are from one of my favorite destinations near my parents' home - St. John's Episcopal Church, which I've previously featured on the blog. Although the parish was founded in 1643, this building, the second on the site, was constructed in 1755 and is now on the National Register.

I had glanced at the headstones before but hadn't really taken note of their inscriptions, having usually been in a hurry to photograph the building itself while anxious kids waited in the car. Look closely at the second photo below and you'll see the reference to a Confederate "patriot" who died in the Civil War "to save his country's honour." The third and fourth photos tell a different story. With three members of the same family, including a five-month-old son, dying over an eight-day span in 1836, one suspects they were victims of some sort of illness, in a scenario so typical of the period. (The top left photo I selected because of its Masonic symbol, not something often seen on local stones from this period. If you click on this image and view the larger version, notice the detail in the carving, as well as the small spots of lichen starting to grow on the stone. The second photo (above right) stands out because it's the marker for a three-year-old, a detail my younger son noticed while marching through the rows of stones. He's now accustomed to seeing the graves of small children in our cemetery travels and I've tried to explain that childhood mortality was a common thing in previous centuries. One has to wonder if this child's death was caused by illness - or was a result of the war.)

Lawns Creek Parish Cemetery

Less than a mile beyond Bacon's Castle is the brick shell and adjoining cemetery of the Lawns Creek Parish. Founded in 1639, the church building burned in 1868, leaving the roofless brick shell visible today. Several years ago a hurricane toppled several large trees at the site, breaking headstones and further damaging the church's walls. Within the last year I've noticed efforts to clean weeds from the building's interior and masonry work improving the safety of the remaining walls. Despite the 17th century genesis of the parish, established in one of the earliest settled areas of the Virginia colony, the small cemetery holds few stones from that earliest period. Indeed, most of the markers are from the mid-19th century and later. The walled family plots are the most interesting feature of the cemetery. There are even a few recent burials! I wonder how one secures a spot . . . Probably a matter of family connections to the cemetery.

Second Cemetery

I frequently walk by this cemetery, a tiny, walled, triangular plot located on 11th Street just east of 6th Avenue. Tucked against 19th century townhouses and shaded by trees, it always seems a quiet repose disconnected from the nearby traffic. I've never seen the gate unlocked but someone obviously tends it regularly. Most of the stones are heavily weathered, so the particulars of the cemetery's residents are difficult to discern.

Founded in 1654 by a small group of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Congregation Shearith Israel is the oldest Jewish congregation in the U.S. and was the only synagogue in New York City until 1825. Over the last 350 years the congregation has moved several times, settling at its current location on West 70th St. in 1897. The congregation's "First Cemetery" (1682-1828), located in Chinatown at St. James Place opposite Chatham Square, is on the National Register. The "Second Cemetery," pictured here, was originally much larger and square. In 1830, 11th Street was cut through the neighborhood, leaving the cemetery in its present triangular configuration, with only twenty stones remaining. The "Third Cemetery," on 21st St. between 6th and 7th Avenues, was used from 1829 until 1851.

Gallow Hill Cemetery, Part 2

Four more from the Gallow Hill Cemetery in Brookfield, CT. The last photo shows the inscription "memento mori" (a reminder of death or mortality) and carved angel that I've often seen in Vermont. This 1783 headstone (see the date in the last photo of Part 1) is the only "memento mori" example I could find in the Gallow Hill cemetery. The stone had obviously been lying flat for some time because grass had completely grown over the edges by several inches and the inscription was heavily worn. Marking the grave of a husband and wife, the stone itself is very wide, perhaps three to four feet, and shows another identical head beside this one, also bearing the "memento mori" and angel motifs.

Gallow Hill Cemetery, Part 1

While out driving in Connecticut yesterday we passed a cemetery I had seen from a distance on many occasions. This time we stopped and it was well worth the trouble. Located in Brookfield, CT, this small cemetery was established in 1734, as you can see from the first photo. The oldest stone I could find was 1757, as shown in the third picture. There were numerous older looking stones but they were too badly weathered to find a legible date. A majority of the headstones fall in the 1800 to 1850 range, although a few date from the 1870s as well. I'm guessing that this cemetery was little used after the mid-19th century because of its distance from the town itself. The 1757 stone is unusual for this cemetery because it's the only one cut from this reddish stone. Also, it incorporates the angel motif that I've more often found up in Vermont. Given the popularity of the carved angel faces on early- to mid-18th century New England stones, there were probably other examples of this motif on the severely weathered stones. Surrounded by a beautiful stone wall, the Gallow Hill Cemetery was no more than three to four acres large.