Whether it's for their solace and beauty or for the sense of history that seeps from the ground, cemeteries are fascinating places to visit. Some are the final resting places of famous authors, soldiers, and statesmen, while others are more notable for their intricate headstones and memorable epitaphs. All have their own unique characteristics and stories to tell.
In Stones and Bones of New England, author Lisa Rogak tells the tales of nearly one hundred of the most intriguing burial grounds in all seven New England states. Included are:
*Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, where elaborately carved sculptures of angels and Greek goddesses can be found next to engravings of an oil truck and a soccer ball
*Spider Gates Cemetery, in Leicester, Massachusetts, a notoriously haunted old Quaker burying ground that is still in use
*Common Burying Ground in Newport, Rhode Island, which contains the graves of African Americans (both free and slave) from Newport's colonial trade days
*Milford Cemetery in Milford, Connecticut, where Mary Fowler's tombstone bears the epitaph, "How soon she's ripe how soon she's rotten / Sent to her grave and soon forgotten."
This highly readable guide also provides all the tools you need to explore on your own, with location information and glossaries that demystify the meaning behind hundreds of commonly carved symbols and headstone abbreviations. Insightful commentaries and interesting facts about funeral customs and traditions make this an engaging resource for casual visitors and ardent taphophiles alike.
Lisa Rogak is the author of more than twenty nonfiction books on cooking, travel, careers, country living, and other topics. She also runs a unique business selling antique funeral memorabilia on the Internet. She lives in Grafton, New Hampshire.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The lifelike sculptures of some of the grave markers are the main attraction at Hope Cemetery. Far left and at the back of the cemetery, look for the Brusa stone: A brooding angel, head on chin, legs crossed, trumpet on lap, sits beneath a Greek pillar and balustrade sculpture. . . . .Heading back out of the cemetery, pull over and check out the stones where you see the soccer ball stone. Look for a chair that serves as a grave marker, another with a classic Green Mountain view--complete with fence posts, rifle, fishing rod, dune buggy, and lots of trucks. One shows a Shell Oil truck driving through the mountains; another serves as a belated advertisement for the Benedini Well Company, depicting a truck in the process of digging an artesian well.
