Old Burying Ground, Sturbridge, Massachusetts: Part 2

Grave of Elijah Carpenter

The stone above was the most captivating one that I found in the Old Burying Ground. At the top, it has a rather ordinary image of two urns separated by a pilaster, but that is not what is interesting about it. What is interesting is the story relayed by the inscription and by the destruction to the top of the stone.

The inscription reads:

Mr. Elijah Carpenter

died May 19, 1808

in his 65 Year.

In his life he was a patron of piety

he had long maintained a bright

hope of a Glorious resurrection

But his death was attended

with alarming circumstances -

he SHOT himself - Psalms [?]

BESTILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Also Saml Carpenter

son to the above died May 14

1813 in his 16[?] Year.

I have never seen a stone that acknowledged the deceased's suicide before, and I certainly never expected to find one in an old New England graveyard such as this one. Though I believe that Protestants were historically more forgiving of suicide than Catholics were, I would still expect that they would view it as a sin. Even if they did allow victims of suicides to be buried in their cemeteries, I wouldn't expect an explicit reference to the cause of death on the stone.

Yet the reference is there, and is part of an inscription that suggests not a small amount of compassion and sympathy for the man on the part of his family or community. Clearly, his death was shocking, and describing it on his grave may have provided his survivors with a way of gaining psychological control over what happened - if they couldn't change it, they could at least explain it in their own words. However, it seems clear that the people responsible for the inscription didn't want the manner of Elijah Carpenter's death to completely overshadow the piety of his life.

Then there is the top of the stone. It has been extensively broken and repaired, and the stone has been reset on a new base. Could someone have inflicted the damage intentionally? Someone with a bit less sympathy for Elijah Carpenter's plight than the people who erected the stone? Or am I reading too much into this?

Detail of Elijah Carpenter stone

Elijah Carpenter's is not the only stone in the cemetery that describes its owner's cause of death. Mr. Moses Thomson died in 1792 "with the small pox." I wonder if he, like the original settler James Deneson, was of Scottish origin. His stone is engraved with a simple setting sun.

Grave of Moses Thomson

The setting sun on the grave of Sibbel Howard is much more elaborate, complete with triangular rays and eyes. It's quite playful and imaginative, in fact, peering over the top of the inscription.

Grave of Sibbel Howard

The grave of Elizabeth Baker was almost certainly made by the same artist who made the stones of James and Experience Deneson, or at least was made in the same workshop. The cherub head, however, is unique, with radically abstracted wings and a crown.

Grave of Elizabeth Baker

Likewise, the grave of Oliver M. Shaw, who died at only one year and five days old, looks like it was made by the same person who made the Captain Joseph Cheney stone. Given their dates, I would guess that these two artists or workshops were operating contemporaneously.

Grave of Oliver M. Shaw

The grave of Caleb Fay, I believe, is evidence for a third hand or workshop - the same that created the grave of Captain Nathaniel Walker. It shows the same simplicity of design, fine lines, and naturalism. It is a few years earlier than the Walker stone.

Grave of Caleb Fay

The neoclassical motif of two urns separated by a pilaster (or in this case a willow) shown here on the stone of Hephzibah and Brady Walker is the same as that of the Elijah Carpenter stone, but the style is much different. This stone is also several decades earlier than the Carpenter stone.

Grave of Hephzibah and Brady Walker

Several of the stones in the graveyard were tied with plastic ribbons - some green, some pink. I assume they have been marked for some sort of treatment. The stones in the cemetery are generally very well preserved. Even those that have been broken have been very carefully repaired, including this one, the grave of Josiah Hobbs. I love the way the inscription is laid out within a circle. It's quite bold and original, and there is something very modern about it. It almost looks like a logo or a sign.

BONUS: Giant mushrooms! There are a lot of trees in the graveyard, making for a lot of shade, and the mushrooms seem to like it.

Finally, one last view of the graveyard. I recommend taking a look if you're ever in the area; there's a lot still that I didn't get to see.