Tombstone Tuesday: Secrets of the Moving Dead

The Dead Can Move

Lyman Hall Monument,, photo by Brian Zoldak, 2013

Early in my research, I discovered a valuable book, now out of copyright, written my my 2nd great grandmother's brother, the Rev. Frederic Denison. The author of many books and an ordained minister, Rev. Fred (that's what I like to call him) was also interested in his family history and the lives of the people in Westerly, Rhode Island.

The last chapter in the book is a list of graveyards and people buried there. I love that many of the graveyards are called "Ground" for burying ground. Rhode Island has nearly 4 thousand such small family cemeteries. One of my favorites is Hall Ground #3 because of the mention of the picket fence around it. 

Dwight Brown's River Bend Cemetery book, lists 3 pages of folks named Hall (maiden or male surname). I really had visions of going to look for the lovely marble stones shining in the sunshine in a meadow.  But, the Lyman Hall listed here (in Hall Ground #3) is the son of Capt. Palmer Hall's father, Lyman Hall and he and his wife Abby are listed at Find-a-Grave in Oak Grove Cemetery in Hopkinton, RI. So much for the picket fence. 

Brian Zoldak went looking for me at River Bend Cemetery in Westerly and found Capt. Palmer Hall and his parents. Problem solved but in a round about way. So, back to learning about Capt. Palmer Hall.

Here's the page (#285) from Rev. Fred's book so you can see the little family cemeteries and their descriptions. (I recently broke down and bought a copy for my library. It is hard to really read on the screen.)

So, the secrets of the moving dead can be complicated by cemetery records (in print) no longer being accurate.