Cause of Death: Drowned

William V. SCHOLFIELD
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

William V. SCHOLFIELD


Drowned in the Pawcatuck River in Westerly, RI, on 4 Feb 1852, William V. SCHOLFIELD probably ventured out onto thin ice and drowned. He was only 14 years old. The flower on his grave is symbolic of a life just coming into bloom.


He is buried behind his parents, Joseph A. Scholfield (1815-1855) and his wife Eunice C. Vibber (1817-1902) who were my third great grandparents.


It is still unclear as to whether this boy had another brother named William. The History of Montville, CT lists both a William V. and a William A. in this family!


I have located both gravestones but why a family would name two boys with the same first name before the first one had died is a mystery. I am assuming that this William's middle name is Vibber (his mother's maiden name).

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William V. SCHOLFIELD, son of Joseph Arthur SCHOLFIELD and Eunice C. VIBBER was born 11 Oct 1837. He was drowned in the Pawcatuck River in Westerly, RI on 4 February 1852 at the age of 14 years, 3 months and 21 days.

William was the oldest child.

Source:
History of Montville, page 275, #71 [note: this source lists another son named William who was born in 1850 and lived to adulthood but this may be incorrect as he is not listed in the household in 1850]
1850 Federal Census, Montville, CT: William is 12 years old.

Eagle

Eagle
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Graveyard Rabbits February 2010 "Cemetery Critters"

Found on a rock on a cemetery in Cape Cod, Massachusetts is this rock with a plaque with a soaring eagle.

Epitaphs

Gravestone 4 Blog
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival November, 2009

I'm not much for epitaphs as most of the gravestones I have photographed have inscriptions that are hard to read. Many of them are exactly the same or so similar that I have ceased to try to take an extra photo just to read "the fine print".

When "Googled", many turn out to be partially based on Scripture.

I can't imagine any of them on my own gravestone, so how about this for an idea?

She worked in the present, using tools of the future, to research the lives of the past.

Source: Tombstone Generator

Civil War Monument

Civil War Monument
Originally uploaded by midgefrazel

Graveyard Rabbits Carnival June 2009 "Veterans' Memorials"

Here in New England, graveyards are filled with patriots from every war. Many are single graves with some indication of who they were and how they served. This past weekend, I found some memorial plaques placed there by the DAR to memorialize patriots that must be buried in unmarked graves. I plan to look them up and write about them in a later post.

This Civil War Memorial towers above the other monuments in the Mount Prospect Cemetery in Bridgewater, MA. I trudged up the hill to take a closer look and marveled at the stark beauty and simplicity of this monument. So many people suffered in this awful war.

"The Unknown Dead of the Civil War 1861-1865" is the only inscription.

I have located two [James Albert Barber] and [Joseph Schofield] of the three graves of my 2nd great grandfathers who served. The third [Charles Turner Evans] must be buried in North Adams or Adams, MA and I am still looking for someone who lives nearby to locate his grave for me.

I dedicate this blog post to my friend Robert Grandchamp who is working hard to preserve the memories, people and events of the Civil War in my home state of Rhode Island. Robert is a very special person.