Tombstone Tuesday: Capt. Samuel BRIGHAM

Capt. Samuel BRIGHAM, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

First Burial in Old Common Cemetery

Reverse Side of Headstone with footstone. photo by Midge Frazel

Enlargement of Detail of Headstone

According to the Nagel family Web site, Samuel's headstone is the only one in the second generation of descendants from Thomas Brigham to have survived. It has a repaired crack. The back side looks like it might have fallen over and been partially buried and discolored. Because it is the oldest recorded stone in this cemetery, many people may have been looking for it and that is why it has been repaired and reset.

It is a very ornate stone for its time. The death head is prominent an above it is the "face" style soul effigy. Rice's book on page 25 transcribes the stone correctly. 

Tombstone Tuesday: When Cousins Marry

Side by Side: Mary & Benjamin Rice

In the past, it was not so unusual for cousins to marry, especially when several brothers or sisters came early to America and then moved to neighboring towns in later generations. Arranged marriages may have been about land alliances or who was going to take care of aged family members.

Benjamin and Mary's gravestones are side by side in the old Common Cemetery and this is where I first noticed the differences in the height of the gravestones. It may not look like much but if one gravestone is going to be larger, it is usually the husband. When I took a close look at these gravestones, I was surprised that she died first.

That's the thing about old gravestones, it is not always easy to tell if they are replica/replacements or when they were placed there.

Most folks cringe when I mention that first cousins did marry. Did you?

Thrice Rice: Mary Rice

Thrice Rice: Mary Rice

As you can see in the clip from the Marlborough Cemetery Book, there was confusion over who Mary's parent's were. Franklin P. Rice identified her as Mary Graves but further research tells us that this woman, Mary was the daughter of Samuel Rice and his second wife, Mary Dix. 

This makes Benjamin, Mary's husband, her first cousin. You can see why Franklin Rice dismissed that as not possible in 1908 when he did his research.

Mary's gravestone is in excellent condition and is not as "primitive" in appearance as her husband. She died in 1736 and her husband died in 1748 so it is possible that her gravestone was carved and placed here after her husband's gravestone.

Her birth record indicated of day of the week and only give a "first week" of August as part of the record. This also may have added to the confusion over which Mary this was.

Thrice Rice: Benjamin Rice

Thrice Rice: Benjamin Rice

Benjamin Rice of Marlborough is a third generation descendant of Deacon Edmund Rice. The life of Deacon Edmund Rice is well researched and is presented to all in this document amusingly called, Edmund Rice 101. 

Benjamin Rice was born in Marlborough on 22 Dec 1666 and lived his whole life there. He was the father of nine children. One of his sons Deacon Mattias Rice (of Northborough) was the first husband of the second wife of Ens. Abraham Rice. This just goes the demonstrate how intermarried this family is in this area. Benjamin lived to be 82 years old.

Adorned with the swirling rosettes, the lettering on this gravestone is all uppercase and you can still see the lines the gravestone carver used as a guide. The death head is not the same style as the "lightbulb head" found on area gravestones.

My husband is descended from Benjamin's brother, Daniel Rice. As we don't know where Daniel is buried, we have adopted Benjamin as our own for this period of time.

Tombstone Tuesday: Double Gravestones

Double Gravestones

This double gravestone of husband Jonah Rice and his wife Phebe is a mystery! It doesn't appear in the 1908 book by Franklin P. Rice and I don't know why. Jonah's father and grandfather are buried in this same cemetery.

It is set aside from the other gravestones and that makes me wonder if it was moved here from another cemetery. The Rice family has it listed in this cemetery.

It is very hard to read. It is the dark slate favored by this area. The lettering seems worn for its age. 

Phebe's maiden name is not known by the Rice family. I put a lightened version of part of the husband's gravestone so you can see how hard it is to read.

Tombstone Tuesday: Elizabeth Barrett

Prepare for Death: Elizabeth Barrett

Elizabeth BARRETT, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Elizabeth Barrett was the wife of Zoroable Rice. Her slate gravestone is as intriguing as the one that was carved for her husband. I have not seen the "wings" of the undifferentiated or "portrait" face depicted in the tight upright position like this on other gravestones. Her footstone is also decorated.

The lovely ornamental carvings on the side panels of her gravestone did not leave enough room for her name, relationship or the dates. As you can see, there's a lot of hypenation and spacing issues.

The daughter of Thomas Barrett and his wife Elizabeth Stow and the sister of Lydia (who also married into this family) was born 12 Jun 1677 in nearby Sudbury. She married Zoroable on 4 Feb 1728/9 in Marlborough. As her parents are buried in Spring Hill cemetery, they must have moved to Marlborough at some time.

Elizabeth died in 1770 before her husband. She was 67 years and 10 months as we can see by this clip of the carvings. She is buried alongside her husband in the Old Common Cemetery in Marlborough, Middlesex, MA

The epitaph or verse on Elizabeth's gravestone is the one that appears (in several forms) on so many New England gravestones.

Behold & see! as you pass by,

As you are now, so once was I;

As I am now, so you must be,

Prepare for Death, & Follow me.

Elizabeth's gravestone can be examined more closely here.

Zorobable Rice

 Zorobable Rice

Zorobable or Zerubbable or Zeruable was the 5th child, 3rd son born into his family. He lived his whole life in Marlborough. He married but did not have children. He lived a long life for his time and may have been suffering an illness, perhaps a stroke, when he died in 1775. He is buried in the Old Common Cemetery in Marlborough, Middlesex, MA

I call him Mr. Zero because genealogy should be fun.

I have not seen another gravestone with this same first name which is rooted in Hebrew as Zerubbabel.

Zoroable was born on New Year's Day in 1702 to Benjamin and Mary (Rice) Rice. 

His slate gravestone features the "undifferentiated" face of the time and is not his portrait although the features and hair style certainly give that impression, don't they? It has withstood the harsh New England weather amazingly well. 

I discovered that many gravestones from the Old Common and Springhill (in Marlborough) cemeteries are in the Farber Gravestone Collection which confirms the excellence of the workmanship of the carvers. 

Zoroable's gravestone details can be examined more closely here.

Thrice Rice Cemetery Tour

Cemetery Tour, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Thrice Rice Cemetery Tour
Friday, 20 Sept 2013

I had a big crowd and they coped with being guided around the cemetery. Several people took photos with their cell phones. My idea of marking the graves with tomato stakes and the colored balls went well. I will explain that in a later post.

It was quite hot so I wrapped up my talk in the shade of the Walker building. Before the bus arrived, hubs and I went to the front of the building and I took photos of the commemorative plaques and a WWI monument. Brian Rice took this photo of us before the bus left. 

Photo of Midge & Steve, taken by Brian Rice at Old Common Cemetery

Packed for the Cemetery Tour

Packed for the Cemetery Tour, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Ready for the Tour

Mother Nature has blessed me with a beautiful day for the cemetery tour at the Old Common Cemetery. 

This is (some) of what I am taking with me. Hubs is, of course going with me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Entombed in One Coffin

Luther and Willard RICE, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Entombed in One Coffin

Did you notice that the two sons of Levi and Lucinda Rice died the same day? I was surely going to find a newspaper article about this and I was rewarded (I think) with one from the Hampden Federalist (22 Jan 1818) in Springfield, MA that told me that Luther age 6 and Willard age 4 were the only sons of this couple and that they died of the quinsy on Saturday. They went to school the Thursday before and became ill probably on Christmas Day. The were buried on the next Monday together in one coffin. Chilling.

"Lovely in life, in their death, they were not divided." is what they chose to carve on this plain gravestone.

At the very bottom of the stone is a mention of an infant daughter being buried here also (in 1816). It doesn't get sadder than this. I am sure Lucinda was distraught over burying her baby girl only to have this happen. 

Levi and Lucinda went on to have six more children. 

Signs of Life and Death

Robin Hill Cemetery Sign, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Signs of Life and Death

I recommend that if a cemetery has signage that you make it a habit to take a photo of the sign. Not all cemeteries have signs and some have multiple signs depending on what the cemetery is officially named and what name the living locals choose to call it. The living and the dead share many secrets.

I randomly chose to research a few gravestones in this small family plot not knowing that my husband shares his ancestry with Levi Rice. Levi is his third cousin 6 times removed which certainly isn't close but nevertheless, since I didn't know anything about this it makes it quite amazing!

Levi5 (Thomas4, Gershom4, Jacob3, Edward2, Deac. Edmund1) was a fifth generation American who lived his whole life in Marlborough. Don't let the simplicity of these gravestones let you down. There's a lot of information to be known about Levi and his descendants even though he died in 1860. 

In the next few posts, let's explore his family buried with him. But, always remember those who died on September 11th, which is the date I am posting this blog entry.

Just in Time for Thrice Rice

It's September 1st and that leaves 20 days until Sept. 21 when I present a short talk on cemetery research with particular emphasis on some of the gravestones of the descendants of Edmund Rice who are resting in the Old Common Cemetery in downtown Marlborough, MA.

John Chandler has posted a list of Rice descendants that are buried in Marlborough. It is interesting how many there are!

As the days march on, you can be thinking of me as I get ready for this 30 to 40 minute talk called Thrice Rice.