During the COVID-19 quarantine, I have been walking for
exercise. It may seem strange, but my
favorite places to walk are cemeteries.
I find it interesting to walk through the cemeteries in Franklin.
The Union St.
cemetery has grave stones from the 1700s.
There are some very recognizable names:
- · Oliver Dean, who founded Dean College
- · Fletcher family, there’s a softball field named after the family.
- · Ray family, funded Franklin Library - the first library in the country.
Then there’s the Beaver Street Cemetery. It is really called St. Mary’s Cemetery
because the parishioners of St. Mary’s purchased the land in 1864 because
Catholics weren’t allowed to be buried in the Union St. cemetery. But that was then and this is now. Now anyone can be buried in either the Union
St. or Beaver St. cemetery. I found it
interesting to notice the Irish and Italian names on the St. Mary’s gravestones in contrast to the English names on the Union St. cemetery tombstones.
Cemeteries hold the history of civilization. These two cemeteries reflect the mindset of
our Puritan ancestors who left England for freedom to practice their own
religion and then in turn didn’t practice what they preached. In St. Mary’s cemetery we see the oldest
gravestones engraved with Irish surnames, reflecting the Irish immigrants fleeing
the potato famine in the mid-1800s. Soon
overwhelming the Irish names are Italian names. Names that only Franklinites could pronounce:
- · Mucciarone
- · Bucchiano
- · D’Aniello
St. Mary’s cemetery has a beautiful memorial garden and a columbarium.
A columbarium is a wall of vaults containing the cremated remains of the
deceased. It is a peaceful area for
respectful reflection.
There’s one more cemetery that is perhaps the most
interesting of all, albeit the smallest one.
It is on Green St., Franklin. The
official name is the City Mills Historical Cemetery. That area is part of the City Mills section
of Norfolk/Franklin, hence the name.
Some of the people buried there:
·
Samuel Allen 15 Mar 1778 Franklin, Norfolk,
Massachusetts, USA - 14 Jan 1866
Edward Gay Jr 2 Jul 1696 Wrentham, Suffolk, Province of Massachusetts Bay - 28 Feb 1758
Edward Gay Jr 2 Jul 1696 Wrentham, Suffolk, Province of Massachusetts Bay - 28 Feb 1758
There are other reasons to enjoy walking in these cemeteries
besides historical interest. There’s the
peace and quiet. The roads are paved so
one can wholly concentrate on their reflections. The epitaphs on the gravestones are interesting
and some are funny. (That will be a future story.) The architecture, material, and choice of
design offer imaginative stories about people’s lives. It certainly makes you wonder what happened
between birth date - death date. Just
imagine! An entire life is represented
by a dash!
Soon many more graves and cremains will be added to our cemeteries,
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A walk
through the cemeteries will put your priorities in order. What will your legacy be?
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