Stories Carved in Stone Photo Gallery

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Connecticut River Valley CemeteriesUse the Search button to find all gravestone photos in a specific LOCATION or CEMETERY.
18 92
Blandford Old Cemetery (1742)


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Two Blandford burying grounds were established in 1741 and 1742. This cemetery is located on Main Street, Blandford, across from the Blandford Historical Society. Numerous known and unknown sandstone and schist carvers have gravestones in this yard. A second cemetery lies nearby on North Street, and is known as the Hill or Centre Cemetery.

16 files, last one added on Jun 15, 2009

Old Burying Ground - aka Mechanic Street Cemetery (1669)


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Enjoy the works of many local and Connecticut sandstone carvers in the shady and well-kept Mechanic Street Burying Ground in Westfield. Visitors must pick up a key at the Westfield Athenaeum Library on the town green to unlock the century-old cast iron gate. It is worth the effort.

25 files, last one added on Jan 09, 2010

Chester Center Cemetery (1769)


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The Chester Center Cemetery may be found on the Skyline Trail and features many schist markers, carved from this common local stone. This was the original center of town until the railroad came through along the river, in the mid-1800s, and created a new Chester depot and factory village.

4 files, last one added on Nov 08, 2006

Enfield Street Cemetery


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The Enfield Street Cemetery is the last resting place of many Connecticut River families. It showcases a gorgeous view of the river valley, and skilled sandstone and marble works. Located at the corner of Enfield Street and Spier Avenue, in Enfield, CT. Enfield was originally a part of Springfield Massachusetts, before its secession. Features in Bob Clark's Stories Carved in Stone: Enfield Connecticut written in 2006.

2 files, last one added on Oct 25, 2006

Springfield Cemetery (1841)


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A picturesque, beautifully maintained 'garden cemetery' in the spirit of Mount Auburn. The oldest Western Massachusetts gravestone can be seen here, along with hundreds of early markers moved from the original Springfield burying grounds located behind Court Square in 1848-1849. Stop in at the little castle, and ask for a map, they are always helpful!

8 files, last one added on Apr 12, 2009

Historic Deerfield


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1 files, last one added on Jan 15, 2007

Pine Hill Cemetery


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2 files, last one added on Jul 30, 2008

Adams Cemetery


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1 files, last one added on Nov 06, 2006

Laurel Hill Cemetery


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1 files, last one added on Nov 08, 2006

West Granville Cemetery


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1 files, last one added on Jan 04, 2007

Union Street Cemetery


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6 files, last one added on Apr 12, 2009

Suffield Center Cemetery


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1 files, last one added on Jan 15, 2007

18 albums on 2 page(s) 1

Gravestone Carvers - Sandstone, Marble, Schist 1657-1850Knowing a specific carver's distinguishing styles can help you to identify his work in various graveyards.
21 121
John Ely


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A West Springfield native, John Ely began carving in the 1760s, and was probably trained by William Holland or Joseph Williston. His shop was located almost directly across the Great River from Williston, a contemporary carver. With a distinctive cherub carved in deep relief on his more expensive stones, John's work can be easily identified in numerous burying grounds up and down the Connecticut River Valley.

29 files, last one added on Apr 20, 2009

Joseph Williston


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Joseph Williston was another Springfield carver who was very likely trained by William Holland during his short stay in the area. Williston's shop was located approximately at the end of the current Liberty Street, on the banks of the Connecticut River. A very brief carving career, ending with his death in 1768, produced a large quantity of gravestones throughout the valley.

9 files, last one added on Apr 13, 2009

The Stebbins Shop


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The Stebbins Shop produced an abundance of stones out of Longmeadow in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The Farber Collection attributes at least twelve distinctive styles to the Stebbins School. While we are still unsure of the individual carver's names, we know where they worked.

13 files, last one added on Mar 17, 2009

Aaron Bliss


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Aaron Bliss commonly carved his gravestones from a chocolate colored stone quarried out of the Wilbraham area. His cherubs have wings which resemble a beagle’s floppy ears. In Westfield, his work also appears on red sandstone, likely originating from the Longmeadow quarries.

7 files, last one added on Nov 27, 2009

Stanclift Family


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The Stanclifts were one of the earliest and most influential of the carving families of the lower Connecticut River Valley. Their work extends from the late 1600s into the nineteenth century and includes five generations of carvers. The various Stanclifts worked in sandstone; that used for stones in eastern Connecticut came from their great quarry in Portland.

William Stanclift (1686-1761) was the oldest son of James I. Like his father he carved in capital letters, and some of his stones also have evenly rounded tops. William, however, produced stones with designs, including some delightful folk-skulls and Halloween-like faces. His more common stones are shouldered and have nicely executed but simple rosettes in the finials. He used the “thorn” in his legends, which James I never did. William’s stones are distributed throughout the Connecticut River Valley even into Massachusetts and also along the coastal areas of eastern Connecticut.

From: Slater, James A. The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern Connecticut and the Men Who Made Them. Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts & Sciences, vol. 21. Hamden, Connecticut: Archon Books, 1987.

3 files, last one added on Nov 26, 2006

Thomas Johnson Family


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The Thomas Johnson family worked out of the Middletown, Ct. quarries, actually called the Johnson quarries locally. Producing gravestones for over one hundred years, they heavily influenced the work of many Connecticut River carvers. The elder Thomas was one of the first gravestone carvers in the area to exhibit preplanned lettering on his stones, and the quality of his letters shows care and attention to detail rarely found on earlier stones.

7 files, last one added on Mar 17, 2009

Aaron Haskins


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Aaron Haskins was heavily influenced by the Manning and Collins schools of carving. Based out of Bolton, Ct, he was an accomplished carver. His cherub in the tympanum of the David Olmsted stone was so unusual, we featured it on the cover of the Enfield Connecticut: Stories Carved in Stone book.

1 files, last one added on Oct 25, 2006

Gershom Bartlett


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Gershom Bartlett began his carving career in the Windsor, Ct. area, where he carved on the local sandstone. After moving to Bolton, Ct. in 1751, he began carving extensively on the local schist, quite a different texture and consistency from the sandstone he was accustomed to carving in Windsor. Even after moving to Bolton, he retained his loyal customer base in Enfield, as both sandstone and schist stones bearing his carvings can be found there.

2 files, last one added on Oct 25, 2006

Ebenezer Drake


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Ebenezer Drake carved out of the South Windsor sandstone quarries with his brothers, Silas and Nathaniel. Ebenezer was a carver who seemed to be constantly dissatisfied with his work, as he constantly moved from style to style. As he grew older, he let his imagination run more freely, resulting in stones which were often said to scare children out of the burying grounds after dark.

1 files, last one added on Oct 25, 2006

Lathrop Family


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The Lathrop family, consisting of Thatcher, the father, and Loring and Luther, the sons, worked out of the same sandstone quarry as the Drake brothers in South Windsor, Ct. Strongly influenced by the Mannings of southern Connecticut, they brought the popular style to the north.

1 files, last one added on Oct 26, 2006

William Holland


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William Holland had a brief, but very influential, stay in the Springfield area during the mid 1700s. He apprenticed under Joseph Johnson, carving out of the East Windsor quarries. While working together, they gained a reputation for heavy drinking, running up large rum tabs at the local taverns. His style of carving cherubs will be seen for fifty years after he left the area.

3 files, last one added on Nov 26, 2006

Ezra Stebbins


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Ezra Stebbins began a prolific carving shop in Longmeadow, MA in the mid 1700s, and his early work bears a strong resemblance to that of William Holland.

8 files, last one added on Mar 17, 2009

21 albums on 2 page(s) 1

Unusual CarvingsRandom oddities found in our wanderings.
Celtic Crosses
1 5
English CemeteriesFollowing a recent trip to England, it was found that over 7000 photographs made the trip back. Most of them were cemetery-related. The lure of Stories Carved in Stone made its way across the Atlantic.
1 2
ZincsMarketed as 'white bronze'. zinc monuments were popular from the late 1800s until World War I, when the factories turned to munitions output for the war effort. With four removable panels, updating family information was easy and economical. Many of these monuments look brand new after more than one hundred years in the elements of New England.
1 11
ObelisksWhen Napoleon had the Luxor obelisk brought back to Josephine in 1831, it began a new craze in funerary art around the world. In the latter half of the 1800s, obelisks began to appear in many local cemeteries.
1 3
Other Unusual Monuments
1 2
236 files in 44 albums and 8 categories with 0 comments viewed 7233 times

Last additions
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Mary Weller 17336 viewsThis is one of the reasons we're producing the Stores Carved in Stone series, before the old stones vanish completely. It was lying on the ground when we took the burying ground overview shots, but had disappeared when we went back to take the detail pix for the Westfield book.Jan 09, 2010
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Solomon Weller 17952 viewsThis is a good example of local redstone spalling as a result of severe New England weather. Jan 09, 2010
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Elijah Felt 17895 viewsHere lies the Body of
Mr Elijah Felt
Who died Jan 24 1789
In the 23 Year of his
Age Ocationed by an
accidental Gun shot in
his leg & Knee

All you that hunt in Demon wood
With firearm you do kill
Be carefull when you fire your piece
Lest your own blood you do spill
Nov 27, 2009
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Benjamin Jones 17548 viewsHere lies ye
Body of Mr
Benjamin Jones
who Died Febr
5th AD 1754 in
the 72 Year
of his Age
Nov 27, 2009
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Emery Pease 17763 viewsIn Memory of
Emery Pease Esq
who died
Octr 3 1776
in the 50th year
of his age

Here is a voice directed here
To old & young and all
That they be ready to appear
Whenever God shall call
Nov 27, 2009
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Esther Pease 17903 viewsIn Memory of
Mrs Esther Wife of
Col Abiel Pease
who died
May 31st 1790
in the 61 year
of her age

Rest here my flesh
in this dark tomb
And wait awhile
Jesus will come
Nov 27, 2009
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Elizabeth Taylor 16899 viewsElizabeth
Taylor wife
of Mr Edward Tay
lor Pastor to
the church at
Westfield who
dyed July ye 7th day
1689 in the 39
year of her age
Nov 27, 2009
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Nathanel Williams 17117 viewsNathanel Williams Died
Novm ye 7 1711
Aged 65

Very primitive winged skull
and scratchy lettering
with reversed capital N
Nov 27, 2009

Random files
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Hezekiah and Mary Day 1778 and 178029 viewsNote this showy and finely-carved gravestone for Mr. Hezekiah (he-ZEE-kee-ah) Day, and his wife Mary, which is similar to Dr. John Leonard's stone in the Federal Hill Cemetery in Agawam. The Days went to Springfield, to Solomon Brewer for this marker, bypassing John Ely and the Stebbins family, who were making the majority of the gravestones in this area at that time.
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Deacon John Shepard 175621 viewsIn Memory of
Deacon John
Shepard Who
Died August
10 1756 in ye
84th year
of his age
boies_dan_1786_2.jpg
Dan Boies 178612 viewsIn Memory of
Mr Dan Boies
who died 21 June
1786 in the 31st
Year of his age

also 3 Infants
who died in 1778
1780 1781
granger_william_1786.jpg
William Granger 178610 viewsWilliam son of Mr
Justin & Mrs Hannah
Granger died Sep 30
AD 1786
in ye third year
of his age
Kellogg_Anne_1764.jpg
Anne Kellog 176414 viewsQuite often when genealogical information
was provided on the stone,
it was paid for by the parents.

In Memory of Mrs
Anne Wife of Capt
John Kellogg
Daughter of Ephriam
Terry Esq and died
Oct 5 1764 and
in the 33 year of
her age Also her infant
babe lying by her breast
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Noble6 viewsPhoto taken by Rusty Clark in Pine Hill Cemetery May 5, 2009
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Old Burying Ground Plaque18 viewsOld Burying Ground

Original burying ground
of the first Westfield settlers
in use circa 1670 to mid-1800's
over 1100 headstones remain
about 500 unmarked graves
earliest dated stone 1683.
The mortal remains of the early settlers
farmers, craftsmen, clergymen, soldiers - the men,
women and children of the frontier town are
here interred.
Included in their number are civic leaders
and veterans of the colonial wars and the
Revolutionary War. From private to general.
pease_emery_1776.jpg
Emery Pease 17763 viewsIn Memory of
Emery Pease Esq
who died
Octr 3 1776
in the 50th year
of his age

Here is a voice directed here
To old & young and all
That they be ready to appear
Whenever God shall call