The Epitaph
Spring 2023 Newsletter
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AN ACTIVE BURIAL PLACE RICH IN HISTORY |
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Greetings!
On behalf of the Board of Trustees and the staff, I am pleased to welcome you to the spring issue of “The Epitaph,” the Lowell Cemetery’s quarterly newsletter. This season marks the 182nd year since the Lowell Cemetery opened on June 20, 1841. It also marks both my 27th year as a member of its Board of Trustees and the beginning of my first term as President.
Lowell Cemetery is a beautiful resting place and a treasure trove of our community’s rich and interesting history. The remains of almost 19,000 citizens (men, women, and children) are interred here, and many are honored by stone carvings and monuments raised to memorialize the lives and contributions of loved ones to their families, the community and the nation.
Buried here are veterans of our nation’s military forces who served their country in armed conflicts since the American Revolution. Please take note of the announcement of the May 20th Self-Guided Tour of Veterans' Graves: Civil War to Gulf War you’ll see below. I’ll be volunteering at the gravesite of a Civil War veteran, my maternal great-grandfather, George Augustus Marden (1839 – 1906). He purchased a burial plot for his family and descendants on Smith Avenue.
George Marden was born and raised in Mount Vernon, NH. He volunteered to serve in the Union’s Grand Army of the Potomac at age 22. Over his three-years in uniform, he wrote more than 800 pages of letters home from his postings. He recounted his experiences as a member of a renowned New Hampshire Sharpshooters’ regiment during the Civil War, including most of the major Civil War battles that took place in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania between March 1862 and October 1864. Our family kept these letters for almost 100 years before donating them to George’s alma mater, Dartmouth College, in the late 1950’s.
George A. Marden and his wife, Mary; his son Robert and daughter-in-law Ella,: their daughter, Barbara Marden and her husband Charles R. Wilson (my mother and father) rest in the family plot along with several Marden family relatives.
This issue and season feature the Lowell Cemetery’s history, wildlife, and nature. There is a connection between mourning and the beauty of the natural world that transcends cultures across time and space. At the Lowell Cemetery, we acknowledge the passage of time while revealing the emergence of new life and new growth.
F. Alex Wilson, President
Lowell Cemetery
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The Lowell Cemetery Spring Tour Weekend will be Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30 at 10am. Lowell Cemetery Trustee and Registrar of Deeds Richard Howe, Jr. will conduct the walking tours focused on stories of history, monuments and the lives of those buried here. Both tours will begin at the Lawrence Street gate.
Richard will lead a walk through the LC and talk about the unique lives of the people buried here. While the Lowell Cemetery is a final resting place for the deceased it is also an open-air museum and sculpture gallery. Join us to enjoy an example of a very sad lion, an Egyptian Revival Receiving Tomb and the splendor of a Victorian armchair. Thanks to Kevin Harkins for the photo!
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Interview with Richard Howe, Jr. |
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Lowell Cemetery Trustee and Middlesex North Registrar of Deeds Richard Howe, Jr. conducts the Lowell Cemetery walking tours focused on stories of history, monuments, and the lives of those buried here.
You have been giving tours of the Lowell Cemetery since 2008. What inspired you to do these tours?
Catherine Goodwin originated the Lowell Cemetery tours many years ago, several of which I attended. Then one day I was reading the Lowell Historical Society newsletter and there was a short article by Catherine soliciting someone to take over the tours. I volunteered and Catherine gave me copies of her research and notes. I still make use of Catherine’s material, although I’ve added many new names to the roster of tour subjects.
What was the biggest challenge you faced when putting the tour together?
The biggest challenge is finding stories about women who are buried in the Cemetery. There are many of them, and many of them undoubtedly have fascinating stories, but because contemporary accounts of life in 19th and early 20th century America were so male-centric, stories of the accomplishments of women are hidden and difficult to find.
Is there a particular person or story that stands out for you?
The story that stands out for me is more of a composite of people who came to Lowell with nothing and through innovation and persistence achieved considerable wealth and success in their business ventures but remained actively committed to the city by participating in government and communal activities while being very philanthropic. By their actions, they acknowledged that the city had given them much and they were determined to repay the city and its inhabitants for their success.
What would you like people to take away from this upcoming event?
The Lowell Cemetery Veterans Memorial Tour will honor those buried in Lowell Cemetery who served in the armed forces of the United States. This is the latest evolution of Lowell Cemetery’s tradition of recognizing veterans. Because this event will be a self-guided tour, we hope people will take the tour year-round and not just on special occasions like Memorial Day or Veterans Day.
What history or event would you like to see explored in future tours of Lowell Cemetery?
My goal is to develop a series of thematic tours to be conducted in group form but also as self-guided tours using a mobile phone app. Topics of individual tours would include law, medicine, education, business, politics, innovation, the Abolitionist movement, and many others. People from Lowell played important roles in all these fields and by highlighting their stories, we can increase the pride Lowell residents have in their city while also sharing stories of national and even global significance.
Catherine Goodwin wrote “Mourning Glory: The History of Lowell Cemetery” in 1992. With the addition of new tours and uncovering more history and stories, do you see yourself capturing them in book form?
“Mourning Glory” is a unique blend of history, art, and culture reflective of the life’s work of Catherine and John Goodwin, so it will never be duplicated. However, a group biography of those buried in Lowell Cemetery who have been highlighted on the various tours would be an interesting book whether written by me or someone else.
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Self-guided Tour of Veterans’ Graves:
Civil War to the Gulf War
Saturday, May 20, 2023
Time: 10:00am - 12:00pm
Start is at the Knapp Avenue Gate.
The event is free and open to the public, no reservations required.
Participants will receive a tour map at the Knapp Ave. Gate and then proceed at their own pace to the designated graves. Cemetery volunteers will be at each of the graves to tell the stories of the veteran buried there and to answer questions about the cemetery. As part of this event, the Lowell Historical Society will display military artifacts from its collection in the Cemetery's Talbot Chapel. Special access to the Shedd and Moses Greeley Parker mausoleums will be provided.
Please join us for this memorial event.
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The Migration of Monarch Butterflies to Massachusetts |
With its vast array of plants and flowers, we may soon see a famous pollinator coming to Lowell Cemetery! Easily identifiable by their large orange wings with black veins and white polka dots, Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) are one of the most popular types of butterflies. Like many birds, Monarchs migrate back to Massachusetts every summer after spending the winter in Mexico and can be seen here from mid-May to early October. They can be found on plants in fields, meadows, and near rivers. Here they will lay their eggs on common and swamp milkweed, the only plant Monarch caterpillars can eat. Once they transform into butterflies, these Monarchs will later make the return trip to Mexico, arriving in November. These butterflies are featured heavily during Día de Muertos, as they are seen to represent the souls of the ancestors returning for the celebration.
For more information on this impressive migration:
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Lowell Cemetery
Tree Donation Program
Established December 2022
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The beauty of the Lowell Cemetery is due, in part, by the magnificent foliage found throughout the grounds. The placement of trees, shrubs and other plants among the monuments and markers is deliberate – a way to create a wonderful place of reflection, solitude and peace.
Over the years, individuals have approached the Cemetery with an offer to make a donation in the form of a tree to not only enhance this visual treasure, but also to memorialize someone special interred on the premises. With that in mind, the Trustees, in the fall of 2022, formalized a program to address these inquiries by detailing how to go about contributing to the landscape of one of the finest examples of garden-style cemeteries in the region.
If you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact the Cemetery office at 978-454-5191 or via email at: staff@lowellcemetery.com
photo credit: Michael Lally
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Private Tours of Lowell Cemetery
Private tours for school groups, garden clubs, historical societies, and social organizations can be arranged by contacting the Cemetery office at: staff@lowellcemetery.com
or by calling the Cemetery office at:
978-454-5191
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The Lowell Cemetery is a private, non-municipal, non-denominational, garden-style cemetery located in Lowell, Massachusetts.
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Address:
77 Knapp Avenue
Lowell, MA 01852
Phone:
978-454-5191
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