The Epitaph
Summer 2023 Newsletter
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Photo Credit: Michael Lally |
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AN ACTIVE BURIAL PLACE RICH IN HISTORY |
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Greetings!
It was a busy late winter and (both) early spring and summer for the staff at Lowell Cemetery, made more challenging by stretches of first, unseasonably cold temperatures and second, excessive rainfall.
Despite the less-than-ideal weather, with the threat of Covid-19 much diminished, Lowell Cemetery was able to plan the first guided tours of our historically significant grounds in more than three years. More than 200 friends of Lowell Cemetery showed up in mid-April for the latest version of Lowell Cemetery Trustee Richard Howe, Jr.’s popular tours.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Lowell Cemetery, I’d like to extend our thanks to the 36 volunteers who participated in our inaugural “Tour of Veterans' Graves (Civil War to Gulf War)” on Saturday, May 20. These volunteers embraced the opportunity to learn and share information about fellow Lowellians who were members of our country's Armed Services. Lowell Cemetery appreciates the interest and willingness of neighbors and friends to honor the memories of fellow citizens who answered the call and served their nation.
As many of our frequent visitors know, Lowell Cemetery gardens were among those impacted by the extreme cold of the past winter. The roses especially were damaged and it was feared we would lose hundreds of bushes throughout the grounds. The staff painstakingly cut them back and nursed them. I am pleased to report that our roses came back strong and vibrant thanks to the dedication and efforts of our wonderful grounds team!
This summer issue of Epitaph includes a couple of save-the-date requests for upcoming Lowell Cemetery programs, a report of recent restoration projects, and an essay on one of our most significant monuments. As always, the Lowell Cemetery is open to all for honoring loved ones and quiet reflection.
F. Alex Wilson, President
Lowell Cemetery
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The Lowell Cemetery continues its relationship with Hudson Monument Works, a granite company founded by the Cote family in 1979 and headquartered in Hudson, N.H. Cemetery staff worked with the Hudson Team recently to restore two monuments on the property. |
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This is the Graves Monument with rigging to replace the cap that had been displaced by the fall of a tree. |
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Dave Cote, owner of Hudson Monuments, on the right with Michael Dalphond, an employee. The completed repair with the cap in place. |
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An obelisk monument felled by a tree |
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During repair where you can see how the obelisk is fitted to the base. |
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Obelisks as funeral art came into fashion in the U.S. 1840s/1850s during a surge in Revival Styles. Using designs from ancient cultures invoked a sense of immortality and was looked upon fondly by our new country. There are several examples of Egyptian Revival style in the Lowell Cemetery, including the Hoyt Receiving Tomb. |
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William H. Anderson Monument
(1903)
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If you travel down Bonney Avenue, not far from the Bonney Monument, you will see a large marble Celtic cross darkened with age. This eleven-foot-tall work of art is the William H. Anderson monument, and it stands as one of Lowell Cemetery’s most significant memorials.
William Henry Anderson (1836-1902) was a prominent trial lawyer and respected politician of Lowell. He was born into one of the founding families of Windham, New Hampshire, where he grew up on the family farmstead. After graduating from Yale, he went to Mississippi for a year where he was a private tutor both on the Sligo Plantation in Noland and on the Retirement Plantation in Adams. He wrote many letters to friends and family about his experiences working on the plantations and his struggle to adapt to the southern climate. After losing students to a diphtheria outbreak, he returned to Lowell to attend Harvard Law School.
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Anderson worked in the law offices of Morse and Stevens before passing the bar. He held various positions in Lowell institutions including serving on the Board of Directors of Lowell Merchant’s National Bank; the Lowell City Council (1868 and 1869); and on the Mass. House of Representatives (1871 and 1872). At the time of his death, he was one of the oldest members of the Lowell Bar. |
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Anderson’s family commissioned George E. Bissell (1839-1920) to sculpt a monument to be erected in William’s memory. Bissell grew up in New Preston, Connecticut as the son of a marble cutter. After serving as a private in the Civil War, he worked with his father in the marble business in Poughkeepsie, NY. He went abroad in 1875 to study sculpture in France and at the American Academy in Rome.
After he returned to the United States, Bissell had many commissions for Civil War statues and monuments. One of his most significant commissions was the Lincoln Monument in Old Calton Burying Ground, Edinburgh, Scotland. This monument was dedicated in the memory of Scottish American Soldiers who fought in the American Civil War.
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Bissell acquired “light dove blue” Italian marble and sculpted the Anderson memorial in his studio in Florence, Italy. The angel of resurrection is on the front of the cross with a banner across its chest. Unfortunately, the writing on the banner is now indecipherable. On the back of the monument are images of a book, a lamp, and a starburst. These are symbols associated with the Law. An open book sits on a platform with the word “LEX” and is the symbol of judgement, written knowledge, and learning. The lamp above the book represents knowledge, and the starburst coming from it represents “Right.”
Christian symbols seen above a wreath are the Alpha and Omega. The symbol IHS (iota-eta-sigma) is the contraction of the Greek word IHΣΟΥΣ (Jesus); the Labarum cross with the letters Chi (X) and Rho (p), and the Borromean rings, three intersecting circles at the top of the cross signifying the Trinity.
Today, there are five smaller stones on the lot representing the graves of William, his wife Mary Hine Anderson, their daughter Frances Anderson Gillette, and her husband Dr. Edward J. Gillette. The fifth stone, located at the back of the lot, is most likely a memorial marker for the two sons of William and Mary who died in infancy.
The Anderson Monument is one of the reasons the Lowell Cemetery is considered an open-air museum. The next time you are here, make sure to stop at this notable work of art.
For more information on William H. Anderson and his family homestead in New Hampshire
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The Celtic Revival began in the 1850s and represented a renewed interest in Celtic culture. The use of the Celtic cross in funerary art then became very popular across the western world. The Celtic cross is essentially a Latin cross with a ring, or nimbus, across the intersection of arms and stem. You can see many examples in the Lowell Cemetery, such as the Wilfred Taylor monument, adorned with an intricate Celtic knot design.
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Save the Date!
September 24, 2023
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What happens when four women from Lowell society decide to leave their restrictive 19th-century lives behind and escape to a remote island in Boston Harbor for 17 days? In her new book, Boston Harbor Islands Adventure: The Great Brewster Journal of 1891, Boston-based author Stephanie Schorow brings us to the island with them, using their remarkable journal as our guide.
The lecture, sponsored jointly by the Lowell Historical Society, the Pollard Memorial Library and the Lowell Cemetery, will take place in the Talbot Chapel at the Lowell Cemetery on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. Copies of the book will also be available at the event.
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The Lowell Cemetery Fall Tour Weekend will be Saturday, September 30, 2023, and Sunday, October 1, 2023, at 10am. Both tours will begin at the Knapp Avenue gate and will last approximately 90 minutes. Lowell Cemetery Trustee Richard Howe, Jr. will lead the tours which are free and require no advance registration. |
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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: [email protected]
or by calling the Cemetery office at:
978-454-5191
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Photo credits: Michael Lally |
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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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