The Old Cemetery

Angels, smiling faces and latin phrases. These symbols, and more, can be found in the Old Cemetery off Main Street, if only you chose to take your adventure on a slightly morbid route. Cemeteries are an essential source for learning about the past. From the names, dates, cause of death and engravings on the stones, one can learn much about who lived in their town. In the Old Cemetery, also known as Boot Hill, located along 1A, one could walk along the paths and learn about who used to live in the area. The oldest grave in there is from 1713 and marks a woman named Ruth White. A lot of the headstones in the cemetery depict angles; some with wings and some described as having “pleasant faces.” Deacon John Freind’s headstone included “memento Memori,” a Latin phrase that means “remember you will die.” Puritans, a Protestant group that largely settled throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony, would have put these symbols on headstones. Engravings each symbolized something different. For example, wings might have represented one’s ascent into heaven. The symbols on the grave would also be a reminder for people walking through the graveyard, to contemplate their own mortality.  

Cemeteries are full of fascinating histories. If you're intereted in Wenham's old Cemetery, check out these documentry episodes from the local docuseries from 1997, Hamilton-Wenham Times Past: Part One and Part Two.  Puritan grave markings has changed quite a bit over time and the city of Boston has explained the changes on their website.

Images: Old burying ground, Wenham resident Wellington Pool driving a hearse in 1892.