This is the first installment of my new blog, Thursday at the Cemetery. Every Thursday I will post a photo of a Headstone along with a short biography or interesting fact about that particular Ancestor. I hope you enjoy them.
I have known a lot of people in my life who are afraid of Cemeteries. Some of those people won’t even attend a funeral because of this fear. I am not sure if it is because they are afraid of death or the possibilities of maybe encountering a “ghost”. I have never had a fear of any graveyard, not even the old creepy ones in rural areas. You see, I grew up going to the cemetery about once a month. My parents would take my sister and me to go to “visit” friends who had passed. My mother would pack a picnic lunch and after “visiting” we would spread out a blanket and eat lunch. Then my dad would nap for a while and my sister and I would either look at the headstones or play games. It was just a part of our lives.
As an adult, I love going to cemeteries. I find them fascinating. There are always such a 
variety of stones and decorations. Each one a memory of those who have gone before. Today’s Headstone belongs to Job and Mercy (Little) Otis. I chose this one because it is every genealogist’s dream stone. It is located in the Union Cemetery in Scituate, MA. Although Job died in 1758 this is a fairly new stone. The Otis family had it erected to replace the small decaying one. What is great about this is they didn’t just put Job’s and Mercy’s names and dates on it. They also included their daughter Priscilla and some of their Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren’s names with their birth and death years!
I am a professional genealogist, writer, photographer, wife, mother, and grandma. I have two books available on Amazon.com: Your Family History: Doing It Right the First Time and Planning Your Genealogy Research Trip. You can also connect with me via Facebook or Twitter.
What a find, Valerie! It looks like you got your sense of family history from your ancestors. How farsighted of them to preserve all that information for you and future generations.
Thanks Linda!
I love cemeteries. I have several newer headstones for family and love that someone cares enough to replace decaying ones.
Thanks for reading the blog! I guess some people just don’t understand the fascination we find in cemeteries.
Valerie, That headstone is a great find! I love walking through my family’s cemeteries, and mentally “attaching” my ancestors there to names on my trees. I have taken a cemetery restoration workshop, and would like to put it to use.
Thank you Diane. I would love to learn headstone restoration. Ot would be helpful when I find headstones in distress.
I’m with you — I love cemetery visits and finding unique and informative stones. Cemeteries combine history, genealogy and nature — what more could you want?
Exactly!!!
I love visiting the graveyards where my ancestors are buried too, and this is a great idea for a new blog. Most of my ancestors did not erect permanent markers, sadly. They probably placed a wooded cross on the spot, but it has since perished.
Thank you for reading the blog. It makes me feel good that I am not the only one who likes cemeteries.