Monday, February 8, 2016

52 GRAVESTONES IN 52 WEEKS 4: TILDEN FAMILY PLOT, MARSHFIELD HILLS CEMETERY

Another photo from my  20111 visit to the Marshfield Hills Cemetery in Marshfield, Ma.
It's another family plot for members of the Tilden family, so these are more distant cousins. I'm
descended from Nathaniel Tilden, my 9x great grandfather. His son Stephen (my 8x great
grandfather) lived in Marshfield with his wife Hannah Little, who he married there in 1661.





 The family name is easily visible at the bottom of the monument... 


...but the names of the family members are weathered and difficult to read.

These headstones are also in tough shape.


Saturday, February 6, 2016

52 GRAVESTONES IN 52 WEEKS 3: REV. GEORGE LEONARD OF MARSHFIELD, MA.



    REV. GEORGE LEONARD,
                  Son of
    REV. ELIJAH LEONARD.
Born in Marshfield May 26, 1801.
                Graduated at
     Harvard University 1823.
Ordained vat Marshfield 1836.
Pastor of Second Congregational
        Society for 25 years.
             Died July 9, 1881.
A faithful and beloved minister.
A preacher direct and sincere in speech.
An affectionate husband, a kind father.
An honored and trusted citizen.
His memory will be a legacy of honor
and inspiration to the community.
 "Blessed are the dead who died in the Lord."

                   CHARLOTTE E.
                        His widow
                  Died Nov.21, 1884.
                       Aged 78 years.
          "Her children shall arise up and call  
          her blessed."


Charlotte's full name is Charlotte Emmeline (Washburn) Leonard. It turns out she is a distant cousin
through my Edson, Fobes, and Packard family lines. I didn't know we were related until just now as
I wrote this blog entry.

Despite the great esteem Rev. George Leonard was held in at the time of his death in 1881, when I
visited the Marshfield Hills Cemetery in 2011, the Leonard family plot was overrun by weeds and
young trees:







I'll have to go back to the cemetery this summer to see what condition the plot is in now.