The
TWO STOLEN GRAVESTONES
The Belfast, ME, Republican Journal of September 25, 2006 reported “Belfast police take on tombstone mystery. A tombstone dating back to 1775 was stolen from a Vermont cemetery more that 30 years ago and resurfaced in Belfast only to be stolen again.” Friday, October 20, 2006 Bangor Daily News: The missing tombstone was recovered from a local churchyard. The police are now focusing on locating its original home.” The article continues listing a second old stone that was recovered. Belfast police detective McFadden contacted VOCA for help in finding the original home of these stones.
Back in the 1970a a journalist traveled around small VT towns looking for unusual tombstones. He is now terminally ill and in a nursing home. His wife took the two stones he had stolen, from their basement, to the transfer station. Steve Bogen of the Grove Cemetery in Belfast was called and rescued the stones. Then one was again stolen. Fortunately the thief, fearing prosecution, soon returned the stone. The single stone reads: “Mrs. Mary Wright wife of Mr. Abel Wright” and the second, a double stone: “Isaac Waterman died at the age of six months on Sept. 7, 1775 and Deliverance Waterman died at age of seven on Sept. 10, 1775 sons of Samuel & Sarah Waterman.” On closer examination the stone reads, Deliverance died in her third year. Tom Giffin, VOCA president, has kept in touch with Belfast detective, McFadden on this story.
Tom Giffin sent me a copy of the articles and at once I recognized the stones as the work of gravestone carver Gershom Bartlett. Back in the 1950s & 1960s, Dr. Ernest Caulfield wrote a series of articles on CT carvers. His search for “Hook & Eye man” took him up & down both sides of the CT River.
Dr. Caulfield visited the Pompanoosuc cemetery in northeast Norwich and noted many stones for children who must have died in a 1775 epidemic. To his delight, the cemetery also contained both the original and a military stone for Gershom Bartlett who died in 1798, now identified as the “Hook & Eye” carver. Bartlett’s wives and some of his children are in this cemetery. For the full details of Dr. Caulfield’s search, see the Association of Gravestone Studies, Markers VII, 1991, p. 311-337, reprinted from the Conn. Historical Bulletin, ca. 1967.
Locating the home of the two Waterman children’s stone was relatively easy. Searching the IGI, I found a family in Norwich that lost 2 young children in 1775. The History of Norwich, that is on line, profiles the Waterman’s, early settlers of Norwich. The 1790 [Samuel] and 1800 [Lemuel a misreading of the S] Norwich censuses list a Waterman family that fit the known family. Bob Murphy checked some records at VHS and found the vital records for the two children: Isaac Waterman, born 24 March 1775, died 3 Sept. 1775 age 5 months 10 days & Deliverance, a girl, born 24 May 1773, died 1 Sept. 1775 age 2 years 3 months 7 days, both children of Samuel Waterman of Norwich. The stone reads “died in her third year.” This is one place the IGI has proved was proved correct. Samuel Waterman of Bozrah, CT, married 25 Feb. 1771, Sarah Woodward of Mansfield, CT and must have moved to Norwich soon after.
Nancy Osgood of the Norwich Historical
Society, having received the above information from Tom and me, visited the
Pompanoosuc or Waterman Hill Cemetery and confirmed that the Waterman
children's stone was taken from there. Art Peale of the Hartford Historical
Society went to the cemetery as well and kindly photographed the children's
double footstone, the stone of the parents and of younger sister, Abigail, who
died in 1783. He also photographed the stones for Gershom Bartlett & his wives.
The second stone is for Mrs. Mary Wright, wife of Abel Wright. The stone was broken above the dates. Without an exact date, the search has been more difficult. Early census records list several Abel Wrights in the area. The ones, not in the CT River area, were eliminated. Telling Dawn Hance of the stones, she went to the Rutland Library and located another Abel Wright, born Lebanon, CT Feb. 1828, married second 26 Nov. 1766 Lebanon, CT, Mary Lyman, born 14 Aug. 1748. They both died in Lebanon, NH
Recently, Art Peale contacted the Lebanon, NH Department of Public Works. Their lists included Mary Wright, died 1782 in the Old Pine Tree cemetery, the oldest in Lebanon. On November 13, Art, decided it was worth a try. His message begins” You should have been able to hear me in NY, Rutland and Norwich. I couldn’t believe it.” This was Dr. Caulfield’s response when he found the Gershom Bartlett stone in Pompanoosuc. Art goes on to say: “Up the hill about 60 ft. I spotted Gershom Bartlett signature: diamonds.” He then found a footstone for “Abel Wright” and the broken base of Mary Wright’s stone & other buried stubs in the same plot. Also, Irene, daughter of Abel & Mary Wright, died Aug. 1777 in her 4th year.
I hope I have given credit to all who have helped solve this mystery. Now we all wait the final chapter of the story, the return of the stones to their rightful home.
cc: Tom Giffin, Art Peale, Nancy Osgood, VOCA, GSV, AGS
Updated 1-7-07 6:35 PM