Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Brown Family”

English

Informant Data

Abner H. Brown was a professor of mathematical medicine and medical jurisprudence at the Berkshire Medical Institute. He died April 21st 1851, at the age of 34. He is buried with his wife, Susan Augusta, daughter of Rev. Roswell Shurtleff, born January 14th, 1822, and died April 24th, 1900.

Contextual Data

Abner’s epitaph is taken from Revelations 14:13, and could be from one of many versions of the Bible. However, given that most epitaphs from this time period and location seem to be taken from the King James version, his epitaph likely is also. Susan’s epitaph is taken from 2 Timothy 1:12, King James Version. Given that her father was a Reverend, it is likely that Susan was a religious individual; thus, it would make sense that she would want a religious epitaph. It is worth noting that excerpts from this verse appear at least one other time in the Hanover graveyards.

Text

Abner: “Blessed are the dead who die in the the Lord.”

Susan: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“Mayrant Moody Crosby”

English

Informant Data

Mayrant Moody Crosby died on December 28, 1867 at the age of 4 years old. He is interred with various members of his family. Among them are his father Alfred Harrison, a member of the Dartmouth College class of 1848 (died 1886), and his sister Dixi (died 1878). Other unidentified members of the Crosby family buried there are the two wives of Asa Crosby; Betsy Hoit (died April 2nd, 1804 at the age of 34) and Abigail Russell (died December 21st, 1856 at the age of 80), as well as Josiah Crosby (1794-1875) and Nathan Crosby (1798-1885).

Contextual Data

Mayrant’s epitaph is in latin, and translates directly to “Extinguished in the other will be the same,” but holds little meaning in the original translation. As is often the case with Latin, the figurative translation holds more relevance: “The same man will be loved after he dead.” The phrase is a quote from Horace, an ancient roman poet. The epitaph is not literally applicable, given that Maryant died as a small child, not as a “man.” However, it does seem like a fitting epitaph to be given by the grieving parents of a dead child.

Text

“Extinctus Amabitur Idem”     

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Porter Family”

English

Informant Data

Asa Porter was born in 1863. There is no death date listed on his family’s gravestone. His wife, buried with him, was Minnie H Crosby, was born in 1865, and died in 1898. They are buried with their infant son, for whom no birth or death date is listed.

Contextual Data

The Porter’s epitaph appears to come from a hymn written in 1855 by Hugh R. Haweis, with music by Arthur S. Sullivan, written in 1867, called “The Homeland! Oh the Homeland!” Haweis was an english minister, and fought in the Italian war of independence. Why the Porters chose this epitaph for their gravestone is unclear.

Text

“There is no pain in the Homeland.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Hitchcock Family”

English

Informant Data

Hiram Hitchcock was born on August 27th, 1832 in Claremont, New Hampshire, and died in New York City on December 30th, 1900. His first wife, Mary Maynard, was born in Drewsville, New Hampshire on February 7th, 1845, and died on March 25th, 1887, in New York City. Hitchcock’s second wife, Emily Howe, was born on August 24th, 1852, and died January 16th, 1912.

Contextual Data

Hitchcock’s epitaph is taken from Psalm 127:2, as written in the King James Bible. Hitchcock was a trustee of Dartmouth College, the president of the Maritime Canal Company, and ran the 5th Avenue Hotel in New York City, among many other things. However, none of this indicates why this epitaph may have been chosen for his grave.

Maynard’s epitaph is taken from Matthew 11:28, and could be from almost any of the common versions of the Bible. However, given that most other bible-related epitaphs in the Tuck Drive graveyard are taken from the King James Bible, it is likely that this epitaph was also.

Howe’s epitaph is taken from John 11:25, as written in the King James Bible. This epitaph is much longer than most others; the reason for this is unclear.

Text

Hitchcock: “He giveth his beloved sleep.”

Maynard: “And I will give you rest.”

Howe: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“Isabelle Aiken Noyes”

English

Informant Data

Isabelle Aiken Noyes was born March 17, 1838 in Chester, New Hampshire, and died September 11th, 1868, in Hanover, NH. She was married to Professor John E. Sinclair, a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and was the daugher of John W. Noyes. Although she shares a name with the Noyes family described earlier, I was unable to find a positive relationship link between Isabelle and Noyes family. It seems strange that Isabelle Aiken Noyes and the Noyes family would show ties in location (Chester, New Hampshire) as well as name, but not share a familial bond. However, I could find no evidence of a familial relationship.

Contextual Data

Isabelle’s epitaph matches in form with Psalm 17:15, as written in the King James Bible, although the words do not match exactly with any common bible version. I was unable to unearth any further relevant contextual data on Isabelle or her epitaph.

Text

“Awake in his likeness”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Noyes Family”

English

Informant Data

Daniel James Noyes was born September 11th, 1811 in Springfield, New Hampshire, and died December 22nd, 1885 in Chester, New Hampshire. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1832, served as a Pastor of the South Congressional Church in Concord, New Hampshire from 1837 to 1849, and was a professor at Dartmouth College from 1849-1885. His wife, Jane Merrill, was born on July 6th, 1818 in Chester, New Hampshire, and died June 15th, 1909 in New York City.

Contextual Data

Daniel’s epitaph is taken from John 12:26, as written in the King James Bible. Given that he was indeed a pastor, it makes sense that he would want a religious epitaph written on his gravestone. The families of pastors tend also to be religious, and thus, it would also make sense that his wife would want a religious epitaph on her gravestone. Jane Merrill’s epitaph is taken from 2 Timothy 1:12, as written in the King James Bible.

Text

Daniel James Noyes: “Where I am there shall also my servants be.”

Jane Merrill Noyes: “I know whom I have believed.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Smith Family”

English

Informant Data

Henry Leavitt Smith was born on February 19th, 1848, in New York City, and died September 7th, 1918. Smith was a graduate of the Dartmouth College class of 1869. His wife was Jane Isabelle Noyes, who was born January 18th, 1848 in Concord, New Hampshire, and died May 22nd, 1935 in New York City. This marriage appears to be the reason that the plot is shared with the Noyes family, whose epitaphs and names are inscribed on the reserve side of the same gravestone.

Contextual Data

The Smith epitaph is taken from Revelation 22:3-4, as written in the King James Bible. Born to Asa D. Smith, a Review Doctor and President of Dartmouth College, and his wife Sarah Ann (Adams) Smith, there is no indication that Henry Leavitt Smith was an especially religious man. However, his wife’s father, Daniel James Noyes, was a Pastor of the South Congressional Church in Concord, New Hampshire. Thus, his daughter, Jane Isabelle (Noyes) Smith, was also likely religious, and it is thus well within the range of possibility that she would want a religious epitaph inscribed on her gravestone.

Text

“And his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Campbell Family”

English

Informant Data

Gabriel Campbell was born on August 19th, 1838,  and died October 19th, 1923. He is listed as “Minister and Teacher,” and served in the 17th Michigan Infantry Regiment as a captain for the Union Army during the civil war., The dates of his service are unclear. He was also a professor at Dartmouth College from 1883-1910. He is buried with his wife, Louise McMahon Campbell, who was born on September 9th, 1844, and died February 9th, 1927. The Campbell parents are buried with their 5 children, whose names are listed on the reverse side of the headstone.

The Campbell children were Anne Louise (July 24th, 1866 – July 22nd, 1867), Robert Argyle (April 23rd, 1873 – April 17th, 1897), Harriet Lee (April 18th, 1870 – February 17th, 1901), Elizabeth (October 14th, 1879 – August 28th, 1901), and Edith Celeste (June 16th, 1877 – May 18th, 1933).

Contextual Data

It is worth noting that the only Campbell child to outlive her parents was their 5th: Edith Celeste. Given that Gabriel Campbell was a minister, it is likely that he and his wife would take solace in God and in “God’s perfect plan,” as many ministers and their families do when tragedy such as the death of their children befalls them. Thus, though not a bible verse, the epitaph chosen (likely by the Campbell parents) for their children would only make sense, given the grief they surely experienced.

Text

“God’s love is perfect, His will is best.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“Theodosia Stockridge”

English

Informant Data

Theodosia Stockridge was born September 20th, 1819 in Bath, Maine, and died April 10th, 1904 in Utica, New York. She was the daughter of John and Theodosia Stockridge. Her grave stands alone – it does not appear to be part of a family plot. Given that she was neither born nor did she die in or near Hanover, the reason for her burial there is unclear.

Contextual Data

Given that her gravestone lists her as “The daugher of John and Theodosia Stockridge,” one might at first guess that she was buried there by her parents. However, according to the birth and death dates listed, she died at the age of 84. Average life expectancy at the time was 49.1 years, so it is unlikely that her parents outlived her. It is possible that she was never married, and was thus buried as “ daughter of” identifier, instead of the “wife of” identifier seen with many female names in the Tuck Drive Graveyard.

Theodosia’s epitaph is taken from Revelation 14:13, as written in the King James Bible.

Text

“And their works do follow them.”

Verbal/Material Lore – Gravestone Epitaph
“The Tilden Family”

English

Informant Data

Timothy Tilden Jr. died September 22nd, 1870. Inscribed below his surname on the Tilden headstone is his full name and his epitaph, as well as the name of his wife, Marcia A. She died April 29th, 1896. Also buried in the Tilden plot is Geo E. Lewis, and his wife, Annie H. Dudley. There is no epitaph associated with their names.

Contextual Data

The Tilden epitaph is not a bible verse, and appears to be a generic phrase. Who gave the epitaph to Tilden and why is unknown.

Text

“Died in hope.”