A Field of Ancient Graves: Celebrating 350 Years

Saturday, March 24
1:30pm to 2:30pm
Wishcamper Center, USM
Bedford Street, Portland, ME

Spirits Alive concludes its winter lecture series with an illustrated talk from Ron Romano.

Eastern Cemetery, Portland’s oldest public space, reaches a milestone 350th anniversary this year, and we are kicking off our celebration of the beloved burial ground with this talk by cemetery historian and author Ron Romano. Using photos, maps, and images of historic documents, Ron will guide us through the cemetery’s rich history, with a peek inside the city tomb, an overview of the remote burial patches designated for special groups such as African Americans, Catholics, and Quakers, and a look at how the landscape has changed over the past 350 years. From bank robbers and pirates to abolitionists and war heroes—with some gravestone symbolism sprinkled in—this presentation promises to be a most interesting hour.

• The event is free, though donations are gratefully accepted.
• Co-sponsored by the Department of History and Political Science at the University of Southern Maine (USM).
• Free parking is available in the USM Bedford Street parking garage.

Subterranean Celebrity: Deacon William Cotton

Died December 8, 1768

Deacon William Cotton was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He made a good living for himself there, but in 1732 he left his business and relocated to Falmouth (now Portland), Maine. In the area of Fore and Center Streets, he owned a tannery. (Today, if you visit the area, you can even walk down Cotton Street!) Cotton became a prominent figure in town as deacon of the church in 1744, and a town selectman in 1749. He and his first wife, Sarah Fletcher had 4 children: Sarah, William, John, and Abigail. He and his second wife, Martha Hudson had a daughter, Mary. Mary's family (Hall) likely erected the large marble monument that includes the names of the Deacon and his 2 wives. It also includes Mary, her husbands, and her children. This inscription is from the Cotton side of the monument:

DEA. WILLIAM COTTON
died Dec. 8, 1768.
AEt. 58.
SARAH, wife of
Dea. William Cotton
died May 3, 1753.
AEt. 47.
MARTHA, widow of
Dea. William Cotton
died Dec. 10, 1784.
AEt. 65.

The Deacon and his wives also have individual burial plots assigned to them. Their headstones remain, but are in various states of legibility. During our transcription project, we made a sketch of the headstone for Deacon Cotton.

This inscription is from Deacon Cotton's slate headstone, complete with a death's head:

Here lies Buried
the Body of
Deacon WILLIAM COTTON
who departed this life
the 8 December
1768
Aged 58 Years

You can suggest a subterranean celebrity! Just send an email—it doesn't take much to make a nice little story. An index of all of our Subterranean Celebrities is available.

Eastern Cemetery Book!

Ron Romano has published a follow up to his first book, Early Gravestones in Southern Maine — The Genius of Bartlett Adams and it focuses on the Eastern Cemetery itself: Portland's Historic Eastern Cemetery—A Field of Ancient Graves. This book:

• Describes the history of the cemetery's evolution
• Includes information on special cemetery sections: African American, Quaker, Catholic, and "Strangers"
• Discusses the history of Portland, Maine, in relation to this historic landscape
• Provides vignettes of the men and women memorialized in this special place

A must-read for any cemetery aficionado, the book is filled with photographs and sketches to illustrate the text. Our website has more about how to purchase this new publication.