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Eastern Cemetery Section A tombs area, looking to the North School
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New Section on the Website
Thanks to Joe Dumais, our city's cemetery manager, we have a new set of pages on the website: Underground Tombs of Section A. When Joe was in the cemetery doing a maintenance project, he came up with the idea to explain the area and its unique features as we had not done before with photos.
The pages are the result of that idea and summarize the how and why of the area that was developed starting in 1795. In this subterranean neighborhood, there are 85 rooms—many purchased by families to ensure those they loved would be interred together forever.
The page has links to Ron Romano's paper on the tombs where he explains how bodies were moved from cemetery to cemetery. He also has an exhaustive list of everyone reported to have been buried in the area (and the 10 other underground tombs scattered about the cemetery) both by plot number and in alphabetical order by last name.
In addition to the general page, there are also pages dedicated to types of markers. On each page there is a table that puts the tomb data in a scannable format:
Let us know what you think about this section and if you have any suggestions for improvement or have any questions about the tombs of Section A.
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Evergreen Cemetery stone photographed by Frank Poole
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Upcoming Cemetery-Related Events
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Me
10:00am to 3:00pm
The day will be filled with short illustrated presentations on gravestones, monument inscriptions, and conservation. Our own Ron Romano will be presenting on a billboard grave markers. The event is free, and you do not need to be a member of AGS to attend, but you are welcome to join.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
People's United Methodist Church, Thomaston, Me
8:30am to 2:00pm
This event is hosted by Hosted by the Wessaweskeag Historical Society and South Thomaston Public Library. It includes a day of presentations, a break for lunch, and a tour of Village Cemetery. There is a fee to attend and for lunch.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Buxton-Hollis Historical Society, Buxton, Me
7:00pm to 9:00pm
Ron Romano will provide an illustrated presentation on Bartlett Adams and his carved stones found in the area. Suggested donation $8 unless you're not a senior, then $10.
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A Girl Scout plants a flag on a government-issued marble military headstone
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Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
Placing Flags on Veteran Stones
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
11:00am to 12:00pm
Meet at the Dead House at the Eastern Cemetery Congress Gate
We will come together, in preparation for Memorial Day, to place flags on the stones of veterans in Eastern Cemetery. We provide the maps and the flags—you provide the leg-work and flag-planting elbow grease. Read more about our Military Markers.
Gardening Days
Dates and times TBD
Let us know if you'd like to be placed on the short list for gardening in Eastern Cemetery. Not only do we mulch and plant, but we also prune, edge, pick up litter, and do general clean-up of the grounds. Email us at easterncemetery@gmail.com if you want to be added to the list.
Conservation Days
Dates and times TBD
The conservation team will soon start up its work in Eastern Cemetery. Email us at easterncemetery@gmail.com if you want to be added to the list of those notified of the schedule when it is determined. We train newbies, and we love what we do! Find out more about conservation in Eastern Cemetery.
Photography of Stones
On your own schedule!
If you're looking for an opportunity to volunteer on your own schedule and contribute to the catalog of stone photos in Eastern Cemetery, check out our Stone Survey Photographer Steps and browse the photos on our Flickr site to get a good idea of what we do. Still interested? Email us at easterncemetery@gmail.com.
Transcribe Monuments in the Tombs Area
On your own schedule!
We have begun a transcription of the tombs in Section A, but we need someone willing to attempt to read and confirm the information (measurements, condition) on each of the markers and write down what they see. If you're interested in this volunteer opportunity, please drop a line at easterncemetery@gmail.com.
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Eliza Gilkey's headstone, photo by Ron Romano
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Died: November 6, 1864
There are many markers at Eastern Cemetery that may be easily overlooked, because they seem to have unremarkable designs. Taking a closer look at these ordinary markers sometimes reveals an interesting epitaph or decoration. Eliza Gilkey’s white marble marker is found in Section A, Row 9, Grave 4. She died of old age in 1864 after being widowed for over 20 years. She lived just down the street from Eastern Cemetery at 344 Congress Street (where Franklin Street now runs). Her marker looks quite plain except for the wonderful name in relief (even the comma is in relief!), but notice the small leafy twig just below the inscription.
ELIZA GILKEY,
DIED
Nov. 6, 1864,
aged 78 years.
[inscription hasn't been deciphered yet]
This “flourish” is the mark of stone-cutter Henry Hanson (1820–1905) who was born in Denmark but worked for many years creating gravestones in Portland, including this one for Mrs. Gilkey. Read more about Mr. Hanson in Ron Romano's paper, “Henry Hanson: A Marble Worker Leaves His Mark.”
Thanks to Ron Romano for sharing information about Eliza Gilkey. 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.
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Portland's Historic Eastern Cemetery, A Field of Ancient Graves by Ron Romano
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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 publication.
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This is an easy way to give! If you're an Amazon shopper, here's an easy way to support our favorite and the oldest historic Portland, Maine, cemetery:
- Go to smile.amazon.com
- Enter "Spirits Alive" in the box
- Choose the non-profit in Portland, Maine from the list
Voila! A portion of all of your purchases through smile.amazon.com will go to our efforts to support, conserve and promote this historic outdoor museum. Thank you!
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Support the work of Spirits Alive with your giving
You can help Spirits Alive keep the Eastern Cemetery alive for generations to come. Through your support, you can help us, an ALL-VOLUNTEER organization, to continue to:
- Keep the gates open – encouraging the community to explore its open and safe green space
- Offer education about the cemetery and its residents to the public – through tours, lectures, and events
- Encourage and support the city in keeping the site clean and safe for visitors of all ages
- Preserve this incredible outdoor museum and sacred historic landscape
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We are a non-profit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Portland, Maine’s historic Eastern Cemetery through a range of activities including promotion and education.
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