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• Instagram – more than 650 images
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• Facebook – peruse years of conversations, albums of images
• Flickr – full of over 10,000 images and 80 Albums
• Spirits Alive website – the Sitemap lists pages on the site in one place!

Mortality and Memorialization in Portland at the Time of Statehood

A New Paper by Ron Romano

Lucky for us, writing continues—even in a pandemic. Ron Romano has added an 8th to his series of occasional papers related to Eastern Cemetery topics (papers are available from our website.) Through the celebration of the state's 200 years, many of us are learning about Maine and the way people lived in the year it became a stat. Ron explores the way people died in Portland: who, how, when, and where. Enjoy this new addition, and please take a moment to peruse his other 7 papers as well.

Some fun facts from Ron's paper:

• Newspapers ran weekly, so funeral services were only included if they coincided with the day they were published.
• Deaths averaged 10 per month—from 7 in May and June to 15 in September.
• At the time, townspeople were also buried at the Vaughan Family Cemetery (later known as Western Cemetery) and the cemetery at the Alms House (charitable housing).

Subterranean Celebrity: Nancy M. Dennison

Died: September 14, 1820

In 1820—the year Maine became a state—there were 136 deaths reported in Portland, and the majority of those people were buried at Eastern Cemetery. One of those was 12-year-old Nancy Dennison, a daughter of James and Sarah Dennison. The slate that marks her plot was carved by Abel Davis, a stonecutter who worked in the Bartlett Adams stone shop at the time. The marker is decorated with a rare stylized monstrance (a receptacle in which communion bread is put on for display) and a more familiar willow tree. The central design suggests the family was Catholic, as this monstrance design was carved by Davis on other gravestones at Eastern Cemetery for a few known early Portland families of the Catholic faith. Nancy’s stone is featured in Ron Romano's new paper.

Many thanks to Ron Romano for this write-up on Nancy. 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.

Ask Amazon to Donate to Spirits Alive

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!

Help the Eastern Cemetery

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