If we could go back in time to visit Eastern Cemetery in the mid-1700s, we’d find the landscape covered with grave markers made by people who were not trained carvers. As the nearest stone shop was 100 miles away in Boston, early graves here were likely marked with wood or pieces of “found stone” or field stone.
Though many of these can be found in many cemeteries in Maine, most of the markers in Eastern Cemetery are professionally carved and inscribed. Perhaps this is a benefit of being located in a larger town.
To our surprise, wee uncovered a short row of field stones without inscriptions near the old pine tree in Section C, but we have found only one—way over in Section F—that is a field stone with an inscription.
The name on this stone—Jonathan—is clear, but the surname is less so. Some people read it as Wilson (Find a Grave listing), others see Watson or Wadson. Some read the date as 1720, some as 1780 (Maine Memory Network entry). No records have yet been found to solve the mystery.
The letters are crudely chiseled, and three backwards Ns make this little stone all the more charming.
When guided tours begin this spring, ask your guide to show you this marker, or find it on your own in Section F, plot 131.
