Cemetery Records

Gravemarker of Eunice Hooper
daughter of Susan Meserve & John Hooper
in Woodstock, NH

The above photograph was contributed by Ruth Burell-Brown of Amagansett, New York

As you walk through the Masonic Cemetery heading over the hill toward the Knights of Pythias, you will come to a rather desolate area. Just a few scattered tombstones are recognizable. One of these is a gravemarker that was cast in metal. Use of metal for this purpose was, and still is, rare but has turned out to be quite durable. Vandalism has been the culprit, not years of weathering.
The gravemarker of W. H. Meserve has the flowering lily of the valley and a sheaf of wheat adorning it sides. The lily of the valley is one of the first blooming flowers of the year and announces the beginning of spring. The fragrance and whiteness of the flowers symbolize the Virgin Mary.	Died 2-17-1891 62 Years Old "A Native of Maine"
Wheat suggests the bounty of the earth and thus the human nature of Christ. The interpretation is based on John 12:24, " I tell you truly that a grain of wheat must fall to the earth and die before it can bring a good harvest."