Friends of Oak Grove Cemetery » Civil War Monuments

Oak Grove Facebook Quiz Tonight!

administrator — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:24:05 +0000

Need more excitement in your life? Nothing good on T.V.?

Tune in tonight,( September 15th) at 10 p.m. for the first ever (but not the last) So you think you know Oak Grove Cemetery? Jeopardy-style online quiz.

Questions and photo identifications will be posted in rapid fire, each going up after the previous one has been correctly answered. There will be one winner, with difficult brainbusters in case of a tie. Join us at Friends of Oak Grove Fall River tonight. A prize will be awarded to the winner- and the competition will be fierce! How well do YOU know Oak Grove?

Filed under: Announcements, Borden-Related Graves, Cemetery Structures, Civil War Monuments, Extraordinary Tombstones and Monuments, Famous, Famous Burials, Funeral History, Navigating Oak Grove, Oak Grove Notables, The History of Oak Grove, The Victorian Way of Death, Victorian Funeral Symbolism

History of Oak Grove now available

administrator — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 02:24:57 +0000

A History of Oak Grove Cemetery and Walking Tour of Borden-Related Graves and Buildings is now available at the Fall River Historical Society and the Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum giftshop. A copy will also be available this week at the Fall River room in the public library. The booklet retails for $19.95 plus tax and includes a CD of 151 color photos illustrating graves mentioned in the booklet and examples of Victorian symbolism in stone carving. To purchase a copy directly from the author, a check may be made to and sent to Shelley Dziedzic. P.O. Box 86, North Stonington, CT 06359. The amount should include postage and handling of $4.25 which will include a heavy-duty padded mailer for shipping. ($24.20 total) If you prefer to pay by Paypal, send $24.20 using the send to button to Revdma@aol.com.

Contents

1-2 Introduction

3-4 History of Oak Grove as described in the report of the Massachusetts

Historical Commission, Office of the Secretary, Boston

5-7 Oak Grove in More Recent Days

8-9 Relating to Oak Grove Cemetery and the Interment of the Dead Chapter XXII

City Ordinances 1859

10-16 1915 Report to the Board of Park Commissioners by Egbert Lawton

17-19 Mr. Egbert Lawton, Superintendent of Oak Grove

19 A-B Salaries of Early Superintendents and Expenses of Interest

20 Initial Expense Report 1856

21-22 Approved City Ordinance Applying to Oak Grove Cemetery

23-29 Symbolism on Victorian Funeral Statuary

30 Map for Tour Circuit #1

31-34 Autopsies of Abby & Andrew Borden, August 11, 1892

35 Funerals of Abby & Andrew Borden, August 6, 1892

36-39 Identifications and Biographies for Tour Circuit #1

40 Map for Tour Circuit #2

41-42 Identifications and Biographies for Tour Circuit #2

43 Map for Tour Circuit #3

44-46 Identifications and Biographies for Tour Circuit #3

47-49 Uncle Lawdwick Borden and the Sad Case of the Deaths in the Cistern:

The Suicide of Eliza Darling Borden and Murder of Her Children

50-55 Other Gravesites of Notables

56 Borden-Related Personalities Not Buried at Oak Grove Cemetery

57-63 The Victorian Celebration of Death: The Borden Funerals

64 Sources Used in the Preparation of This Publication

Filed under: Announcements, Borden Family Plot, Borden-Related Graves, Cemetery Structures, Civil War Monuments, Extraordinary Tombstones and Monuments, Funeral History, Funeral Vocabulary, Granite Industry, Local Support, Mourning Art, Navigating Oak Grove, Oak Grove Notables, Oak Grove Tours and Events, Potpourri, The History of Oak Grove, The Victorian Way of Death Tagged: Shelley Dziedzic

Zinc Monuments

administrator — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:34:18 +0000

One type of monument especially popular from the Civil War through 1900 is the white bronze or zinc monument. White bronze is a misnomer, for the monument is not made of bronze, but rather zinc or more rarely, iron. The final patina is whitish to pale blue to darker blue, and the great benefit of this type of monument is that the embossed metal panels and ornaments hold epitaphs and images in sharp relief for a very long time. They seem to take the weather, moss and lichen growth and acid rain exceptionally well. The only drawback is that attached elements, such as a top urn, can be easily snapped off, and seams, especially at the base, can separate. With the proper method of repair, however, this is not much of a problem, but trouble results when concrete is used as a filler. The zinc monument offers a good crisp image for monument rubbing using rice paper and soft heelball wax. For more information on zinc monuments, visit these two links below. Oak Grove has many beautiful examples of this monument type.

http://www.si.edu/mci/english/research/conservation/zinc_sculptures.html

http://www.tngenweb.org/darkside/white.html

Memorial to Civil War Soldiers

administrator — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:20:55 +0000

The first sight which captures the eye when passing under the great granite arch of Oak Grove is the obelisk given by Colonel Richard Borden in memory of fallen Union soldiers. Row upon row of simple white marble markers are reminders of the dark days of the Civil War and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. This is a peaceful place at sunset when shafts of golden light fall through the trees upon the pale stones.

Click to view slideshow.

Abide With Me, tune Eventide by William H. Monk 1861 Words by Henry F. Lyte

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

A Victorian Memorial Park

administrator — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:16:41 +0000

The concept of a beautifully -landscaped park where families might come to visit departed Loved Ones was first fully-realized in London’s Highgate and Cambridge’s Mount Auburn. The Victorians rivalled the Ancient Egyptians in their ritual observances of death and burial, monuments and memorials. Beautiful Oak Grove Cemetery in the North end of Fall River is one of many New England mid- century Victorian memorial parks where the streets are named for trees, and fanciful wrought iron gates enclose the fine families of the city like fences of stately homes in the earthly life.

For those who love cemeteries, – the peacefulness and quiet of the Past- Oak Grove holds unparalleled verdant vistas and peerless carved monuments of another age. Whether a student of Victorian symbolism , or of Fall River history- a pensive hour spent in silence at Oak Grove is a retreat from the pressures of modern society, and a glimpse into the intriguing past of the city’s notable citizens.

Plagued with the problems all cemeteries are faced with today, vandalism, landscaping and maintenance costs, security, lack of volunteerism, etc. -perhaps now is the time for those who truly appreciate the heritage and history enclosed within the gates and walls of Oak Grove to come together.