New England’s burying grounds are often called outdoor museums – full of history, art, and much more! Laurel K. Gabel, distinguished authority on New England gravestones, will introduce attendees to the stones, their symbolism and special languages. One or two of the gravestones in Wayland’s North Cemetery will be included in the presentation as well as many of the features found on gravestones there. Laurel’s goal, as well as the Society’s, is to enable town residents to fully appreciate those features in our own wonderful cemetery, just a 15 minute walk from the Museum. Headstones illustrate the constant threat of death from disease and childbirth; you can find the grave of someone who died of smallpox as well as a triple stone for three infant siblings and a former slave. You can see how those stones made of slate (early 1700s) are far easier to decipher than those of the 1800s made of marble—considered more desirable. If the weather cooperates, a group could reassemble at North Cemetery after the talk to walk around the cemetery..
Wayland Historical Society and Museum presents Understanding New England Gravestones and the Stories They Tell, Sunday, October 26, 2pm at the Grout Heard House Museum.
