The center circle on top of the marker is carved with a lovely rosette. Stone lobes, each with its own simplistic “punched” rosette design, flank the central rosette.
But what really stands out is not the shape of the gravestone, but the inscribed cause of death of young Mr. Kempton.
son of J. & H. Kempton
Was killed by an icesickle
Dec. 29 1840:
Aged 19 yrs 8 mo & 27
days
Must have been some icesickle !
ReplyDeleteWow! Definately an unusual cause of death.
ReplyDeleteIt couldn't have been cheap to have that engraved. Makes you wonder why the family thought it necessary, important, worthwhile, whatever to put it on the gravestone.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Wendy. Finding cause of death on a gravestone around here is unusual, so they certainly didn't do it because it was the normal thing to do.
ReplyDeleteThe gravestone carver spelled the first name wrong. His name was Alvin Kempton and his parents were John and Hannah (Bradford) Kempton. They were from Farmington, Maine. Family tradition sheds no definite information on how the accident happen - some say it was from falling ice from a cliff on the Big Walnut Creek and some say it was ice falling from a large tree.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing, Anonymous! I still think about this grave often--and I often wonder about the story behind it.
ReplyDelete