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Wednesday’s post, “Ferson from New Hampshire,” included this biographical snippet from History of New Boston, New Hampshire by Elliott Colby Cogswell (Boston: 1864):
James Ferson, son of Dea. James Ferson, was born in Chester May 29, 1744, O. S., and married Mary McNeill, daughter of James McNeill. ... Some of the children went to Ohio, and their father, who was 74 years old, followed them, and died there, being esteemed a highly worthy man.
James Ferson (b. 1744, d. 1821) and Mary (McNeill) Ferson (d. 1834) are buried under a beautiful sandstone marker carved with matching willows and a simple urn.
JAMES FERSON
Formerly from New Boston N. H.
died Jan. 2,
1821:
in the 77 year of his age.
Expressing a full assurance
of hope in Christ.
MARY FERSON
his wife
died April 29,
1834:
in the 79 year of her age.They had both been members of the
Presbyterian church, for more
than half a century.
Blessed are the dead,
who die in the Lord.
Africa Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
The tablet marker at the graves of Paul Ferson (d. 1847) and Sarah Ferson (d. 1826) is a simple sandstone tablet that tilts to the right.
No willows, no urns, no angels.
Ah, but we have information.
PAUL FERSON
AND
SARAH
His consort, emigrated
from New Boston N.H.
to Ohio in 1817. She died
Aug. 6, 1829, aged 41 yrs.
She departed in peace firmly relying
on the merits of Christ.
He died Jan. 20, 1847. Æ.
61 y’rs.
He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church
of Berlin. His christian life adorned the relig[ion]
of his Saviour.
The gravestone hint led me to History of New Boston, New Hampshire by Elliott Colby Cogswell (Boston: 1864), which includes a short Ferson biography:
James Ferson, son of Dea. James Ferson, was born in Chester May 29, 1744, O. S., and married Mary McNeill, daughter of James McNeill. ... Their children were William, Jennet, James, Paul, Sally, Samuel, Daniel, and John. ... Some of the children went to Ohio, and their father, who was 74 years old, followed them, and died there, being esteemed a highly worthy man.
Africa Cemetery, Delaware County, Ohio
Sometimes my timing is off.
Sometimes I visit a “morning cemetery” in the afternoon; sometimes, an “afternoon cemetery” in the morning.
Huh?
In some cemeteries, most gravestones face east so that the morning sun lights the inscriptions. That is a “morning cemetery.”
Most often I visit “afternoon cemeteries.” In other words, cemeteries in which most gravestones face west, the inscriptions lit by the afternoon sun.
(Here in Ohio, even summer sun hits east-facing and west-facing gravestones at an angle. Let’s not get too far into the weeds.)
Why do I care about this? Simple: Because a photograph of an inscription is usually easier to read when the inscription is not in the shade—including the shade of the gravestone itself.
For example, take a look at the first photo below. I took this photo in an “afternoon cemetery,” even though I arrived a bit too early to get a good, bright photograph. The inscription is legible, but it is still in shadow.
Compare it to the second photograph of a similar gravestone in a (different) cemetery. Sunlight is falling on the inscription. Much better!
Of course it is not always possible to time a graveyard visit just right, and it is never possible to control the cloud cover. Now and then a bit of digital brightening after the fact can save a shady photo.
And what about those large cemeteries with gravestones facing every which way? In that case, my best advice is to arrive early and spend the day!
John Mooney, Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Union County, Ohio
Rachel E. Rice, Dublin Cemetery, Franklin County, Ohio
The epitaph on the gravestone for Ellenora Herriott (d. 1870) is a simple expression of the grief of a family that lost its mother.
O Mother how hard it is to
live with out you.
ELLENNORA,
Wife of
E. C. HERRIOTT
died
Oct. 14, 1870
Aged 41 Yrs. 24 ds.
The 1870 US Federal Census for Jerome Township in Union County, Ohio shows that Ebenezer and Ellennora had seven children. (The census was taken in June, just months before Ellennora’s death.)
Ebenezer died in 1872. He is buried next to his wife.
Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Union County, Ohio
Two sisters enjoy a visit to the swimmin’ hole: Ruth Ann Mayer Strack (b. 1924, d. 2011) and Jane Wilson Mayer O’Neal (b. 1926, d. 1993), whom I know as Aunt Ruthie and Mother.
