"Prepare- for follow me you must"
A simple gravestone in Longmeadow Cemetery from 1720, with a classic inscription, warns passersby to consider their own fates. It marks...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 21, 2022
- 5 min
"What does that mean on that gravestone?"
Cooley family gravestone, Longmeadow Cemetery James Cooley Died at Lima while Charge d'affairs for U.S. to Peru. Feb. 24, 1828, AE 37....
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 19, 2022
- 2 min
Say Their Names
Anyone who knows and loves the soundtrack from the musical Hamilton knows how haunting the final verse of the final song is, “who lives,...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 17, 2022
- 4 min
Gravestone in the Basement!
I found a gravestone in my basement! What would you think if you found a gravestone in your basement? This happened to a new owner of an...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 16, 2022
- 5 min
Sentenced to Death for Treason: Alpheus Colton of Longmeadow
Jonathan Hale Daybook: Jan 25, 1787 On January 25, 1787, a Longmeadow merchant, Jonathan Hale, recorded in his daybook a debit to Alpheus...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 13, 2022
- 2 min
Mourning Adolphus
This poignant little mourning painting from the collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society reminds us of the frailty of children's...
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Al McKee
- Nov 12, 2022
- 4 min
William Holland, Longmeadow's First Stone Carver
When people ask what the oldest gravestone in the Longmeadow Cemetery is, the answer is the stone for Mary Drake Colton. She died in...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 12, 2022
- 2 min
Tales from the Cemetery
Longmeadow Cemetery We have often admired the skillfully carved gravestones in the Longmeadow Cemetery. Most made from locally quarried...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
- Nov 11, 2022
- 7 min
Searching for Susan Freedom
Susan Freedom d.1803, Springfield Cemetery (image courtesy of Betsy McKee) Under the shade of evergreen trees in a section of Springfield...
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Betsy McKee
- Nov 2, 2022
- 2 min
Solomon Burt and the Explosion at the Powder Mill
As this gravestone attests, patriots faced danger at home as well as on the battlefield. This stone stands in Longmeadow Cemetery,...
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Betsy McKee
- Oct 27, 2022
- 2 min
"Instantly Killed by a Bull" The Death of Young Gaius Bliss
Have you ever noticed this gravestone in the Longmeadow Cemetery? While not common, causes of death were sometimes included on...
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Betsy McKee
- Oct 27, 2022
- 2 min
Jerusha Mather Williams Colton (1783 - 1844)
Jerusha Mather Williams was born in 1783 to Ensign Samuel Williams and Lucy Burt. Jerusha's grandfather was the Reverend Stephen...
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Betsy McKee
- Oct 25, 2022
- 2 min
Red Sandstone in Longmeadow
We live in a geologically very interesting area in western Massachusetts. The Connecticut River Valley is a rift valley, which means it...
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Betsy McKee
- Oct 22, 2022
- 1 min
Mary Colton Alias Mary Drake
The headstone of Mary Colton aka Mary Drake "The old burying ground of the Town of Longmeadow consisted originally of just one acre of...
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