Massachusetts is rich in history and old cemeteries. To visit and photograph the Old Burying Grounds of Massachusetts in Autumn is incredible. The old maple trees are huge and beautiful, with bright fall colors of yellows, oranges and reds. The last trip to Massachusetts we went out looking for dead relatives for our genealogy project. You see both my wife and I have ancestors in the area that date back to the first settlers of this great country. Finding grave stones of many of our ancestors is a thrill and trying to imagine what life was like back then. I would like to sit down to dinner with our ancestors to visit with them to find out what they were like. The photos in this gallery were shot in the town cemeteries of Ipswich, Harvard, Shirley, Essex, Groton, Newburyport and Lexington. It’s a step back in time. It’s a chance to understand what our Founding Father’s sacrificed for us.
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I love your beautiful photo! And I have good news for you. You can have a conversation (of sorts) with your ancestors. The next time you visit the cemetery bring along a digital voice recorder. Ask a question then wait a minute to capture a reply before asking your next question. If you visit the same cemetery, over time you should be able to piece together quite a bit of information.
Spirit voices tend to be low so listening to the recorder with headphones is a good idea. For best results download the recording onto your computer and listen to it (with headphones) through a program like Audacity. It’s a free program, but it will be enough to enhance any low volume voices you may capture. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
I visit a Pioneer cemetery here in Northern California quite often and have an ongoing conversation with a group of “residents.” One in particular has given me quite a bit of information. I asked him how he died and he told me he was strangled. I know that he owned a farm in the area in life, that he was married, and fathered seven children. His name is Henry and his sister is buried next to him. On one visit I went straight to Henry’s grave and said, “Hi Henry, I’m back” and his sister replied, “Go away and leave him alone.”
On my first visit to Henry’s grave he asked me, “Can I come home with you?” I returned the next day and told him he may certainly follow me home. He never did. I doubt his sister will let him wander far from the cemetery. I recently learned that Henry’s wife is buried in a cemetery in a nearby city. I plan to visit her very soon.
Henry’s neighbors are just a chatty. My husband and I stood at the grave of a woman buried directly across from Henry and struggled to pronounce a very long and difficult last name. Later, when we listened to the recording at home we discovered a female voice correcting our pronunciation.
On another visit there was clearly some damage done to the cemetery. I asked the group, “Who did this? Was it kids?” A female voice was captured on the recorder replying, “Yes, kids did it.”
At another grave I asked, “Does your family still visit you?” And received the reply, “Yes, some still come.”
So you see, if you just speak to them as though you are visiting old friends you will begin to gather quite a bit of information. Over time you will have answers to all the questions you have been longing to ask.
Good luck and I’d love to learn about any results you capture. Also, be sure to try recording at home. If you are lucky some of your ancestors just may follow you home.
Lynn
Beautiful photos, the colors and the lighting are top notch!
Beautiful photos. It reminded me of an afternoon of photography in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery back in the Fall of 2007. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good camera back then.