Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Well, "Cemetary" Jeff strikes again! John Fleet has been found along with Bertha Manchester. A couple of weeks ago, with the help of Barbara,
Joanne, Don and frequent Second street guest BoB Shaw, I ws able to track down these to figures.
I was excited because Len Rebello didn't find the correct grave and was able to get the right one LOL
There are 3 Joh Fleet's in Oak Grove. We asked at the office where he was
and the date of his birth and death matched.

Bertha was a little tougher , but she ended up being close to Hiram Harrington and Lurana Borden Harrington

Jeff have you considered placing photos of the graves on Find a grave?
I think it is wonderful you are so gifted at locating these graves.
I have been doing genealogy since I was 16 and love walking old cemeteries. Maybe I will get the chance to do some cemetery walking in Fall River one day, although I have to keep my walks shorter now days with more rest stops.

Thanks for the acknowledgement , Jeff.
Believe me everyone when I say Jeff deserves alot of credit and a big round of applause for all his sleuthing. I saw him in action. He does not rest until he has found his man or woman!

Looking forward to another day in Oak Grove , Jeff.

Jeff and I have put together our findings on Friends of Oak Grove Borden Related Graves- we still have more to add. Len Rebello showed us many, and we have together and on our own each found a few more over the past 2 years.
Last weekend we had a great time visiting Mt. Auburn and Sleepy Hollow Author's Ridge in Concord where Hawthorn, Emerson, Thoreau and the Alcotts are buried.
Mt. Auburn in Cambridge was the model for most garden cemeteries in America- including Oak Grove.
http://oakgrovecemetery.wordpress.com/s ... onalities/
Jeff this is my favorite of our photos- you with actor Edwin Booth! I need to get some new knees to keep up with Jeff on the hills!

Congratulations on your find!!! I sure with I lived closer to all of you, would love to go sleuthing around with you. There is an old town cemetery about 2 minutes from our house. We used to walk there & read all the stones & the dates. It was quiet, peaceful and so beautiful in the fall. Jeff, I agree with Shelley, that's a great picture of you. You seem to be in your element, you look so happy doing this. Ted used to work at the parish cemetery, cutting lawns & worked with the person digging graves & covering them after the services. He said that it was the most peaceful job he ever had, & we'd always look at the unusual stones he found.

I forgot to ask, where is this cemetary where the picture of you & Booth was taken?

Debbie, Come down anytime. I would be happy to show you around Oak Grove and take you to all the plots!!

Lorraine- This was up at Mt Auburn Cemetary up near Cambridge
and Concord

Thank-you for the invitation Jeff. My husband and I are talking about making a trip to the Fall River area some time this fall. It is still in the talking stages right now, but I do hope we get to make the trip.
I will let you know if and when we will be up there when I have more solid plans. Hopefully by that time I will be able to send PM's.
Shelley, thank-you for the photo of the Booth tombstone. I was in the Baltimore area the other day and wanted to see the grave of John W. Booth, but time didn't permit it. Come to think of it, I can't remember if John's grave is marked or not.

Congratulations Jeff on your 2 new finds. Way to go! I also wish I was back in the Fall River area so I could help you and shelley in finding these graves. I had just recently started my exploration of Oak Grove and St. Patrick's cemetaries when I moved to Texas. The Evergreen cemetary in Dartmouth where my parents are buried is what got me interested in exploring cemetaries. There are civil war graves as well as the original Russell's from Russell's Mills. To me it is just fascinating to see history in person (sort of)

Partial quote:

Debbie @ Fri Aug 22, 2008 3:49 pm wrote: I was in the Baltimore area the other day and wanted to see the grave of John W. Booth, but time didn't permit it. Come to think of it, I can't remember if John's grave is marked or not.

At the request of his family John Wilkes Booth's individual grave is not marked with his name. There is a unnamed stone in the family plot which is believed to be his. However, his name is inscribed on the family stone as "John Wilkes"

Hi Jeff,You are the main man when it comes to cemetary searching. We had a great day,lots of exercise and good company. We will definitely do it again. But I am a little upset with you. JoAnne and I live only 15 minutes from Concord and 30 minutes from St Auburn Cemetary,next time call us. If for nothing else,we know some awesome places to eat.

Sorry Barbara, I didn't realize you guys are close to that area.
Shelley and I were on the move all day. Mt Auburn, Louisa May Alcott's house, Colonial In n and Sleepy Hollow Cemetary.
Shelley and I may be up in October to see more people in Mt Auburn
if you would like to join us

Jeff, I echo Barbara's sentiments. We go to Concord frequently and eat at the Colonial Inn too!

I'll forgive you though because you are just to cute . October would be fun .

Well Shelley and I have been planning on Mt Auburn for about a year
so I didn't think about any thing else other than seeing the cemetary and finding Booth, Bernard Malamud and Longfellow. So How was I suppose to know you wanted to go

Well, there are PLENTY more graves to find! I was admittedly getting "ideas" at Mt. Auburn that I might use at Oak Grove! Mt. Auburn is the Queen of garden cemeteries which goes back to 1831.
There is also a huge cenotaph to Edwin Booth in Saint Columba's church in Middletown, RI I have a photo of it somewhere I will dig up. I rarely miss a weekend hunting graves up for people who request photos through Find-a grave. I have posted some of them on my Yankee Stones blog (OH NO ANOTHER BLOG, Dr. Bowen!!) Mt. Auburn is going up there this week. http://yankeestones.wordpress.com/

What is Find A Grave? Some of the cemetaries around here are very old. The town cemeteay in Webster has the graves of the Slater Family. Also in Dudley ( about 2 minutes from my house) there is a nice one that is just gorgeous in the fall.

Find -a-Grave is a huge site where most of the famous have info and a photo of their grave. You can volunteer to be a gravefinder for family who are too far to visit loved ones in cemeteries. Sometimes I am sent money to place flowers, but mostly I take photos of the graves. It costs nothing to join, you can add records and photos too and leave virtual flowers. http://www.findagrave.com/

I get a lot of info from Find a Grave about people I want to know more about. That's how I find the cemetary I need to go to in Washington