IN DEATH REMEMBERD

18th Century Gravestone Carvers of the Taunton River Basin

Vincent F. Luti

The Taunton River Basin comprises the southeastern portion of Bristol County, Massachusetts.  It is the largest watershed in Massachusetts and has a historic and geographically cohesive identity generated by its abundant rural streams, which served agriculture and water-powered manufacturing. The cemeteries of the Taunton River Basin towns also represent a unique crossroad of stones carved outside the region that gave rise in turn to a unique, local school of carvers and carving.

There is, in the area, abundant evidence of these earlier cultural artifacts alongside those of native “scalpors.” Fine work from shops in Newport, Rhode Island, was shipped upriver, and a good representation of work from Plymouth County, Massachusetts, was shipped westward, overland, into the Basin towns.

The carvers of the imported stones from Plymouth County have been studied and written up by Peter Benes in Masks of Orthodoxy and by James Blachowicz in From Slate to Marble. Carvers from Newport have previously been written up by this author in his book Mallet and Chisel. My focus in this current book, therefore, is based exclusively on what has been largely overlooked, the 18th century Taunton River Basin School of Gravestone Carvers.

This rich heritage of early American folk artifacts is a precious resource for scholars of all stripes, and something to be enjoyed by an appreciative public as well. The native work of this overlooked area now has its deserved place in the story of American folk art culture as evidenced in its early gravestones and their carvers.

This is the most lavishly illustrated book that we at American History Press have had the privilege to produce. Mr. Luti is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world regarding the history of tombstone carvers in New England, and it has been our unique pleasure to work with him on this project. Gravestones in New England are unique examples of folk art that are in need of protection. Thus, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of In Death Rememberd will be donated to preservation efforts.

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Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction and Apologia                        

David Linkon of Norton (1727-1822)

• Life and Work
• Associative Lettering Set
• Photo Album annotated
• Endnotes
• Documented Stones
• Gravestone List
  

Barney Leonard of Taunton and Bridgewater (1757-1821) 

• Life and Work
• The Stylized Frond Problem
• Associative Lettering Set
• THe Unknown Westmoreland, N.H. Carver
• Carver X
• Carver X: Associative Lettering Set
• The Question of Jabez Carver, Stone Cutter
• Photo Album annotated   
  
• Endnotes
• Documented Stones    
  
• Gravestone lists: Leonard, Carver X, Westmoreland X

Ebenezer Winslow of Berkeley (1737-1825)

• Life and Work
• Associative Lettering Set
• Photo Album annotated
• Endnotes
• Documented Stones
• Gravestone List      
  

Cyrus Deane of Taunton (1766-1856)

• Life and Work, Interactions
• Assorted Exceptional Stones
• The Deep-cut Scroll Carver
• Associative Lettering Set
• Photo Album annotated  
  
• Endnotes
• Gravestone List      
  

Jabez Carver of Raynham (1747-1833) 

• Life and Work
• Associative Lettering Set
• Photo Album annotated 
  
• Endnotes
• Documented Stones
• Gravestone List         

Postscript

• Anonymous Primitive Carvers of the Taunton River Basin                              

Epilogue

Index

Specifications

Format: 8.8" x 10.1" hardback with richly decorated endpapers, printed on acid-free 80# coated paper. Printed in Massachusetts
Pages: 176, including table of contents, text, preface glossary of terms, bibliography, acknowledgments and      index.
Illustrations: The book is richly illustrated with many beautiful black & white photographs of gravestones taken by the author; historical documents, enlarged photos of distinguishing carver's styles, their biographies, and charts of their work.
ISBN 13: 978-1-939995-14-8
ISBN 10: 1-939995-14-0 

 Price: $34.95 (Bulk order rates are available upon request)

About the Author

VINCENT F. LUTI is a retired faculty member of the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. His interest in colonial gravestone culture was shaped by his introduction to the Association for Gravestone Studies in the late 1970s.  Since then he has been a frequent speaker at their annual national conferences. He has written many articles for the association’s journal Markers, and also authored Mallet and Chisel, a book-length study of eighteenth-century Neport, Rhode Island carvers. He is an informed and engaging speaker and has conducted numerous cemetery tours. He has also acted as a consultant to numerous organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution, and the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. In 1997, the Association for Gravestone Studies honored him with the Forbes Award for Distinguished Scholarship.