Author: Father Pitt

  • Robert and Margaret McCullough Tombstones, Clinton Cemetery

    Robert McCullough

    [I]N MEMORY OF
    [R]OBERT McCULLOUGH,
    who departed t[his li]fe
    Jan 26th 18—
    aged 40 years.

    The whole front has flaked off this tombstone, but most of the inscription remains legible. The stone is obviously carved by the same hand that made the stone for Margaret nearby; we presume they were husband and wife who both died young, but the stones themselves do not indicate the relationship.

    Margaret McCullough

    IN MEMORY OFF
    MARGARET McCULLOUGH
    who departed this life
    April 11th 1836,
    in the 33d year of her
    age.

  • Morgans in Clinton Cemetery

    John Morgan, died 1852

    JOHN MORGAN
    DIED
    MAY 15, 1852
    AGED
    75 YEARS.

    A number of Morgans are buried in the Clinton Cemetery, and we are not sure how or whether they are all related.

    Elizabeth Morgan

    ELIZABETH
    WIFE OF
    JOHN MORGAN
    DIED
    DEC. 2, 1845(?)
    AGED — YEARS

    Lizzie Morgan, died 1847

    LIZZIE MORGAN
    DIED
    MAR 24 1847
    AGED
    25(?) YEARS.

    There are several broken tombstones in the cemetery leaning against other tombstones. This one belongs to Robert McCullough.

    Dr. Charles Morgan died 1852

    Dr. CHARLES MORGAN
    Died
    Mar. 31, 1852
    Aged 52 Years

    In a different light the epitaph might be more legible. It seems to begin “In all his excellent…,” but we could be completely wrong about that.

    Daniel Morgan, died 1867

    DANIEL MORGAN,
    DIED
    SEPT. 26, 1867,
    AGED 62 YEARS.

    Daniel Morgan

    The shallow inscription is eroded, so this is our best attempt at interpreting it:

    IN MEMORY OF
    DANIEL,
    SON OF
    JAMES & HANNAH MORGAN
    WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
    DEC 5, 1850
    AGED
    18 YEARS, 3 MOS.
    & 16 DAYS.

  • John and Margaret Smith Tombstones, Clinton Cemetery

    John Smith tombstone

    JOHN SMITH
    Died May 17, 1851
    Aged 69 Years.

    John Smith was a veteran of the War of 1812; his tombstone is in a simple version of what old Pa Pitt calls the Poster Style, because it is very similar to printed posters of the same era.

    Bronze marker

    The bronze marker tells us that Private Smith served a little less than four months and was discharged before the war was over. Perhaps he was injured, but if so he got over it, married, and lived another 37 years after his discharge. His wife is buried beside him:

    Margaret Smith

    MARGARET
    Wife of
    JOHN SMITH
    Died July 15, 183?
    Aged — Years.

    The date of death is not quite legible. The year appears to be in the 1830s, though the tombstone is in the style of the 1850s and matches John’s. If the stone was put up years after Margaret’s death, then the age may have been left blank out of uncertainty and never filled in.

  • Alexander Bell Tombstone, Clinton Cemetery

    Erected in Memory of Alexander Bell

    ERECTED
    In Memory of
    Alexander Bell
    Who Departed this Life
    January 1834 in the
    82nd year of his
    age

    This stone is a substantial work of folk art, and it is interesting to speculate how far that art might have gone if it had not been snuffed out by the arrival of industrial monument companies.

    Alexander Bell
  • Conrod Cline Tombstone, Clinton Cemetery

    Sacred to the memory of Conrod Cline, 1837

    SACRED
    to the memory of
    CONROD CLINE,
    who died August 8th 1837,
    in the 28th year of his age.

    Although the rest of the stone is damaged, the quotation is easily recognized as Revelation 14:13:

    Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.