New England Cemeteries are gorgeous in the fall.

Leaves cover the ground, trees light with color and old trees stand as they have for hundreds of years…well, at least they look as if they have.

I have strolled through so many times. I have visited headstones more times than I can count, but that was years ago and before I started formally recording my family information. Now, armed with only a phone, I visited with the purpose of photographing what resting places I could find.

I have only started my work in Cemeteries. Here, in Abington,Massachusetts, I know that my Maternal > Paternal line, Balentine/Whitman rest here. I come from William L. Balentine who passed in 1941.

I found the Headstone of my Great Uncle Gilbert and his wife, which was nice. I didn’t know they were buried here.

William’s wife, Laura Whitman Balentine, she died of TB as a young mother. Verbal history states that there was no money for a gravesite, so her sister Blanch, married to a Wyatt, offered a spot in their plot.Interestingly, no one ever marked the spot and it has remained unmarked every since.

At near the other end of the cemetery, I did find the Wyatt section. Laura’s father, Alfred Whitman was also buried in the Wyatt plot, originally unmarked.I was happy to see a ground stone now placed there. I wonder where Alfred’s wife Mary is buried.

The Wyatt headstone is the one in the middle of the two bushes. Alfred rests where the flowers are sitting and Laura rests behind him.

Verbal history tells us that there was a request to move Laura to join her husband. They were told that too many years had passed and such a move would be impossible. Still, no one marked Laura’s gravesite. At least her father is now marked and we know that Laura rests behind him.

If you want to visit them, I took photos to help with directions. William Balentine and sons are buried at the Pearl Street end of the cemetery on a road entitled Hawthorn Rd. They rest immediately behind the Hawthorne sign.

To help find the Wyatts, I stood in front of their plot, looked to my left and saw the large tomb building. I thought that a good landmark. So find that first and mimic this photo.

Once what you see looks like this picture, you are standing in front of them. Alfred Whitman has a ground stone.

Laura rests in the empty space immediately behind him. It’s nice to know she rests with her father. I do still wonder where her mother lays. And Laura needs a stone to mark her grave. Investigation continues.

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Rev. William Walton came to serve as minister in 1638 and served until he passed in 1668. His daughter Elizabeth married the son of Salem’s first Governor, Lot Conant. After Lot and Elizabeth married, they headed to Bridgewater,Mass to make homestead.

Marblehead Historical Society as a very nice collection of facts for you here.

Arriving in the harbor area of Marblehead, one finds narrow stonewalled streets. There are signs calling to you that show you where to find the Burial Ground. The original burial ground and church site are preserved on the original site.

There is a steep but wonderfully maintained stair leading you up to the grounds.

Once you climb to the top, the area is filled with headstones. Most are quite old. And you could easily spend an entire day here reading and searching for ancestors.

The main architechural feature is the Gazebo.

The gazebo contains this bench upon which to sit and allows you to take in the breathtaking views.

I could only imagine what these views looked like before the harbor village was built.This is what you see from inside the Gazebo, where the church once stood.

There area a lot of war heros buried here.

I looked everywhere for the official sign and found it on the stone side of the gazebo.

Imbedded into the stone, it rested nicely.

And I was very happy to find one more connection to my family’s past.

Rev. Walton, my Great,Great,Great,Great,Great,Great,Great,Great,Grandfather has his church site remembered. They say he was buried here as well but no headstone remains for him or his wife. At least I know I am in the right cemetery and in the right spot to celebrate where his church stood.

(Hey Grammy! I found another cool thing in Gramp’s past, whether he wanted me to look or not! I did what you said and found his past anyways whether he liked it or not…lol…I know this makes you giggle and smile.)

My Lineage

Me > Ruth Balentine b. 1939 >Alfred Balentine b. 1919>Laura Whitman b1895. >Charles Whitman b. >Elijah Whitman b. 1762 > Nicholas Whitman b. 1731 > Mary Conant b. 1694 > William Conant b. 1665/6 > Elizabeth Walton b. 1629 > Rev. William Walton b. 1601

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My search for Rev.Walton took me to Marblehead, Massachusettes. What a beautiful town!The streets are lines with gorgeous old homes that I have seemingly stood for hundreds of years.

Lawns are speckled with well tended gardens, outlined with fences and stone.

Being a harbor town, the ocean is readily available for viewing. The sound of the water fills the air as well as the seagulls that inhabit the shoreline.

Impressive are the homes that sit amongst the rocky shore and pines.Homes are sites with such reverence for the land.

I have never seen stone walls as impressive as these.

Some of the roads were very narrow as they wound through rows of old homes.

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From a great height I was able to take this photo of Marblehead village and harbor.  Isn’t this amazing? I want to live here!

It is certainly one of my very favorite towns to visit. And can you see the gravestones in the bottom right hand corner of the photograph? They are what brought me to Marblehead, which I explain in my next post.

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