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Last summer, my Chicklet and I took a trip through New York State and on our last day, as we were driving home we passed an old cemetery near the town of Peru.
We decided to stop and take a look. It wasn't anything fancy or even particularly big and ornate but I thought maybe it would be good for these old souls to have someone think of them for a bit.. As you can see from the sign, it dates back to the early 1800's.As we walked among the old gravestones of Blockhouse cemetery, reading the names and imagining their stories, we came upon a couple of headstones that captured my imagination. The Wrangham family markers.
Thomas Wrangham was the first-born male child of Peru, NY. His first wife was Fanny.
I pictured Thomas and Fanny in my mind. He was tall and dark, with kind eyes and a mustache. Fanny was fair, with rosy cheeks that were round like small crabapples. In my mind's eye, her hair was curly.An engraving that caught my eye was the dedication for William Wrangham who died in 1835 at the ripe old age of 100. He was buried with his wife Jennie, who was born a year before him and died... the same year as William. If that doesn't speak to the romantic in you... *sigh*
Sadly, this couple who made it past the century mark together, buried a son, George in 1807. No parent should have to bury a child.
We found this on one of the headstones... the dried up exoskeleton of a bug (I have no idea what kind of bug, sorry) ***EDITED: Charles kindly informed me, the bug is a Cicada! Thanks Charles!*** But I found it ironic that this creature would leave it's "shell" along with that of William and Jennie and the many other Wranghams interred here.
So here we go!
The first picture has very few touch-ups, I just cleaned up the colour some:
And since we were in a cemetery, I then wondered what it would have been like at night... While looking at things through night vision goggles:
In night vision, it looks like the shadow became a ghost... *insert creepy music here* Skeered yet?
Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to go visit other participants HERE in the Creative Photography Contest no 7 and please say hi to Roger, he's a cool dude.
33 comments:
I enjoy old cemetaries. I visited one in Texas when I was down there this summer and found graves from the early 1800s. That cicada shell is very cool.
I am a fan of old cemeteries as well - I find the history - the stories - fascinating,
Great job Anndi!
Charles: I can spend quite a bit of time walking through old cemeteries.
Thank you for identifying the mystery bug (well, it was a mystery to Chicklet and me LOL)
Dana: I like to make up histories for the people whose names I find on old headstones.
Thanks!
1."I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts..."-Ghostbusters!
2. "Who dat sat who dat when I say who dat?" That's your trivia question...
3. "See, I told you I was sick"- in a Key West cementery..
Interesting ....
:-Daryl
Hi Anndi, you had a wonderful trip through that part of New York State. I am sure Chicklet enjoyed getting out with Mom.
We had a whirlwind trip from Stowe Vermont to Montreal, we mostly stayed on the Interstate from Burlington on.
We stayed at Montreal one night, did the tour, then headed to a Cowansville B&B in the East Townships [Domaine sur la Colline B&B]. We stayed there three nights, then back to Montreal for a Sunday on our own in town. It was in October and everone and everything was soooooo nice! We liked the pretty weddings, there were so many.
I hope you are a winner, this is the first time I have seen the Creative Photography Contest. I will look again.
Best to you and Chicklet, :-),
..
ok.. i LIVE in NY and i have no idea where the Hell PERU is? where is it?
Old cemetaries are so intriguing. I can spend hours reading all the old headstones. Good photos.
I love old cemeteries too! I love trying to imagine what the life story is that falls between the born___ and died___ dates. Also, the architecture of those old mausoleums can be really cool! Hey, if you like photo adventures, you should check out the Weekly Words Challenge! We have a Flickr Group too
I wonder if anyone knows much about any of the 100+ year old graves? I bet that in most cases the gravestones have lasted longer than the memories...
I like old cemeteries too. I love what you said about thinking the souls there needed a visit :)
the cicada is such an ugly thing but I have a soft spot for them and I enjoy the noise they make.
You know I am a huge fan of old cemeteries. Brad and I found a cool one last week. Thanks for sharing your neat pics.
Your photos are great! I like old graveyards, too. As long as I'm not in one...
Very interesting post. I agree that there's something very romantic about a married couple both living such long lives - especially in the 17 & 1800s. There should be a novel or a story there. Your cicada is interesting in itself and what you have done with it is cool. I love what your treatment did with the shadow. Very cool post across the board.
What a cool post and awesome job on the photos Anndi!
Thank you for your Creative Photography submission.
I've never walked through an old cemetary. There's one near where my folks live that dates back to the early 1800's.
Ok...you and I share another thing in common...
Cemeteries!
LOVE THEM!
And like you, I imagine what some of the people looked. I really find cemeteries peaceful and beautiful. Philadelphia has some of the most incredible cemeteries. There small and very intimate.
Anndi, these shots a wonderful!
Like the photo of the bug!
Especially like the night vision goggles!
Nice post, Anndi! Enjoyed it!
I don't like cemetery...The bug is cute...
My Entry Here
I love the headstones! Cicadas are yucky to look at but lovely to listen to =)
You did a great job, Anndi. The story behind makes your entry even more special.
Good luck!
Sanni
The night vision one is a tad creepy...but oddly alluring. It does catch your eye.
The au naturel bug looks like a copper adornment of the headstone.
How do you reconcile which is the prettier of the two?
Old cemeteries are interesting. I like to read the names and imagine their lives, much as you did.
I like the night vision goggle idea. Very creative! Good luck in Roger's contest.
That's one cool dead bug. Love the photos and your commentary made me feel like I was on the walk with both of you. Thanks!
You've been royally tagged by Mimi Queen of Memes (aka I-hear-the-dungeon-is-really-hot-this-time-of-year)...
Somebody Get Me Out Of This Corset: The Needs Meme
Very cool write up on the cemetery. Makes me wonder if the descendants of those graves are still visiting or not.
Cool shots and great job on editing.
Scrapbooking and Photography
Wow, great pics and a great story to go with them..
I love going on adventures with you..
Hope your weekend is a special one..
Take care,
Luv Lesley
Awww, what a wonderful, romantic story that is! I wonder if that couple met as kids? That would have been cool. Either way, I'm glad they managed to live to a ripe old age together. Hugs! :)
We have cicadas all over our yard. They seem to love crawling out of their shells on our pine trees and leaving their remains behind. haa haa!
Love the old headstone markers. I don't know if you've ever read this lady's blog, but she does geneology and takes tons of photos of headstones all over Canada.
http://www.aboutmyheritage.ca/bbfan/
Pretty interesting.
I'm late getting here from last week's contest (it was a hectic week!) but I did want to pop by to check out everyone's entries.
I love walking through old cemeteries and taking pictures of the markers of people who have gone on before us. I often wonder about their lives and what type of people they were. The older the cemetery the better, too, as I love history to begin with.
Oh, and that night vision shot definitely was creepy looking!
I love old cemetaries. I learned to drive in a cemetary. My dad thought it would be appropriate if I messed up. I often wonder if once nobody remembers you that is when you truly have departed...
Nicely captured thee. Cemetery's make for some fun photo opportunities
Well you saw I had cemetary shots posted awhile back so you know I'm into it!!!
Cool photos! Perfectly creative. :)
Great imagination about what they looked like to you as well.
Have a happy week. :)
We have a crapton of old cemetaries (sp?) around here in Georgia and like you, it's interesting to see how fat they date back.
It's akin to finding buried treasure...
Only there are souls to be remembered.
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