Unlock the Secrets of a Cemetery (Tomac Cemetery, Old Greenwich, Connecticut)

Tomac Cemetery, Old Greenwich. Photo: August 2014. 

Unlock the Secrets of a Cemetery (Tomac Cemetery)
Greenwich Time: November 20, 1988
Greenwich, Connecticut USA

Within every New England town are found some of the most fascinating yet neglected sources of historical information -burying grounds. 

A visit to old burying ground can unlock the mysteries of our historical heritage. Individual gravestones offer a panorama of art, poetry, and history embellished on one-of-a-kind works by mostly unknown stone sculptors. On the stones’ weathered surfaces are etched names and dates of settlers, war veterans, unique artistic motif designs, epitaphs and so on. As realms of hallowed ground, the burying grounds are testimonials to our forebears’ attempts at immortality for future generations to ponder and preserve.

I have made to survey of these sites throughout Greenwich, as well as organized and supervised clean-up projects at a number of these burying grounds. Out of all of the sites I researched I found no particular brand ground as fascinating as Tomac Cemetery, the oldest existing town burying ground.

A treasure trove of early local history, it is here that many early settlers of Greenwich are interred, as well as heroes of the American Revolution. A stroll among the gravestones reveals a variety of 18th and 19th century sculpture as well as timeless carved epitaphs.

Perhaps most mysterious of all are the fieldstone markers, mostly scattered in the rear of the grounds. Though a few are crudely carved, most are faceless, preserving forever the secrets and anonymity of those individuals who sleep beneath them.

The rear and oldest section of Tomac Cemetery, Old Greenwich. Photo: August 2014

Tomac Cemetery, mostly surrounded by stone walls, is on the east side of Tomac Avenue. A small iron gate hangs lazily open at the entrance to the main part of the cemetery. Someone standing at the entrance can picture how it must have been a century ago, when Greenwich was a predominantly farming community, how it was possible to view Long Island Sound from this vantage point. Today this view is blocked by trees and rows of homes.  

The burying ground itself is roughly rectangular and contains about one and a quarter acres. A number of large trees, spared from a recent tree clearing effort, majestically stretch skyward above the tombstones. The front section of the cemeteries is mostly grass, with high weeds, myrtle and ivy plants covering the rest.

The oldest carved gravestone that has been found at Tomac Cemetery belonged to Gershom Lockwood, who died at age 77 on March 12, 1718. Mr. Lockwood was one of the founding proprietors of the Town of Greenwich, the only one whose carved gravestone is known to exist. 

A number of years ago the stone was mysterious stolen and anonymously returned later; it is now kept at the Bush Holley House. The black slate gravestone is embellished prominently with a Puritan death-head. The death-head or winged skull, to many gravestone scholars symbolizes the flight of the soul from mortal man. The motif is striking, to say the least. 

Few of us would recognize the hardships and low living standards endured by our early ancestors. Gershom Lockwood and his contemporaries lived under harsh conditions that would seem primitive to us. The realities of every day living may seem quaint and charming to some in the latter 20th century. Yet when those who now lie dormant in Tomac Cemetery were among the living, many suffered from the climate, famine, epidemics and disease, poor diet and so on. The drought and endless heat waves that persisted this past summer no doubt would have been disastrous for our forbearers. 

Under such conditions one can easily imagine just how much mortality figured in the Puritan heart and soul. It was commonplace for the early settlers to wander among the gravestones, especially on the Sabbath day. The symbolic motifs, such as the winged skull on Gershom Lockwood’s gravestone, were reminders of the limits of man's mortality. As many could not read, symbols were used to convey and reinforce those concepts.

As time progressed, winged skulls gave way to winged faces, some of which appear to be sincere attempts by the stone carvers at portraiture. A few scholars say that one interpretation of this motif is that it portrays the effigy of the deceased with the soul in flight. My favorite of these at Tomac Cemetery is found on the sandstone grave marker of Nathaniel Lockwood, who died on December 22, 1757 at the young age of 31.

Willow trees and urns carved on the faces of gravestones are synonymous with the 19th century, and Tomac Cemetery features some fine examples of this motif. Willows and urns are used primarily as a symbol of mourning, hence the name “weeping willow tree.” 

Some of the stones that feature this symbol include those of George Peck, who died December 28, 1823 at age 56; Elizabeth Lockwood, relict (a widow) of Stephen Lockwood, who died Oct. 15, 1831, at age 62, 6 months, 15 days; and Edward Jessup, who died Jan. 6, 1833 at age 64, whose stone features a willow tree, urn and a small figure. The gravestone of Mary Kimberly features a strikingly large curved urn on her marble marker. She died on Sept. 30, 1805 at age 32 years, 6 months and 2 days. 

The epitaph poems carved a number of the grave markers at Tomac Cemetery are emblematic of a poetic energy whose emotions range from sinister warnings to the living, to those that express more sentimental thoughts about the individual concerning release from the adversities of life. The epitaph poem is an added element to the desire to commemorate for future generations to read and think about.

On the large slate gravestone of Deacon Samuel Peck, who died Jan. 29, 1793, is the following inscription:

“He was a faithful man and feared God above many.

All men must come to the cold tomb

Only the actions of the just

Smell sweet and blossom in the dust

Such actions friend were thine.”

On the gravestone and Nathaniel Lockwood is found the earliest known epitaph poem in my survey of the graveyards of Greenwich:

“Since life’s uncertain oft cut down in Prime

Repent nor dare presume on future time

Since Mercy’s boundless let not Man despair

Love faithful Christ is saving in sincere.”

One of the more infamous and popular epitaphs found here  and other burying grounds is the poem found on the grave marker of Sarah Knapp, born 1777 and died 1795:

“Stop carlis youths as you pass by,

As you are now so wonse was I

As I am now so you must be

Prepare for death and follow me.”

Another epitaph, found carved on the gravestone for Edward Jessup, who died in 1833, indicates that he was ill at the time of his death. His is also an epitaph found at other sites in Greenwich:

“Afflictions sore long time he bore

Physicians skill was in vain

Till God did please to give him ease

And take him from his pain

He’s gone from this world of care and strife

To his restful realm above the sky

There to enjoy eternal light

And never more to heaven fight.”

Tomac Cemetery is also the site of the largest concentration of graves of American Revolutionary war veterans in Greenwich. Here we find such soldiers is Corporal Titus Knapp, a private in Capt. Abraham Mead’s Company and 1775, and who later and enlisted as a corporal in June of 1776 in the 2nd Company, Col. Bradley’s Battalion, Wadsworth Brigade of Connecticut State Troops. There are about 18 soldiers of the War for Independence interred at this site. 

William Hendrie's epitaph.

Burying grounds are a perfect place for the interested historian to play the part of a detective,  solving the mysteries of the past for the benefit of the present and future. Tomac Cemetery, as our oldest existing burial site in Greenwich, stands out among the many other town burying grounds as a firm reminder of our heritage. 

Sad to say, many gravestones in the northeast are being worn away by the elements, vandalism, neglect and acid rain. There's great hope for the future in the preservation of the sites. Tomac Cemetery is a valued monument to a New England Yankee past, a testimonial to our forefathers. 

Jeffrey B. Mead, who lives in Greenwich, is a direct descendant of one of the founding families of the town. He is a free-lance writer and member of the Greenwich Historical Society.