Civil War Clergy at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Rev. William Channing

William Henry Channing

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of Memorial Day, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War clergy who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part three of 15. Reverend William Henry Channing was born May 25, 1810, in Boston. He died December 24, 1884, in London, England. Dorothea Dix lived with the William Ellery Channing family for six months, traveling with them and tutoring the Channing children. Reverend Channing graduated from Harvard College in 1829, and at the  Cambridge divinity school in 1833. 

After preaching in several places for brief periods, and spending a year in Europe, he was a minister-at-large in New York during the year 1837.

Residents Can Sign Up for Curbside Composting Pickup

Watertown residents can now sign up to be part of the curbside composting program, run by Black Earth Compost. The company provided the following information:

Black Earth Compost (BEC) is excited to announce a new partnership with the City of Watertown! Watertown’s program provides free weekly curbside collection of food scraps and other organic materials. Please view the complete compostable guide for more details on everything that can be collected in your compost bin. As part of the program, you will receive a starter kit and online account to manage your service.

Civil War Clergy at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Adeline Tyler

Adeline Blanchard Tyler

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of Memorial Day, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War clergy who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part two of 15. I am grateful to Reverend Daphne Noyes, retired Deacon of Boston’s Church of the Advent for her assistance in adding an additional background to Sister Tyler’s life. 

The biography of William Rollinson Whittingham, Bishop of Maryland set apart, Adeline Tyler, as the first Deaconess in the Episcopal Church. 

Per Deacon Noyes, most sources agree that these women were not ordained (laying on of hands, invocation of the Trinity) but were “set apart” — living under a rule, often but not always in community, under the direction of a Bishop. In Adeline’s case, that was Bishop Whittingham. I also drew heavily from the: Project Gutenberg’s 2007 eBook release of 1867, text, Woman’s Work in the Civil War, by Linus Pierpont Brockett and Mary C. Vaughan

Adaline Blanchard Tyler was born on December 8, 1805, in Billerica, Massachusetts.

Civil War Clergy at Mount Auburn Cemetery: Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller

Rev. Arthur Buckminster Fuller

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of Memorial Day, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War clergy who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part one of 15. Reverend Arthur Buckminster Fuller  was born August 10th, 1822, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He died on December 11th, 1862, at Fredericksburg, Virginia of multiple gunshot wounds, inflicted by Confederate Sharpshooters. He was raised in Cambridge and Groton. He prepared for college under the direction of his sister Margaret Fuller Ossoli, a teacher of extraordinary gifts and influence, then at Sarah Bradford Ripley’s school at Concord.

Watertown’s Memorial Day Week Includes Parade, Ceremonies at Cemeteries & Poppy Social

Charlie BreitroseWatertown veterans salute the Flag during the playing of the National Anthem at the Memorial Day Observance. During Memorial Day week, Watertown veterans groups will visit schools, ceremonies will be held for veterans buried in town, the Commander’s Mansion will hose the Poppy Social, and, of course, the Memorial Day Parade will take place on Monday. The Watertown Veterans Services Office sent out the following information:

May 23: Veterans are invited to the Cunniff School at 9 a.m. for a Memorial Day Ceremony. May 24: We will begin placing cemetery flags & grave markers at Ridgelawn Cemetery and Saint Patrick’s Cemetery starting around 5 p.m.

May 26th: Veterans are invited to join us at the Watertown Public Schools:

8:45 a.m. – Lowell Elementary School

9:30 a.m. – Watertown High School

Please note: This information will update with the remaining schools soon. Some elements may differ this year, with virtual offerings.

Commander’s Mansion Hosting Disco Themed Age 21+ Pride Celebration

(NOTE: On June 5, the organizers announced the event has been cancelled)

We are bringing the disco here to Watertown! Grab your platform dancing shoes and your sequins for the first annual Love Out Loud: Studio 440 pride a 21+ celebration at the Commander’s Mansion on June 10, 2023, from 8 PM to Midnight Studio 440 will include …

Step & Repeat: Brought to you by Belmont Printing Co. and Natalie Nigito Photography! Entertainment: No disco would be complete without the Queen of Disco herself, Lakia Mondale, performing and emceeing for the night! Dancing: Get ready to boogie down with DJ Milli representing DJ El Sid!

Our History: Rededication of Gravesite of Lt. George Eaton Priest

Lt. George Eaton Priest

This article is part of a series on local history provided by the Historical Society of Watertown. It was written by Joyce Kelly, Board member of the Historical Society of Watertown. Joyce writes articles for the newsletter and is the newsletter editor. This was published in our October 2010 newsletter, “The Town Crier.”

The Historical Society of Watertown, the Civil War Round Table of Greater Boston and the Mass. Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission commemorated the life and Civil War service of Watertown’s Lieutenant George Eaton Priest at a gravesite rededication on September 19, 2010 in Ridgelawn Cemetery.