Around Town

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

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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.

Around Town

Final Part of Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery Features 3 Women

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Anne Kendall Freitag

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part seven of seven. Annie Frances Kendall Freitag:

Annie Frances Kendall Freitag was born in Boston on May 4, 1830. She was the daughter of Abel and Anne Mayo Richards Kendall. In 1856, Abel committed suicide, by hanging himself, in the attic of their Somerset Street home in Boston. His death notice stated that he was depressed and was losing his hearing.

Around Town

Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery: Harriet Ann Jacobs

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Harriet Ann Jacobs

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part six of seven. Harriet Ann Jacobs was born into slavery, on February 11, 1813, in Edenton, North Carolina. She died on March 7, 1897, in Washington, D.C. Raised in Edenton, Harriet, and her brother, John Jacobs were born to Delilah Horniblow and Elijah Knox, a carpenter. Harriet recalled a happy early childhood. 

In her book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, available as a free download on Google Books, she noted: We lived together in a comfortable home; and though we were all slaves, I was so fondly shielded that I never dreamed I was a piece of merchandise.

Around Town

Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery: Anna Cabot Lowell Woodbury

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By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part five of seven. Anna Cabot Lowell Woodbury was the niece of poet James Russell Lowell, and sister of Lt. James Jackson Lowell and Brig. General Charles Russell Lowell. 

In the early summer of 1862, having recently been trained as an Army nurse, Anna was assigned to the hospital ship Daniel Webster on the James River. When she arrived at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia in June 1862, she continued her work despite news that her brother James had been killed in the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign.

Around Town

Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery: Mary Phinney von Olnhausen

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Mary Phinney von Olnhausen

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part four of seven. If you heard this name recently, it stemmed from PBS’s series, Mercy Street. I located and read her diary in 2012, long before PBS’s 2016 series. I gave several lectures that noted her diary.

Around Town

Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery: Mary Sullivan Felton

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The grave of Mary Sullivan Felton at Mount Auburn Cemetery. By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part three of seven. Mary Sullivan Felton was born on April 30th, 1839, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She died April 29th, 1896, in Boston, from pneumonia and pericarditis. Her father, Cornelius Conway Felton, died in 1862 at age 57.

Around Town

Civil War Nurses of Mount Auburn Cemetery: Emily Elizabeth Parsons

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Emily Elizabeth Parsons

By Bill McEvoy

In honor of National Nurses Week, local historian Bill McEvoy has compiled histories of some of the Civil War nurses who are buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery. This is part two of seven. Emily was the daughter of Professor Theophilus Parsons of the Harvard Law School. She was described as indomitable, heroic, and warm-hearted. 

At the beginning of the Civil War, she trained to be a Nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her intent was to go to the War and care for sick and wounded Union Soldiers.

Entertainment

Tickets on Sale for Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Winter Lights Show

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A screenshot from a video showing the lights show at Mount Auburn Cemetery in 2021. The following announcement was provided by the Mount Auburn Cemetery:

Mount Auburn Cemetery announced today that tickets are now on sale for this year’s SOLSTICE: Reflections on Winter Light event, created by MASARY Studios. The annual event at the active cemetery and historic urban green space takes guests on an outdoor journey through large-scale light and sound artworks and an indoor experience with live music and candle lighting. The event starts on December 10 and will run through December 21, 2022, at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Designed to evoke awe and contemplation, the exhibit invites guests to walk through the light-filled landscape and chapels, explore the winter solstice atmosphere, and reflect on moments of change as the year ends and a new cycle begins.