Although
we patiently read the inscriptions on each stone, hoping to find
a cluster of dates that meshed with Cole's sketchy description,
frustration once again prevailed. But all was not lost because
the carving on many of the stones was exquisite. These stones
appeared to have been inscribed either by a single master carver
or by two or more who obviously shared the same style, perhaps
working from the same shop. Another visitor to the cemetery, sharing
our admiration for the artistry, informed us that when the church
that had been next to the cemetery was moved up the road sometime
in the 1800s, a new cemetery was begun. With rekindled hope, we
searched the newer cemetery and did, indeed, find a row of family
gravestones that might fit Cole's account. Next to the graves
of the father and mother were the worn and only partially legible
stones of four of their daughters. But shouldn't there be five
stones? Yes, and intriguingly, a few feet from these graves is
a tree whose growing trunk has incorporated a gravestone that,
unfortunately, also is illegible. With at least some names to
check in the cemetery database in Hartford, the West Stafford
vampire trail continues.
Text © Dr. Michael Bell |