Greenwich History as Told Through Its Old Burying Grounds (1992)

Greenwich Time: Community Life
October 6, 1992

Greenwich, the gateway to New England, is rich in Yankee heritage stemming from the early days of its founding in 1640. It is well known as a community on the shores of Long Island Sound and famous for its Impressionist art colony during the turn-of-the-century, the Great Estates era, and impressive, pricey homes.

One of the least known facts about Greenwich is its high concentration of historic bringing grounds, about 65 altogether, scattered throughout its 48 miles. Some cemeteries are quite large; others contain fewer than 10 graves. They have attracted local interest and efforts at preservation for many years.

The burying grounds of New England are recognized as important historical and culturally significant resources in America, according to Jeffrey Mead, a local historian, educator and author. He said much can be learned and appreciated on a visit to these sites, where unique vestiges of the town's distinct heritage are preserved.

Mead will lead a six-part lecture series and tour entitled "The Spirit of Greenwich Old Time Past: The Burying Grounds of Greenwich." The series, which includes interpretive slides and tours of Greenwich cemeteries, its a successor to Mead's "Our Hallowed Grounds" series conducted in 1991-1992.

Mead, a direct descendent of the founders of Greenwich, is chairman of the Burying Grounds Committee of the town's to Historical Society, founder and president of the Historic Mead Family Burying Grounds Association, and an occasional writer on town history for Greenwich Time.

Mr. Mead's activities that included a research project cataloguing the graveyards and tombstones of Greenwich over the last five years. He has also organized cleanups of abandoned and neglected plots in town. He is the author of the forthcoming collection of selecting epitaphs from Greenwich's gravestones titled "Read Behold As You Pass By: Selected Gravestone Epitaphs in the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut."

Mead holds a Master of Teaching degree from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York.

Through the series, Mr. Mead hopes to foster further study and preservation efforts of historic Greenwich cemeteries. He also seeks to enhance appreciation of the town's cultural heritage by investigating themes and elements associated with American folk art. The earliest examples of these can be found in the town's graveyards poetry and genealogy.

Local history buffs, or historians, students, genealogists, admirers of epitaph poetry and curious citizens are invited to attend.

Lectures will be at 7:30 p.m.  Tuesdays at the Greenwich Arts Center, 299 Greenwich Ave. Cemetery tours will be at 2:30 p.m. Sundays.

The lecture titled "The Community Burying Grounds of Greenwich" is set for tonight' "In Search of Graven Rhymes & Epitaphs" will be given October 13. "Death-heads, Willows and Angels: Mortality Art on the Gravestones of Greenwich" is scheduled for October 20.

Tomac Cemetery, the oldest existing burying ground to Greenwich, is the subject of "Tomac Cemetery: A Hallowed Walking Tour," set for October 18 and "The Lewis Burying Ground: A Sacred Family Album Tour" will be held October 25.

The final event, "The New Burial Grounds Association Cemetery," adjacent to the 212-foot-tall spire of Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, will be conducted Nov. 1. The fee is $55 for the series; $30 for three lectures or tours; and $10 for each lecture or tour. 

For more information and a brochure, call 849-1464.