Lowell Cemetery

Lowell Cemetery Official page of the Proprietors of the Lowell Cemetery. A Garden Style Cemetery listed on the Natio

Frederick William Coburn was born in Lowell, MA, on January 30, 1873. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1892 and a...
03/17/2026

Frederick William Coburn was born in Lowell, MA, on January 30, 1873. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1892 and attended the Mass. Institute of Technology from 1892 until 1893 when he joined the family business C. B. Coburn Co., which sold paint, varnishes, and art supplies from the store and warehouse at 63-67 Market St. He became president and treasurer of the company when his father died in 1909. He married Bertha Wilcox that same year. Frederick died on this day in 1918 in Sedona, AR and is buried on Primrose Ave.

The Coburn warehouse on Market St. became the well-known Birke’s Dept. Store and is now home of the popular Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus. Sources: “History of Lowell and Its People,” Coburn, Frederick W., Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York City, NY, 1920, pp. 307-308; Photo from FB post by Guy Lefebvre, September 11, 2017.

Mary Dummer Moody was born in Amesbury, MA, in 1807. Her father was Paul Moody, the chief engineer for the Locks and Can...
03/15/2026

Mary Dummer Moody was born in Amesbury, MA, in 1807. Her father was Paul Moody, the chief engineer for the Locks and Canal Co., who lived in what is now the Whistler House Museum of Art from 1823-1831, while working in Lowell, MA. Mary married George Carelton in Lowell, on April 25, 1832. She died on this day in 1879 and is buried with George and their seven children on Tuckerman Ave.

The family monument is a broken obelisk, typically symbolic of a life cut short. Five of Mary and George’s seven children died before they were three years old. A carved wreath hangs from the fracture to represent mourning and remembrance.

Harry Prescott Graves was born on June 6, 1870, in Lowell, MA. A graduate of Lowell High School, he started his career a...
03/14/2026

Harry Prescott Graves was born on June 6, 1870, in Lowell, MA. A graduate of Lowell High School, he started his career as an apprentice to architect Frederick Stickney. One of their first projects was the design of Memorial Hall, now Pollard Memorial Library.

Harry designed a number of significant buildings including the City Institution of Savings at Hurd and Central Sts., the Strand Theatre on Central St., the Merrimack Square Theatre (now the location of the John St. Garage), and the Pine St. School, (now the site of the Lowell Health Dept.). Harry was the consulting architect for the Lowell Memorial Auditorium and volunteered his services to the Lowell Art Association when it bought the artist Whistler’s birthplace on Worthen St., saving it from demolition. Harry died on March 9, 1940, and is buried with his wife, Helen, on Washington Ave., to the right of the pedestrian entrance to the Columbarium. Source: “Lowell Courier Citizen,” March 12, 1940.

Edward F. Watson was born in Nottingham, NH, on March 8, 1807. He came to Lowell in 1832 and married Meribah Main three ...
03/14/2026

Edward F. Watson was born in Nottingham, NH, on March 8, 1807. He came to Lowell in 1832 and married Meribah Main three years later. A carpenter, he was involved in the construction of the two depots for the Boston and Maine Railroads, one on Merrimack St. and the other on Middlesex St. Later, he started a business to manufacture bobbins in Mechanics Mills, at the corner of Dutton and Fletcher Sts. In addition to serving as a Trustee of the Lowell Cemetery from 1844 to 1846, Edward served two terms on the Lowell City Council and four terms as an alderman. Edward died on this day in 1883, two weeks after Meribah. They are buried on Peabody Ave. Source: “The Lowell Sun,” March 24, 1883.

Henry Hale Harris II was born in Lowell, MA, on this day in 1868. He was a Lowell High School graduate and went on to co...
03/10/2026

Henry Hale Harris II was born in Lowell, MA, on this day in 1868. He was a Lowell High School graduate and went on to complete his BA at University in three years. He returned to Lowell High as an instructor in the English, French, and Math departments. Henry retired as headmaster of Lowell High in 1938, completing 55 years of service in the school system. On his retirement, the Sherburne Club (a male-only Lowell teachers’ organization) presented a portrait of Henry to be installed at Lowell High. Henry served on a number of state teachers associations and as a Trustee for the Lowell Public Library and as a Board member of the Lowell Historical Society.

Henry made six trips to Europe and once had an audience with King George of ! He died on March 28, 1949, and is buried on Wilder Ave. with his wife Edith.

This is the epitaph on their headstone:
Warm summer sun shine kindly here.
Warm Southern wind blow softly here
Green sod above lie light, lie light;
Good night, dear heart, good night, good night.

Sources: “The Lowell Sun,” March 29, 1949; “History of Lowell and Its People,” Coburn, Frederick W., Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York City, NY, 1920, pp. 217–218.

Lillian Blanche Carter was born in Lowell, MA, on July 25, 1867. She married Hiram Blanchard in Boston, MA, on April 15,...
03/09/2026

Lillian Blanche Carter was born in Lowell, MA, on July 25, 1867. She married Hiram Blanchard in Boston, MA, on April 15, 1896. In 1910, Lillian and Hiram moved to Tilton, NH, where she was very active in charitable organizations and served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Laconia State School. Lillian was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Society of Daughters of Colonial Wars. She died in St. Petersburg, FL, on this day in 1940, and is buried with Hiram on Hoyt Ave. in a lot originally purchased by her parents.
https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-courier-citizen-mar-12-1940-p-16/

George Edward Stanley was born in Lowell, MA, on October 1, 1839. He started Stanley Transportation, a well-known trucki...
03/08/2026

George Edward Stanley was born in Lowell, MA, on October 1, 1839. He started Stanley Transportation, a well-known trucking firm in Lowell, in the 1870s. In 1895, he partnered with William Livingston and purchased a local coal business. George was active in the community and served on the Lowell School Committee and the Lowell Library Board of Trustees. He died on March 8, 1908, and is buried with his wife Elizabeth on Blanchard Ave. Source:
https://newspaperarchive.com/lowell-courier-citizen-evening-mar-09-1908-p-12/

A belated Happy Birthday to Civil S. Butterfield who was born on March 5, 1792, in Chelmsford, MA. In that town’s “Vital...
03/07/2026

A belated Happy Birthday to Civil S. Butterfield who was born on March 5, 1792, in Chelmsford, MA. In that town’s “Vital Records,” her birth to Benjamin and Sarah Butterfield is noted, but her name appears as Sevil. On March 7, 1816, she married Jonathan Tyler, who would become one of the largest landowners in Lowell, MA, and serve as a Lowell Cemetery trustee from 1841 to 1863. Civil died on May 11, 1886, and is buried with Benjamin on Chapel Ave.

To continue the celebration of Women’s History, we acknowledge Ann Taylor Gage who was born in Carlisle, England, in Apr...
03/05/2026

To continue the celebration of Women’s History, we acknowledge Ann Taylor Gage who was born in Carlisle, England, in April, 1820. She married William Gage in 1850. Research by historian Walter Hickey indicates that after William’s death in 1856, Ann and her sister Elizabeth worked as milliners on Merrimack St. Between 1857 and 1858, Ann sold the family property to satisfy William's business and personal debts. With money left over for her after those debts were satisfied, the 1870 census shows a personal estate of $6,000. This amount is the equivalent of about $150,000 in 2026 money.

In the upcoming Spring 2026 issue of “Epitaph,” there will be an article by Cemetery Trustee Jennifer Aradhya about the Lowell, MA women who signed up to vote for school committee in 1879. Ann and her sister Elizabeth were among the 106 women who registered. They listed themselves as milliners living at 28 Kirk St.

At the annual meeting of the Proprietors of the Lowell Cemetery held on this day in 1884, the Lowell Cemetery voted Ann on the Board of Trustees. For reasons unknown, Ann declined the appointment. No other woman would be elected to the Lowell Cemetery Trustees until 1990, when Catherine Goodwin was appointed as a Trustee. Ann died on November 13, 1904, and is buried with William on Ampelopsis Path. Source: March 15, 1884 Lowell Cemetery Trustee Minutes, https://archive.org/details/lowellcemeterybo1841lowe

George Henry Carleton was born in Haverhill, MA, on January 6, 1805. He married Mary Moody of Amesbury, MA in 1832. Geor...
03/03/2026

George Henry Carleton was born in Haverhill, MA, on January 6, 1805. He married Mary Moody of Amesbury, MA in 1832. George and his partner Charles Hovey ran a drug store and apothecary in Lowell, MA, for many years. One product in their shop was a medicine that cured Father John O’Brien of St. Patrick’s Church of a serious cough in 1855. Parishioners came to their store seeking the same medicine and that began the manufacturing of Father John’s Medicine, which continued until 1960.

George served as a Lowell Cemetery Trustee from 1847 to 1850. He died on this day in 1857 and is buried with his family on Tuckerman Ave. An interesting 1866 publication from Lowell titled, “Carleton & Hovey’s Handbook of Names of Men & Women with Their Signification” was recently available on eBay. Photo Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/296917620979?

Abby Carr Robinson, born in 1823, married Joseph Burbank in New Hampshire, on July 25, 1842. Joseph died five years late...
03/02/2026

Abby Carr Robinson, born in 1823, married Joseph Burbank in New Hampshire, on July 25, 1842. Joseph died five years later, leaving Abby with two young children to raise in Lowell, MA. Abby died on this day in 1892 and is buried with Joseph and their children, Eleazer and Eugene, on Francis Ave.

Notice the different fonts used on Abby’s headstone. This was a common practice by stone cutters in the late 19th century. A “fat face” style was used for her name with finer, italic lettering for the dates and an illegible epitaph at the bottom.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we direct special attention to Addie Louise Gibson Sawyer who passed away on this day...
03/01/2026

In honor of Women’s History Month, we direct special attention to Addie Louise Gibson Sawyer who passed away on this day in 1953 at age 94. She attended Wellesley Female Seminary, now Wellesley College, in 1880 and 1881, enrolling in one of its first classes. The group photo is from the Wellesley College Archives and shows the class of 1880.

Addie was a charter member of the Lowell College Club, Middlesex Women's Club of Lowell, and a life member of Lowell's High Street Church. According to her obituary in “The Boston Globe” on March 2, 1952, the funeral services were held in the Harvard Congregational Church in Brookline, with burial in the Lowell Cemetery.

Addie’s daughter and Lowell, MA native Mary Sawyer was a member of the Wellesley College class of 1911. For many years, Mary was the Dean of Girls at Brookline High School. She was a member of the Brookline Teachers Club, The American Assn. of University Women, and The National Assn. of Women Deans and Counselors. Mary is also buried in the Lowell Cemetery in the family lot on Crocus Path. Their monument is a six-sided obelisk with a marble plaque on each side of the plinth inscribed with family names.

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77 Knapp Avenue
Lowell, MA
01852

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Monday 7:30am - 4pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 4pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 4pm
Thursday 7:30am - 4pm
Friday 7:30am - 4pm
Saturday 7:30am - 4pm
Sunday 7:30am - 4pm

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