Resting in Anonymity: Addylane Mongo & Returning Identity to Those whose Headstones are Nearly Illegible

   Time and the elements can often be unforgiving to headstones in historic cemeteries such as Pine Grove.  The softness of white marble and limestone make them prone to deterioration.  After  a century or more of withstanding the weather many inscriptions will become illegible, and are lost to time forever.Resting in the shaded corner of the cemetery, underneath one of the few remaining maples that once lined the Cemetery Street border of the yard, stands one such stone.Covered in moss, this simple shouldered tablet at first glance appears to bear no markings at all.

 

Even a gentle cleaning with water and a soft-bristled brush only reveals the faint outline of unreadable letters, at least to the naked eye.  Deep ridges run through the stone, likely owing to its high limestone content and the effects of acid rain.

 

AdylaneMungo
The illegible headstone

It may seem that all hope of finding the identity of this soul is lost, however we are blessed to be here in the age of technology, where sometimes a few “tricks” of lighting, photo-edititng software, and a little luck and innovation, can give us an answer that we desperately seek.By gently wrapping the face of the headstone in a thin sheet of tin foil and pressing the foil into the letters individually once with a thin artist’s brush (NOT rubbing the delicate surface, which can be damaging and is not recommended), we get an impression of the letters.Taking an image of that impression and applying a few tricks of photography, and photo editing (Negative image) we can then see the letters and are able to make out the name “ADDYLANE MONGO”.

mungo
a thin sheet of tinfoil, some light and a little photo editing give a name to our subject.

We record her name for posterity and then comes the search for records.  Who was she? Sometimes with a lot of looking through documents and a little luck, a probable match can be found.This death record from the neighboring town of Northbridge  for 1861 shows the name “Adalade Mungo” (keep in mind misspelling is common in old records, names are often spelled phonetically or are a spelling “best guess” of the clerk who jots down the death in the log book for that year.
mungodeath

The final piece to the puzzle comes from the death records of the neighboring town of Northbridge.

According to the record, Addylane was just 17 years, 5 months and 19 days old when she died of Consumption on January 12, 1861.  She died at Northbridge and had been born in Canada, the daughter of Joseph and Sophia (Allen) Mungo.

The section of the cemetery where Addylane’s grave lies includes mostly children who were interred there between the 1840’s and 1860s.  Many of these children were born to French Canadian parents, who likely came to the Blackstone Valley to work in the prospering mills.

Source Citation: “Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915,” database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NWZM-D25 : 10 March 2018), Joseph Mungs in entry for Adalade Mungs, 12 Jan 1861; citing Northbridge, Worcester, Massachusetts, 265, State Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 960,179.

An Axe to Grind with Death: The Story of Alfred Anderson (1859-1904)

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Town seal of Douglas, MA, showing an axe head in the center.
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Alfred Anderson rests alone on the hillside in Pine Grove.

Of all the industries that flourished here during the late 18th and early 19th centuries Douglas is best known for its production of axes.  So ingrained is the manufacture of Hunt Axes, later Douglas Axe Co, and finally American Axe Co– that the town seal and flag still bare its presence prominently.  But behind every blade, there was a person stationed at the grinding stone, and in the days before worker safety regulations it was a job that slowly killed.

Alfred Anderson came to Douglas from Sweden, seeking work as many did at the Axe works.  His death record tells us that he was occupied as a grinder.   An 1887 article in the New England Journal of Medicine describes the emerging prevalence of respiratory ailments seen in workers of various occupations, including millers, potters and grinders brought on by exposure to certain dusts.  It notes that “none seem more certain or fatal in its effects” than Grinder’s Consumption; more than likely this is true because of the inhalation of fine metal filings produced by the prossess of polishing and sharpening the blades.

Such was the cause of Death for Alfred Anderson.  His duration of illness from onset to death was 10 years.  Alfred Anderson rests alone on the hillside in Pine Grove Cemetery, having taken his final resting place there on the 26th of March, 1904.  Joseph Bowen, the undertaker whose shop was located downtown in the building known as Mechanic’s Block, saw to his burial.  Alfred has a simple marble tablet with a slightly peaked top and a base, It reads “Alfred Anderson born 1859, died March 25, 1904.”  He was 45 years old and had never married.  His death was recorded as the 12th of that year in the town of Douglas, and his death record was filed by Edward N. Jenckes, who at the time held the position of town clerk.