Day 49

The weather was just fabulous. Sun, low humidity and a soft breeze. We enjoyed the weather by taking a history tour of Eastern Cemetery. This cemetery is Portland's oldest - established in 1668. The tour was interesting and impressed again the facts that Portland was destroyed 4 times in its history which creates gaps in historical records. Portland was destroyed by the Indians in 1676 and the French in 1690. The latter was so devasting that vitually everyone was killed and only the chimneys remained. Massachusetts controlled the town and, until the area was safe and a new treaty signed, no one was allowed to rebuild. Bodies/bones weren't buried until 1717. (The other conflagrations were Mowat's shelling subsequent fire in 1775 and the great fire of 1866.)

Barbara and I had visited the cemetery and found a number of graves but a few were missing. Sure enough, lurking in the older section of the cemetery this time we found the graves for Stephen Tukey, his wife Hannah Cushing Tukey and their son, Capt. Stephen Tukey. We also found William Tukey and his wife Sarah. William was the last member of his generation (children of the original John Tukey) to die - age 93. As we photographed the gravestones, we noticed that the bottom of Stephen Tukey's looked like it had been disturbed or reseated. Clearing away about 8" of loose dirt, we found a second inscription. Stephen and Hannah's son Henry (died at age 26) was buried under the same headstone as his father. Interesting since they died 5 years apart.

The rest of the day has been spent entering research into the computer. I must finally get it organized and off the small notebooks and xeroxed pieces of paper to ensure I don't duplicate searches and waste time. Tomorrow- more of the same.