Tombstone Tuesday ~ Charles Eugene Almy, 1830 one month old

This tombstone was photographed at the Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, New Hampshire.

CHARLES EUGENE

Son of

Capt. John C. &

Mrs. Ruth Almy

died March 9, 1830

AEt. 1 month

On earth thou wert all but divine

As thy soul shall immortally be

and our sorrow may cease to repine,

For we know that thy God is with thee.

Little baby Charles Eugene, born 15 November 1830 in Exeter, New Hampshire, was the son of John Coggeshall Almy and Ruth Bailey, who were married on 30 September 1822 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.  The Almys had nine children: Mariana born 1 December 1823 in New Bedford, Massachusetts; John Coggeshall, Jr., born 8 December 1825 in Exeter, New Hampshire; George B. born about 27 March 1827 in Exeter;  Charles Eugene (above); Charles Eugene b. 15 November 1830 in Exeter and died 1864;  Jane K. born about 1833 in Exeter, Sarah Catherine born 8 May 1838 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts; Ellen Emma born 29 April 1844 in Dartmouth; and Ellen Coggeshall born 9 June 1847 1847 in Dartmouth. 

Capt. John Coggeshall Almy's death record in Dartmouth, Massachusetts on 2 February 1872 lists him as a master mariner, the son of John Almy and Sarah Dunham of Newport, Rhode Island.  His wife Ruth Baily was the daughter of Joseph A. and Ruth Bailey.

Why was the baby, the son of a sea captain, buried in landlocked Derry, New Hampshire?  At the time, Exeter had access to the sea, and Dartmouth, Massachusetts was a busy seaport.  This is a very impressive tombstone for an infant.  The fan designs in the corners remind me of seashells.

The baby's epitaph comes from a poem by Lord Byron:

BRIGHT BE THE PLACE OF THY SOUL

Bright be the place of thy soul!

No lovelier spirit than thine

E'er burst from its mortal control

In the orbs of the blessed to shine.

On earth thou wert all but divine,

As thy sould shall immortally be;

And our sorrow may cease to repine,

When we know that thy God is with thee.

Light be the turf of thy tomb!

May its verdure like emeralds be;

There should not be the shadow of gloom

In aught that reminds us of thee.

Young flowers and an evergreen tree

May spring from the spot of thy rest;

But nor cypress nor yew let us see;

For why should we mourn for the blest?

1808  George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron

See this book William Almy and his Descendants in America, by Merwin F. Almy and Thomas A. Almy, 2001 online at this link: 
https://pdfsecret.com/download/wiliam-almy-and-his-descendants-in-america_59f72677d64ab20a751563f9_pdf 


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Charles Eugene Almy, 1830 one month old", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 20, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/02/tombstone-tuesday-charles-eugene-almy.html: accessed [access date]).