Lowell Cemetery

01/23/2026

Harry Howell Carter was born in Belfast, ME, on April 30, 1886. He worked for American Telephone and Telegraph his entire professional life. He married Alice E. Shaw in Lowell, MA, on October 27, 1909. Harry died on this day in 1956 and was buried with Alice, in Grove Cemetery, Belfast, ME. There is a cenotaph for both Harry and Alice on Blanchard Ave. because Alice’s mother is a descendent of the Grover family. Although difficult to see in the photo, a beautiful obelisk marking the family grave has the name Grover on the bottom. A cenotaph is a monument to a person buried elsewhere. Source: “Bangor Daily News,” January 24, 1956.

01/20/2026

Henry Chandler Hyde was born in Newton, MA, in 1828. According to Lowell’s “Vital Records,” he died on January 23, 1845. Henry’s headstone notes that he died in the “17 year of his life.” Unfortunately, the epitaph is illegible. He is buried beside his parents, Deacon Amos Hyde and Eliza Ray Hyde on Rogers Ave. They died 20 years later and their adjacent obelisk shows how tastes for cemetery monuments changed over that period of time.

01/18/2026

Paul Tsongas, a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from MA, and a Democratic candidate for U.S. Presidency was born in Lowell, on February 14, 1941. He died on this day in 1997 and is buried on Woodbine Hill, overlooking the Concord River. Click on this link to hear Lowell Cemetery Trustee Richard Howe Jr. talk about Sen. Tsongas’ political career and his deep involvement in the City of Lowell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyBBzwtk0AA&t=11s

01/16/2026

Happy Birthday to Edward B. Howe who was born on this day in 1816. He came to Lowell in 1826 and started to work in a printed-card factory. He was successful in his chosen career because everything from soap, thread and perfume to hats, and candy was marketed by stylized cards. In addition to his savvy business acumen, he was a skilled organist and played at Lowell’s Unitarian Church, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, and the First Universalist Church. Edward died on August 11, 1899 and is buried on Wilder Path with his wife, Mary Meader Howe. Source: “Lowell Daily Courier,” August 12, 1899.

01/15/2026

Dr. Moses Kidder was born in Billerica, MA, on this day in 1789. He attended Williams College in Williamstown, MA, and graduated as a physician from Fairfield Medical College, Fairfield, NY. He married Rachel Shepard in 1815 and they had eight children, three of whom became physicians. After practicing medicine in both MA and NH towns, he came to Lowell in 1847 and remained here until his death on May 5, 1855. Dr. Kidder, Rachel, and their eight children are buried on Washington Ave. Source: “History of Middlesex County, MA, Vol.1;” published 1890, Philadelphia, PA, J.W. Lewis & Co.

01/13/2026

Grace Flint, born in Lowell, MA, in January, 1870, married Edwin L. Stickney on June 18, 1890, in either Dracut or Lowell. Grace appears in the “Lineage Books” for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Compiled by the DAR, these volumes ensure vital chapters of American history, including the often-overlooked roles of women, are not forgotten. Grace died in November, 1924 and is buried with Edwin on Belvidere Ave.

01/11/2026

Sophia Spofford Hooke was born in 1828 and married Dr. Henry Hooke. They had three children together before he died in 1868. When Sophia passed away on this day in 1918, she was living with her granddaughter at 305 Nesmith St. The house was built in 1898, at the upper end of one of Lowell’s most prestigious streets. Sources: “Lowell Courier-Citizen,” January 12, 1918. Hengen, Elizabeth Durfee. DPD Architectural Survey, “Nesmith Street, Belvidere,” Lowell Historical Architectural Inventory.

01/10/2026

Benjamin Franklin Varnum, a prominent American civic leader, politician, and businessman was born in Dracut, MA, on April 11, 1795. His civic involvement included roles as a Dracut Selectman, a Massachusetts Legislature Representative, and a Senator for Middlesex County. He also served on the first Board of County Commissioners and as High Sheriff of Middlesex County. With his father-in-law, Joseph Bradley, Benjamin managed a ferry and established the Central Bridge Corporation to build a bridge over the Merrimack River, from the Centralville neighborhood in Lowell, MA, across to the mill district and downtown. He facilitated the construction of a new school on Christian Hill, which is now known as the Varnum School in his memory. His surveying expertise contributed to defining the permanent New Hampshire-Massachusetts border.

Benjamin Franklin Varnum passed away on this day in 1841, at 45 years old, due to a fever reportedly treated with bloodletting. He, his wife Caroline, and six of their eight children are buried on Washington Ave. A death mask was made by artist Thomas Healey and is kept by the Dracut Historical Society. Source: google.com/search?q=Benjamin+Franklin+Varnum+

01/09/2026

01/08/2026

Happy Birthday to Susan Parker, born on this day in Blue Hill, ME, in 1809. She came to Lowell to work in the mills and died as a young woman on March 16, 1834. Her slate monument predates the Lowell Cemetery with its weeping willow and urn design. Years after her death, her brother Amasa purchased a lot here and had her reburied on Talbot Ave., close to the Lawrence St. gate. Amasa is buried nearby. Here is her epitaph mourning that her parents could not come to her funeral:

Susan E. Parker
of
Bluehill, Me.
Died March 16, 1834
Æt 25
What thought no parents wept upon her bier,
Yet unseen were angels hovering near.
Beckoning the mourner to that world of light,
To which her spirit took joyful flight.

In 1973, Lowell Cemetery Trustee Lewis Karabatsos, was an officer of the History Club at Lowell State College when he approached the Lowell Historical Society (LHS) with a proposal to document, via rubbings, all the slate headstones in the Lowell cemeteries (public and private). LHS funded the supplies and Lew was the project manager. He worked with a team of volunteers to complete the project armed with a letter from the City Manager’s office giving him approval to complete the project in the City-owned cemeteries. That was needed because people would call the police on the volunteers, thinking they were defacing the headstones! The imprint of Susan Parker’s slate headstone is one of many from the project in 1973 and is now kept in the Center for Lowell History, UMass Lowell, 40 French St. in downtown Lowell.

01/07/2026

Hiram Hanson died on this day in 1853, and is buried on Wilberforce Ave. He married Martha Bickford in Lowell, MA, on February 6, 1837. Notice how prominent his name appears even after all these years. A highly specialized letter carver used raised uppercase letters for clarity. A period was added after “Hanson.” Small dashes add a layer of emphasis.