Joanna Bursley Dimmock: 1644-1727
The Art of the Tombstone
A routine search for an ancestor’s death date and burial
place led me to discover the work of a true artist in stone: tombstone carver
Obadiah Wheeler. The tombstone he created for Joanna Bursley Dimmock is located
in a Mansfield Connecticutt cemetery that is listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. The cemetery was honored for its collection of historic
gravestones carved by several of the masters of “funerary art” in early eighteenth century colonial New England.
My first cousin eight times removed, Joanna Bursley, was
born on March 1, 1644 to John Bursley and his wife, Joanna Hull, who was the
eldest daughter of my eighth great-grandfather Rev. Joseph Hull. The Bursley
family lived in Barnstable, Massachusetts, a town founded by Rev. Hull. In
April of 1663, Joanna Bursley married Shubael Dimmock, son of Thomas Dimmock, another
founder of Barnstable. Joanna was 19, and Shubael 21.
The couple had six sons and three daughters between 1664 and
1684 while living in Barnstable. Shubael held considerable real property, was
an ensign in the town militia, and served as town selectman several times and
as a deputy to the Colony Court. In 1693, Shubael, Joanna and four of their children moved to
Mansfield, Connecticutt, where Shubael became very active in the church and was
made a deacon.
 |
| Barnstable Massachusetts records showing couple's wedding date and childrens' birth dates. |
Joanna died May 8, 1727 and Shubael died five years later on
October 29, 1732. They were both buried in the Old Mansfield Center Cemetery.
Their graves are marked with dark, very hard headstones that resisted erosion,
so the words and symbols are still quite readable nearly three hundred years
later, and show that the couple were well respected members of the Mansfield
community.
Joanna’s stone reads:
“Here lieth/the body of/Joanna Dim/muck, wife/of Decon
Shu/bael Dimmuck/who died May/8 1727 Aged/84 years”
Shubael’s stone reads:
“Here lies the remains of that/pius Godly man Deacon
Shubael/Dimmuck Husband of that/Worthy Godly Woman who/After he had served
God/and His People Fell Asleep/in Jesus Oct 29, 1732/Aged 90 years one month”
Old Mansfield Center Cemetery was founded in 1693, and has
several other incredibly well preserved and amazingly decorated headstones from
the early 1700s. According to Wikipedia,
“The cemetery's 18th-century gravestones, decorated with
cherubim, geometric designs, and a variety of funerary symbols, are considered
to be illustrative of the rich artistic tradition of funerary stone carving in
colonial New England. More than 180 stones have been attributed to identifiable
stone carvers, including several 18th-century masters of the craft.”
The Dimmock stones were carved by Obadiah Wheeler, one of
these aforementioned masters of stone carving. He lived from 1673 to 1749 in
Lebanon, Connecticutt, and is “often considered the greatest of all eastern
Connecticut carvers” according to the Connecticutt Gravestone Network.
His
early works “have a series of elaborate curls beside the face rather than wings
and usually some form of diamond or triangle border design. Later Wheeler
stones have several different styles of wings which are sometimes very elaborate.
Wheeler faces are characterized by slender, aristocratic noses, almond eyes,
and a small smiling or frowning mouth. In later stones the eyes are closed or
squinting.”
This description accurately describes the Dimmock stones.
The face atop Joanna’s stone has the curls beside the face, a slender nose,
closed eyes, and a small, solemn mouth. The words are framed by a border
featuring a geometric design of diamonds-set-within-diamonds.
 |
| Note the curls around face, rosettes on each side, diamond patterns on sides, and fiddlehead shapes on the horizontal decoration above the inscription. |
Shubael’s stone, carved five years later, has a face framed
by very elaborate wings with sharply delineated feathers. The face features
open eyes with arched lids and brows, a slender triangular nose, and a mouth
with the slightest smile. The border pattern is strikingly different than
Joanna’s stone, featuring circles-within-circles, each with a deep divot at the
center. The lettering is much more elaborate and delicate, while Joanna’s
featured all capitals.
 |
| Note the open eyes, feathered wings, and fiddlehead shapes with a heart in the center. |
The Connecticutt Gravestone Network said, “Some of Wheeler’s most elaborate stones have faces in strong relief; finials are usually six- or eight-rayed rosettes. There is usually a horizontal row of designs below the face and above the legend consisting of a central heart or triangle and lateral stemmed rosettes and circles.”
Both the Dimmock stones feature the finials; Joanna’s has
eight-petalled rosettes, and Shubael’s rosettes have six petals. The horizontal
rows below the faces feature curving fiddlehead shapes emerging from a sort of
triangular shape. Both stones are prime examples of Wheeler’s work.
Both graves have footstones. Wheeler’s footstones usually “are
very distinctive, many of them large ellipses and others great circles with
large six-rayed rosettes within.” Joanna’s footstone is in far worse condition
than her headstone. All that remains visible is her name. Shubael’s seems to
have some sort of décor at the top, but once again the name is the most
prominent feature. I don’t see any ellipses or elaborate carving.
The Old Mansfield Center Cemetery was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1992. The application for its admission included
sixteen photographs featuring the best and most significant headstones. One of
those photos, seen below, included Joanna’s headstone. It was very exciting to
discover that my ancestor’s grave is considered an important piece of historic
American art, worthy of protection and preservation.
 |
| Joanna Dimmock stone is the darker one on the right. Photo used in cemetery's NRHP application. |
Sources:
History of Tolland
County, Connecticut, Including Its Early Settlement, J. R. Cole; W. W.
Preston & Company, 1888 - Tolland County Conn., pg. 247.
Genealogical and
Biographical Record of New London County Connecticutt, J.H. Beers &
Company, 1905 - New London County (Conn.) pg 350.
http://ctgravestones.org/carvers/wheeler-carvings/
“Wheeler Carvings” page of Connecticutt Gravestone Network. Accessed 5 May
2020.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mansfield_Center_Cemetery Accessed 5 May 2020.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21627609/joanna-dimmock
Photos by Sara accessed 5 May 2020.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/21537167/shubael-dimmock
Photos by Sara accessed 5 May 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment