I try to avoid redundancy amongst my photos, but we were back in the graveyard at sunset, and having been challenged by Anita @aglennc to do a series of B&W photos, I thought to reprise this one. The story goes as follows:
It's a story of a child's broken heart and her heartbreaking story as well. The tombstone reads in part,
Sophia L...
who died suddenly
Sept 19th 1879 aged 14 yr 6 mo
Falsely accused
she died of a broken heart
The site has complete documentation of her sad tale.
In brief, it tells how, while she was an apprentice, she was accused of stealing "the princely sum of" $10. Her own mother believed the story to be true, and the child, alone, grieved over the accusation, spending time crying on her sister's grave. After her death, the true thief was discovered. Part of the information written alongside this grave reads, "A coroners jury was summoned to hold an inquiry into Sophia's death. The unanimous decision for the cause of her death was by 'paralysis of the heart brought on by the extreme agitation and peculiar circumstances'."
It's a unique grave site. Last year we took a town tour at night that ended in the grave yard. Our guide, whose Lunenburg lineage goes back several generations, debunked the story. For this, she gave a number of reasons...none of which I can recall, of course... So, true or not, the broken heart is a compelling image and photo-worthy a second time around.
what an interesting story. now, i am intrigued and want to know more, or the whole truth and nothing but the truth! it is true that people could die of a broken heart. i firmly believe my mother did. thankfully, it wasn't i who caused it.
There is a rather complete story on a plaque alongside the grave. I can certainly understand a girl that young being completely bereft even without understanding from a loving mother. Young hearts can be fragile that way. I see the gal around town who was our guide...she used to live two doors down from us. Perhaps I'll ask one day if she'll go over that again... I tend not to listen well when I'm absorbed with taking photos... Can anyone relate to that?!
October 29th, 2014
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