"Sophia", Who Died of a Broken Heart

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.

My 2010 image: http://365project.org/Weezilou/365/2010-06-10

[Nancy]

wonderful seasonal photo

[Kerri]

Awesome shot

[Holly Daly]

How captivating - and what a heartbreaking story! I find the stories you can find in cemeteries fascinating and so sad all at the same time.

[Danette Thompson]

Definitely worthy.

[~~JT]

What a fascinating story and photo! Well worth reading. Thanks for sharing! :)

[Pam Knowler]

Great shot and story!

[Linda]

Terrific composition and processing, and very interesting story.

[Ethel]

The processing really suits the age of story. Very interesting

[Rick Schies]

True or not, such a sad fate for a child to endure if it was in fact the case. A great photo too

[elkehochban]

Lovely shot ! The processing adds an antique quality

[Lyn Berriman]

Oh, how utterly sad............fav for that poor little girl!

[Anita Campbell]

Whoa!, quite a story. Perfect in B&W. And graveyard is an October word too. Perfect for the challenger. Awesome.

[Pyrrhula]

Sad story , beautiful told by you with this great grave pic. to it.

[Deb]

Such a sad story but your photo captures the "old world" feeling to match the tale.

[Osia Strasner]

I like this shot even better than the one from last year. The sepia and the softness really give it a timeless quality.

[Margaret Obey]

Wonderful shot Louise and a great, if debunked, story

[*lynn]

lovely shot and interesting story... such a unique gravestone

[summerfield]

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.

[Louise & Ken]

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?!