The Association for Gravestone Studies

We are seeking candidates for the 2010
Harriette Merrifield Forbes Award and the Oakley Certificate Of Merit

Nominations close December 31, 2009.

The Forbes Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Association for Gravestone Studies and goes to an individual who has significantly furthered gravestone studies in keeping with our mission statement. The award is named for Harriette Merrifield Forbes of Worcester, Massachusetts, who photographed gravestones and studied their carvers in the early 1900s. In 1927 she published a book titled Gravestones of Early New England and the Men Who Made Them.

The presentation of the award is usually made at the Awards Banquet during the Annual Conference. A reception precedes the banquet at which the recipient is the guest of honor. The President makes a presentation speech indicating why the person or organization was chosen and giving a summary of the work accomplished. A framed certificate is presented along with a photograph of Harriette Merrifield Forbes. The recipient usually gives an acceptance speech.

The work honored can be in any area or combination of areas, such as gravestone carver attribution, gravestone conservation, gravestone art, gravestone geology, exhibitions relating to gravestones, and computer programming for gravestone study; also the historical, archaeological, genealogical, or religious significance of gravestones. Other acceptable subject areas are the iconography, poetry, language, and lettering on gravestones. The work may be in many forms, such as research, writing, videotaping, photography, interpretive editing, organizational leadership, legislation, financial assistance, and teaching.

The Oakley Certificate of Merit is presented periodically by the AGS Board of Trustees to individuals and groups that have helped to advance the mission of the Association. Named for long-time members Rosalee and Fred Oakley, the Certificate of Merit is designed to honor those whose work in the field of gravestone studies that is worthy of recognition by AGS.

The award consists of a certificate, presented by the Board of Trustees, as well as, a gift of a book to the honoree's local library, in their name on behalf of AGS. Whenever possible the award presentation will be made by a local AGS member. Each year's recipients will have their names printed in the conference program book and annual report. In addition, they will be acknowledged at a reception held in their honor at the conference.

Please send your nominations, including the name, address, telephone, and e-mail address of the nominee and of the person or group doing the nominating. Describe the reasons for making the nomination, how the work reflects the AGS mission statement, and how the work has benefited the wider community. Include any clippings or photographs. If possible, have the local Historical Society or Preservation Commission comment upon the significance of the achievement.

Please send nominations to:
AGS Awards Committee, Brenda Reynolds
c/o AGS Office
Greenfield Corporate Center
101 Munson Street - Suite 108
Greenfield, MA 01301
info@gravestonestudies.org

Forbes Award
Oakley Awar

The Harriette Merrifield Forbes Award - 2009
was awarded at the AGS 2009 conference and annual meeting in
Schenectady, New York
to
David Watters
who made an
Outstanding Contribution
to the Field of Gravestone Studies

Currently a faculty member in the English Department at the University of New Hampshire where he teaches courses on New England literature and material culture, with a special emphasis on the colonial period. His publications include books and articles on early American literature and gravestone art, and on such authors as Jonathan Edwards, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. His research and teaching interests lead him to graveyards and other historic features of the New England landscape.

Achievements:

Founding member of the Association for Gravestone Studies

Former member of the Board of Trustees of AGS

Editor of Markers for three issues and presently a member of the Markers editorial board

Keynote address for the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference for AGS

Director of the Center of New England Culture

Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire

Publications:

Gravestones and Historical Archaeology: A Review Essay (Markers I)

Fencing ye Tables�: Scotch-Irish Ethnicity and the Gravestones of John Wright (Markers XVI)

The JN Carver (Markers II)

Coeditor of the Encyclopedia of New England Culture (Yale, 2005)

News articles:

NHPR�s humanities reporter Kevin Gardner (10-20-05)

      Two UNH Professors Publish an Encyclopedia of New England Seacoast NH (11-04-06)
      A letter from David Watters on a statue dedicated to Harriet Wilson, �the Mother of the African American
      novel� and the needs for funds

Please join the AGS Board of Trustees in celebration of this
outstanding contribution to the field of gravestone studies.

The Oakley Certificate Of Merit (3) - 2009

An Oakley Award was awarded to MoBarry�Barry County, Missouri Genealogy & History. The MOGenWeb site is one of the most visited genealogy sites in Barry County and National GenWeb has featured them as a model county for almost 11 straight months. They have been posting cemetery stones, as well as, documenting the names on the stones for about two years. They have researchers and volunteers who are photographing all the stones in the county, digging up gravestones and repairing old broken stones.

***and***

An Oakley Award was awarded to Molly DePue, a high school senior and Girl Scout. For her Girl Scout Gold Award project, she chose to work at Cassill Cemetery in Vinton County, Ohio. Cassill Cemetery is a pre-Civil War burial ground that is located in an isolated area within a section of woods owned by the State of Ohio. Due to its isolated location, many of the monuments in the cemetery had been badly vandalized. The township and county trustees maintain the road to the cemetery and they do all of the mowing, but there were no plans to repair the monuments.

Molly decided she would research the people buried in the cemetery and the locations of their gravestones. She spent many hours researching and documenting this information. This research enabled her to match up gravestone fragments that were scattered throughout the cemetery.

Molly also spent time researching gravestone repair techniques. By reading books and gravestone conservation websites, she was able to learn the proper materials and tools necessary to repair gravestones. In addition to reading, she also talked with local monument dealers and stonemasons to get their suggestions. She was able to successfully repair many of the damaged monuments in the cemetery.

In addition to repairing the gravestones, Molly also repaired the fence around the cemetery and the gates. She, with the help of her family, also removed an enormous, forty foot tree limb that had fallen in the cemetery last winter.

Even though the Girl Scout Gold Award only requires 65 hours of service time, Molly has (and continues) to put in additional hours of work at the cemetery. Her work at this almost forgotten cemetery is greatly appreciated!

***and***

An Oakley Award was awarded to Georgia Municipal Cemetery Association (Stan Rogers, President). The Georgia Municipal Cemetery Association provides classroom training and a hands-on workshop on the basics of cemetery preservation to municipal and nonprofit cemetery professionals from across the state of Georgia; and also partnered with the Georgia State Historical Preservation Office (GASHPO) to provide four additional day-long cemetery conservation workshops across the state of Georgia (Atlanta, Columbus, Gainesville, Sandersville).
The Association has also developed a professional web site (www.GMCAweb.org) and publishes quarterly electronic newsletters to keep the membership informed, network with technical experts, and educate volunteers and staff who work in Georgia�s public cemeteries.

Please join the AGS Board of Trustees in celebration of these outstanding
contributions to the field of gravestone studies.

Harriette Merrifield Forbes Recipients

1977 Daniel Farber
1978 Ernest Caufield
1979 Peter Benes
1980 None Given
1981 Allan Ludwig
1982 Jim Slater
1983 Hilda Fife
1984 Ann Parker & Avon Neal
1985 Jessie Lie Farber
1986 Louise Tallman
1987 Pamela & Frederick Burgess
1988 Laurel Gabel
1989 Betty Willsher
1990 Theodore Chase
1991 Lynette Strangstad
1992 Ralph Tucker
1993 Deborah Trask
1994 Barbara Rotundo
1995 Dillon R. Dorrell, Sr.
1996 Historic Burial Ground Initiative, Boston, Mass.
1997 Vincent F. Luti
1998 Rosalee F. Oakley, Richard E. Meyer
1999 No award given
2000 James Deetz, Warren Roberts (posthumously), Edwin Dethlefsen (posthumously)
2001 Mary-Ellen Jones, M. Ruth Little
2002 John Sterling
2003 James Blachowicz
2004 Helen Sclair
2005 Terry Jordan (posthumously)
2006 The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training
2007 Gray Williams
2008 Roberta Halporn and Gary Collison (posthumously)

The Oakley Certificate of Merit

1997 Fred & Rosalee Oakley
1998 Fred Fredette, Friends of Center Cemetery
1999 Harriet Ryan & Phyllis Lohrum, Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery
2000 John O'Brien, Mary Reilly-McNellan, James A. Smith, Henry "Red" Sutowski,
Arthur and Frances Hyde, Charles Marchant
2001 Nate Crepeault, Alicia Paresi
2002 Juliana Fuchs, Penny Lambeth, Bonaventure Historical Society
2003 Melissa Fleming, Rebecca Gorman, Betty Myers
2004 Emma Dragon, Adopt-A-Plot (Hampden, Mass.), Robert Carlson, Craig Dolder,
Norman Saul
2005 None given
2006 Historic Richmond Foundation, Fred Burdick, Kimberly Kenney, Brandon Kenyon, Jennifer Cerasuolo, Bob Posson, Olde Historical Burial Ground Joint Committee of the First Presbyterian Church
2007 Gaynell Stone, Ph.D., Linda K. Lewis
2008 Minxie and Jim Fannin, Jeffrey Kuschka

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