Today in History...

[Robare M. Novou]

On October 6th, 1927....Samuel Evans Sr. pasted away of a Heart Attack at his home.
According to records, he is buried on his property.

Here is a picture of the grave site.

Samuel Evans Sr.jpg (213.58 KiB) Viewed 5175 times

There may be two graves here, One for Samuel, and one for another Evans family member that we have yet to identify.
There are no names on either marker. So we do not know which is which.

To add to the mystery one of these graves was moved here from the other side of the road.

Was it the boulder? as the evergreen trees around it are quite young compared to the old large burr oaks that make up this forest area.

RMN

[Patrick Mackle]

It is truly strange, that a man who spent his life in the sign business, creating profusely ornate signs which radiated brilliant reflections designed to beckon far away eyes, should be laid to rest in a fashion that leaves one desperately searching for the slightest hint of his local.
Pat

[Robare M. Novou]

Was it Accidental? or was it Suicide? Was it Carbon Monoxide Poisoning? We may never know for sure. What is known is that the Death Certificate for Charles L. Rawson states that he died on Saturday, December 16, 1905...at the age of 60 of "Accidental Asphyxiation by Gas".

He was single, having never been married. He died at his residence in Chicago...but is buried in Portland, Maine.

I do not know anyone in Portland, Maine. But if someone reading this does live there or knows of someone living there, please give me a shout. As I would like to find the tombstone, if there is one, of Charles L. Rawson.

Before you go to bed tonight...make sure you turn off the gas.

RMN

[erik winkler]

I will make an R&E style glass tombstone for him.
If people here can help me with the text.
I will use some silvering, gold, chipped glass black paint.
Ready for outside weather for at least 100 years.
Afterwords i can ship it to the graveside.
Help?

Erik

[Robare M. Novou]

Erik, That's a fine idea and offer for you to want to do that. Ideas on how to mark the site have also been discussed among the current living descendants of Mr. Evans.

One would have to consider that where Samuel Evans Sr. is now buried is no longer Evans property.
And that there is no public access to the grave site. Current property owners would have to be consulted.

There are also security issues, as sad as it is, some cemeteries get vandalized, headstones are knocked over, graffiti is sprayed about, etc. This grave site is a little off the beaten path, making it hard to find, and if you do stumble upon it, you can't really tell what the place is, unless you were told before hand. To someone coming upon it, it's just a bunch of rocks. Still something really does need to mark the purpose of the spot.

Something fancy and shinny may not be appropriate in keeping with the surroundings, a sandblasted stone of similar composition to the boulder or stones in the picture would be a more natural compliment to the natural beauty of the area.

Also, Mr. Evans is buried there for a reason, he loved his game farm and estate more than he did the glass factory.
He loved this forest area because it reminded him of his childhood in Wales. He was very much an outdoors man and hunter. The glass factory was nothing more than a means to an end, the end being able to purchase forest land on which to live and hunt. So Pat, this might answer your pondering over why Mr. Evans choose this for his final resting spot. Without knowing about the Evans Game Farm, I too would be puzzled over this locale.

The big Cemeteries here in Milwaukee have several Beer Barons of the past buried in them, all with towering monuments shouting out to the surrounding dead...Hey look at me, I'm buried here! And its not like Mr. Evans was hurting for money.
His children could have easily afforded a most magnificent tombstone.

As of yet, nothing has been decided, or as they say "etched in stone". So any and all offers/ideas are still on the table.
Erik, I will pass along your offer and get back to you with an update.

RMN

[Ingrid Mager]

I could be missing something here, but the actual grave "markers" to me appears to be the flat rocks in the foreground and not so much the boulder in between the trees.(???)
And I agree, based on what I am seeing and hearing, that in this particular case, perhaps just a name, and a simple line of text, carved right in one of the natural stone panels already on site, might be the sensitive approach. Heck. I wouldn't mind blasting that myself....
~inga

[Robare M. Novou]

Ingrid, the picture is rather deceiving. It looks like the flat stone monument is larger than the boulder in the background. When in fact it is just the opposite. The boulder is larger that the flat stone monument.

I will try to post another photo in another month or two.

But for now you will have to be content to look at the headstone for Charles L. Rawson.
Courtesy of The Friends of Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, Maine.