By David Smith, August 15, 2022.
Grandson James Wescott Atwell, a descendant of Stukely and Juliana Westcott in the 13th generation, led the way on our walk to the Oak Grove Cemetery in Medford, Massachusetts, on Memorial Day Weekend 2022. We passed by hundreds of flags planted in burial lots for veterans of World War II, the Korean Conflict, and the Spanish-American War, and then climbed the hillside in the older portion of cemetery where James had discovered a Westcott headstone. The discovery came earlier in the year when his family was searching for the burial plot of one Ernest Wellington, 1864-1928, the original owner of their new home just off High Street, Paul Revere’s route through Medford on his way to Lexington and Concord.
James guided me to a narrow lot in the very northeast corner of the cemetery where Joseph Henry Westcott (1826-1894), his wife Anna M. L. Chase (1826–1903) and many of their children are buried. The headstone is on “Oak Avenue” opposite the intersection with “Linden Avenue,” as shown on the linked Oak Grove Cemetery Map.
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Joseph H. Westcott was born on July 26, 1826, in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the third son of Charles Westcott and Catherine Digeo. Joseph was a descendent of Stukely and Juliana Westcott in the eighth generation: Joseph H.8 Westcott, Charles7, Charles6, William5, William4, William3, Jeremiah2, Stukely1.
Joseph, who was a physician, married Anna M.L. Chase of Newbury, Massachusetts in 1850. The Westcotts had four daughters and four sons. Three of the daughters and one son lived to adulthood. Inscriptions on the left side of the stone tell some of the sad tale:
THEIR SONS / EDWARD E. 1858 – 1874 / JOSEPH H. JR. 1859 – 1860 /
JOSEPH H. II 1861 – 1864 /JOSEPH H. III 1866 – 1930
The back of the stone memorializes their daughter Carrie and granddaughter Carrie Estelle, who both died in 1897.
CARRIE WESTCOTT / THE WIFE OF JAMES MCKEE / 1654-1897 /
THEIR DAUGHTER / CARRIE ESTELLE / DIED AUGUST 14, 1897 / AGED 6 MOS 28 DAYS
And finally on the right side of the stone is an inscription for another daughter:
HELEN E. / WESTCOTT / 1885 – 1968
Behind the stone is a row of smaller markers almost flush with the ground marking the burial spots of “Baby” (perhaps Emma 1854), Edward (1858-1874), the two Josephs who died in childhood, and Carrie and Carrie Estelle.
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Looking onto the hills cometh my strength
My guide to the Oak Grove Cemetery was not finished after leading me to the Joseph Westcott plot, and off we went to find a headstone for Joseph and Anna’s second child, Josephine (or Josie in some Federal and state census listings) Durgin. The stone is located in the Durgin family plot on Birch Avenue between Oak and Walnut Avenues; in front of the fountain circle, as marked on the linked Oak Grove Cemetery Map.
The inscription on the front of the stone reads:
JOSEPHINE A. WESTCOTT
DAU. OF JOSEPH A. & ANNA
M.L. CHASE WESTCOTT &
WIFE OF DANIEL DURGIN
1852 – 1919
And on the back, there’s a play on Psalm 21:
Simply trusting every day and looking onto
the hills cometh my strength
Oak Grove Cemetery is located in West Medford at 230 Playstead Road, Medford, MA 02155. From Medford Square take High Street (Route 60) west. At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto Winthrop Street (Route 38). In one mile turn left onto Playstead Road. The entrance to the Oak Grove Cemetery is on the right.
Sources: FamilySearch.com for vital records including Joseph H. Westcott in Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915, 1921-1924. See also public family trees on FamilySerach.com including Pedigree for Joseph H. Westcott (LDQB-9M2).
Photos 2 and 5: Marah (Smith) Atwell
Comments, corrections and additions are always welcome at historian@sswda.org.