January 10, 1862

It was 146 years ago today that Samuel Colt passed away. The inventer of the Colt revolver and owner of Colt's Manufacturing, Mr. Colt passed away at the age of 48. At the time of his death, he had only been married to his wife Elizabeth for five years. During that time, Elizabeth had conceived five times. Unfortunately, starting a family proved to be very difficult for Samuel and Elizabeth. Their first two children, Samuel Jarvis and Elizabeth Jarvis, died in infancy and were buried on the grounds at Armsmear. When Sam died, Elizabeth was caring for two-year-old Caldwell Hart, a sick infant, Henrietta Selden, and was pregnant with their fifth child. Henrietta died ten days after her father and Elizabeth gave birth to their final child, a stillborn, the following July.

Elizabeth never remarried. She dedicated her time to raising Caldwell, running Colt's Manufacturing and erecting memorials in memory of Sam and their children. In January 1894, their only surviving child, Caldwell, passed away. It was then that Elizabeth disinterred her family from the family burial lot at Armsmear and reinterred them at Cedar Hill Cemetery. On May 25, 1894, Samuel, Caldwell Hart, Samuel Jarvis, Elizabeth Jarvis, Henrietta Selden and infant Colt were buried on Section 2 at Cedar Hill. Elizabeth died 11 years later on August 23, 1905.

Nearly 150 years old, the Colt memorial is in desperate need of restoration. Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation has launched the Colt Memorial Fundraising Campiagn to raise the funds necessary to restore this artistic and historic Hartford treasure and to ensure the Colt's are memorialized as Elizabeth had intended in perpetuity. To learn more about this campaign and how to contribute, visit http://www.cedarhillcemetery.org/.

Welles Restoration Completed

Restoration of the Oswin Welles monument on Section 1 at Hartford's historic Cedar Hill Cemetery was recently completed. ConservArt, LLC completed the restoration work in a little more than two weeks and the resulting monument is simply stunning.

Prior to the restoration, the sculpture's beauty was obscured by discoloration and streaks. Now, not only does her beauty shine, but her amazing details are evident. The creases in her dress fall ever so gently, her hair flows effortlessly down her back, and her face conveys a peaceful thoughtfulness as she looks down from her perch.

If you have not yet been to Cedar Hill to visit this restored monument, we invite you to come see for yourself how stunning this piece is. She is truly a piece of art, and the Foundation is grateful to have the opportunity to preserve and protect her in perpetuity.

Symbols in Stone

Memorial artworks often include symbols, which are used to share more about the person than just his or her name, birth date and death date. For instance, a broken column can symbolize a life cut short while a lamb can signify innocence and purity. Some symbols can have very specific meanings as they relate to a particular person. For example, the horseshoe can symbolize protection from evil, however, in the case of horse nail manufacturer George Capewell, the horseshoe and nail on his memorial signify his profession. While poppies can symbolize eternal sleep, the poppies on Dr. Horace Wells's memorial have more to do with his discovery of anesthesia and, thus, pain free medicine than eternal sleep.

This Saturday, you can learn more about the various symbols on Cedar Hill's monuments as you tour the grounds with the Executive Director of the Connecticut Gravestone Network, Ruth Brown. Ms. Brown will point out various funerary symbols, such as butterflies, orbs, doves and wreaths, and share their meanings. She will also introduce attendees to memorials that were created with symbols specifically relating to the person for whom the monument was erected, such as Dr. Horace Wells and General Griffin Stedman. Anyone interested in symbolism, art, oral storytelling and history will enjoy this educational Symbols in Stone tour.

The tour will begin at 10am on Saturday, August 11 at Cedar Hill Cemetery. It is free for Cedar Hill Cemetery Foundation members and $5.00 for nonmembers. We look forward to seeing you then.