The Dead and Beautiful Rest (Cont.): Platypus Travels Part LXVII

-
Henry E. Plumb (1824-1906) was a citizen of Monroe Connecticut and inventor of a new hay elevator and carrier.  This isn't surprising since the 1880 census records his occupation as "Farmer".  The witness to his patent, David Wells, is buried in the same cemetery (East Village Cemetery).  There is an interesting significance here to be teased out since the businessman who endowed the local library was named David Wells Plumb (1808-1892).  David Wells Plumb's mother was Urania Wells (1784-1862).  Given the location and the names, there must be some connection between Henry E. Plumb the farmer who ended up wealthy enough to afford a set of rather elaborate tombstones for himself and his second wife (his first wife, Catherine Elijah d. 1854 aged 29 years, is also buried elsewhere in the cemetery) and David Wells Plumb. the businessman whose dream it was for Shelton to have its own public library.  I haven't been able to find it so far, but if you discover it, please let me know.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Platypus Reads Part XXVII

-
Thoughts after reading the "Iliad" to prepare a Greece unit for my students: -Hector is a jerk until he's dead. He even advocates the exposure of Achaean corpses and then has the cheek to turn around and ask Achilles to spare his. He rudely ignores Polydamas' prophecies and fights outside the gate to save his pride knowing full well what it will cost his family and city. After he's dead, he becomes a martyr for the cause. -Agamemnon has several moments of true leadership to balance out his pettiness. In this way, he's a haunting foil to Achilles: the two men are more alike than they want to acknowledge. -We see that Achilles is the better man at the funeral games of Patroclos. His lordliness, tact, and generosity there give us a window into Achilles before his fight with Agamemnon and the death of Patroclos consumed him. -Nestor is a boring, rambling, old man who's better days are far behind him, and yet every Achaean treats him with the upmo...
Read more