Facts About the Life of Andrew P. Chase
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What Can We Learn From Andrew Chase's Grave?
by Mike D.
I had contacted a Mr. Richard Betterly, the New Hampshire Preservation
Planner. He had mentioned that the brakeman’s job was a job that you'd
be paid a good amount of money for, not a ton of money, but at the top of
the working class. We aren't sure if the Chase family had money or not for
it is possible that the decorative monument that we looked at could have
been put there after he had been dead for some time.
To prove my theory of the grave, the monument is surrounded by smaller graves
that could be Chase graves, but they were under a foot of snow. There was
a similar monument with the last name of Chase that looked like the one
we saw Andrew Chase’s name on. I couldn’t make much out, but
I guess that it may be from the same time. I wonder if these graves are
connected.
Mr. Betterly also said, "This gravestone was a common one in his time and
it is possible that the railroad paid for it, since he died on the job."
He said the gravestone was made somewhere else, like New York and the inscription
was made by a local stone carver. The gravestone is made of white marble,
which was the common stone to use in the 19th century.
"This gravestone is eye-catching and a fitting monument to this young man,"
Mr. Betterly said.
Letters from Richard Boisvert, New Hampshire State Archaeologist and
Richard Betterly, New Hampshire Preservation Planner:
Dear Mr. Fladd and Mike,
I'm not sure I can do much for you as I am a prehistoric archaeologist.
However, by coincidence I may be of help. I can't read the monument very
well. Does it say that he was killed at Jefferson Hills? If this guy died
in Jefferson NH, I can probably put the kid in touch with the head of the
historical society in Jefferson who is a friend of mine. If this was the
poor soul who died in Worcester, then I can't be of much help.
It is interesting that someone who was only 22 received such a large monument.
This suggests that his family was rather wealthy. Typically young people
do not receive such impressive monuments. It may also be that his epitaph
was added to the family monument. This is also a possibility.
I am happy to talk to the student, it's just that my expertise is not related
to 19th century history.
Dick Boisvert
Hi Mike,
Chase was a very big name in town. My house and all the ones nearby, along
with some that are gone, were owned by the Chase family. I suspect that
they were big time shakers and movers here and the monument reflects the
family's status. Have the kids check out the town reports for the era and
see if the Chase family figures prominently. My wife said that you were
trying to track down the wages for him; you might try the railroad unions,
they might have historical records.
Good luck
Dick (Boisvert)
Mr. Fladd and Mike,
With a cursory look at the photos you sent, I would have to say that this is not an uncommon type of marker for a working class person in the late 19th century. It is small for a true family marker. Those are usually very large, have the family name in relief or inscribed and then smaller headstones surrounding the marker for individual burials in a family.
Regards,
Dr. Richard Betterly
Preservation Planner
NH Division of Historical Resources
Mr. Fladd and Mike,
I have only given the grave marker photos a cursory look. Are the smaller gravestones around the larger Chase shaft with urn monument family members? Is the photo with the inscription for Andrew Patton on the larger monument or a smaller, nearby stone? Is the brakeman's name Andrew Patton Chase or Andrew Patton? If the latter, what is his relationship to the Chase name in relief on the base of the monument?
The use of a small monument (compared to large family markers, burial vaults, and mausoleums) such as this one is not uncommon for working class people in the late 19th century when cemetery art/sculpture was at its most artistic and emotional point in the history of grave stone design. The romantic Victorian commemoration of death was common to all classes of people at the time. As a railroader, the Dead Guy was not really poor.
Railroaders were actually an elite group in the working class during the later half of the 19th century when railroading was at the apex of its significance in American history. As a brakeman (not a gandy-dancer; i.e., track layer/repairman), this individual was in the upper part of railroading hierarchy, although the conductors and then rr supervisors were in a much higher level than this person).
True Victorian family markers were very large central pieces in family burial plots that generally marked the plot with no individual names on the monument (although sometimes the deceased name(s) and/or an inscription were included on the monument) - small, separate grave stones marked individual burials around the family marker. If the Dead Guy's marker is the monument, not one of the smaller stones, then it maybe more substantial also due to the railroad union's benevolent fund paying for all or part of the marker since it appears from the inscription that he may have been killed while on the job.
Are there other family members names inscribed on the monument or just Andrew Patton? The urn on a pedestal/shaft type of marker is a very common form of commemoration dating from the 1840's through the turn of the century (early 1900s) and would have been used during the later part of the 19th century on markers for even the working classes.
The marker appears to be marble, this was standard material for late 19th century funerary sculpture and this type of marker was actually mass produced and sold through catalogs nationwide. Granite markers were not typical until the 1880s and then only for the wealthier classes. Granite would later become the standard grave marker material and replace marble for grave markers in the 20th century. Markers like yours were not usually hand crafted by a local stone carver, only the inscription and individual's name were done locally. Sometime even these elements were done at the factory. The NY firms of Launitz or Rose & Neill, as well as the Universal White Bronze Company are examples of catalog companies that produced both individually commissioned work as well as standard marker styles and/or monuments for mass market sales.
- Richard Betterly
