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Dolliver's Cemetery Inscriptions Volumes I, II, III
Between 1895 and 1899 William H. Dolliver was tasked with recording tombstone inscriptions throughout Gloucester cemeteries. His work, originally recorded in a bound book, provides us with valuable information about what was then intact and readable as well as a glimpse into the priorities of the late nineteenth century. Many of the original inscriptions are now lost or unreadable. His work ended up being divided into three volumes and includes four historic Gloucester cemeteries, two private cemeteries and two that now belong to Rockport, MA.
A bit more than a 100 years later, Gloucester residents Edith Sparling and Mary Ray developed an invaluable index to the first volume of the hand-written Dolliver as well as recording inscriptions in additional documents. This index also included other information such as location, which, until it is replaced with GPS data, continues to be important in locating graves. In 2019 the Cemeteries Advisory Committee undertook a project to provide greater access to all of these records.
Each volume was crowd-sourced and transcribed into an easily readable format. In addition, new scans of the original work were created with the cooperation of the Gloucester City Archives and the Cape Ann Museum. The finished work now has several options for readers. See the links below to view or download copies that suit your needs.
The Committee wishes to thank the Mayor and the City Council for their support throughout the project.
The Digital Commonwealth, a state-wide effort to harvest important historical documents and provide access in a digital format, has copies of the newly scanned original volumes and links to the Archives.org copies of the complete books.
On Archives.org there are copies, in book form, of the complete Dolliver work – the newly scanned originals with the easily readable transcriptions
Volume I: First Parish Burial Ground/Bridge Street Yard
Volume II: Annisquam Yard/Bay View, Annisquam Yard/Cove Hill, 2nd Parish/W. Gloucester, Unitarian/Prospect Street, Universalist Cemetery
Volume III: Rockport/First Parish Burying Ground, Rockport, Folly Cove/Locust Grove, Rockport
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Links to Printer-Friendly transcriptions, without any copies of the scanned originals. These may prove most useful for researchers and genealogists.
Volume I: Old Bridge Street Yard/First Parish Burial Ground
Download Volume I - Transcription Only
Volume II: Annisquam Yard/Bay View, Annisquam Yard/Cove Hill, 2nd Parish/W. Gloucester, Unitarian/Prospect Street, Universalist Cemetery
Download Volume II - Transcription Only
Volume III: Rockport/First Parish Burying Ground, Rockport, Folly Cove/Locust Grove, Rockport
Download Volume III - Transcription Only