By Sister Mary Joseph
Powers, O.P., Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. Originally written for the Fall, 2006 issue of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Review
published by the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society, and used by permission.
It was, observed Hawthorne Dominican Sister Mary de Paul, an event worthy of an opera. After a separation lasting 142 years, Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne -- the closest of lovers in life -- were reunited when Sophia and their daughter Una were reinterred in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery on June 26, 2006. Adding to the romantic drama of the event was the fact that the reunion was made possible by the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, the community of Catholic sisters founded by the couple's younger daughter, Rose, in 1900.
About 35 descendants of Julian Hawthorne gathered in Concord along with ten Dominican Sisters and several descendants of Nathaniel Cranch Peabody, Sophia's brother. It was a reunion of the living members of the Hawthorne and Peabody families as well, and an emotionally engaging encounter with their ancestors whose devotion to each other and their children remains a vibrant part of the family legacy.
This devotion is well-known to the sisters of Rose's religious community who have always felt a close connection to Rose's parents and siblings. For the past several years they had maintained the graves of Sophia (bottom right) and Una (pictured as a child with her father and brother at right) in Kensal Green Cemetery in London. Last winter they received word that the hawthorn tree which Una had planted at her mother's gravesite had fallen and damaged the markers which were already in a state of disrepair. Rather than undertake the extensive repairs, the sisters decided -- with the permission of the Hawthorne family -- to bring Sophia and Una home to Concord.
They enlisted the help of Mr. George Siegel, a New York funeral director, and Dante Gismondi, M.D., to navigate the myriad details of the exhumation and the trans-Atlantic journey. Mr. Safik J. Meah, superintendent of Kensal Green Cemetery, and Mr. Michael Gill in London were both taken with the story of the reunion and quickly became enthusiastic partners in the transfer, helping satisfy the requirements of British law. In the end, Mr. Meah traveled to Concord for the ceremony, having decided to see the transfer through to its completion. In Concord the sisters contacted Patricia Hopkins, the manager of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, and Robert Derry, member of the Society and a park ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park. During the months of preparation the impending move was the best kept secret in Concord. When the news became public, the response from the people of Concord was enthusiastic and generous.
In late June the remains of Sophia and Una arrived at JFK Airport in New York. The remains of each body were cleaned and wrapped in white satin-like material, then carefully placed side by side in one coffin. The decision to bury them together was made because of space considerations. When the plots were originally laid out in Sleepy Hollow, vaults for the coffins were not required. Today they are necessary, so the two plots next to Nathaniel might not have been large enough for two coffins and two vaults. Rather than risk disturbing the existing graves, it was decided that the safest and most appropriate procedure was to bury Sophia and Una together in one casket.
The first stop was Rosary Hill Home, the motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters in Hawthorne, NY. The coffin was placed for a time in the oratory of the chapel there, resting a short distance from Rose who is buried on the grounds. Then it was moved to Concord.
On June 24 a new grave was opened in the Hawthorne plot at Sleepy Hollow next to that of Nathaniel. His grave -- sans vault -- was covered with a very heavy steel plate for extra security. Two days later the sisters and family gathered at Dee Funeral Home to begin the procession which would bring Sophia and Una to rest with Nathaniel. The coffin bearing the remains was placed in a horse-drawn hearse, the one believed to have carried Nathaniel in his funeral procession. On each side of the coffin was an arrangement of pink carnations presented as a gift by the Friends of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The hearse was preceded by two National Park Service rangers, one carrying the American flag and one with the British flag. Following the hearse came the funeral directors from New York, London, and Concord; Fr. Carleton Jones, O.P., pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer Church in New York City, and Fr. Martin Connor, O.P., chaplain of Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, NY; and the family, sisters, and invited friends. Fr. Jones was invited to lead the prayers at both the graveside and public ceremonies. Like Rose Hawthorne, he grew up as a New England Unitarian and converted to Catholicism.
The funeral procession stopped in front of the First Parish Church, where the Hawthornes worshipped in life and from which Nathaniel was buried. Here two ministers held a brief service on the steps of the church. Then the procession wound its way around Monument Square on the way to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Townspeople and tourists gathered on the square to share the occasion. One of the Concord funeral directors noted that even the houses around the square were the same ones which had witnessed the procession for Nathaniel's funeral.
Inside the cemetery the funeral carriage stopped first at the graves of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody and Nathaniel Cranch Peabody. Brad Johnston, a descendent of Nathaniel Peabody, and Megan Marshall, author of The Peabody Sisters: Three Women Who Ignited American Romanticism, offered short reflections. Flowers were placed on the graves by family members.
Moving on to Authors' Ridge, the procession gathered around the Hawthorne plot for a private service. After an opening prayer and remarks by Fr. Jones, Joan Ensor -- the only one of four surviving great-grandchildren of Nathaniel and Sophia able to attend -- read excerpts from their letters. Several other members of the family read Scripture passages. Then the coffin was opened to enable family members and sisters to place significant items inside including flowers, letters, Sophia's 1857 diary and an heirloom locket. Imogen Howe, great-great-granddaughter, announced that she would donate a volume of Wordsworth inscribed to Nathaniel by Sophia during their engagement to the Concord Free Public Library. (She found it among piles of books stored in her uncle Henry's garage and observed that now she never discards as much as a piece of paper without examining it closely.) The final prayer was followed by a hymn accompanied by Jessi Rosinski, flutist from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Then the coffin was lowered into the open grave and at last Nathaniel and Sophia rested side by side. The footstones from the graves in Kensal Green had also been shipped over and are now in place in Sleepy Hollow. The headstones will remain in the cemetery in London. (In the nineteenth century it was customary to have both head- and footstones.)
Later on the grounds of the Old Manse the family and the sisters gathered with scores of interested friends for refreshments and a public service orchestrated by Robert Derry and Megan Marshall. Sophia's love of flowers was reflected in the period wreath adorning the podium. Following the program it was moved to the gravesite.
Welcoming remarks from representatives of the family, the sisters, and the community opened the program. Imogen Howe formally presented the Wordsworth volume to Leslie Perrin Wilson, Curator of Special Collections at Concord Free Public Library. Alison Hawthorne Deming, great-great-granddaughter, addressed the crowd on behalf of the family. She noted that at the cemetery seven generations of Hawthornes were present, including both those above and below ground.
Words and music evoked the world of 19th century Concord. Richard Smith, historian and actor at Concord Museum, concluded his address with Louisa Alcott's "Thoreau's Flute." Jessi Rosinski performed two movements entitled "Variations on Thoreauvian Themes." Actors Mary Griffis and David Gullette read quotations from Nathaniel and Sophia and from each of their children. (If you visit the Wayside, you may meet Ms. Griffis guiding your tour in the persona of Rose Hawthorne.)
Many of those in attendance were invited guests, while others were tourists who happened upon the celebration. Some made the trip to Concord from various places in New England after reading about the plans for the day in their local newspapers. One of the latter group was Hub Seward from Milford, NH, who is related to Rose Hawthorne's husband, George Lathrop, through George's mother. He brought a pair of candlesticks painted by Rose and a silhouette of Rose made by George's brother, Francis, who was an artist of some renown. He also offered the sisters a portrait of Rose's son painted by Francis. All of the guests were invited to record their impressions of the day in books which will be preserved at the Concord Public Library.
For those involved in the planning, it was an event successful beyond imagining. For the citizens of Concord and especially for the Hawthorne and Peabody families, it was the long-awaited completion of a romance in both the literal and literary sense. One can only wonder at what the intensely private Nathaniel would have thought had he known that the story was reported not only in local newspapers and television stations, but also in the London Times and on National Public Radio, the Canadian Broadcasting Company, and the BBC which broadcast it as far away as India. In the end, however, one can be certain that he would have rejoiced to know that he was at last reunited with his "best beloved."
Artwork: Painting of Sophia (bottom right): Courtesy of Rosamond Mikkelsen. Backgrounds by Word of Mouth Web Design. Images courtesy of Clipart.com.
