"The stars shall fade away, the sun himself grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; but thou shalt flourish in immortal youth…”
– Joseph Addison
One of the most popular residents of Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, GA is a little girl named Gracie Watson.
Her parents, W.J., and Frances arrived in Savannah from Boston after W.J. was hired to manage an elite hotel, the Pulaski.
Gracie, their only child, was born in 1883.
The Pulaski was Gracie’s world where she lived and played, bringing smiles to the faces of the hotel's guests who found her to be a charming child.
In April 1889 just before Easter, Gracie developed pneumonia and never recovered. She was buried in the Watson family plot at Bonaventure.
The following year, Savannah sculptor John Walz worked from a photograph given to him by Gracie's father to produce the iconic white marble statue that marks her grave today. A young girl with hand resting on a tree stump that symbolizes a life cut short. Walz was well known for his memorial sculptures and Bonaventure is filled with his beautiful works. It is also his resting place. There is a street named in his honor, Walz Way. He is also responsible for the sculptures of Phidias, Michaelangelo, Rembrandt, and Raphael that stand in the front of The Telfair Academy in downtown Savannah.
The Watsons, devastated by the death of their daughter eventually moved away from Savannah leaving Gracie alone. But, the little girl still captivates the city and its visitors who follow her story and drop by to pay their respects often.
A few years back I had the opportunity to explore Forest Hills Cemetery near Boston. It is the definition of 19th-century Victorian landscape design, with rolling green lawns, a leafy canopy of trees, and beautiful statues and architecture.
While driving through Forest Hills, keeping a sharp eye for the unique and unusual, I saw a glass container with a statue inside.
The statue was of a young girl dressed in Victorian clothing. On the front of the pedestal was the name “Gracie.”
Gracie Sherwood Allen was born in 1876, seven years before Gracie Watson. She died of whooping cough just before her fifth birthday in 1880.
Her parents, William H. and Emily J. Allen had this life-size statue of their daughter carved by Sydney H. Morse who was not only a sculptor, but a poet, writer, and friend of Walt Whitman, whose sculpture by Morse resides in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.
This Gracie is also white marble with similar Victorian style in hair and clothing right down to the buttons on her boots. In her right hand, she holds flowers with petals starting to fall, representing a life taken too soon. She rests in the Allen family plot, along with her mother and father.
While Gracie from Boston does not have the fame of Gracie from Savannah, she is still a child that was taken too soon and should never be forgotten.
Two little girls, a thousand miles apart, tied together by the name Gracie, and white marble statues immortalizing them forever.
Photographs taken by Christine Shephard and all written copy may not be used in any other format or publication without express written permission.
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