Miss Abigail Merrick - Wilbraham, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 06.475 W 072° 26.340
18T E 711744 N 4664932
The grave of 16 year old Miss Abigail Merrick is located in Adams Cemetery, Wilbraham MA. She drowned, along with five others, in a boating accident.
Waymark Code: WMNZYA
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 05/31/2015
Views: 3
On April 29, 1799 a tragedy occurred in the small western Massachusetts town of Wilbraham. Six people from prominent town families were sail-boating on Nine Mile Pond when a sudden gust of wind caught the sails and overturned the boat. The boat sank and three young men and three sixteen year old girls drowned. Three of the victims were siblings from a single family. All are buried in Adams Cemetery in Wilbraham, MA.
The cemetery has recently been restored after being devastated by a tornado of June 1, 2011. Graves of special interest are now marked with a teal colored, numbered sign as part of a walking tour of the cemetery.
An additional tragedy beset the Merrick Family. Abigail's body could not be located. It was necessary to drain the pond, a move that was highly controversial for some town folks, to recover her body. She was found sixteen days later. The brownstone grave marker of Abigail Merrick contains the image of a crowned woman in the tympanum and the following inscription:
Abigail
Dautr of Doc Samuel
F. Merrick & Mrs Sarah
his wife was drowned
with five others in a
Pond three Miles
from this place
April 29th 1799.
in the 16 year of
her age, and after
lying in the water
more than fifteen
days was taken out
and is here interred.
Visit Instructions:When posting a visit to an unusual grave, please include the minimum of one picture of your visit as proof that you were there in the flesh.
Although not required, please include your personal experience of this location.