Unearthing Secrets of Medfield's Vine Lake Cemetery

With a nod to Sherlock Holmes, Rob Gregg adheres to the notion that “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, is the truth.”

Gregg, president of the Vine Lake Preservation Trust, has worked hard to eliminate the impossible and come closer to the truth in unearthing the many mysteries of Medfield’s Vine Lake Cemetery. His efforts and the methodology he employs, were detailed at a recent presentation, entitled: “Digging Deeper: Unearthing the Mysteries of Vine Lake Cemetery,” held at the

In an introductory address, President of the Historical Society, David Temple, explained how Gregg had come to be involved in the ongoing project.

“In about 2004, we were able to get a grant to put together a plan to preserve and maintain [the cemetery]. A couple of years later, I got another grant that paid for some gravestone specialists to do some work in the oldest section. When that work was done and the money was gone, it was obvious to me that what we needed was somebody to step forward … an organization like 'Friends of Vine Lake Cemetery.' Rob stepped up and has done a fabulous job at it.”

Those “friends,” who have adopted the moniker of “Vine Lake Preservation Trust,” have identified four directions “in terms of (their) mission,” according to Gregg.

1. The preservation – cleaning and resetting – of memorials.

2. Enhancement of the cemetery – beautifying through the growth of plants and trees.

3. Interpretation of the history of the cemetery.

4. Celebration of the cemetery.

Though the information on the formation of the trust was welcomed, it was the cemetery’s many “mysteries” that were what the large audience came to hear.

Accompanied by a slideshow presentation, Gregg proceeded to list the “mysteries” in question and to inform the audience of the painstaking efforts he employs in attempting to solve them.

“One of our cautions is not to make assumptions, in order to compensate for the lack of knowledge or evidence,” he informed the audience.

Among the first and perhaps the greatest of the 22 identified mysteries, was that of the perforated stones. “From my perspective, it’s the most intriguing mystery in the cemetery,” Gregg said.

The stones, identified as quartzite, are located behind the old Morse memorial in the old section of the cemetery. Measuring approximately 13 inches wide by 12 inches high, the stones contain a 1 ½ to 2 inch perforations.

“I decided to contact Peter Bennett,” Gregg said, “who is the author of 'Masks of Orthodoxy.' I sent him a letter and talked to him by phone. His response was: 'I’ve never, ever seen anything like this.'”

More research revealed that early residents of Plymouth Colony often carried out a tradition brought from their native land and utilized in their burials. Although details “are very sketchy,” Gregg learned that “often the first memorials were nothing more than pieces of fence – grave boards. The rails of wooden fence would be placed through perforations in stones and the deceased’s name was carved on the fence. Over time, the wooden fence would disintegrate, leaving future generations to wonder at the stones that remained and the odd holes they contained.

Gregg then moved on to another mystery; that of a stone containing the name Samp son. The question arose as to why the word was split in the engraving; with “Samp” on one line and “son “written below it and offering no other information.

“I published an article in the quarterly magazine of the Association for Gravestone Studies,” Gregg said. "I put out the story along with photographs and I got one response.”

The response offered the theory that the grave, perhaps, held the remains of an Algonquin Indian and his son.

According to a correspondence received by Gregg, the writer noted that “Samp” in the Algonquin language means “coarsely ground corn.” In theory, the Indian’s name may have been “Samp” or it may have been a title bestowed on him because he traded corn or grew the principal supply of the grain which was highly valuable to the early settlers. “Indian corn was so valuable at the time that there was a bounty for killing blackbirds, who devoured the corn, in Medfield,” Gregg said.

Another theory by the author of the correspondence promoted the idea that “Samp” may have been shortened from an Indian name, which no one knew how to spell. The name of his son, buried with him in the plot would, perhaps, offer the same difficulty. “Most intriguing,” Gregg said.

One of the urban legends surrounding the cemetery involves the Langley tomb and the mysterious visitations of a so-called “witch.” Local residents “did not understand that anyone was buried at the memorial, which has no names inscribed on it and so a legend grew that a 'witch' would visit the cemetery, at that particular site and leave flowers.”

The legend of the Medfield witch “existed for many years,” said Gregg.

To solve the mystery of the witch and the presumed-empty tomb, Gregg turned to a number of information sources. Firstly, Gregg noted, “you can cross off 'witch' because a [real] person did visit on numerous occasions. Marjorie Langley Ryan, a socialite from New York City, was the granddaughter of one of the people buried at the memorial.”

This information was confirmed in a conversation with Tracy Mitchell, of the Roberts-Mitchell funeral home, who had been called upon to prepare the tomb for Ryan’s visitations.

“This elderly lady would come and descend the stairs [of the tomb] and visit her ancestors and then she would leave,” Gregg said. “Perhaps that is part of where the 'witch' legend comes from.”

Gregg explained he tried to track down the elderly lady, only to learn that she is now deceased. However, through a series of inquiries, Gregg succeeded in speaking to the attorney who handled Ryan’s last will and testament. Researching the document, he discovered the names of the Langley family who are buried at the memorial. “She said, in her will, that her grandfather, her father, her mother and her sisters were buried here,” Gregg revealed.

Other mysteries touched on during the presentation included several instances of discrepancies between official cemetery maps and the actual grave sites, as well as gravestones which contained only initials, leaving one to wonder at who, exactly, were buried there.

Then, there was the instance of Emery Hollis Turner, who was said to be buried at Vine Lake Cemetery, but no official records back up that assumption. “He died in King Philip Rest Home, in 1949,” Gregg said. “We went to the family lot and there are five persons buried there: his parents and three siblings. We have no idea where he’s buried in the cemetery.” In an amusing aside, Gregg was able to describe in detail, the house where Turner once lived. “It’s my house,” he told the audience.

The slideshow also offered a photograph that would be of interest to any Paranormal Investigative body; that of a ghostly apparition, lurking near to one of the memorials.

“It could perhaps be identified as the face of someone … a woman, facing to the right,” Gregg said. “It appears she might have some sort of jewel or something on her forehead.”

Though the majority of those in attendance were awestruck, one jokester offered that he could also “see a UFO” in a corner of the picture, inviting a wave of laughter from the audience.

As the presentation continued, it became obvious that Vine Lake Cemetery, which is as old as the town of Medfield, itself, offers a treasure-trove of clues pertaining to the town’s long history. It remains only for the tenaciously curious, such as Gregg, to “dig deeper” to decipher them.