Mary Nasson...York, Maine

Her Epitaph

Here liest quite free from Lifes Distrefsing Care, A loving Wife A tender Parent dear Cut down in midst of days As you may see But - stop - my Grief I soon shall equal be when death shall stop my breath And end my Time God grant my Dust May mingle, then, with thine.
Sacred to the memory of Mrs. MARY NASSON, wife of Mr. SAMUEL NASSON, who departed this life Aug. 18th 1774, AEtat 29.

On a town corner in York, Maine is an ancient cemetery which simply beacons you in. I had a great desire to stand at each stone for several minutes and imagine what their life might have been like.
One grave is beautiful, but has been clouded with a terrible rumor. The grave of Mary Nasson is said to be haunted and that Mary was a witch. She was not a witch; she was a lovely lady whose family loved her very much. The rumor of her being a witch was thought to be started in order to bring tourists to York, Maine. Her grave is covered with “wolf stones” which is said to have been placed to keep her body from rising up and roaming the town. In actualilty wolf stones were probably placed on most of the graves in the Old Burying Ground at one time. A wolf stone is a large flat slab placed over the body between the head and foot stones to keep animals from digging at the graves. The term comes from Europe where they were used to keep the most common animal, wolves, from disturbing the graves.
Her husband must have loved her so much. The carving on her stone is of a beautiful woman, the folds of her dress form wings on her arms. Her husband placed the wolf stones on her grave because he was moving to Sanford, ME and couldn’t care for her grave. He wanted it to be protected forever.