D. W.

Now you are nearing the center of Section F

with some of the oldest graves. This burial was marked only by a simple fieldstone

with initials and a death date of July 3, 1798. If anyone kept track of burials in the

cemetery before 1864, the records were not found, so D.W.’s full name is unknown.

You will see another fieldstone nearby; both are probably in their original locations. Most families

with some means erected a proper gravestone, even a small one, so it is likely that the family of

D.W. lacked funds for another kind of memorial. As you walk through Section F, you may notice

that some of the headstones are not aligned facing east – the traditional direction for Christian

burials. One reason is because the Westminster Cemetery Company began closing some of the

original pathways/carriage-ways created in the 1866-1880 layout and selling off the newly created space as burial lots. Owners of the new lots often oriented the headstones perpendicular to the rows on either side. In a cemetery as old as this, it is difficult to find straight rows or any consistent layout in the original portions.