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Monuments of the Lowell Cemetery

About the Lowell Cemetery

The Lowell Cemetery is a cemetery located in Lowell Massachusetts. It was devised by a group of distinguished Lowell citizens in 1840 as a private, non-sectarian, non-profit cemetery corporation. It was modeled after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts which was the first Garden Cemetery in America. The Cemetery was opened on June 20, 1841. Many people come to the Lowell cemetery to admire the grounds and grieve for those who have passed away. Among those who have passed, some have monuments made for themselves to honor their memory. These monuments serve as a way to leave a legacy that will last for generations.

The “Bonney The Witch” Monument

The Bonney memorial was constructed in 1898 and was sculpted by F. Edwin Elwell (1858-1922). The statue depicts a woman with outstretched arms, holding onto a long veil that is draped over her head. The sleeves of her dress fall low on her shoulders, exposing her upper chest. She has a black tear stain underneath her left eye. Her eyes are fixed towards the Ayer Lion monument, which is said to be her protector. Many suspect that the Bonney statue is haunted, but whether there is any validity to that remains to be seen.

Superstitions

The Witch Bonney stands over the grave of Clara Bonney Lilley (1855-1894), who died at age 39 in 1894. The legend states that the top of her dress slips down lower and lower each day of October until the 31st. On that day, her dress will fall down to her waist and her ghost will be freed from the statue.

Some speculate that she was killed during the Salem witch trials and that she roams the streets of Lowell trying to find the families that murdered her. This theory was proven to be false because the Salem witch trials happened 160 years before Clara Bonney was born.

The True Story

Charles Sumner Lilley

Clara Bonney Lilley (1855-1894) was married to Charles Sumner Lilley (1851-1921). Clara Bonney was introduced to Charles Lilley by her father, Arthur P. Bonney (1828-1896). Arthur P. Bonney was well-known for being a successful lawyer in Middlesex-county during the 1970s. Charles Lilley earned a living by designing carpets for the Lowell Manufacturing Company. After meeting Arthur Bonney, he went into the legal field under his guidance. He was admitted to the bar in 1877 and soon began practicing his profession in Lowell. In 1880 he was elected as a member of the State Senate and was re-elected in the following year. Then again in 1886, he was re-elected to the Senate where he served in the judiciary committee, rules committee, street railways committee, and the joint special committee for re-directing the state and revising the commonwealth’s legal system. It was not till 1891 that he got married to Clara Bonney. Two years after their marriage, he got appointed as a justice on the Middlesex County Superior Court.

Clara Bonney Lilley's Illness

Clara became sick with Pyaemia. Pyaemia is a type of sepsis that leads to widespread abscesses of a metastatic nature. She was sick for a prolonged period of time until she died on July 19, 1894.

Life After Death

After Clara Bonney Lilley's death, Charles Lilley spent his time caring for their daughter, Clara. He then went on to receive an honorary degree from Dartmouth College in 1896. In 1900, he resigned from his position on the Supreme Court to return to his private law practice on Merrimack Street in Lowell. Charles died about 26 years after Clara in 1921.

The Ayer Lion Monument

The Ayer Lion Monument was constructed in 1880 and was sculpted by Albert Bruce Joy (1842-1924). The lion has gained a reputation as the “protector” of “Bonney the Witch” because of its location across from her monument. But unlike the Bonney monument, it is not rumored to be haunted. The Ayer Lion monument was based on a man named James Cook Ayer (1818-1878). James Ayer was a successful patent medicine businessman. The town of Ayer, Massachusetts was even named after him to pay him tribute for providing funding for the construction of Town Hall from 1873-1876.

Early Life and Career

He gained his primary education from public schools. He began learning about medicine when he apprenticed under a druggist in Lowell, James C. Robbins. He then went on to graduate at the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, he studied pharmaceutical chemistry and the compounding of medicines. He soon established a factory in Lowell for the manufacture of his medicinal preparations. It became very large and successful, estimating a profit of $20,000,000

The Mill Girl Monument

The Mill Girl monument was constructed in 1907 and was sculpted by Evelyn Beatrice Longman (1874-1954). The powerful work depicts an Angel of Death comforting a kneeling mill worker wearing a smock and holding a bobbin with a yarn cut, symbolizing the end of one’s life. The epitaph reads “Out of the fiber of her daily tasks, she wove the fabric of a useful life.” This monument was created in honor of a woman named Louisa Maria Wells (1815-1886), who worked in the mills for most of her life.

Louisa Maria Wells

Louisa Wells was born on a farm in Proctorsville, VT, in 1817. She worked at Lawrence Mfg. Company for about 13 years. Louisa Wells died of heart disease in February 1886, at the age of 69. Her will stated that she wanted a monument to be built in honor of herself and her mother. She left $8,000 for it to be built. Her will was challenged by members of her family. The case went on for 20 years before her wishes were finally upheld.