Over two centuries ago, a young family ventured from the city of Boston northward to the open lands of New Hampshire. Their names were Ebenezer and Abigail, and they were a beautiful young couple living during the colonial era.

New Hampshire was still under the control of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies, and it was England that managed affairs. The Revolutionary War was still years into the future when a young Ebenezer proposed to Abigail, and she accepted his proposal. They married in Boston under the blossoming cherry trees and loaded their horse-drawn wagon with the few items they owned, embarking upon a journey toward their future.

Days later, Ebenezer and Abigail arrived in search of land to build a home for their expected large family. The year was 1733, and the town of Penacook Plantation had just been renamed Rumford. They were both very enthused to enter the settled Main Street of Rumford and stop for a needed rest and directions to land just outside of town. This land belonged to Ebenezer’s good friend and would be purchased and settled by the young newlyweds.

Life was certainly grand as they arrived at their new home, a rough patch of forest with much old-growth timber standing. A temporary cabin was constructed as Ebenezer continued to clear the old forest, producing timber for their planned permanent log home with lots of short-cut logs for the fireplace. New Hampshire winters can be so cold and terrifying, and the warmth of a fire meant survival. The hard labor started in spring, and it was late fall when the final logs were placed upon the cabin walls and the field stone fireplace was ready for its first log. Yes, the future was very anticipated for young Ebenezer and Abigail.

The first winter was very difficult, Abigail was very accustomed to the life of a young lady raised in the city, while Ebenezer enjoyed the great wilderness to a much greater degree. The two newlyweds settled, and the years brought more people to New Hampshire.

Bartering became a common means of acquiring needed goods. Ebenezer and Abigail had cleared the fields surrounding their log home and became quite efficient farmers, producing all their food with plenty of extra crops for canning and preserving. Ebenezer also prided himself with plenty of salmon caught in the nearby Merrimack River, salmon that he salted and preserved for the long winters. He was an efficient hunter and added venison from the surrounding forest to his supply of preserved food.

Ebenezer and Abigail were expecting their first child within the year, and there were many additional children to follow. Abigail was a good teacher and home-schooled her children, who contributed to the many chores that required extra hands in the coming years. The children grew, the farm grew, and Ebenezer and Abigail aged gracefully.

Thirty-two years after Ebenezer and Abigail settled just outside of the town of Rumford, the town was renamed Concord. There was talk about town regarding the excessive taxes imposed by England, and many of the farmers spoke about the possibility of a war with the homeland. Most, however, simply dismissed such a notion and felt it was greatly exaggerated. Ebenezer and Abigail prayed England would embrace the concerns of the colonies and eliminate some of the excessive taxation. Their young children were growing, and the thought of a war was simply terrifying for the aging couple.

The thought of war returned to them again and again. People were speaking about war at the Sunday church service, on Main Street and in the feed store. Then the tipping point arrived. In December of 1774, the hostilities ignited here in New Hampshire with the “Portsmouth Alarm” and the subsequent capture of Fort William and Mary.

The threat was indeed real. People living in Concord were no longer doubtful. In April of 1775, after the battles in Concord and Lexington, our state entered the war effort and joined forces in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ebenezer was an old farmer at this point, but he ventured to Massachusetts with four of his sons, leaving Abigail on the family farm in New Hampshire. There were skirmishes as the war unfolded, and then there were full-fledged battles. On June 17, 1775 the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought by brave patriotic soldiers. Many lost their lives.

Pine coffins and fabric-wrapped bodies arrived in town after the battles. Many of the small New Hampshire communities did not have official cemeteries. The war dead were gathered and buried on their family farms. Peaceful places that offered a hallowed eternity for those they lost. Clusters of graves on farms and in nooks with old slate stones inscribed with names, dates and messages to the following generations about war.

Very simple burial grounds with wood violets and wild flowing plants offered a very peaceful charm. Today, we find these family burial grounds still on private properties or along the side of a busy road. Some old family cemeteries are unrecognizable, while others are enclosed with stone walls or a wrought iron fence. Epitaphs tell us the stories and provide a modern-day romantic tale about what once was. But it wasn’t romantic — unimaginable sadness ushered these souls to their final rest.

With the years, the forest reclaimed many rural burial locations, growing over the graves of our loved ones. Some are recorded and maintained, while others remain unknown, unvisited on Memorial Day. These loved ones died in war or of natural causes, old age. They died tragically or perhaps in their sleep. But they did die, and they remain with us to this very day as a reminder of our past.

It is the Ebenezers and the Abigails of whom I think as Memorial Day approaches. Those people once walked our streets, fought battles so that we would have a better life, forged a civilized society so that life could proceed with fewer hardships. Yes, sadness will always accompany thoughts of those we have lost, those we must not forget. Our ancestors now find eternal peace in the forests, on the farms and in obscure unknown locations. This Memorial Day, I encourage you to visit the old neglected graves and plant a flower or place a flag.