Old Print Article - Jonathan Reed Stricken In Tomb Where He Lived, Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1905)
We read on the New York Times Obituary from March 24th, 1905, that a certain Jonathan Reed, about 70 years old, was found agonizing on the floor of the mausoleum in which his wife was buried for almost a decade, located in Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn.
To discover the man at the end of life was the police supervising the cemetery, who had seen the door of the funeral chapel half-open, while it seemed that no one was inside, and one might think that the stroke, which was suppressing the poor man's life, had caught him during a visit to the tomb his deceased consort ... in reality there are stories of love that cross every threshold, including that of time and that of life ....
To discover the man at the end of life was the police supervising the cemetery, who had seen the door of the funeral chapel half-open, while it seemed that no one was inside, and one might think that the stroke, which was suppressing the poor man's life, had caught him during a visit to the tomb his deceased consort ... in reality there are stories of love that cross every threshold, including that of time and that of life ....
Mary E. Gould Reed had died in 1893 and since the day of her death the poor Jonathan, afflicted by a loss he felt he couldn't bear, dedicated to his dead wife the time he still had to live, almost as if death had reinforced the bond that already linked them.
After having built a mausoleum in which to burrow the remains of his beloved disappeared, Jonathan, a retired businessman, certainly belonging to the well-to-do society, elected this place as his future home: he furnished it like a sort of small living room, heated it with the oil stove that he had made build specifically for that place, hung on the walls the paintings that Mary loved and brought there her portraits, those portrayinh her as a child and as a young girl, the knitting work at which, at the time of her departure, she was working, a deck of playing cards and the parrot that kept them company (and when the cherished bird died, he was preserved -thanks to taxidermy - and left in the chapel on his perch).
Sitting in his rocking chair, the disconsolate Jonathan found serenity and strength to live talking to his cherished wife who, as he had to declare to the press of time, surely was able not only to hear him, but also to answer him, since he was able to interpret her answers ... she, with her passing away, he had only lost the heat of her body ... for the rest nothing in her had changed, of this the poor man was more than convinced... she was not completely dead ...
The most striking thing is that at the time all this was not interpreted as a sort of delirium dictated by the deepness of his sorrow or as a way to accept a pain stronger than any other, but the news of this unusual way of living of his, which spread quickly, crossed not only the borders of the state, but even came to Asia and Europe: more than seven thousand people from all over the world moved on 'pilgrimage' - even some Tibetan monks wanted to see with their own eyes that man who was still able to communicate with his extinct dear - only during the first year of this singular life: he was in all respects considered a sort of phenomenon!
For this reason the news of his disappearance had such a resonance ... after spending nearly a dozen years of his life in the mausoleum he made build, Jonathan Reed ceased to live at Kings County Hospital where he was transported by an ambulance called by Dr. Meister who promptly rushed from Bradford Street Hospital after the call of the policeman who supervised the cemetery: he found him slumped on the ground, his arms protracted towards the coffin of his beloved, in the throes of a loss of consciousness due to a stroke.
His remains were buried next to those of his beloved, in what had for years become their new home ...
... And since then the door of that chapel has been closed, and nobody knew anything about its key ...
After having built a mausoleum in which to burrow the remains of his beloved disappeared, Jonathan, a retired businessman, certainly belonging to the well-to-do society, elected this place as his future home: he furnished it like a sort of small living room, heated it with the oil stove that he had made build specifically for that place, hung on the walls the paintings that Mary loved and brought there her portraits, those portrayinh her as a child and as a young girl, the knitting work at which, at the time of her departure, she was working, a deck of playing cards and the parrot that kept them company (and when the cherished bird died, he was preserved -thanks to taxidermy - and left in the chapel on his perch).
Sitting in his rocking chair, the disconsolate Jonathan found serenity and strength to live talking to his cherished wife who, as he had to declare to the press of time, surely was able not only to hear him, but also to answer him, since he was able to interpret her answers ... she, with her passing away, he had only lost the heat of her body ... for the rest nothing in her had changed, of this the poor man was more than convinced... she was not completely dead ...
The most striking thing is that at the time all this was not interpreted as a sort of delirium dictated by the deepness of his sorrow or as a way to accept a pain stronger than any other, but the news of this unusual way of living of his, which spread quickly, crossed not only the borders of the state, but even came to Asia and Europe: more than seven thousand people from all over the world moved on 'pilgrimage' - even some Tibetan monks wanted to see with their own eyes that man who was still able to communicate with his extinct dear - only during the first year of this singular life: he was in all respects considered a sort of phenomenon!
For this reason the news of his disappearance had such a resonance ... after spending nearly a dozen years of his life in the mausoleum he made build, Jonathan Reed ceased to live at Kings County Hospital where he was transported by an ambulance called by Dr. Meister who promptly rushed from Bradford Street Hospital after the call of the policeman who supervised the cemetery: he found him slumped on the ground, his arms protracted towards the coffin of his beloved, in the throes of a loss of consciousness due to a stroke.
His remains were buried next to those of his beloved, in what had for years become their new home ...
... And since then the door of that chapel has been closed, and nobody knew anything about its key ...
And today too our time has come to an end ...
and as always grateful for your praise,
I leave you with my warmest hug.
See you soon 💕
- immagine 1 - Old Print Article - Jonathan Reed Stricken In Tomb Where He Lived, Brooklyn Daily Eagle (1905)
Il 24 marzo del 1905 si legge sul New York Times Obituary che un certo Jonathan Reed, di anni 70 circa è stato trovato agonizzante sul pavimento della cappella in cui era sepolta la moglie da quasi una decina di anni, situata nell'Evergreen Cemetery di Brooklyn.
A scoprire l'uomo in fin di vita fu un operaio, che aveva visto la porta della cappella semiaperta, ma gli sembrava che nessuno vi fosse dentro, e si potrebbe pensare che il colpo apoplettico che stava stroncando la vita del povero uomo lo avesse colto durante una visita alla tomba della defunta consorte … in realtà esistono storie di amore che varcano ogni soglia, comprese quella del tempo e quella della vita ….
- immagine 2 sulla sinistra - Trafiletto tratto dal New York Times Obituary del 24 marzo 1905.
- immagine 2 sulla sinistra - Trafiletto tratto dal New York Times Obituary del 24 marzo 1905.
Mary E.Gould Reed era morta nel 1893 e dal giorno della sua scomparsa il povero Jonathan, afflitto da una perdita che non riusciva a sopportare, dedicò alla sua defunta consorte quanto ancora gli rimaneva da vivere, quasi come se la morte avesse rinforzato il vincolo che già li univa.
Dopo aver fatto costruire una cappella in cui tumulare le spoglie dell'amata scomparsa, Jonathan, uomo d'affari in pensione, per certo benestante, elesse tale luogo quale sua futura dimora: lo arredò come fosse una sorta di piccolo salotto, lo riscaldò con la stufa a petrolio che aveva fatto costruire appositamente per porla in quel luogo, appese alle pareti i quadri che Mary più amava e vi portò i suoi ritratti, quelli che la ritraevano da giovane e da fanciulla, il lavoro a maglia che al momento della sua dipartita stava portando avanti, un mazzo di carte da gioco ed il pappagallo che faceva loro compagnia (quando morì, l'animale venne imbalsamato e lasciato nella cappella sul suo trespolo).
Seduto sulla sua sedia a dondolo, lo sconsolato Jonathan ritrovava serenità e forza di vivere parlando alla sua adorata che, come ebbe modo di dichiarare alla stampa del tempo, sicuramente era in grado di sentirlo così come lui era capace di interpretare le sue risposte … ella, con il trapasso, aveva solamente perso il calore del corpo … per il resto nulla in lei era cambiato, di questo il povero uomo era più che convinto. … non era del tutto morta ...
La cosa più eclatante è che al tempo tutto ciò non venne interpretato come una sorta di delirio dettato dal dolore, come un modo per accettare un dolore più forte di ogni altro, ma la notizia, che si sparse in fretta, varcò non solo i confini dello stato, ma giunse persino in Asia ed in Europa: più di settemila persone provenienti da ogni parte del mondo si mossero in 'pellegrinaggio' – anche alcuni monaci tibetani vollero vedere con i propri occhi quell'uomo che ancora era in grado di comunicare con la cara estinta – solamente durante il primo anno di questa insolita vita: egli era a tutti gli effetti considerato una sorta di fenomeno!
Per questo la notizia della sua scomparsa ebbe una tale risonanza … dopo aver trascorso in cotal guisa circa una decina di anni della sua vita, Jonathan Reed cessò di vivere al Kings County Hospital dove venne fatto trasportare da un'ambulanza chiamata dal Dr. Meister che prontamente accorse dal Bradford Street Hospital dopo la chiamata del poliziotto che sovrintendeva al cimitero: egli lo trovò accasciato in terra, con le braccia protratte verso la bara dell'amata, in preda ad una perdita di coscienza dovuta ad un colpo apoplettico.
Le sue spoglie vennero tumulate accanto a quelle dell'amata, in quella che era da anni divenuta la loro nuova dimora ...
... E da allora la porta di quella cappella è rimasta chiusa, e della chiave nessuno più seppe nulla ...
- immagine 3 ed immagine 4 - Il monumento funerario in cui sono tumulati Mary e Jonathan.
- immagine 3 ed immagine 4 - Il monumento funerario in cui sono tumulati Mary e Jonathan.
Anche oggi il nostro tempo è giunto al termine ...
e come sempre grata per il vostro plauso,
vi lascio con il mio più caloroso abbraccio
a presto 💕