Books
Spirits Alive is proud to highlight the books related directly to the Eastern Cemetery!
Billboard Monuments of Maine — A Collection of Rare 1800s Gravestones (2020)
By Ron Romano
This new release examines a curious form of gravestone produced in Maine in the mid-1800s. A portion of one is found at Eastern Cemetery; pictures and descriptions of all 38 examples in Maine are included.
- Autographed copies are available directly from the author by emailing him at roroman@maine.rr.com.
- Live events with Ron talking about the book are currently suspended.
Portland's Historic Eastern Cemetery — A Field of Ancient Graves (2017)
By Ron Romano
This book provides an armchair tour of our 350-year-old cemetery. From bank robbers and murdering mutineers to Quakers and African-Americans, the book tells the story of many whose life journeys ended at Portland’s oldest burying ground. Richly illustrated.
- Autographed copies are available directly from the author by emailing him at roroman@maine.rr.com. You’ll also find this book in Maine bookstores, on Amazon.com, ArcadiaPublishing, and other online booksellers.
- Live events with Ron talking about the book are currently suspended.
Early Gravestones in Southern Maine — The Genius of Bartlett Adams (2016)
By Ron Romano
This book tells the story of Portland’s first stone-cutter, who arrived in 1800 and filled the region’s cemeteries with wonderful slate and marble gravestones for nearly 30 years. Many photographs of his work are included.
- Autographed copies are available directly from the author by emailing him at roroman@maine.rr.com and may also be purchased from our tour guides during regularly-scheduled tours of the cemetery. You’ll also find this book in Maine bookstores, on Amazon.com, ArcadiaPublishing.com, and other on-line booksellers.
- Read Michelle Souliere's review of the book on her Strange Maine blog.
- Watch the video and read the story: "His art is all over Portland, but few people know anything about him" on the Bangor Daily News website.
- Download Ron's inventory of Bartlett Adams stones (MS Excel file, 568k). The file was last updated in July 2016.
Burial Records, 1717–1962, of the Eastern Cemetery, Portland, Maine
Compiled by William B. Jordan, Jr.
This book provides records of 7,000 burials at Eastern Cemetery, organized alphabetically and with information about the condition of the gravestone (if one exists) on each plot. A key reference for Spirits Alive, and a helpful source for those building family trees.
- Available at Heritage Books
- This is the book we use as a reference for burials in the Eastern Cemetery.
- The introduction was written by William Jordan, the man who led the charge to collect the burial records into this book and update the 1890 map.
- Burial records correspond to map plots. The map is available on the Portland City website (PDF).
- The map and the book are available to view at the Portland Public Library's Portland Room and the Maine Historical Society's Brown Library.
In addition to these books, a set of papers on special cemetery topics, written by Ron Romano, is available through this site.