Whittier Home Museum members and guests will take a step back through time at their next Tea on Thursday, April 1st at 2 pm as author Glee E. Woodworth discusses her tour guide book, "Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, Oak Hill Cemetery."

Ms. Woodworth’s presentation will be of special appeal to local history enthusiasts, genealogists searching for ancestors and readers who appreciate the beauty of old cemeteries. Those who have family buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, of course, have much to gain. This is a great opportunity to teach children about history by exploring the cemeteries. And don’t forget naturalists who are interested in the preservation of this community treasure.

Ms Woodworth notes, "This volume is intended to be a catalyst to encourage others to become interested in local history and the cultural landscape of communities."

The book focuses on about 80 individuals who lived primarily in the 1800s -- artists, politicians, craftspeople, soldiers, sea captains, writers, and merchants among them. 

Following in the 20-year tradition of her father, local historian Todd C. Woodworth, Ms. Woodworth began condurcing the Oak Hill Cemetery tours in 2006. His program too was called "Tiptoe Through the Tombstones."

Oak Hill Cemetery, consecrated in 1842, is still an active burial ground and its design is a fine example of the early rural garden cemetery movement in the United States. It has been the final resting place of many people who made their lives in the Newburyport community.

A native of Newburyport, Woodworth is a twelfth-generation descendant of Robert Adams, one of the first settlers of Newbury. She also leads tours of Newburyport’s Old Hill Burying Ground and Highland Cemetery. A member of the Board of Trustees of Oak Hill Cemetery, she is also the manager of its heritage tree, gravestone, and chapel restoration projects.

Woodworth served as sssistant dean of students and director of the Mabee Activity Center at Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas. She joined the Peace Corps in 1991, working as a volunteer in the Comoros Islands, East Africa, and South Africa. She is currently working on the second edition of "The Mayors of Newburyport, 1851 to the Present" by Todd C. Woodworth and plans to continue to write and about the history of Newburyport’s cemeteries.  

Join this special afternoon program and tea at the Whittier Home Museum, 86 Friend Street, Amesbury on April 1st at 2:00 pm. Guest donation $5.00; members free.