Life More Abundant

The Clapp Family Monument, of Charles and Georgiana Derby Clapp, is at the corner of Cedar and Rock Maple Avenues at Forest Hills Cemetery and it depicts a seated classical figure holding a plaque declaring “Life More Abundant” which might be explained in the quote from the Bible “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10. The figure is clad in a diaphanous gown that swirls around her body and in her left hand she holds a bouquet of flowers.

Charles Martin Clapp (1834-1897) was the son of Martin Gillett Clapp and Mary Ann Gillett Clapp and was born and raised in Watertown, New York. He served as president of the Aetna Rubber Mill in Jamaica Plain and as a trustee of Forest Hills Cemetery. Clapp had entered the rubber business and eventually formed C. M. Clapp & Co., which operated Aetna Rubber Mills and was also affiliated with the Good Year Rubber Company; he was also the general agent of the National Rubber Company. The company closely worked with the Boston Fire Department to repair fire hoses, and manufactured shoes for members of the Boston Police force.

The monument is quite impressive but its placement in front of a tall hemlock hedge provides a verdant background is the perfect and dramatic backdrop for it as one descends from Tupelo Avenue.