Pioneer Information
Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Lovering graduated from Harvard College in 1866, where his father, Joseph Lovering, was a professor. He served as the superintendent of Mount Auburn Cemetery from 1873 until his death in 1895.
Associated with a period of expansion at the cemetery during the late nineteenth century, Lovering drew from a growing body of professional knowledge, exchanged through newly-formed groups such as The Association of American Cemetery Superintendents, in implementing changes in the approach to cemetery design. He oversaw the construction of boundary fencing (1875), built South Gate (1881), and regraded portions of a newly-acquired northwest corner along Mount Auburn Street to address drainage issues during the 1880s.
Lovering adopted elements of the popular Lawn Cemetery style, developed at Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery by Adolph Strauch, in laying out new plots as well as managing existing ones. This approach featured smaller burial lots, increased density in layouts, and more uniformity in monument design. During Lovering’s tenure, the cemetery prohibited additional fencing, furnishings, and elaborate plantings, and worked to reverse the trend of family plots enclosed with granite curbing and iron fencing which made maintenance and burial more difficult. Lovering died at the age of 49 in Cambridge and was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery.
