101 Ways, Part 48: Rested From ye Pains & Sorrows of This Life

For a brief intro to the "101 Ways to Say 'Died'" series, click here.

Providence gravestones are not like Boston gravestones. I would be surprised if there are more than ten death's head stones among the thousands at North Burial Ground. The Sarah Antram stone (pictured below) is a good example of the fine quality of carving in Rhode Island (even when the stone quality is not quite up to Boston standards).

Here lies ye Body of Sarah Antram,

Daughter of Major Thomas Fenner & Wife

of William Antram; by whom he had 

7 Children 4 of which surviv'd her, &

rise up & bless her Memory. Proverbs,

Chap. 31, Verse 23 28.

She was a Careful Loving Mother;

A Desirable Neighbour;

And a Prudent Wife.

She rested from ye Pains & Sorrows of this

Life April 17th 1736, in ye 39th Year of her Age.

He hath destroyed me on every side, & I am gone: & mine

Hope hath he removed like a Tree. Job Chap 19, Verse 10.

At first, I was skeptical about the date on this stone (1736), but there are several other, less elaborate stones from the 1730s with similar borders. I can't compare the tympanum design because I've never seen anything like it before.

The Abigail Antram stone (left) has a similar border and design at the bottom center, as well as a citation from Job. Two other daughters, Anne and Amy (who died in September of 1735 and January of 1736), are buried nearby. Perhaps their deaths explain the Job references.

There are other, non-Antram stones with this carving style from the 1730s, so I'm fairly confident that Sarah Antram's stone was carved soon after her death. If so, it is one of the most exquisite stones from this era I've seen outside of Boston.

Update: In James Slater's The Colonial Burying Grounds of Eastern Connecticut and the Men Who Made Them, stones very similar to these are attributed to George Allen. Identifying features include the bald head, lobed wings, and lily borders. Although Slater does not give a date for the beginning of Allen's career, one of the photographs used to illustrate Slater's style is from 1743. Slater calls Allen and his son, Gabriel (b. 1743), "master craftsmen of the first order" (Slater, 110).