Thursday, March 11, 2010

Gravestone of the Day

Jonathan Melven, 1737, Concord, MA


Here lies the Body of
Mr. Jonathan Melven
who died February 13th
1737 In the 49th Year
of his Age
Job, XIV. 12.
So man lieth down and riseth not
till the heavens be no more;
they shall not awake, nor be raised
out of their sleep.

4 comments:

Robert J. said...

Backdated, no?

Caitlin GD Hopkins said...

Yes, I believe so. It's nearly identical to some Park shop stones of the late 1760s.

Robert J. said...

I wonder what the average turnaround time was for a standard gravestone in this period. Grandpa dies today, is buried within the week (no embalming!), and son writes to the stonecutter to order a gravestone. How long before the stone is actually in place? A month? Six months? A year? If someone died in the winter I'd find it hard to believe that a stone would be put in until later in the spring. Did the carvers do most of their carving during the winter and their travelling and digging during the summer?

—RJO

Anonymous said...

You question regarding the turnaround time is an interesting one.I wonder if anyone has some info on it?