Gravestone of the Day: Pegge Scott-Robinson

Pegge Scott-Robinson, 1757, Newport, RI

Pegge Daught'r

Pompe Scott

& Vilot Rob

inson died

April 19th. 1757

Aged 6 Years

This is one of several stones in the Newport Common Burying Ground that I suspect may have been carved by Pompe Stevens. The lettering is similar to work by William Stevens, but un-ruled and not as confident as William Stevens' letters. It is not signed, so it will probably never be definitively attributed, but I think there is a strong case to be made on stylistic evidence. Compare the Pegge Scott-Robinson stone to the Cuffe Gibbs stone (signed by Pompe Stevens) and the Hart Dunbar stone (typical of William Stevens' work):

Cuffe Gibbs, 1768, Newport, RI

Hart Dunbar, 1762, Newport, RI

Of course, the variation may be due to the obvious difference in stone quality between gravestones carved for white and black Newporters. Still, I don't think that William Stevens would start carving crooked letters after 30 years on the job just because the stone was not perfect.